Age of the Aura Phase I: Champions of Power giveaway

Age of the Aura, Phase I: Champions of Power (SYNOPSIS)

Genre: Science Fiction (Space Opera)

The Blessed Galaxy has no other name. After being gifted with the Auras—five great powerhouses of celestial creation—the title was a suitable fit. For millennia, the governing bodies have ruled their respective reaches of the Galaxy while harnessing the might of the Auras. But now they face the threat of a calamity, from an unlikely source, that could shake the lives of all.

Lowen Sars, a devout man of science, decides to take on the burden of saving the Galaxy’s people once he learns of the calamity. But he soon realizes that the role of a hero was a calling not meant for him, even with his sudden promotion. In his process of self-discovery, Lowen begins the fateful saga of not only the Blessed Galaxy, but also the kingdom in possession of the corrupt Aura.

Read more behind the story! http://ageoftheaura.com/universe/

Download Phase I for FREE on Amazon! (June 24^th-28^th ONLY!)

http://amzn.to/M8k1vf

Enter to Win a Physical Copy of Phase I on GOODREADS!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Champions of Power

by Samuel Odunsi Jr.

Giveaway ends July 24, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Watch the Book Trailer!

Book Reviews for Phase I

The Indie Book Review

A Book So Fathomless - "3.5 out of 5"

Beth Art From the Heart - "4 out of 5"

Voracious Reader - "3 out of 5"

Sadie S Forsythe - "3 out of 5"

Nik's Picks - "4 out of 5"

Dee's Reads - "3 out of 5"

My Cozie Corner - "5 out of  5"

Confuzzled Books - "4 out of 5"

Cheryl's Book Nook - "4 out of 5"

The Guide to Good Books - "5 out of 5"

Paranormal Sisters - "3.5 out of 5"

Books With Leti Del Mar - "3 out of 5"

Enderʻs Game Movie Trailer!

The plethora of YA books made into movies is just proof that YA literature has crossed media and age boundaries.

Enderʻs Game  has waited 20 years and the story has not lost its appeal, so I'm glad to see the movie trailer out - unlike Game of Thrones, SUMMER IS COMING!

My Nature is Hunger by Luis J. Rodriguez

Title: My Nature is Hunger: New and Selected Poems , 1989-2004
Author: Luis J. Rodriguez

Synopsis:
My Nature is Hunger is the first poetry collection in five years by this major award-winning Latino author. It includes selections from his previous books,Poems Across the Pavement, The Concrete River, and Trochemoche, and 26 new poems that reflect his increasingly global view, his hard-won spirituality, and his movement toward reconciliation with his family and his past.

My thoughts:
As an indigenous writer, these poems whisper and moan and shout to me, the rhythm is familiar as breath, and when Rodriguez says "you" in his poem, I imagine that he is speaking directly to me. It doesn't matter if our places are different, if our ancestral memories are different, because he speaks to my na'au (the gut where our Hawaiian knowledge lives).

My favorite stanza from "Piece by piece"

Piece by piece/ They tear at you:/ Peeling away layers of being,/ Lying about who you are,/ Speaking for your dreams.

I think as Hawaiians, when we allow others to speak for our dreams, then we have stopped paying attention to the ho'ailona, those signs from our ancestors that guide us.

My favorite one line from "Believe me when I say. . ."

writing a poem is like fathering a river

Want to teach figurative language, the power of metaphor and simile to craft our own writing? This is the poem to use.

See a great video from Open Road Media of Mr. Rodriguez talking about how books and writing saved him. 
More on the author:

Luis J. Rodríguez (b. 1954) is a poet, journalist, memoirist, and author of children’s books, short stories, and novels. His documentation of urban and Mexican immigrant life has made him one of the most prominent Chicano literary voices in the United States. Born in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican immigrant parents, Rodríguez grew up in Los Angeles, where in his teen yearshe joined a gang, lived on the streets, and became addicted to heroin. In his twenties, after turning his back on gang violence and drugs, Rodríguez began his career as a journalist and then award-winning poet, writing such books as the memoir Always Running (1993), and the poetry collections The Concrete River (1991), Poems Across the Pavement (1989), and Trochemoche (1998). He has also written the short story collection The Republic of East L.A. (2002). Rodríguez maintains an arts center, bookstore, and poetry press in L.A., where he continues writing and working to mediate gang violence.

Thank you to NetGalley and Open Road Media for reading access to this book. 

