MG/YA Book Reviews by a MG/YA Writer
Table of Contents
Author News
MG/YA Book Reviews
In the Garden
Author News
Welcome to the November edition of Bookcase Bizarro!
I had an epic disaster in mid-October when I deleted a bunch of pictures (okay, ALL of them) from my WordPress media library. I thought I was doing myself a favour by getting rid of old pictures without understanding that the media library also acts as a host for these images. By deleting them, I erased the pictures from all my blog posts, as well as my server. Fortunately, I could restore my entire media library from a previous backup. I’d made some changes to my website in the interim, but it was much easier to redo these rather than re-load each picture and rewrite tons of ALT descriptions. Being a DYI indie author includes making DIY mistakes.
In author news, I’ve finished the developmental edits for Rogue Wizard, a Garrison Creek prequel novella. (All current subscribers will get a free ebook of Rogue Wizard when it’s ready, since I’ll be using it as a reader magnet to attract more signups to my blog newsletter.) I’m currently working on stylistic and copy edits. I just can’t get my head around a production schedule until I’ve finished editing. It’s an integral part of the writing process for me, and I like to give myself plenty of time for revisions without the pressure of an impending deadline. This approach probably wouldn’t work if I were writing to market, but it works just fine for me.
For those of you curious about my direct sales journey, I’ve decided to postpone launching a store for now. Technology is changing at a truly mind-boggling pace, and it’s hard to see where it’s heading. I don’t want to put a lot of energy into a setup that I might have to abandon because it’s not keeping up with new technology, or because a better option has just entered the market.
Case in point, Stripe.
Stripe, a gateway payment processor used by many online sellers, just announced it will roll out a MOR (Merchant of Record) service called Managed Payments to handle worldwide sales tax compliance, fraud prevention, dispute management and customer support for transactions. It’s currently only available to a select group of sellers, but it won’t be long before it’s made available to the rest of us. (Stripe recently bought Lemon Squeezy, and post-acquisition, that platform has now expanded its services to handle payments and subscriptions, as well as sales taxes.)
Authors could theoretically activate Stripe Managed Payments on any sales platform or their own websites, which means they won’t have to rely on third-party platforms like Gumroad, FourthWall or Payhip to handle sales tax compliance for them. Since these platforms offer their own sales tax integrations, I wonder if they will set themselves up in direct competition to Stripe/Lemon Squeezy or give sellers an option to enable Stripe Managed Payments in their stores? One thing’s for sure: the pricing for these services is about to become more competitive.
I also wonder whether direct sales is the best strategy for a beginning indie author? Bestselling author Joanna Penn calls direct sales a completely different business model than third-party retailers, since it involves dealing directly with taxes, information management, customer service and fulfillment. That’s a lot to take on for an author who’s only published one book. A better use of my time might be to focus on writing and producing more books, growing my email list and audience, and developing my online presence through third-party retailers. After all, they still offer great royalties when compared to traditional publishers, and are much less work. Direct sales might be something to implement after some of these services have built up more reliable track records and when I’ve got more of a backlist to offer readers. Even then, I see direct sales as an add-on to third-party retail sales, not a replacement.
Luckily, we don’t have to worry about liability with this month’s author, Mike Steele, whose debut middle grade historical novel knocked the Mary Janes right off my feet.
A quick note to new readers: books that are available from the Toronto Public Library will be marked #TPL, because books don’t have to be new or owned in order to be loved.
MG/YA Book Reviews
Ten-year-old Lucy Contento can’t understand why she keeps getting in trouble in class. She doesn’t mean to shout out answers without raising her hand or fidget in her seat, and she can’t understand why her fifth-grade teacher, Miss Gillingham, insists that she uses her right hand to write when she can write perfectly fine with her left. Why does Miss Gillingham call her Lucille when her real name’s Lucy?
When Lucy’s impulsive curiosity propels her onto the grounds of the Trenton Academy for the Deaf, she meets Florence, who is just as frustrated with her own school as Lucy is with hers. Florence communicates in sign language and through writing. The Academy believes students must speak in order to fit into the hearing world, so it forbids signing. Only Florence can’t speak, and Lucy can’t keep quiet. She has so many questions for Florence. The two girls strike up a secret friendship. No one can find out about Lucy’s trespassing, or she’ll be in even more trouble than she already is, but it’s not right that Florence is so isolated.
Lucy devises a plan, but it will cost money she doesn’t have. She can’t ask her parents for help. Mr. Contento lost his job in the Great Depression and won’t permit anyone else to work, yet someone’s been paying the bills. It seems like Lucy’s not the only one ignoring the rules. Finding the money she needs to help Florence without getting into more trouble seems impossible, but Lucy has to try for Florence’s sake … and for hers.
