Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Blog Tour of Gadget Girl: The Art of Being Invisible by Suzanne Kamata

 
Gadget Girl: The Art of Being Invisible by Suzanne Kamata
Publication: May 17th 2013
Genre: YA Contemporary

Synopsis:
ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS meets STONER AND SPAZ

Aiko Cassidy is fourteen and lives with her sculptor mother in a small Midwestern town. For most of her young life Aiko, who has cerebral palsy, has been her mother's muse. But now, she no longer wants to pose for the sculptures that have made her mother famous and have put food on the table. Aiko works hard on her own dream of becoming a great manga artist with a secret identity. When Aiko's mother invites her to Paris for a major exhibition of her work, Aiko at first resists. She'd much rather go to Japan, Manga Capital of the World, where she might be able to finally meet her father, the indigo farmer. When she gets to France, however, a hot waiter with a passion for manga and an interest in Aiko makes her wonder if being invisible is such a great thing after all. And a side trip to Lourdes, ridiculous as it seems to her, might just change her life.

Gadget Girl began as a novella published in Cicada. The story won the SCBWI Magazine Merit Award in Fiction and was included in an anthology of the best stories published in Cicada over the
past ten years.


Review:
When I found out about Gadget Girl, I was intrigued. Not only did it sound different than a lot of YA books out there,  I consider myself somewhat of a Gadget Girl! 

From the first chapter I was hooked on the story, of course I have to admit that was in part by the fact the the Magna character, Gadget Girl's real name was Lisa. There are times throughout the book that I even forgot that Aiko had cerebral palsy, I was drawn in more by the storyline and her take on situations. She was so caught up about her disability and her estranged father in Japan that she didn't take time to remember was was important or to acknowledge situations going on around her. Aiko seemed to want to live in the manga comic books she created and not in her own life.  Her only hope came from her best friend Whitney in Michigan who suggested she visit a grotto with healing powers when her Mother announced they were spending the summer in Paris. Her point of view changed thanks to boy named Herve. 

While in Paris, Aiko experienced the sights, sounds and smells of Paris but that is not all. She met, Herve who didn't see her as a girl with a cerebral palsy but a beautiful young woman with talent. Aiko realized that she needed to forgive in order to live. I think a lot of people could benefit from this lesson. 

This book had a wonderful array of family, friends, romance and adventure.

I give this the Gadget  & Book World Stamp of approval and would recommend it to anyone. 

Lisa @ GadgetsNBooks


AUTHOR BIO
Five-time Pushcart Prize nominee Suzanne Kamata is the author of the novels Gadget Girl: The Art of Being Invisible (GemmaMedia, 2013) and Losing Kei (Leapfrog Press, 2008), and editor of three anthologies - The Broken Bridge: Fiction from Expatriates in Literary Japan, Love You to Pieces: Creative Writers on Raising a Child with Special Needs, and Call Me Okaasan: Adventures in Multicultural Mothering (Wyatt-Mackenzie Publishing, 2009). Her short fiction and essays have appeared widely. She is the Fiction Co-editor of literarymama.com.

Author Links:
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More Tour Stops

May 15th
-Wintry Words >> Excerpt
-Bookwyrming Thoughts >> Guest Post

May 16th
-Izz "Pingle" Bookish Place >> Interview 
-Sab The Book Eater >> Review
-Must Read Faster >> Review

May 17th
-Lola's Reviews >> Review 
-Carti nemuritoare >> Review
-Books and Insomnia  >> Excerpt
-Alexa Loves Books  >> Review

May 20th
-Cherie Reads >> Review
-Bookworm's Multiverse >> Interview
-Moosubi Reviews! >> Excerpt

May 21st
-JennReneeRead >>  Review
-Mythical Books >> Excerpt 
-Word Spelunking >> Review + Interview
-Alice Marvels >> Review

May 22nd
-Reader Girls >> Review + Interview
-lilybloombooks >>  Review

May 23rd
-Actin' Up with Books >> Review 
-Curling Up With A Good Book >>  Guest Post

May 24th
-Tumbling In Books >> Review
-Nazish Reads >> Review
-Total Book Geek >> Review
-Mother/Gamer/Writer >> Review
-Froggarita's Bookcase >> Interview

May 27th
-Book Adoration >> Review
-Reviewing Shelf  >> Review
-Teen Blurb >> Review + Guest Post    

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Blog Tour: Giveaway of Rotten by Michael Northrop


I am ecstatic to be part of this blog tour hosted by Savannah at Books With Bite. Check out the tour page HERE for the schedule.


Rotten
by Michael Northrop
Expected Publication Date: 04/01/2013
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

From goodreads.com
Jimmer "JD" Dobbs is back in town after spending the summer "upstate." No one believes his story about visiting his aunt, and it's pretty clear that he has something to hide. It's also pretty clear that his mom made a new friend while he was away---a rescued Rottweiler that JD immediately renames Johnny Rotten (yes, after that guy in the Sex Pistols). Both tough but damaged, JD and Johnny slowly learn to trust each other, but their newfound bond is threatened by a treacherous friend and one snap of Johnny's powerful jaws. As the secrets JD has tried so hard to keep under wraps start to unravel, he suddenly has something much bigger to worry about: saving his dog.
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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday: Hidden

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event that spotlights upcoming releases that we can't wait to get our hands on...hosted by:
 
 
Hidden
by Marianne Curley
Expected Publishing Date: 06/25/2013
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
 
 
From Barnes & Noble:
For as long as Ebony can remember, she's been sheltered. Confined to her home in a secluded valley, home-schooled by her protective parents, and limited to a small circle of close friends. It's as if she's being hidden. But something is changing in Ebony. Something that can't be concealed. She's growing more beautiful by the day, she's freakishly strong, and then there's the fact that she's glowing.
On one fateful night, Ebony meets Jordan and she's intensely drawn to him. It's as if something explodes inside of her—something that can be seen from the heavens. Ebony still doesn't know that she's a stolen angel, but now that the heavens have found her, they want her back.
 
 

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday: This Is What Happy Looks Like

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event that spotlights upcoming releases that we can't wait to get our hands on...hosted by:
 

This Is What Happy Looks Like
by Jennifer E. Smith
Expected Publication Date: 04/02/2013
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

From: goodreads
When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds.

Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs?

Monday, February 25, 2013

Hold the Door!

In my regular quest for useful, yet fun, gadgets I have found yet another great one! This is a nifty way to keep a door propped open at home or at work. This will come in handy when I don't want my dog to accidentally shut himself into a room and them rip up the floor or carpet when trying to get out. (Yes this happened). What a thing to come home to. It won't happen again with my new door stop!