Download Now

For a limited time, download the prequel to The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

Here's their trailer. Looks good - they are doing a full court press on this one. Check out her website too. 

Happy! Volume 1

Contributors: Darick Robertson, Grant Morrison
Release date: April 30, 2013, Image Comics
Paperback: 96 pages

Short:
Nick Sax, a disgraced police detective turned drunk and drug addled gun for hire, is "haunted" by a blue winged unicorn/horse who tries to get Nick to save a little girl from a porn ring.

Thoughts:
This is a fast paced, uber violent, angry romp through one night in Nick's messed up life. Not for those who see the f-bomb as a deal breaker.  The coloring of the panels helps to create the mood of dystopian, urban chaos. 

 

Windy Hollows

Authors: Neo Edmund and Adira Edmund

Publisher: Zenoscope (April 2012)

Paperback: 80 pages

Genre: Kids's Graphic Novel

Tweet Summary:

4 kids at a wizardry school - misadventure, hilarity, a boy who turns into a frog. Family-friendly fun and activities and stickers to boot.

My thoughts:

I don't bother rating books because with my schedule, I only share what I like. With two 5-year old grandsons, this is the perfect book to read together. The adventures are short and problem-based. There's also non-scary magic. We also got to use the activity pages at the end for some quiet time art therapy before nap time.

The art is very reminiscent of super saturated kids manga which sets a nice tone for the book, and for the 5-year olds, there's enough text to read together.

Divergent (Book 1 of Divergent Trilogy)

Author: Veronica Roth
Paperback: 576 pages
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (February 2012)
Genre: YA dystopian fantasy
Rating: 5 out of 5

In short:  from book description
In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

My thoughts:
Beatrice, or Tris as she's known once she makes her choice is actually a Divergent, someone who shows an affinity for several different factions, which for some reason makes her dangerous to all factions and must be hidden for as long as possible.

Like Katniss, this is another strong teen protagonist who is small but mighty, able to kick butt while learning a lot about themselves. As usual in YA books now, the adults are not to be trusted. Trust yourself only. Although it fits the formula of many other YA books, this is still a good ride.

2nd book: Insurgent 

Head Off & Split: Nikky Finney

Genre: Poety Author: Nikky Finney
Paperback: 80 pages
Publisher: Triquarterly (February 2011)

In short:
The poems in this 2011 National Book Award for poetry winning collection span the historical with the personal. She is an African American poet writing about African American issues, but she is really writing  universal, colorless, humane themes that span space and time.

My thoughts:
This is not a YA read, but it is a powerful read. Finney's control of love and rage, her musicality with language, her passion ~ good writing is ageless.

Hope you enjoyed her acceptance speech.

King Dork

Author: Frank Portman
Audiobook: Read by Lincoln Hoppe (12 hours, 10 minutes)
Publisher of audiobook: Listening Library Audiobook
Rating: 3 out of 5

From the author:

Tom Henderson (a.k.a. King Dork, Chi-mo, Hender-fag, and Sheepie) is a typical American high school loser until he discovers the book, The Catcher in the Rye, that will change the world as he knows it. When Tom discovers his deceased father’s copy of the Salinger classic, he finds himself in the middle of several interlocking conspiracies and at least half a dozen mysteries involving dead people, naked people, fake people, ESP, blood, a secret code, guitars, monks, witchcraft, the Bible, girls, the Crusades, a devil head, and rock and roll. And it all looks like it’s just the tip of a very odd iceberg of clues that may very well unravel the puzzle of his father’s death and–oddly–reveal the secret to attracting semihot girls.
Being in a band could possibly be the secret to the girl thing–but good luck finding a drummer who can count to four. 

My thoughts:
Portman, aka Dr. Frank, is a singer/songwriter/guitarist of the East Bay punk band the Mr. T. Experience, so it's appropriate that in his first novel, his protagonist is a young musician and awkward teen. Tom (Chi-mo) reminded me of Arnold Spirit from Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, only not as funny or endearing.

I'm not sure why I didn't like Tom. He definitely is not as off putting to me as Holden Caulfield, but I didn't feel myself rooting for him at all and I was a little irritated that after 12 hours of listening, the whole mystery aspect didn't quite end in a neat little package. 12 hours and there are pieces dangling. Ugh.

