Roosevelt Library Summer Reading Kickoff!

Yesterday, I had a great time at the Summer Reading Kickoff at the Roosevelt Library in Roosevelt, Utah.

I was able to spend time with Heather Moore, Jewel Adams, Karen Hoover, and got to meet Daniel Lowe, an author of several books, including The Forbidden Histories of the Americas. There were a lot of families that participated in the fun activities the library offered, including making dream catchers, a scavenger hunt, and talking to us authors! I had a great time, and I hope everyone else did, too!

The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw is an exciting story about a boy named Ranofer in ancient Egypt.

Despite a setting that took place long in the past, Ranofer manages to be relatable to people today, especially kids in their early teens and pre-teens. He has a dilemma in that while he has a job he likes (working for a goldsmith) his guardian, (his abusive half brother) won't allow him to be an apprentice to his kind and considerate boss. Things would be different if his parents were still alive. But his mom died having him, and his dad died a few months before of some undisclosed illness. Still, Ranofer at least likes his job, and the few friends he makes, even though he doesn't like the strange, unnaturally polite man who gives him wine skins every few days and tells him to take them home to his brother. He starts suspecting that there are stolen bits of gold in the wine skins and that his brother and the man are working together. But before he gets brave enough to tell anyone who can help him, things get worse when his brother forces him to quit his job and come work for the stone cutters. Ranofer doesn't want to be a stone cutter! He wants to be a goldsmith like his father was, and the nice man he had worked for. And what is Ranofer to do when he begins to see evidence that his brother is not only stealing bits of gold from goldsmiths, but stealing from graves as well? Will Ranofer find the courage to do what is right and will people believe him when he does?

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent by Veronica Roth is the 2nd book in the Divergent series. It continues where book 1 ends, following Tris (Beatrice) Prior, her boyfriend, Four (Tobias) and others as they escape the Erudite faction that is trying to kill them, and go to the Amity compound, hoping for help.

Tris is still struggling with the guilt of having to shoot Will, one of her friends, while he was under the mind control of the Erudite and trying to kill her. As a result of this guilt, she makes things harder for her friends who don't know what to do for her. Will she be able to cope, and do what she needs to do to bring peace and stability to her people? Readers who enjoy dystopian novels with heroes and heroines who have believable weaknesses and still work to overcome them would enjoy this book.

The Birthright is 21 Years Old!

Twenty-one years and a few months ago, (March 2004) I became a published author for the first time when Cedar Fort took a chance on me, and published my first book, The Birthright. From the back cover, with a few slight edits:

As a young girl, Miriam must flee her home in a Lamanite village to escape her birthright...to be offered as a sacrifice to the Lamanite gods. During her flight in the deep jungles, she crosses paths with Jacob, a youg Nephite soldier who saves her life and leads her to safety among the Nephites. Years later, now a young woman, Miriam meets Jacob again. She is surprised to find that the sisterly affection she felt for him long ago has developed into something deeper. But before they can discover their true feelings for one another, war comes to the lands of the Nephites, and both Miriam and Jacob find themselves thrown into a whirlwind of struggles. As they fight to keep their faith alive, they are drawn even closer together.

Mysteries of Cove: Fires of Invention by J. Scott Savage

Mysteries of Cove: Fires of Invention by J. Scott Savage is an exciting Steampunk dystopian story about a young man named Trenton Coleman and his friend Kallista Babbage. The two kids embark on a dangerous quest to find parts for a strange machine Kallista's father left behind before he was killed in a mysterious explosion.

They're not sure what it is or why her father left them, but as Kallista says, her father always did things for a reason. The final product astonishes the kids, but in a society locked inside of a mountain to save the people from the poisoned air that invention and creativity created outside their mountain, it's kind of hard to hide what they build. Will they be able to keep their machine a secret? And what happens when they discover what their society is really hiding them from; something lurking outside the safety of their underground city?

Divergent by Veronica Roth

In Divergent by Veronica Roth, Beatrice, or Tris as she likes to be called, grows up in a post apocalyptic society dominated by five factions, or groups of people that value a certain virtue.

She belongs to the faction called Abnigation, whichs values selflessness. There are four others in the city where she lives: Candor, a group which values honesty, Dauntless, which values courage, Amity, which values happiness, and Erudite, which values intelligence. She comes of age (which is 16) and is required to choose the faction she will be dedicated to the rest of her life. The problem is that when she takes her aptitude test, she is determined by the proctor to be "divergent". This troubles the proctor, a member of Candor, named Tori, who tells her to keep that to herself. Tori deletes the results from the computer so others can't see them, and manually enters the result that Tris leans toward Abnigation. However, Tris chooses to join Dauntless. This decision leads to a long set of trials, not the least being physcially and exhausting tests to determine if she is suitable to be a member of this faction of society. If she fails, she becomes one of the 'factionless' an undesirable group that is looked down on by others. But quickly she and her friends discover that there are more problems in their society than just being rejected by the factions. The leader of Erudite seems to have a sinister plan to take over. And Tris, being secrety a Divergent, somehow stands in the woman's way.

Cookies to Die For by Dene Low

The story of a hapless woman being taken hostage in her own home is a scary thought, but Cookies to Die For by Dene Low manages not to get too scary. Jane is home alone when a pair of burglars, seeking for something very specific but unknown to her, take her captive in their search for whatever they're after.

How is Jane going to escape? Especially when she knows her oldest son and his family are on their way to her house? Will she be able to get away from these goons and keep her family unscathed as well? One thing she knows how to do, is cook well. That appeases her tormentors, but will she figure out a way to use her cooking skills to orchestrate an escape as well?