Monday Book Review: Bird Face by Cynthia T. Toney

Posted on January 12, 2015 by AJ Cattapan

I’d heard a lot about Bird Face from a lot of my fellow ACFW authors (of which Cynthia T. Toney is one), so I was excited when I got the chance to read her sweet coming-of-age story.

BIRD.FACE.FC.reducedTitle: Bird Face

Author: Cynthia T. Toney

Genre: contemporary fiction

Age group: upper middle grade (11-14)

Synopsis: Thirteen-year-old Wendy Robichaud has a lot going on in her life. She’s quiet and artistic, but usually lets her own talents takes a second seat behind her ballerina of a best friend Jennifer. Wendy’s parents have divorced, and her dad’s remarried. She may not care that much that she’s not popular like Tookie and the Sticks, but she does care when a brainiac named John bullies her with taunts of “Bird Face” because of her beak-like nose. And she does wonder who’s been leaving yellow sticky notes for her. Add to all that, preparations for a spring arts program, caring for a bunch of abandoned puppies, and trying out for the school track team, and Wendy’s going to have her hands full as she makes the transition from eighth grade to high school.

I found this to be a very sweet and often humorous look at growing up in the face of bullying and trying to figure out what constitutes a good and valid friendship. Wendy struggles with issues lots of middle school students do, and Ms. Toney tackles these issues in a realistic yet funny way (Seriously, I think Tookie and the Sticks needs to be the name of a band!).

Throughout the story, we get a few glimpses into how Wendy’s Catholic faith is helping to guide her through the murky waters of early adolescence. One moment I found particularly humorous was when Wendy is helping her mom with some laundry, and she accidentally gets a towel snagged on a glass parrot her mom had “rescued” during a roadside scavenger hunt. Wendy’s reaction made me laugh:

“Oh. . . .!” I clamped my lips together, having made a promise to Father Gerard at my last confession not to cuss.

Lots of Christian authors find various ways to get around the swearing, but I liked how Ms. Toney handled it by acknowledging that a lot of young teens would be tempted to let a little swear slip, but still have her character be a girl trying to doing the right thing.

You can learn more about author Cynthia T. Toney on her website.

Posted in Book Reviews, Middle Grade | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Word of the Year 2015 and Good News Jar

Posted on January 6, 2015 by AJ Cattapan

For the past two years, I’ve picked a “word of the year” instead of making New Year’s resolutions. Last year, I picked the word trust, as in I was going to trust in God’s plan. Since my plans never seem to work out like I think they should, I figure I might as well give it up and just, in the famous words of Elsa, “let it go.” Amazingly, at the time I decided on that word, I hadn’t even seen Frozen yet.

So what word should I pick for 2015? The word trust worked out pretty well for 2014. I trusted in God’s plan and look what happened:

  • I got my first book contract.
  • I was picked to go on a pilgrimage to Italy for the Canonization Mass for John Paul II and John XXIII in April
  • I went back to Rome in July to “speak, pray, and cook” like an Italian.
  • I started my preparation to become a Dame of the Order of Malta.

2015 is shaping up to be no less of a roller coaster ride. Of course, I’ve learned that these plans might not go as I expect, but things God might have in store for me this year include the following:

  • my first speaking gig as an author (I’ll be speaking to the young adult crowd at St. Emily in Mt. Prospect on Wednesday, January 21, from 7-9 p.m. about finding your God-given creativity. If you live near Chicago and are in your 20s or 30s, come on out!)
  • a trip to Guatemala for spring break (Shall I blog about it? I’m thinking of calling it the Gotta Guatemala Tour.)
  • the release of my debut novel Angelhood on April 30 (stay tuned for details about launch parties!)
  • perhaps a return trip to Italy in the summer to study more Italian???
  • the start of my doctoral program in September??? (still waiting to be officially accepted into the program)
  • my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary in October
  • being invested as a Dame in the Order of Malta by Cardinal Dolan in New York in November

So . . . yeah . . . lots of potential for this year. What kind of word would help me survive all this? I’ve considered words like “Charge!” as well as cheating by using full phrases like “Full speed ahead” and “Bring it on!” I was almost convinced my word of the year was going to be “roll.” As in, whatever happens, I’m just going to “roll” with it.

