You Are My Only: Beth Kephart

Can we take a moment to thank Egmont for publishing another Beth Kephart exquisite novel? Thank you, Egmont!

You Are My Only will be released October 25th, and I encourage you then to find Beth's newest book. In this realistic fiction novel, you'll breath despair along with several suppressed characters. You'll turn pages and yearn for them each to find hope. One story tells of a young mother's loss of her baby, while the second winds a tale of a teen sequestered from society. How the works intertwine is brilliant. From beginning to end, images and movements echo and resonate back and forth between the stories. At the reveal, I actually stopped reading, stunned by the moment of truth.

As always, I was mesmerized by Beth's rich writing. Even in the smallest detail:

"There is a bird making a tree branch heavy, her gray belly bottom like the high back of the sun."

"Outside the wind sneaks up under the loose skirt of the roof tiles..."

Nesting in the story are sweet truths of life that you can grapple with and then possibly hold.

"Tragedy and blessing," Miss Cloris says. "Sometimes they're the same one thing."

"What do you suppose any of us, Sophie, wish to be remembered for? For the things that tried to stop us or the ways we carried on?"

I'm still thinking over the latter. I'm challenged to find the truth that I would ultimately hold.

You Are My Only is current, relevant, and gracefully written with gripping realism. There is no shrinking back. Thank you, Beth, for staying truly dedicated to the fine art of writing.

You Are My Only
by Beth Kephart
EgmontUSA

What d'ya think? Black Swan

Because I was a former member of the Miami Ballet Company, I had so many friends ask what I thought of the movie Black Swan. It kept coming up continually in conversation. At the same time, my daughter was warning me not to watch it due to what she had heard of the imagery and suspense.

The movie kept niggling me, and so I watched, mostly to see how they filmed a ballet movie with a lead who had only studied a year, no matter how rigorously. I say wholeheartedly, that Natalie Portman's acting and dedication deserved the acclaim she received. That aside, I have to say the movie was a huge disappointment to me on several levels.

* This ballet movie was basically shot from the chest up. I understand wanting to be close to the dancer, to feel as if the viewer is on stage, but this is a ballet movie. The decision was an obvious solution to cover lack of technical dance skill.

* The work claimed to be a representation of the ballet world. While I appreciated the realism of how the art taxes the body, it is not part of the culture for ballet masters to molest their dancers in order to better role depictions.

*  I found the plot shallow, as a mirror of Swan Lake, while I was essentially watching an adult version of Tangled.

* The graphic sex scenes reminded me Halle Berry's performance and award for Monster's Ball. I don't find the overtly explicit content necessary for either plot line, and the result is that those scenes become too dominant in the pacing. I can only hope that Oscar attention is not brought to these films because of the scenes. It would belittle both the actors and viewers.

* I never experienced the terror intended and actually laughed when Nina's legs were transformed.

Positively, I thought the sound effects helped propel the story. I found the mother to be the most engaging, layered character.

At the conclusion, I felt like I had watched an episode of Dancing with the Stars instead of So You Think You Can Dance, despite Natalie's fierce dedication and work. Ballet can't be mastered in a year. My gut reaction was to reach for The Turning Point. There is a ballet movie built on a solid plot, with exquisite performance, and without contrivance.

A Map of the Known World: Lisa Ann Sandell

How lovely is Lisa Ann Sandell? VERY! And not just because I'm partial to verse novelists. :~) Or because her middle name is Ann without an "e," too. Her latest work is prose, and it launches in a few short days!



Cora is dealing with the death of her older brother, Nate. Surviving in a small town while trying to unravel who her brother really was, she dreams of distant places she might one day visit. Her passion is to draw beautiful enhanced maps. When Cora begins to relate to Damian, the boy who survived her brother's car crash, she finds truth, friendship, and her own way through her world.

"They say no land remains to be discovered, no continent is left unexplored. But the whole world is out there, waiting, just waiting for me. I want to do things-I want to walk the rain-soaked streets of London, and drink mint tea in Casablanca. I want to wander the wastelands of the Gobi desert and see a yak. I think my life's ambition is to see a yak. I want to bargain for trinkets in an Arab market in some distant, dusty land. There's so much. But, most of all, I want to do things that will mean something."

A Map of the Known World is a beautiful contribution to YA lit. The inclusion of art as a means to heal and understand is so well done and uplifting. In keeping with the novel's themes, Lisa has uploaded a virtual gallery. What a marvelous idea! She was kind enough to accept my collage for my latest work in progress. Look for Secrets!

Brava, Lisa! And happy launch to you!

A Map of the Known World
Lisa Ann Sandell
Scholastic Press, 2009

Total Constant Order: Crissa-Jean Chappell

I just finished Total Constant Order by Crissa-Jean Chappell. What a strong book she has contributed to YA literature. Pick up this work and enter the mind of Fin who is experiencing Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, OCD.

Following the divorce of her parents, Fin's mind twirls in the world of numbers as she reaches for control. From visiting a counselor, to dealing with Paxil and the side effects, Fin negotiates her situation. Thayer, working through his own ADD and drug habit, comes carefully and patiently alongside Fin. The two help each other find their own answers to functioning in a world that can't be controlled.

I was completely absorbed by Fin's thought process. I found the novel's pacing almost reflected the staccato beat of OCD. Set in my own stomping ground of Miami, Florida, the setting becomes a major character reflecting Fin's growth. From bufo frogs to manitees, it felt like hot, humid home to me.

I'm so pleased this literary work has brought to light the experience of someone living with OCD. It has given me an understanding and compassion. Thank you, Crissa!