Merry Christmas!

Review of Children of the Knight

I recently had the pleasure of reading Michael J. Bowlers YA novel Children of the Knight.  While the book is published through Harmony Ink, which is the YA LGBTQ imprint of Dreamspinner Press, and the book does feature some LGBTQ characters, I think the cast of characters in the novel is so wide and diverse that it has universal YA appeal.

The overall message of the book is one of tolerance and unity. The young heroes of the book learn to look beyond their differences to everything they have in common, and work together to achieve a greater good not just for themselves, but for their neighborhoods as well.

The book also works for adults, who get a different set of messages. What I really loved about this novel was that it made me think and question my own beliefs and behaviors.  It made me want to talk to people and it really made me wish there was a way to change the current system focuses on punishment of children who fall into a life of crime at an early age instead of providing them with an environment where the criminal element is not the most appealing, if not the only, alternative.

I would highly recommend this book and I look forward to reading the next installment.  Here is the review I posted on Goodreads:

Children of the Knight is one of those rare books that has something for everyone. For teens, there is friendship, adventure, a quest, heroes, and a message of unity and tolerance and real valor and strength coming from doing what’s right instead of blindly following someone else’s example for no good reason. For adults, there are messages as well, and a call for a critical evaluation of a system that does little to set kids on the right path but is all too willing to treat them as adults if they stray off the path and commit crimes glorified not just by their immediate environment, but also by the entertainment that is pumped out to them by media conglomerates. It’s actually nothing short of extraordinary that the author has managed to intertwine these messages in such a way that one does not detract from the other.

Children of the Knight at times made me run a whole gamut of emotions. There were moments of true triumph and happiness, but also moments of profound sadness. I loved the way characters were brought to life and allowed to experience all emotions, including uncertainty, jealousy, shame, anger, happiness, and love. This urban fantasy is filled with memorable characters, starting, of course, with King Arthur and his first knight, Lance, but then continuing with Chris, Esteban, Jack, Mark, Reyna and others. All of them, and especially Lance, made an impression on me and I’m not likely to forget them anytime soon. The world portrayed in this book is no utopia, but it is a fabulous glimpse into what our world might look like if we all appreciated the kind of thorough diversity that the author portrays in his book.

The thing I loved best about the book is that it really made me think. It stayed with me long after I finished reading it, and prompted me to analyze and re-analyze my feelings about the authors’ message. In the end, while I don’t necessarily agree with all of the author’s premises, I absolutely respect the position and I appreciate the introspection it prompted.

I give the book five stars and my enthusiastic recommendation because for me it was truly unique. I actually think this book should be mandatory reading for adults, especially adults in affluent neighborhoods, because it’s far too easy for some of us to think of urban problems as something that only impacts other people, whom we don’t and wouldn’t want to know. The truth is that urban problems are all of our problem, and allocating resources to help the younger generations break the cycle of poverty and crime that is present much too often in urban neighborhoods will end up impacting us all positively.

It’s only fair to mention that the book is not perfect. The author’s writing style is complex, and it may be a little too difficult for younger kids to follow. There are also many subplots and characters to keep track of, and a lot of details are included that could probably have been edited out to create a more tightly focused story. I would have appreciated more of an explanation for why Arthur was there and how he got there, and I would have also appreciated less of the old English spoken by the king. I also thought that sometimes attitude that the adults in the story had towards the kids were disturbingly cavalier. Now, it’s true that some of this can be explained by Arthur simply not being aware of all the dangers that can befall a young, depressed teenager out on the streets, but it seemed to me that even by the end of the book he still had not learned all that he might have. And last but not least - the ending. All I can say without spoiling the book is that I wish it had been written differently, although I appreciate and respect the author’s vision for these characters. These faults, however, are very minor and subjective to me, and did not take away from the powerful impact of the book on me as a reader.

Children of the Knight was provided to me by the author free of charge in exchange for an honest review, but I will definitely purchase the next book in the series when it is released and would highly recommend this book to all readers.

To learn more about Michael J. Bowler and Children of the Knight or his other novels go to: http://www.michaeljbowler.com/

Beneath Angel's Wings in the top 3 YA LGBTQ books of 2013 on Greedy Bug Book Reviews

See the picture in this post? That's how I felt last night when I found out that Josh of Greedy Bug Book Reviews selected Beneath Angel's Wings as the No. 3 book on his top three YA LGBTQ books of 2013.  Seriously, it felt like Fourth of July and Christmas all at once.

 

When I published Beneath Angel's Wings, all I really hoped for was that some people would find it, read it, and like it enough to recommend it to others. Without the time or budget to do a lot of marketing, and with the book being released pretty late in the year, I wasn't expecting any recognition. Having Josh review the book for the Greedy Bug Book Reviews site was in and of itself an unexpected boon, more than I had anticipated. But this? Making the top three books of the year? That was never even within the realm of possibility. Frankly, I am just deeply humbled and so, so grateful.

 

I won't quote Josh's entire post, but some of the things he said were just too nice for me not to re-post them here. In  Josh's own words:

Beneath Angel’s Wings deals with teen suicide, the struggles of coming out and a young man’s transition to adulthood in a superb 219 pages; it leaves this reader desperate for further tales with these characters. I absolutely adored this book, and I give it my full endorsement as a must read for everyone aged 15 and over. I congratulate the author on their first foray into the world of YA LGBT books, and truly hope that there is more in the future...

Beneath Angel’s Wings deserves it’s place on this list because of the impact it made on me as a reader, with characters I truly care about recovering from the lowest points in their lives in order to make a positive impact in others.

 

Thank you so much to Josh and Greedy Bug Book Reviews first for taking a chance on a book written by a first-time self-published author and then for making me feel like a million bucks by including me with the other authors on this list! This unexpected honor will have me walking on air through the holiday season and beyond.

 

Click here to read the rest of Josh's post.  And for what it's worth, while I haven't yet read the No. 2 book on the list, I have read Children of the Knight, which is in the top spot, and I heartily echo Josh's recommendation! 

 

Congratulations to Michael J. Bowler and Matthew J. Metzger, the No. 1 and No. 2 authors on Josh's list, and to all author winners in the special categories. It's a thrill, honor, and absolute pleasure to have been included in this group.

 

Oh, Christmas Tree

My husband and I love Christmas, and every year we enjoy decorating our house for the season. We scale back in the years we're not scheduled to host any gatherings, but this year we are having his whole family over for Christmas dinner so all the decorations are out. I thought it might be nice to share some pictures, so here are our trees, all decked out for the big day:

Kitchen tree with flash

Kitchen Tree without Flash

Dining room tree with flash

Dining room tree without flash

Living room tree with flash

Living room tree without flash

How about you?  How do you decorate for the holidays?

Interview and book giveaway

Check out the True Colorz blog today to read an interview with yours truly and leave a comment  before December 9 for a chance to win a copy of Beneath Angel's Wings. Good luck!

December Releases on True Colorz YA LGBTQ Lit Blog

Have you been to the True Colorz site and blog? True Colorz is another wonderful resource for fans of Young Adult LGBTQ literature.  On the site you'll find:

• YA reading list, organized alphabetically by title
• Author directory with links to websites
• Directory of YA LGBTQ publishers
• New releases updated monthly
• Featured author interviews
• Book reviews of recommended reads
• Books & resources related to bullying prevention
• Honor Roll listing our favorite books
• FREE READS available for download or online reading

You can read about Beneath Angel's Wings and several other newly released books in the True Colorz December 2013 New Releases blog post. Just yesterday I bought two of the books on the list, but today I also saw others that I will add to my "wish list." Check out the post for yourself and see what new books you may want to pick up for the holiday season.