But just now, at the last minute, I’ve decided to change my mind. The year of the word for 2015 for me will be grace. In my book Angelhood, there’s a lot of talk about grace. It’s something my main character is sorely missing in the beginning, and yet something she’ll need if she’s going to grow the wings she needs to get into heaven. Grace is something my spiritual director keeps bringing up, too. For example, when faced with a tough situation, she encourages me to think about how I can “stand in grace” in that moment. I’ll admit I’ve struggled with this a lot. To begin with, despite using the word grace repeatedly in my book, I still feel like I don’t totally have a handle on what the word means, so I’ve turned to my trusty friend Merriam-Webster to see what he was to say about the word.

According to him, grace is . . .

  • a way of moving that is smooth and attractive and that is not stiff or awkward
  • a controlled, polite, and pleasant way of behaving
  • unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification
  • a virtue coming from God

And all of those kind of sum up how I hope to get through all the ups and downs I’m sure 2015 will bring. May I speak in a way that is smooth, attractive, and not stiff or awkward! May I be polite and pleasant to all I meet! And may God grant me His divine assistance through it all!

Now in addition to picking a word of the year, there’s one other thing I’ve done for the last two years, and that’s keep a Good News Jar.

Good News Jar A Good News Jar is simply an empty jar in which you keep slips of paper on which you write down all the good news you get, so that at the end of the year, you can open the jar and remember all the wonderful things that happened in the previous year.

Good News about book

You would think an entry like this would earn an exclamation point or a smiley face. I think I was still in shock by the news to add anything other than the basic fact I’d been offered a book contract!

As with the first year, I started off really strong with 16 entries in January, but then added only 10 more over the course of the rest of the year. Hmm. Still it was fun to look back over the slips of paper and recall some of the crazy things from the beginning of last year, like when I got a flat-tire during the polar vortex and was just grateful that I hadn’t been far from home when it happened!

So I’ll try again this year, and we’ll see how many pieces of good news I can accumulate in 2015! And hopefully, I’ll accept all this good news with grace.

Interested in learning about other “Words of the Year” authors and bloggers have picked? Check out the Spin Cycle by clicking on the link below.

 

Posted in Spin Cycle, Writing | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Monday Book Review: The First Principle by Marissa Shrock

Posted on January 5, 2015 by AJ Cattapan

Today I’m bringing you another young adult dystopian book by one of my fellow ACFW authors, and I’ve got to give her kudos for tackling tough subjects: teen pregnancy and abortion.

First PrincipleTitle: The First Principle

Author: Marissa Schrock

Genre: dystopian

Age group: young adult

Back-cover blurb: “In the not-too-distant future, the United Regions of North America has formed. Governors hold territories instead of states, and while Washington, D.C., is gone, the government has more control than ever before. For sixteen-year-old Vivica Wilkins, the daughter of a governor, this is life as usual. High school seems pretty much the same–until one day, that controlling power steps right through the door during study hall. When Vivica speaks out to defend a pregnant student against the harsh treatment of Populations Management officer Martina Ward, she has no idea she’s sowing the seeds of a revolution in her own life. But it isn’t long before she discovers her own illegal pregnancy. Now she has to decide whether to get the mandatory termination–or to follow her heart, try to keep the baby, and possibly ruin her mother’s chances at becoming president.”

Like I said at the beginning, kudos to Marissa Shrock for tackling the tough subject of abortion. In this futuristic society, all teens take mandatory pregnancy tests every three months, and if they are found to be pregnant, they are required to have the pregnancy “terminated” because, of course, having a baby would “ruin” the girl’s life. She’s not even allowed the option of giving it up for adoption. In other words, abortion is not only legal, it’s required. And in a law that’s rather communist in nature, even the adults are allowed only two babies. If an adult woman gets pregnant a third time, she must pay a special fee for the third child or “terminate” it.

