The Monday Muse: 60 Seconds With....Christine Hurley Deriso

Today's Muse: Christine Hurley Deriso

Author of: Talia Talk

Starring in: A 60-Second Interview

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Bookworm: What was your favorite part of writing Talia Talk?

Christine: My favorite part of writing TT was capturing moments I noticed or language I overheard from my teens and their friends and sneaking them into the book.

Bookworm: How long did it take you to write Talia Talk?

Christine: It took me about four months to write, but my editor wanted some major revisions, so rewriting it took just as long.

Bookworm: What book are you currently at work on?

Christine: I'm currently working on a young-adult novel about a teen whose sister died before she was born. She spends the summer reading her sister's journal and discovering all kinds of secrets about her life.

Bookworm: What are you currently listening to on your iPod?

Christine: Some current favorites are Death Cab for Cutie, Elliott Smith (RIP), Steely Dan, Emmylou Harris, and Ray Davies.

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Hope you enjoyed your 60 seconds with the fabulous Christine! Don't miss her latest book, Talia Talk, bopping into bookstores tomorrow! Congratulations, Christine, on the new release and thank you for the interview!

To read a review of Talia Talk, click here.

Talia Talk

Title: Talia Talk

Author: Christine Hurley Deriso

Pages: 192

Delacorte Press

Release Date: November 11, 2008

Recommended to: Preteens, ages 9-12

Rating: B-

Moms can be pretty embarrassing, right? Well-imagine if your mom was the host of a hot TV show and was always blabbing about something you did when you were little (like sticking crayons up your nose or throwing up on your piano teacher's shoes) that was totally humiliating! Welcome to eleven year old Talia Farrow's life. But this year, she's entering middle school, and has a plan: she and her loud, bossy best friend Bridget are going to audition for the school's news broadcast/Podcast program, the Oddcast. There, Talia can have her own commentary, Talia Talk, where she can get back at her mom for everything embarrassing she'd ever done: even if it means blabbing about her mom's new top-secret boyfriend! With school issues, friendship troubles, and family problems, Talia's sure got her hands full...

   While I found Talia Talk to be a sweet read for younger bookworms, I found that it lacked a strong central plot. From the beginning to the middle, it tended to lag on, leaving me a bit behind. While I loved Bridget's hilarious character, I found the fight between her and Talia to be a bit juvenile and pointless. Realistic and witty, Talia Talk is definitely a fun, modern read, but simply lacked the excitement and race to the end that other books possess. However, Deriso has real talent when it comes to inventing realistic, unique characters: throughout the course of the book I enjoyed learning more about Bridget, Meredith and Brynne (whose behavior often had me laughing), Jake, Mom, and Talia herself. Our protagonist Talia has a fantastic voice that many young readers can relate to, and Deriso excellently captures how it feels to be the low man on the totem pole when it comes to middle school. And the cover is absolutely phenomenal: I love how colorful and clever it is, especially since it's shaped like an iPod! 

Results of Popular Vote Contest!!!!!

The results for the Popular Vote contest are in, and the winner is......(drumroll, please!).......

Mrs. Magoo! 

Congratulations! I'll send out your autographed copy of Micol Ostow's Popular Vote tomorrow. To enter, you had to think of a creative slogan for your presidential candidate of choice (oh-and many congratulations to our new president, Barack Obama-yay!). Mrs. Magoo's campaign slogans were as follows:

GOBAMA

and

McCain + Palin= McPain

We had some very clever entries, so you can still check them out here.

And if you entered but didn't win, watch out for another Bookworm Readers contest (I'll officially post about it next Friday with all the details)-it should be fabulous! And while you're at it, take a look at our lucky winner's blog, Mrs. Magoo Reads: she's giving away a copy of Jennifer Ziegler's novel, How Not to Be Popular; as well as the giveaway on Chick Lit Teens to win signed copies of three awesome books (don't forget to say who referenced you)! Good luck!

Happy Birthday, Bookworm Readers!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you.....

On October 12, Bookworm Readers turned one year old! I was so busy with other things that it's completely slipped my mind-oops. (Just in case you were wondering, Jacqueline Wilson's How To Survive Summer Camp was featured as the first review). So why not celebrate now? And there's a lot to celebrate: Bookworm would like to thank all contributors, authors, and readers of BR for all their support! Bookworm Readers has sure come a long way! I'll be having a super-cool birthday contest within the next couple of weeks, so be sure to check back to see what I'll be giving away! (Hint: Linda Gerber and Mary Hogan have

 already contributed).

(: Bookworm 

Books to Get You in the Election Mood

Hey, everyone!

