Category Archives: Uncategorized

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, … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

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. … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

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, … Continue reading →