This is my third of the five nominees for best Young Adult Mystery for the 2013 Edgars. Title: Emily’s Dress and Other Missing Things Author: Kathryn Burak Genre: Mystery Age group: Young Adult Synopsis: After Claire’s mother commits suicide and her best friend goes missing, she and her father move to Amherst, Massachusetts, home of poet Emily Dickinson. Her dad […]
Yesterday afternoon, I found myself writing a note in which I ended a sentence with the word “in.” The English teacher in me almost began to twitch at the prospect of ending a sentence with a preposition until I realized I wasn’t using “in” as a preposition at all. I was using “in” as an […]
At this point, I’ve read three of the nominees for Best Juvenile Mystery for the 2013 Edgars. This is my favorite so far. It’s got an unusual mystery told with memorable characters and an engaging voice. Title: Three Times Lucky Author: Sheila Turnage Genre: Mystery Age group: Middle Grade Synopsis: Moses “Mo” LeBeau, who refers to herself as a “rising […]
A student asked me about this a couple days ago. It’s one of those grammar rules I feel like I know inherently simply from being a voracious reader, but we took a moment in class to pinpoint the distinction between “every day” and “everyday.” “Every day” is a combination adjective + noun. We use it […]
I don’t know if this book will win the 2013 Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery, but it definitely wins for longest title! Title: Fake Mustache: Or, How Jodie O’Rodeo and Her Wonder Horse (And Some Nerdy Kid) Save the U.S. Presidential Election From a Mad Genius Criminal Mastermind Author: Tom Angleberger (Also the author of […]
This week I tackled the 400+ page behemoth that is The Edge of Nowhere. This is the second contender for the 2013 Edgar for Best YA Mystery that I’ve read this year. It was also recently nominated for the Agatha Award. Title: The Edge of Nowhere Author: Elizabeth George Genre: Mystery Age group: YA (teens) Synopsis: Becca […]
Many people I’ve met through writing groups (both online and in person) talk about how “evil” adverbs are and how we should cut them from our writing. Stephen King talks about this in his book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. While I enjoyed his book and I respect my fellow writers, sometimes we really […]
I’m on my second week of reviewing the nominees for the 2013 Edgar Award. This week I tackle a contender for the juvenile category. Title: Spy School Author: Stuart Gibbs Age: upper middle grade (to me this book screams “twelve-year-old boy”) Genre: Mystery Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Ben Ripley has been recruited by a secret school that […]
A few weeks ago, a friend asked me to post about the correct usage of the pronouns she and her. When I mentioned this topic to another friend, he said, “Oh yeah, good topic. Do one on I and me, too.” I responded, “Actually, that’s the same rule at work!” Yes, today we’re talking about . . . SUBJECT AND […]
Today I start my first of the Edgar-nominated YA and juvenile mystery books for 2013. If you haven’t seen the list of nominees, you’ll find them here. I’m starting off with Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone because, quite frankly, it was the only one of the nominees I could find at the library last […]