Author Mike Steele handles the delicate balance between fact and fiction in his debut MG historical novel adroitly, painting an immersive picture of Depression Era Trenton, NJ, without ever getting bogged down in lengthy descriptions or explanations. An accomplished playwright, Steele understands the importance of creating three-dimensional characters and knows how to motivate them. He understands how to integrate issues like prejudice and neurodivergence into the lives of those characters without collapsing their entire identities around them. This level of craft is impressive for any writer, but doubly so for a debut author.
Steele’s prose is an interesting mixture of rich and spare. Not a word, interaction, reaction or inner monologue is wasted, yet Lucy’s world emerges in vivid detail. Mrs. Contento takes on a new job while performing the work of a traditional stay-at-home wife, and prideful Mr. Contento shows a moving vulnerability with his only daughter. Even though he’s a minor character, Lucy’s little brother, Johnny (AKA the Creature), is convincing, invasive, annoying and touching in turns, and Lucy’s dislike of him gradually softens into a kind of reluctant endearment. The difficulties of living with undiagnosed neurodivergence, friendship squabbles, anti-immigrant and anti-Deaf prejudice, loneliness, misunderstandings, financial stress and even serious family fights are all integral parts of Lucy’s world. Steele respects his readers’ ability to handle difficult subjects. Throughout, the strength of the Contento’s bonds with each other holds fast even when they are strained. (And can I just say that I want to be invited to their house for Christmas every year?)
Although Lucy’s ADHD is re-labeled hyperkinetic disorder for historical accuracy, her struggles are immediately recognizable for contemporary readers. Treatment options may not have existed in Lucy’s day, but Miss Gillingham, Lucy’s arch-nemesis, is the one who explains to the Contentos that Lucy’s brain works differently than those of other students. As she begins to understand herself, Lucy moves from feeling scapegoated and picked on to being more motivated to take accountability for her actions. Yet she remains true to herself, liking herself for exactly who she is. Lucy’s in-the-now thoughts lend an urgent immediacy to the story, and her insatiable curiosity makes the sometimes grim world of 1930s Trenton shine.
Notes at the end of the book give a fuller historical context for young readers and teachers looking to integrate fiction into the social studies curriculum. Steele is a gifted writer, and I’ll be following his career with great interest.
Highly recommended for middle-grade readers who love historical fiction, ADHD readers looking for an accessible writing style, teachers looking to incorporate more fiction into the classroom, and caregivers looking for a good read-aloud book. Ages 8-12. (Full disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.)
In the Garden
The indoor garden is coming along nicely. All seedlings have reached the ‘young plant’ stage.
The outdoor transplants have fared better than expected. A bout of COVID knocked me out for about 12 days, which meant that they didn’t get planted as early as they should have been. We’ve had an unseasonably warm September and October here in Toronto, but winter is moving in and frost threatens. I don’t expect to get much food from them at this late juncture, but I couldn’t bear to give up on them. Let them live their best lives for as long as they can, I say.
Finally, I took some cuttings of two coleus plants, hoping they would brighten up my study on grey winter days with their bright foliage. They rooted, but are in a bedraggled and mostly leafless state as they adjust to life in their new home. New buds and leaves along their stems make me hopeful they will survive.
From L-R, T-B
Ruby Red chard, Monstrueux de Viroflay spinach, Bull’s Blood beet greens, Flat-leaf parsley, Black Dragon Coleus, Watermelon Coleus.
Thirteen-year-old Ermin is a gifted mechanic and the worst student at St. Anselm’s Training School for Orphans. She’s just failed her exams for the third time—something nobody’s ever done. Worse, Ermin’s been running her own repair business for money—something that’s expressly forbidden. If the headmistress finds out, Ermin will go to prison. Her future will be over before it’s even begun.
But that’s not her only secret.
Her best friends, Colin and Georgie, are wizards in a world where magic is strictly controlled. Ermin worries that her friends will be captured, drained of their power, then banished. When Georgie’s caught aiding the Wizard’s Resistance, Ermin repairs a broken flying carpet so all three of them can escape.
Hesitant to join the Resistance because of her lack of magical power, Ermin steals an experimental device from a wizard hunter that could destroy every wizard in the Creek. She’s faced with a choice: either smash the device or convert it into a different kind of weapon—one that not only helps wizards but just might get her an apprenticeship at the prestigious Guild Academy.
Ermin’s got one chance to get it right. If she fails, she risks losing her two best friends… and her dreams.
Find Shadow Apprentice at your local library, bookstore, or favourite online retailer.
Thanks for being a Bookcase Bizarro reader! I’ll be back next month with more author news, and more MG and YA book reviews. See you then!
#IMWAYR is a weekly blog hop hosted by Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts. Its focus is to share the love of KIDLIT and recommend KIDLIT books to readers of all ages.
Greg Pattridge also hosts weekly MG blog hop MMGM every Monday at his website, Always in the Middle.
