MG/YA Book Reviews by a MG/YA Author
I’m on holiday this month, but I thought you might like to see how my outdoor food container garden is progressing.
The heat has been scorching, and so far, the plants are growing well. Shade cloth, mulch, and deep, early morning watering have made all the difference. As predicted, I had to up my watering of the tomatoes and summer squash to 30 minutes every day. My peppers and most of the other plants get a 20-minute watering every other day. Some plants, like Swiss chard, can go 7+ days between each watering. For these pots, I use adjustable emitters so I can shut off or reduce the flow of water. This will all change again with cooler weather.
Every day, I check the soil in each pot to take note of moisture levels and pay attention to how the plants are responding. I have a small garden, so these checks take about 10 minutes. I usually take a cup of tea with me out to the garden. Also, keeping alert to signs of stress means that I can act early on problems and hopefully limit damage to any affected plants. I only have 1 squash, 2 tomato and 2 pepper plants, so losing any of them would seriously affect the harvest. Plus, I raised these plants from seed. I’m kinda attached to them.
Look at how much they’ve grown from their May seedling stage (first photo). The Tiny Tim (photo 2) is supposed to be a dwarf tomato, but planting it in a 5-gallon bucket encouraged it to sprawl. I’m not complaining! Happy plant=more tomatoes.
From L-R, T-B
Initial seedlings, not-so-tiny Tiny Tim tomato, Principe Borghese tomato, white sage, Dwarf Greek basil and Dolce Fresco Basil, Jimmy Nardello pepper, Sunburst summer squash, Lucullus and Rhubarb Supreme Swiss chard, Sunburst squash flower, Sunburst squash fruit.
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.
Do you know about ALLi: The Alliance of Independent Authors?
If not, maybe you should!
Formed in 2012 as a global non-profit organization for self-published authors, ALLi offers a comprehensive bank of educational resources on all things self-publishing, including a free blog and podcast, which de-mystified the entire book-making, publishing and marketing process for me.
While I’m a member of ALLi, I’m also an affiliate. If you’re interested in joining ALLi, please consider using my affiliate link. it will cost you nothing, and will help offset the cost of my yearly membership fee. (You can also click on the ALLi graphic in the sidebar.)
Thanks for being a Bookcase Bizarro reader! I’ll be back in September with more author news, and more MG and YA book reviews. See you then!
Check out Greg Pattridge’s weekly MG blog hop MMGM every Monday at his website, Always in the Middle.