The perk and the best part of the audiobook is Portman's original songs that follow the reading. It's one thing to talk about songs that the protagonist is writing, but to actually have the author create those songs and perform them - way cool! The songs on the audiobook are: King Dork - I Wanna Ramone You - Thinking of Suicide - I'm Still Not Done Loving You, Mama- Gooey Glasses.

Manga Friday: Baby's In Black

Title: Baby's in Black: Astrid Kirchherr, Stuart Sutcliffe, and the Beatles
Author: Arne Bellstorf
Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: First Second (May 8, 2012)

In short:
 The story of the Beatles in the early years as they were putting in their 10,000 hours in Hamburg, Germany. Before they were "The Beatles," there was Stuart Sutcliffe, their "fifth Beatle," who fell in love and was engaged to Astrid Kirchherr, a young photographer in Hamburg. This is her story.

My thoughts:
Mood factor - this graphic novel in black and white sets a wonderful tone. The simplicity of the lines makes it feel rich; not overdone.

Plot - I love graphic novel memoirs because the author/illustrator is constricted by the genre and must synthesize the messy parts of anyone's life into the absolute essentials. At its most essential, this is Astrid's story of love and loss and hope.

Art - There is something comforting about the elements that weave throughout this book: Astrid's cigarette smoke that chain smokes its way through the pages; the winter trees and black scarf that begin and end the book, and the lyrics from "Love me Tender" blowing on the breeze.

Noteworthy Numbers

saw this in the March ASCD Educational Leadership

66 The percentage of children ages 9-17 surveyed who say they will always want to read books printed on paper, even when e-books are available.

47 The percentage of children surveyed who cite "giving me time away from technology" as a reason they read books.

91 The percentage of children ages 6-17 who say they are more likely to finish a book they choose themselves.

Does what we know reflect in what we do in the classroom?

Source: Scholastic & Harrison Group (2010). 2010 kids and family reading report: Turning the page in the digital age. Retrieved from Scholastic at www.scholastic.com/readingreport. Based on a nationally representative sample of 1,045 children ages 6-17. 

Maze Runner Series by James Dasher

Publisher: Random House Books
Publication dates:  10/6/09 (Maze); 10/12/10 (Scorch); 10/11/11 (Death)
E-books


Synopsis: 
Thomas wakes up in an elevator that takes him to a world he knows as the Glade filled with boys who are trying to find their way out of a maze. Although his memory has been wiped, something seems familiar to him, and when an unexpected girl shows up the next day, the routine of the Glade changes drastically and Thomas is in a race to figure out how to leave the maze before more people die.

The Scorch Trials and Death Cure follow Maze Runner through this dystopian world.

My thoughts:
I really shouldn't say this as a predominately YA reader, but I am so irritated by trilogies. The only thing worse than a trilogy is a series that goes longer than three books. It's predominately why although I have the hardcover of Maze Runner from 2009, I refused to read it.

This has nothing to do with the author. If you look at the publication dates, Dasher does a great job of pumping out his books on time. Still, this series is a horrible series if you actually had to wait for the books to be published (another reason why I took so long to start Hunger Games and Twilight).

These books will grab readers who are searching for the next Hunger Games. Dystopian, ecological ruin, action, young protagonists, evil adults. . .you know the formula - it works in this series too.

Women of the Silk by Gail Tsukiyama

Author: Gail Tsukiyama
Paperback: 278 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Synopsis: from School Library Journal
When Pei Chung is eight years old, her father leaves her at the house of Auntie Yee so that she can work in the silk factory. Her grief at the unexplained abandonment is softened by the kindness of Yee and the other girls, and slowly she begins to thrive in her new independence. The friendship between Pei and Lin, who is the support of her once wealthy and powerful family, is forged with the lives of the silk workers who begin to demand better conditions. The China of 1919-1938, when the Japanese threat became a reality, is woven into the threads of factory life and that of families faced with ruin. 


My thoughts:
This historical non-fiction is a beautifully written piece that draws the reader into the lives of these girls/women. It's suitable for the YA audience, however, as far as for middle school readers, I think it's not the easiest sell for middle school because of the pacing of the book, however, with the right reader, the characters are very captivating and the historical events will inspire more research from young history buffs.

If you are buying this book, make sure you also buy the sequel, Language of Threads, or the ending of this book will leave you frustrated
If you are on the Big Island, Ms. Tsukiyama will be a part of the Big Island Reading Festival at the HPA campus on April 21, 2012 starting at 9:30. It's free and open to the public. She'll be doing a reading as well as three breakout sessions throughout the day.