It's November 4, and that means.....it's election day! I sure hope all of you who can vote got out there and put in a ballot for what you believe in! As for those of you who aren't yet 18, you can't vote yet, but you can most definitely get into the election mood by checking out some great political-based books for teens! Here are some of my recommendations:

- First Daughter: Extreme American Makeover by Mitali Perkins

- As If Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother is Running for President! by Donna Gephart

- Popular Vote by Micol Ostow

- My Perfect Life by Dyan Sheldon

- Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer

- Soccer Chick Rules! by Dawn FitzGerald

- The Kid Who Ran For President by Dan Gutman

- The Kid Who Became President by Dan Gutman

Happy reading! And don't forget to check out the crazy-cool contest giveaway of a signed copy of Micol Ostow's Popular Vote! Click here for details.

The Monday Muse: Linda Gerber

This week's Muse: Linda Gerber

Author of: The Finnish Line and Death by Bikini 

Starring in: An interview

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Bookworm: How long did it take you to write Death by Bikini?

Linda: DBB was kind of a long process because it started out as a different concept than what it ended up as. I wrote a complete manuscript the other way then rewrote the whole thing and then tweaked and tweaked and tweaked until my publisher and I were both happy. The other books have been much quicker.

Bookworm: Which Death By....book was your favorite to write?

Linda: It's hard to say-like choosing a favorite child. But I guess I would say Death by Denim [coming May 2009] because by the time I started working on that book, I knew the characters well and I enjoyed putting them in the new setting.

Bookworm: How many books are you planning to write in the Death By...series?

Linda: At the moment, there are three complete. We have discussed doing more, and perhaps I will when I am done with my current WIP. I'd still like to spend more time with Aphra and Seth.

Bookworm: If you could meet any of your characters in person, which one would it be?

Linda: Seth. Absolutely.

Bookworm: Will you be writing any more S.A.S.S. books in the future?

Linda: I doubt it. I've only lived in two foreign countries so far and I've covered both of them in the S.A.S.S. books I did write-Now and Zen and The Finnish Line. I think that will do me. Of course, I reserve the right to change my mind!

Bookworm: What do you like to do when you're not writing?

Linda: READ! Ride bikes, listen to music, hang out with my family, watch movies.

Bookworm: What was your most favorite Halloween costume ever?

Linda: A costume that I wore? That's tough. Once I went as Peter Pan and my BF was Tinkerbell. :) My favorite costume for my kids is easy - it's a monkey suit I made when the oldest was two years old. Over the years, each one of them wore it when they were that age and they were each adorable. *sniff*

Bookworm: Anything else that your readers would want to know about you or your books?

Linda: Yes! I will be the guest blogger on the Penguin Blog November 10-14th, giving answers to FAQ and some true-confession-style insights on the creation and writing of the series.

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Thanks so much to Linda for the grrrrreat interview!

Click here to check out a review of S.A.S.S.: The Finnish Line.

Click here to check out a review of Death by Bikini.

Review of Death by Latte coming soon! (:

Death by Bikini

Title: Death by Bikini

Author: Linda Gerber

Pages: 225

Puffin Sleuth, May 2008

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Recommended for: Adventurous teens, ages 12 and up, primarily girls

Rating: A

Aphra Behn Connolly leads a life that's very different from those of most sixteen year old girls. For one thing, she lives on an isolated island and helps her dad run a tucked-away five-star tropical resort that's a shelter for rich and famous celebrities who need a break from the public eye. And then there's the fact of not seeing her mother for four years when she left without a reason...Basically, Aphra's life is pretty simple, but then a mysterious family of three (including their hot son, Seth, and a load of dangerous secrets) arrive unexpectedly the day before one of the guests appears dead on the beach, seemingly strangled by the strings of her bikini top, and Aphra knows that her quiet, secluded life has been permanently altered...Aphra knows that the Mulos are hiding from something (or someone)....but what could it be? And could they be involved with the way-too coincidental murder that occurred right after they arrived? Aphra soon finds that their new guests' shady pasts have put everyone on the island's lives in danger, and she must protect the Mulos and their many secrets as well as her own life...because she doesn't know who to trust now.

   To put it simply, this novel is awesome. After I hit the middle, I simply couldn't out the book down, maniacally flipping pages until I reached the exciting climax that had my heart pumping. The plot is so well-developed that I actually thought I was Aphra. Her internal monologue is so realistic, and her personality is just so totally kick-butt (I'm jealous)! One of the best parts of Death by Bikini, I think, is the fantastic dialogue. I love how Ms. Gerber makes it seem like real people are talking, and all the realistic accents and such. The setting is so well-described that while I was curled in my beanbag chair, I actually believed I was crashing through the tropical jungle with a killer on my heels in the pouring rain. And I loved all of the red herrings that Ms. Gerber presented! I thought I'd nearly solved the mystery, but boy, was I wrong as I neared the end! Which brings me to my next point: the one thing I was disappointed with was the end. I know it was probably meant to be a cliffhanger, but [spoiler] WHY OH WHY did Seth have to leave? Boo hoo hoo. Poor Aphra. At least there's a sequel, eh? And hey, lucky me, lovely Linda sent me a copy and it's sitting right on my bookshelf....Yay! Really. This is probably the best teen mystery I've read in a long while. This series is a total winner, and I love, love, love it. Consider this novel highly recommended. (: