Red The Book

I need to start today by apologizing. I haven't been blogging over here lately, and I'm sorry. Things went crazy stressful in my life a while back and I had to prioritize a few things, and unfortunately, blogging took a back seat. I'm going to try and be present more, but I'll be honest and let you know that I haven't done a lot of new reading. I've done a TON of re-reading, and just to get content up here, I may post some dishes on those books - Maybe a couple week long series of "Oldies But Goodies". And speaking of Goodies - dee is running a contest right now for the ENTIRE series of books by Scott Westerfeld - THE UGLIES. dee and her daughter Gret went to a signing of Scott's and all of the books are SIGNED! You really want to enter the contest (I do too, but she won't let me). So Click Here or scroll down to enter today! Gret did a fabulous job dishing the books, and I want to say THANK YOU, GRET for helping us out over here. And now, without further ado...

Red: The next generation of American writers - TEENAGE GIRLS - on what Fires up their lives today

Red The Book is the brainchild of editor Amy Goldwasser, "Red is a place for the freshest, most fearless young voices out there to explode the puffy pink stereotype of the American teenage girl." Sending out a call for essay's from teenage girls, (receiving roughly eight hundred) Goldwasser had but two guidelines - "...ages thirteen to eighteen, to submit a piece of personal nonfiction..." that was it. The end result is this wonderful book that I will NEVER forget.

Let me first admit that I almost didn't read RED. I'm generally not a nonfiction reader, but the premise behind the book had me so intrigued that I opened it right up and dove in. I am, after all, the mother of a small daughter, a mother that hasn't been a teenager in a several years, and a mother who will readily admit that times were vastly different when I was. What I had hoped to get out of the book was some insight into today's teenage girl, to prepare myself for some of the struggles that my own Miss Beautiful may face. I got all of that and so much more.

The essays were amazing! Often times I found myself both terrified for this young generation and inspired by them - all on the same page. These young women are talented beyond anything you can imagine. They are smart, self-aware, and they are most definitely nobodies fool.

The essays span the spectrum of what it is to be a teenage girl, with stories about cutting, being over/under weight, sex, politics, drugs, and school, these girls discussed anything and everything. They put their own name on the essays, put them out there for the world.

The authors of RED are among the bravest, most talented, extraordinary young women I know. I don't think we've heard the last from any of them, I for one, at least, hope we haven't. I expect great things from these girls, and their entire generation. BRAVA!

To learn more about the book and it's authors you can visit the Red the Book website and/or MySpace page. The authors are continuing to let us readers into their lives by blogging and more!

Take Care

Thankful for...The UGLIES "trilogy", by Scott Westerfeld

... and A CONTEST!!

I have a daughter who, like her mother, is a Reader. She falls into books like some people fall into a three-layer chocolate cake. She devours them almost as fast as I do. Like me though, she doesn't keep them in her head for long. She reads so much that it takes something... SPECIAL... to stay in her mind for more than a week or so. In this series of books by YA author Scott Westerfeld, my oldest daughter has found something that has kept her coming back for more for years. Hey, I've got Jenny. She's got Scott.

When the newest book, EXTRAS, hit stores, we were there to pick it up. And, as I love having my books signed, I checked Mr. Westerfeld's blog to see when he would be near us, so she could get hers signed as well. The closest he was going to be to us was KENTUCKY. Can you believe that? (Well, he actually made several appearances in NY as well, but we couldn't wait that long.) So, we headed off to Lexington in search of a signing. What we experienced was nothing short of a blast! Five hundred and two miles after our journey began, we entered Joseph Beth Booksellers, and stepped into the world of Westerfeld. I've asked Gret to dish on the books and why she likes them. Read on to see what she has to say about UGLIES, PRETTIES, SPECIALS, and EXTRAS. And check out the end of this dish for a CONTEST!!

WHAT GRET HAS TO SAY...
So I started reading this series because... I don't know why. I guess it was just out of pure curiosity. I think I saw an ad for it somewhere and thought, "Hey! That sounds cool!" so I started reading.

When I read the first sentence of the first book...

The early summer sky was the colour of cat vomit.

I was like "EW! Cat vomit? That's a vivid view I didn't need." I thought it was interesting, to say the least. It took a while for me to get into the first book and see the big picture though.

We all think about the future, right? Tomorrow, next year, 10 years from now? Well, has anyone ever looked 300 years into the future? That's what Mr. Scott Westerfeld, author of the UGLIES book, did. He went into the world of hovercars, crash bracelets, Rusties, SpagBol, and Pretty-Operations.

At the start of UGLIES, 15 year old Tally Youngblood can't wait til she turns the big ol' 16 (I mean, who can? I can't!), so she can get her birthday present. As you know, most 16 year-olds get a car or something like that. But in Tally's world, you get 'the operation'. This operation turns you from being ugly (like you and me) into Pretty. Very rarely does anyone die, but there is the occasional accident.

Tally has wanted to get this done since she was a littlie. She can't wait to be whisked away on her birthday, taken to the place they do the transformation, and to be Pretty for once in her life, without her too big nose, spread apart eyes, and gaping pores.

On the day of the operation, some man comes to get her after several long hours in the waiting room. He takes her to this place, this building she's never seen before (right in her own town), and she meets these people. People with terrifying faces, yet they are excruciatingly beautiful. When they talk, it's as if there are razors coming out with their words. They are Special Circumstances.

From UGLIES to SPECIALS, they are trying to stop Tally from exposing them for what they really are - Monsters.

In EXTRAS, the story turns to Aya Fuse, an ordinary 15 year old 'ugly' Japanese girl who is just trying to make a name, and a face, for herself. When she finally finds a story to kick to make her famous, she realizes that maybe she should re-think who her friends are, Radical Honesty is bad, and maybe, just maybe, she is destroying the world she's trying to fit into. As the story progresses, there are familiar people like Tally, Shay, David, and others. But hey, you can't expect me to tell you everything. So if you wanna find out more - Read The Books!

All I can say is they were GREAT! Never a boring chapter (for me, at least!).

Bravo, Scott. Bravo!!

And Bravo to you too, Gret. Thanks for dishing this series for us.

Anyone want SIGNED COPIES OF ALL FOUR BOOKS?
This is a week long contest. You can COMMENT on THIS post, or you can BLOG THE BOOKS on your own, for extra points. All you have to do is:
- BLOG about this series on your own blog, with a linkback to this post (10 points).
OR
- BLOG about your personal feelings about the way the world views pretty and ugly, with a linkback to THIS post (7 points).
OR
- COMMENT on THIS post about your feelings about how the world views pretty and ugly (2 points).

Keep Turning Those Pages!!

FAB Contest Winner Announced!

Wondering who won the signed copies of our TWICE FABPICK KRISTAN HIGGINS' books? Well, you've come to the right place.


Would

ANN M.

please e-mail me at deeanddeedish AT sbcglobal DOT net (without the spaces, etc) with your mailing address? I am going to get both of these FABulous books headed in your direction as soon as I can.

Thank you, Kristan, for these FABulous books. I can hardly wait to see what you write next!

Keep Turning Those Pages!!

FABPick - CATCH OF THE DAY, Kristan Higgins AND A CONTEST!

This is the final post for CATCH OF THE DAY, by the FABulous Kristan Higgins. Well, except for the post on Monday where I announce the winner of the TWO SIGNED BOOKS. If you still want a shot at winning, you better either get THIS cover up on your blog along with the BCC (that gets you FIVE entries!!!), or leave a comment on THIS post, telling me your secret forbidden crush/obsession.

This contest ends Sunday at 2359. That's 11:59 pm for you non-military types.

The more entries you have, the better your chances of winning.

Also, if you want TWO EXTRA BONUS ENTRIES, you can ask Kristan a comment ON THIS POST.

Are you doing the math? That means that you can get a total of EIGHT entries, easily. Right now, one of you already has SIX entries. You've got a little more than 24 hours to earn some more.

Have fun, and...

Keep Turning Those Pages!!