Sister love...

So,I thought I would stretch myself and try writing a little Middle Grade today. Ya'll, middle grade is tough to write. It's a really, really hard voice to nail. And I am not good at it! But hey, that's what practice is for, right? See what you think about this one -

(this cuteness via wikipedia)

Here are my 5 words:

eggshells

line

spork

chart

tiptoe

Cadence hugged her bear tighter. She was too old to need a stuffed animal, but at least hugging him kept her from throwing the bear at her sister’s face. 

Emmie bent over the carpet, dragging a roll of blue painter’s tape behind her. When she reached the wall, she tore off the tape and stood. “There. Now we don’t have to share.”

Cadence stared at the blue line running down their room. On Emmie’s side the bed was neatly made, her sneakers lined up in a row along the bottom of her closet. Her stuffed animal, Glenda, a pink rhino, was perched on the top of Emmie’s closet, hidden there since their last sleepover.

Cadence glanced down at her bear. One of his button eyes was missing, and his fur was matted from years of being hugged tight to Cadence’s chest while she slept. Cadence’s leg brushed against the sheet of her bed. Still unmade, because she hadn’t had time to do her chores before Mom had to take them to school this morning. Something that drove Emmie crazy.

Emmie picked up one of Cadence’s socks from her side of the room. “This is yours.” She tossed it over the line onto Cadence’s side.

Everyone at school thought it was cool to be a twin. Cadence thought it was horrid. Especially when your twin didn’t even like you anymore. “My little spork,” Daddy always called them. One a fork. One a spoon. Useful apart, a spork together. Both useful and unique, Daddy said.

They’d always been different. They didn’t look alike, so sometimes people didn’t even think they were twins. But they’d always done everything together. And now Emmie acted stuck up half the time. She was the better twin. At everything.

If Cadence made a B plus, Emmie made an A minus.

Emmie had more stars on her chore chart.

Emmie’s blond curls bounced like Mom’s, whereas Cadence’s hair was flat and brown.

Emmie lay down on her perfectly made bed, and pulled out her book. Cadence peered past her to the bathroom. It was on Emmie's side. What now? Wait until Emmie fell asleep and then tiptoe to the bathroom? Emmie and her stupid tape and stupid rules.

She didn't even know why Emmie was so upset. It hadn’t even been that big of a deal. Cadence had borrowed one of Emmie’s shirts. Yellow with ruffles at the bottom. It was new and cute, and seemed just the right thing on wear today. She’d thrown a sweater over it because it was cold this morning, so Emmie hadn’t seen it until school. She’d been so mad she’d yelled then left the lunch table, taking half their friends with her.

She’d ignored Cadence all day, and when they got home she had rummaged in mom’s craft room for the tape, then divided their room in half.

I’m tired of being your twin, she had said.

Cadence’s stomach tightened like when she had to give a report out loud in class. Normally she and Emmie drank smoothies and watched TV after school. Now everything Cadence did seemed wrong. "Walking on eggshells" is what Mom called it after she and Daddy had a fight and things were tense and quiet the next day. That’s how Cadence felt, like her insides had been thrown into the blender and chopped up like pieces of strawberry Mom put in their smoothie today.

On my bookshelf

I keep finding the most wonderful Middle Grade gems. My latest treasure was "The Junction of Sunshine and Lucky" by Holly Schindler.

(buy it here!)

Here's the blurb:

August “Auggie” Jones lives with her Grandpa Gus, a trash hauler, in a poor part of town. So when her wealthy classmate’s father starts the House Beautification Committee, it’s homes like Auggie’s that are deemed “in violation.” Auggie is determined to prove that she is not as run-down as the outside of her house might suggest. Using the kind of items Gus usually hauls to the scrap heap, a broken toaster becomes a flower; church windows turn into a rainbow walkway; and an old car gets new life as spinning whirligigs. What starts out as a home renovation project becomes much more as Auggie and her grandpa discover a talent they never knew they had—and redefine a whole town’s perception of beauty, one recycled sculpture at a time. Auggie’s talent for creating found art will remind readers that one girl’s trash really is another girl’s treasure.

"One man's trash is another man's treasure." I loved this story. Auggie is one spunky girl (I'd want to have her around in either a debate or a fist fight-I think she'd win both). She shows a lot of courage in proving that she and Gus -and the rest of her neighbors- are not trashy people. I loved how much Gus loved her and how they worked together to create 'company' as they call their sculpture people. 

Auggie has a rough time at her new school when one of her friends leaves her for the new girl. I love that Holly Schindler put that storyline in here, because great skies above, have we not all gone through that? Especially girls. But Auggie was a trooper (and way more gracious than I would have been). She rides it out and eventually her friend comes back to her.

This book is full of possibility. I love how Auggie goes from admiring everyone else's skills and talents to coming to see her own 'shine' as she calls it. Everybody's got shine, and Auggie finding hers and making company with Gus makes this story the best junk story I've ever read!

If you love trash, treasure, spunk, or shine, you need to read this! Two hearty recycled thumbs up!

Book Review: A Snicker of Magic

Normally Young Adult is my preferred genre, but I have started falling in love with Middle Grade.  There is just something about that special balance of story that makes a good MG book that kind that stays with you forever.  Such is the case with this little beauty:

A Snicker of Magic

My friend Natalie Lloyd wrote this book, and it is spindiddly!  Here is the blurb from Natalie's website:

Midnight Gulch used to be a magical place, a town where people could sing up thunderstorms and dance up sunflowers. But that was long ago, before a curse drove the magic away. Twelve-year-old Felicity knows all about things like that; her nomadic mother is cursed with a wandering heart.

But when she arrives in Midnight Gulch, Felicity thinks her luck's about to change. A "word collector," Felicity sees words everywhere---shining above strangers, tucked into church eves, and tangled up her dog's floppy ears---but Midnight Gulch is the first place she's ever seen the word "home." And then there's Jonah, a mysterious, spiky-haired do-gooder who shimmers with words Felicity's never seen before, words that make Felicity's heart beat a little faster.

Felicity wants to stay in Midnight Gulch more than anything, but first, she'll need to figure out how to bring back the magic, breaking the spell that's been cast over the town . . . and her mother's broken heart.

This book is endearing and magical.  It will make you believe in hope and overcoming.  When I finished reading it, I started looking for words to flow out from the trees and to dance on top of people's heads.  I wanted to take a bite of Dr. Zook's Blackberry Sunrise ice cream and risk the memories that a taste of it would bring to life.

I must say, Three Time Lucky had won the top spot on my list of favorite MG books.  This book just took its place.  I always knew that Natalie would be a published author some day (Snicker just got a spindiddly review from the New York Times!).  I think one of the things I loved most about this book is that it is Natalie in book form.  I don't know any other authors personally (and really, I hardly know Natalie), but I love that she is there in every page: whimsical and fluttery sweet like cotton candy but completely solid like a hug from your best friend or a good meal fed to you by your granny.  If I had picked this up and not known the author I would have finished and thought to myself  "My goodness, this sounds like Natalie's words!"  Ever since I started writing myself it's been interesting to see pieces of myself manifest themselves in a story that isn't about me at all.

This book is wonderful!  Full of small town quirk and charm, unforgettable characters, and words that will stir up feeling in all of us.  A must read if you love words, stories, or ice cream!