Unlike last week’s young adult dystopian Impervious which I reviewed and found more allegorical in its Christian nature, this one is much more straightforward. It’s what I would consider “textbook Christian fiction.” In other words, you can expect scenes about one character trying to convince another character to accept Jesus as her Lord and savior, as well as a “Come to Jesus” moment.

Will this book change anyone’s mind on the pro-life/pro-choice debate? I don’t think anyone heavily entrenched in the pro-choice camp will change their mind after reading this book, but I think teens would find Shrock’s fast-paced story an interesting read, and I think it could open the doorway to some very good conversations between parents and their teenage children about sex, pregnancy, and valuing life.

 

Posted in Book Reviews, young adult | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Spin Cycle: 10 Questions

Posted on December 30, 2014 by AJ Cattapan

For the Spin Cycle this week, Ginny Marie is asking us to answer ten questions about blogging. Here goes:

1. What do you love the most about blogging?

Being able to “converse” with people I don’t get to see on a regular basis–or may never even meet in person!

2. How do you find the time to keep up with all the aspects related to blogging (posting, reading, commenting, responding, etc)?

I don’t! LOL!

3. Does your family know about your blog and does this affect what you blog about?

IMG_4269Yes. In fact, when I was in Rome last summer and blogging every day of my trip, one of my brothers set it up so that my parents could get my posts via email every day, so now Mom and Dad are subscribers to my blog. Everybody wave to Mom and Dad! 🙂

I don’t think it really changes my posts because I’ve always used “If I wouldn’t want my mom to read it, I shouldn’t post it on the internet” as my golden rule for Internet usage. Did you know your my litmus test for blog posting, Mom? 🙂

4. If you didn’t blog, what would you be doing with that time?

Uh . . . my to-do list is so long, I won’t even begin to type it here.

5. Have you been in a blogging rut and how did you pull yourself out of it?

Not really a rut, but sometimes I don’t blog because I simply don’t have time. Like Gretchen over at Second Blooming, I sometimes come up with ideas for blog posts in my head. They just don’t make it on the blog because I have too many other things to do.

6. Have you ever considered leaving the blogging world and why? What stopped you?

Once upon a time, I had a baking blog, but I gave that up to focus more on writing fiction.

7. Show some blog love: Name another blog that you adore.

Well, of course I read Lemon Drop Pie and Mayor of Crazyville, and I’m glad to have discovered the aforementioned Second Blooming. In the writing world, I wouldn’t go without the blog of Literary Agent, Janet Reid. She’s funny, informative, and very generous with her time in answering writers’ questions. And I also really like the joint blog by my fellow ACFW young adult authors over at Scriblerian.

8. What’s your favorite social media outlet for sharing your blog posts?

Facebook. But I try to tweet, too.

9. What’s one thing you’ve learned about yourself since you started blogging?

My best writing comes when I let my fears go and just write from my heart, even if I’m scared by how people might react.

10. Any new blogging plans or ideas for the new year?

As you may have noticed on Monday, I’m going to try getting back to my Monday Book Reviews. I’ve got a whole line-up of books to read and review.

Want to see how others answer this week’s questions? Check out the Spin Cycle by clicking on the link below:

 

 

Posted in Spin Cycle, Writing, young adult | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Monday Book Review: Impervious by Heather Letto

Posted on December 29, 2014 by AJ Cattapan

It’s been a long time since I’ve had the chance to do a Monday Book Review, so I’m starting off what I hope will be a series of them in the upcoming months by discussing Impervious, a young adult dystopian novel by my fellow ACFW author Heather Letto!

Impervious

Doesn’t she have a cool cover? 🙂

Title: Impervious

Author: Heather Letto

Genre: dystopian

Age group: young adult

Synopsis: (taken from back cover): “The residents of Impervious are the remnant–the survivors of the War of Annihilation. And though the city is chockfull of pleasures to tantalize and entertain, a beast lurks in the corners, haunting the residents with its presence. The Beast–a mysterious and terminal illness killed off most of Generations One, Two, and Three. And as Gen-Four prepares to take the stage, a provocative, yet questionable, new method to avoid an untimely death incites a cultural rage. But Fran lives counter-culture, off the grid in true rebel fashion. With a life far from opulent, she scurries through dark tunnels, searching for hot meals with Pete while ditching the holographic security team. To her, it’s a healthy trade-off. Unaccountability means The Council can’t steal her sliver of hope–a belief that she’ll see The Epoch arrive before The Beast can pull her into its fetid embrace.”

If you’re a fan of dystopian stories like The Hunger Games and Divergent, you’ll probably be able to get into this story pretty easily. Heather Letto does a great job of creating a very detailed dystopian world quite different from our own, where fifteen years old is considered “mid-life.” This is also definitely a world where those familiar with sci-fi terms will probably feel comfortable, lots of terms like “holographic acquaintances,” “gaming hubs,” “sleeping-niches,” and “cybernetic vacation pods.” The book also reminded me a bit of The City of Ember, a sort of underground post-apocalyptic world in which the citizens have been tricked into believing nothing good can exist beyond the lights of their little inner world.

The book starts with a quote from the Gospel of Mark (4:23–“If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear”), but it is more allegorical in its Christian nature thus far. From a few conversations I’ve had with the author, I know she has plans for a second and third book in the trilogy, and I’d be interested in seeing how these allegorical pieces she’s set into motion play out in the next two books.

If you’re interested, you can learn more about Heather Letto on her website or Twitter.

Posted in Book Reviews, Speculative Fiction, young adult | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Holiday Recipe: Rum Balls!

Posted on December 12, 2014 by AJ Cattapan

This week for the Spin Cycle, Ginny Marie has asked us to share our favorite holiday recipes. Anyone who knows me well knows that I love to bake, so when I think holiday recipes, I think Christmas cookies! We definitely have our favorites in my family, and the only I often make is the batch of rum balls. Yummy.

I can remember vividly the first time I helped my mom make them. After watching her roll the sticky concoction in her hands before rolling them in powdered sugar, I looked at the gooey residue left on her palms and said, “That’s how you make them!?!” I couldn’t believe something so yummy looked so icky in its preparation. Oh well. The mess is worth it!

IMG_1279

Ingredients:
1 cup pecan chips*
1 package of vanilla wafers
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon cocoa
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup light corn syrup
3 tablespoons rum
1 teaspoon vanilla
sifted powdered sugar for rolling balls

*If you can’t find pecan chips in your store, buy any other type of pecans (e.g. halves) and chop them until you have 1 to 1-1/2 cups finely chopped pecans.

Break the vanilla wafers into smaller pieces and drop them into a blender—about eight cookies at a time. Chop them in the blender until they are very fine, like graham crackers crushed for a graham cracker crust.

Continue crushing vanilla wafers until you have 1 ¾ cups crumbs. You’ll use a little more than half the package of wafers. Turn the cookie crumbs into a bowl with the pecan chips.

Add powdered sugar, cocoa, and salt. Mix well with pastry blender.

Add syrup, rum, and vanilla. Mix well. Put bowl in freezer for 5-10 minutes to make rolling easier.

Roll the balls using a tablespoon or a small cookie scooper to measure out the dough. Roll balls in powdered sugar. Let rum balls dry several hours before storing in air-tight container in refrigerator.

To keep hands from become too messy, try using powdered sugar on the palms of your hands while rolling.

Yields: about 40 rum balls

IMG_1278

Want to see more holiday recipes? Head on over to Lemon Drop Pie and follow the links.

 

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

December Giveaway: Cross Bracelet from Rome!

Posted on December 9, 2014 by AJ Cattapan

For the December giveaway, I’m raffling off a cross bracelet that I bought in Rome last July. I had it with me during the Sunday Angelus, so it’s been blessed by Pope Francis, too!

Green Cross Bracelet

Enter below! You can earn extra raffle entries by tweeting about the contest every day until it ends.

And don’t forget to follow me on Facebook, so you’ll know if you won!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Shake It Off!

Posted on November 18, 2014 by AJ Cattapan

This week on the Spin Cycle, Ginny Marie is giving us free rein to discuss whatever we’d like for her linkup, so I’ve decided to share a funny, little story from last week.

