Check out an interview for my first book!

Check out an interview I did on Tumblr for my first book being released in August 1000 Sleepless Nights!

 http://entrancedpublishing.tumblr.com/post/53090084974/meet-the-author-connie-michaels …

My First Author interview

I gave my first Authors Interview!  Yippee!!  It can be found at VincentMorrone.com
Thanks Vincent for the interview.

GIRL, STOLEN by April Henry

This was another of my bonus point books from my classroom Scholastic orders and I am happy to say it was good.  Since it was an actual book I was not able to take it to the gym with me so I will not be giving it any Barbell rating.  Girl, Stolen is the story of a girl, Cheyenne, who has lost her sight and while sleeping in the back of her step mom's car while she is off getting antibiotics, is accidently kidnapped during a car jacking.  The writing was sharp and concise and the dialogue was believable.  The dialogue between Griffin, the teenage boy who accidently kidnapped her and Cheyenne, is natural while still giving us background information to their lives.   When Griffin begins to sympathize with her and his dad gets the idea to ransom her off things start getting strained and Cheyenne isn't sure she's going to make it out alive.  I enjoyed the book and think it would be a good recommendation for MG to YA.  I give it 4 stars.

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Lucky!!!  I have to count my blessings lately because I have read one great book after another for the last couple of weeks.  I absolutely loved this book...and again give it 5 barbells for getting me up and to the gym...although I admit I crawled into bed and read for two hours one night because I was so engrossed with these characters I didn't want them to go.  First I have to say besides the incredible writing and dialogue (those of you who follow me know I am a sucker for dialogue) this book also took place in the 80's!  I was in high school at the same time a these characters and felt so connected to the music references and the struggle with identity.  Park, one of the main characters is of korean and american decent and struggles with who he actually is.  While Eleanor is a red headed, "big" girl (at least that is what she calls herself) She feels ugly and her home life is a mess!  But somehow while riding the school bus Park and Eleanor form a connection and fall in love. They try to help each other with acceptance of who they are and learn how to not let go of the good things because of the bad. This is a sweet and sometimes heart breaking book but one I know will stay with me until I am able to be immersed in another good book.  Sure fire 5 stars.

What I Didn't Say by Keary Taylor

Loved this book!  Definitly a 5 barbell rating.  I especially appreciated this book because it was set in the Pacific Northwest, where I was raised and on Orcas Island, where my husband and I spent our first year Anniversary.  Yeah!  This book grabs you from the get go.  Although the chapter time line was a bit confusing in the beginning but I got the hang of it.  Jake is the main character and after a horrific accident he loses his vocal cords.  The story takes you through his trials trying to communicate with his peers as well as the strange way people feel comfertable telling him things since he can never repeat it.  I thought the author did an excellent job of communicating for him through written notebooks.  I personally felt his frustration at writing so much and wanted to scream for him to learn sign language faster.  I can't imagine having to write everything down.  Jake's love interest, Sam, has her own issues to deal with and the story does a good job of teaching us that everyone has there trials and each impacts their life at a variety of levels...so before you get too depressed remember someone else could be worse off.  Really enjoyed the writing and the story.  Fell in love with Jake and his family.  Big 5 star recommendation. 

The Devoured Series by Emily Snow

There are two books in this series, All Over You and Devoured (with a third coming out soon)  This series begins like so many where the MC is a girl who lacks a bit of confidence and comes from a bad family background and is trying to do better.  I say that as if there is something wrong with that story line, but I LOVE IT.  I find the pattern an easy read.  I am not sure whether to classify this as New Adult, but I think I will.  These books start with the MC Sienna, working on a video shoot for a rock band.  Now I also find that these books tend to have musician types.  Helps with the broodiness I guess.  Sienna is in charge of wardrobe and of course Lucas the protagonist sees her as his easy target.  Kind of a little Fifty Shades with him seeing the weak lamb and thinking he can over power and dominate her.  And all seems to be going as planned until she ends up at his house and he tells her to put handcuffs on and she says (as everyone should)  Yeah!  NO!  So he kicks her out.  Moving to book two...of course Lucas can not get her out of his head because she turned him down and decides to move to Tennessee, where she is from, to write music.  He finds a house in foreclosure and decides to buy it and it turns out it is Sienna's grandma's house.  So long story short, Lucas gets Sienna to work as his assistant for ten days and if she can get through it he will give her the house again.  Sparks fly and all seems well until Sam, the mysterious ex-wife shows her ugly head and Lucas turns Sienna away.  We don't know what Sam holds over Lucas but it must be bad.  I am waiting for the next book to find out.  I have to say this book, although follows a formula I am familiar with, is a great read and drew me into the characters and I have to say Lucas is on my list of book crushes.  I loved the epilogue at the end of Devoured and think it is super romantic.  The dialogue and character development is good and although back story is sprinkled through I didn't find any information dumps and the pace kept me reading.  4 Stars for sure and a recommended read for the February Month of Romance.

Find You In The Dark by A Meredith Walters

This is a YA contemporary.   It stars Maggie a reliable and middle of the road popular senior who is kind of bored with her life.  She had two best friends that she has known for her entire life and feels like she is in a rut.  What I really liked about this book is she has two normal, loving parents.  Maggie's life is slowly turned upside down as Clay comes into it.  Clay is a transfer student from far away and is broody and mysterious.  What Maggie doesn't know at first is that the reason he is all broody is because he suffers from Bipolar Disorder.  I loved this story as it followed Clay's struggle to deal with the medication, wanting to feel normal but unable to embrace normal when the meds rob him of his emotions and energy.  I see this in my classroom so many times.  Where a parent has to decide which is better; a child that can sit still in a coma and hopefully learn or a kid bouncing off the walls and struggling with emotional ups and downs, while hopefully learning.  I can't say which is best but in this case Clay's emotional roller coaster not only puts him at risk but also Maggie.  I love how this book takes us through her downward spiral as she tries to be the support she thinks he needs.  Tries to be enough for him to get well.  When eventually she figures out she can't.  I thought the character development, dialogue, and most of all the realistic depiction of the characters was spot on.  I felt so connected to Clay and his struggles.  I have to say my only complaint is that I want to read the next book and although a teaser is placed at the end of the book I can not find any reference to it being available nor a date of release.  Frustrating...the teaser just kills me and I need, NEED to see how Clay turns out.  Please finish it if it is not done and if it is I would love to read it for a review.
4 1/2 stars