On Thursday, I met with my spiritual director. (If you’ve never heard of a spiritual director, just think of it as an adviser or mentor who helps you in your spiritual life.)

During our session, we started talking about the fears I have regarding my book coming out next year. What if people hate it? What if they read something into it that I didn’t mean to be read there? Oh, I’m sure so-and-so is going to hate it. And what about this other person? Oh, I can just imagine the hate mail and the bad reviews!

My spiritual director responded by saying, “Well, you know someone’s not going to like it because that’s just how things are. There are people out there who are just haters. It’s their mission to put down other people. They’re going to hate simply because that’s what they do.”

And immediately my mind flipped to that Taylor Swift song “Shake It Off.”

‘Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
Shake it off, Shake it off

After my brief pop-culture-induced ADD moment, I was able to pull myself back into listening to my spiritual director who had moved on to talking about how Jesus had his haters too. He had been scorned, ridiculed, ambushed–even betrayed by one of his closest friends! We can take comfort in knowing that he dealt with his share of haters, too.

And that’s when I burst out laughing. I held up a hand. “Wait,” I said to my spiritual director. “Wait right there. I just got the funniest picture in my head. First, you mentioned haters having to hate, and I thought of the lyrics ‘haters gonna hate’ from Taylor Swift. Then you mentioned Jesus having haters, and I thought of that passage where Jesus tells his disciples that if they enter a town where the people won’t listen to them, they should just leave and shake the dust of the town off their feet, so now I’m picturing Jesus leaving a town and shaking the dust off his feet, all while singing ‘Shake it off, shake it off.””

Moral of the story: When criticism comes your way (or even when the fear of criticism keeps you from moving forward), just remember the advice of Taylor Swift and Jesus–and shake it off.

Got a random story to share this week? Join the Spin Cycle.

Posted in Angelhood, Book Reviews, Spin Cycle, Writing, young adult | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Halloween Show and Tell

Posted on November 7, 2014 by AJ Cattapan

This week on the Spin Cycle, they’re doing a Halloween recap. Here’s my Halloween, in brief.

It started off well enough. Two weeks before Halloween, I was invited to a pumpkin carving party. I like to think they turned out pretty well.

IMG_2648

My prepared pumpkin, ready for cutting!

IMG_2660

Do you recognize mine?

Five days later, my pumpkin was rotting into mush, so I threw it into the trash.

IMG_2649

Just days before the mush set in

 

That’s okay, I thought. I’ve got another–uncarved–pumpkin. It will last until Halloween.

The night before Halloween, I picked up my uncarved pumpkin to move it into a more prominent position. It had rotted so badly it left a stain on the spot where I’d placed it. I guess that’s what I get for not putting a plate under it.

On Halloween, I bought some candy: one allergy-friendly kind and one kind I actually like. Guess how many trick-or-treaters I got? None. It never fails. On years when I don’t buy candy, someone knocks on my door. When I do buy candy, no one shows.

Who wants some gummy candy? I’m keeping the Mounds for myself. 🙂

Candy

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November Giveaway!

Posted on November 6, 2014 by AJ Cattapan

It’s time for the November giveaway!

This month I’m giving away something related to one of the main characters in my upcoming young adult novel, Angelhood. The main character’s little sister is named Cecille. I took her name from St. Cecilia because Cecille is a ballerina and St. Cecilia is the patroness of music.

While I was in Rome this past year, I visited the Basilica of St. Cecilia twice. In the gift shop, I picked up a couple St. Cecilia medals. Since November 22 is the feast day of St. Cecilia, I thought this would be a good month to giveaway one of those medals.

How can you win it? By entering the raffle on my Facebook page. Look under the tab “Giveaway” or following this link: http://tinyurl.com/lwm9vat

 

St Cecilia Medal
The giveaway will be open from November 7-21. I’ll announce the winner on the Feast of St. Cecilia on November 22. Good luck!

For more on my visit to the Basilica di Santa Cecilia in Rome, visit this blog post.

 

Posted in Angelhood, Giveaway, Travel, young adult | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment