Stream-It Saturday: Rectify

Stream-It Saturday: Rectify

Sarah Moon
Television

I'm always digging around Netflix looking for shows that my husband and I will enjoy watching together. I know it's hard to believe, but he's really not up for yet another re-watch of Friday Night Lights. (I know, I know...)

One of our recent finds is the unusual and captivating Rectify, a six-episode show on the Sundance Channel, now streaming on Netflix. 

Rectify follows Daniel Holden, who's been released from prison after 19 years on death row, for six days following his return to his Georgia hometown. His conviction was vacated due to DNA evidence--which is a critical distinction from exoneration. His conviction wasn't overturned, instead, it was dismissed, meaning that he could theoretically be tried for rape and murder again.

However, guilt or innocence isn't the focus of Rectify.

 

Review + Giveaway: Under the Egg by Laura Marx Fitzgerald

Review + Giveaway: Under the Egg by Laura Marx Fitzgerald

Sandra
Books

Laura Marx Fitzgerald’s novel Under the Egg dazzled me with its complexity, its unexpected turns and its classic Shakespearean misdirection.

Early in the novel, I found the text interesting, yet without knowing precisely when, the depth and ingenuity of Fitzgerald’s writing crept up on me. The story is both profound and intricate and I could comfortably read it on any number of levels, each with its own kind of joy.

“It’s under the egg,” he rasped, his once-icy blue eyes now foggy. “Look under the egg.”

Theo’s bound by her uncle’s last words. She must delve into his mysterious legacy, go on a quest in search of an unknown treasure. Under the egg will lie both a treasure and a letter taking thirteen year old Theodora, Theo, into a world she pieces together like a painting, color by color, layer upon layer, as she delves into the puzzling enigma of her uncle’s secrets.

Stream-It Sunday: How I Live Now (Movie)

Stream-It Sunday: How I Live Now (Movie)

Sarah Moon
Movies

Have I mentioned that I am the unofficial Queen of Streaming?

We don't have cable or satellite television, so the majority of my television consumption is thanks to my beloved Roku box. (Note to self: Write a post about how we don't have cable & manage to watch a crap-ton of television.) I dig pretty deep into the streaming services for my screen time. 

For awhile now I've been meaning to start an irregular series with my recommendations for finds on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant, and so on. I thought I'd kick off this series by featuring a movie I watch with week on Netflix, the film adaptation of Meg Roscoff's How I Live Now. 

Links & Things: It's Been Awhile Edition

Links & Things: It's Been Awhile Edition

Sarah Moon
Links + Things, In the News

I haven't posted my link roundups in quite some time and there's a reason for that. I've had a problem with those posts being lifted verbatim or nearly-verbatim and re-published. This has, understandably, been pretty upsetting, so I stepped back from compiling them until I could figure out a way to still share but mitigate the chances of that happening.

Unfortunately, I don't have an answer for that, but I'm hoping that by diversifying my linkage content, it'll be less-appealing to folks who don't understand attribution and plagiarism. *cross fingers*

In Which I Help You Spend Your Ebook Settlement Refund

In Which I Help You Spend Your Ebook Settlement Refund

Sarah Moon
Links + Things

Did you get a nice surprise in your email inbox this morning? I was more than excited that I got a nice Amazon gift card thanks to the Ebook Settlement Refund.

Now I'm faced with the age-old book hoarder's dilemma: Do I maximize the gift card by strategically shopping sale items or do I splurge on some pricey picks?

So, I took one for the team and sifted through way too many pages of the bargain section on Amazon and think I'm going to go with quantity--there are just too many super-cheap options that I've had on my to-read list for ages. Plus! Apparently, we can use our refunds on both ebooks and print books, which is good news, since most of the deals I found are on the old fashioned variety. 

Here are some of my finds. These are all either books I've enjoyed, a CEFS contributor recommends, or I've heard from trusted reviewers are worth checking out.

Please double-check the pricing and format before clicking that buy button, okay? My blog software should update the price if it changes, but you can't trust technology!

Click on the cover image to visit the book's Amazon page.

3rd Annual Verse Novel Week!

3rd Annual Verse Novel Week!

Sarah Moon
Verse Week, Announcements

It's hard to believe, but we're getting ready for our 3rd Annual Verse Novel Week! This year's week of celebrating all of the awesomeness of our beloved verse novels will once again take place in the last week in April, starting on April 28th.

We've already got an extra-special podcast episode planned with an extra-special Guest of Awesome and we're spotlighting some wonderful verse novels from a number of genres. As we did last year, we're opening up Verse Novel Week for guest contributions. 

So, if you'd like to write about your favorite verse novel, sign up to read a verse novel for the first time or if you're a verse novelist, fill out the form below and we'll be in touch to coordinate!

Podcast #21 - On Love, Both Instant and Triangular

Podcast #21 - On Love, Both Instant and Triangular

Sarah Moon
Podcast: Season Two, Podcast

In this episode of the Clear Eyes, Full Shelves podcast, we dig into two sticky subjects: "Instalove" and love triangles. Our thoughts on these two phenomena are... complicated. (Shocking, I know!)

What are your thoughts on these two things? Are there instances where you're okay with love at first site and a complicated romantic entanglements? Or are you in the never, ever camp? We'd love to know, so after you listen to the podcast, drop us a note in the comments!

As always, you can listen to the podcast by streaming on this page, downloading the MP3 below or by subscribing in iTunes. If you're an iTuner, we very much appreciate your rating and reviewing the podcast, as it helps us to show up in iTunes searches and makes us feel special. ;-) We're also now on Stitcher Radio, so if you prefer that app, you can subscribe here. 

Quick(ish) Thoughts on Four Recent(ish) YA Novels

Quick(ish) Thoughts on Four Recent(ish) YA Novels

Sarah Moon
Books

I've been disinclined to write extensively about young adult titles lately, despite that I've been reading quite a few recent releases. I do have a few I want to be sure to write about more extensively (particularly the final novel in Gabrielle Zevin's spectacular Birthright series), but I wanted to share my thoughts on a few I've read recently.

Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill

Admittedly, I was nervous about reading Lauren Morrill's new novel, Being Sloane Jacobs. Lauren is one of the few authors I follow on my personal Twitter account and I enjoy her thoughts on publishing and tweets about being an extra on The Originals but I haven't read her debut, Meant to Be, and was worried that I wouldn't like her book. (I've had this happen before, enjoyed someone's online persona and their book didn't work for me--and I always fell badly about it.) 

Fortunately, my worries were completely needless, as I enjoyed Being Sloane Jacobs a bunch. The premise is essentially The Cutting Edge meets The Parent Trap, except without twins. Instead, we have two points-of-view, both girls named Sloane Jacobs. One is a stressed former competitive figure skater from a high-powered Washington, DC political family. The other Sloane Jacobs is a tough hockey player from Philadelphia with a bit of an anger problem.

 

Podcast #20: Diversifying the Shelves (Part 2) with Author Sarah Ockler & Blogger Racquel of The Book Barbies

Podcast #20: Diversifying the Shelves (Part 2) with Author Sarah Ockler & Blogger Racquel of The Book Barbies

Sarah Moon
Podcast: Season Two, Podcast

We're super-thrilled to publish the second half of our discussion with author Sarah Ockler and Racquel, blogger from The Book Barbies, about diversifying our bookshelves, how writers can work to authentically represent people of color in their fiction and recommendations for books and authors that do this successfully. You can find the first half over here. 

In this half, we get down to the nitty-gritty and recommend some novels that really, in our eyes, get it right, and why. It's important to emphasize that this is most definitely not a comprehensive conversation--if anything, it's framing questions and talking about our personal experiences. We hope to continue to explore this topic in future episodes. If you'd like to be involved in a future podcast discussion on this subject, get in touch and let's talk.

 

Evocative Gothic Horror: Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea

Evocative Gothic Horror: Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea

Sandra
Books

Gothic horror wrapped in mystery, intrigue and the supernatural was just the right blend in April Genevieve’s Tucholke’s Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea. And when I finished the final page, I was left tapping my fingers, thinking,

"Sequel, please. Puh-lease. I am not good at waiting. Patience is not a virute."

Well, I'll be waiting for it until August of 2014.

*taps fingers*

 

Twin teens, Violet and Luke, live alone in the once decadent mansion their grandmother dubbed “Citizen Kane.” Built by their fabulously rich and influential ancestors, Citizen Kane could comfortably settle into an Edgar Allen Poe story. Its wine cellar holds a chilling atmosphere perfect for The Cask of Amontillado.

Citizen Kane sits aloof atop a ridge overlooking the Atlantic, a crumbling tribute to a glorious past and a cold reminder of the depth of despair that is the present reality. The town of Echo situated near the dying mansion looks upon the twins' abode with scorn taking comfort in the downfall of a once rich and powerful family.

Violet and Luke's artistic parents leave them for months at a time while they pursue their dreams in vibrant oils and acrylics inspired by the art and history found only in Europe. "Here's some money," they would say on their way out the door. "Make it last until we return."

The money always lasted until it didn't.

The YA Crime Thriller I've Hoped For: Fake ID by Lamar Giles

The YA Crime Thriller I've Hoped For: Fake ID by Lamar Giles

Sarah Moon
Books
“You don’t have to know someone your whole life to know them. Not really. Lonely is the same everywhere.”

I've read a lot--and I mean a lot--of crime fiction, and until I picked up Lamar Giles' Fake ID, I'm certain I haven't encountered a young adult novel that really hit the notes of adult crime fiction. 

Lamar Giles' Fake ID is told from the first-person point-of-view of of Nick Pearson--and yes, that is a fake name. He's been in the federal Witness Protection Program with his parents since his father agreed to testify against the crime boss he worked for. Nick's father is terrible at being in Witness Protection and they're on their last placement--the family has to make this work or else they're out of the program, on their own and in serious danger.

Nick's starting at a new high school in Stepton, Virginia, with yet another new identity, studying his personal "legend" (the fake backstory developed by the U.S. Marshall Service for each family) and trying to stay under the radar. He's quickly befriended by Eli, rabble-rousing editor of the school paper, who's eager to recruit the new kid to his one-man journalism operation. 

Podcast #19: Diversifying the Shelves (Part 1) with Guests Author Sarah Ockler & Blogger Racquel of the Book Barbies

Podcast #19: Diversifying the Shelves (Part 1) with Guests Author Sarah Ockler & Blogger Racquel of the Book Barbies

Sarah Moon
Podcast, Podcast: Season Two

In episode 19 of the Clear Eyes, Full Shelves we are joined by author Sarah Ockler and welcome back blogger Racquel of The Book Barbies. This is the first in a two-part conversation about diversifying our bookshelves, how writers can work to authentically represent people of color in their fiction and recommendations for books and authors that do this successfully.

It's important to emphasize that this is most definitely not a comprehensive conversation--if anything, it's framing questions and talking about our personal experiences. We have a second part of this podcast coming soon and hope to continue to explore this topic in future episodes.

A Solid Story Collection: The Firefly Dance by Sarah Addison Allen & Others

A Solid Story Collection: The Firefly Dance by Sarah Addison Allen & Others

Sandra
Books

The title itself of this collection of novellas and short stories, The Firefly Dance, evokes an image of a warm summer evening—beautiful and breezeless, fireflies flittering in the dusk like jewels against a velvet sky. And like that quintessential summer scene, this unique collection brought me smiles, magical wonderment and even a few tears.

In My Dreams by Sarah Addison Allen

Sarah Addison Allen’s In My Dreams was the first novella I read--and the reason I snagged this collection from the library. I had read all of her novels with the exception of this one, and I couldn't bear to skip this one. I dove into it expecting a luscious read. Luscious does begin to express the beauty of In My Dreams.

This lovely tale told in the voice of Louise about her, her mother, her great aunt Sophie and a rich array of characters including her dog Lazarus that she seemingly brought back from the dead.

 

A Feel-Good Novel with Surprising Weight: It Felt Like a Kiss by Sarra Manning

A Feel-Good Novel with Surprising Weight: It Felt Like a Kiss by Sarra Manning

Sarah Moon
Books

But then again, one kiss from someone could mean more than a two-year relationship with someone else. A kiss could change your life.

Sarra Manning’s Unsticky is a novel I recommend all the time—I love how Manning plays with common tropes and archetypes, subverting them into fresh and witty stories. Her newest novel, It Felt Like a Kiss, is no different. And, it has the added bonus of being something of a companion novel to Unsticky, as Vaughn from that novel plays an important role in this one as the owner of the art gallery where It Felt Like a Kiss protagonist Ellie Cohen works.

Ellie lives a carefully-produced life, a reaction to her chaotic, bohemian upbringing with her musician mother.

...when all around you was chaos, you needed to find some area of your life that you could control and let that define you. It didn’t matter that she was on free schoolmeals and had a mother who wore leopard-print catsuits and dressed her in charity-shop clothes, when Ellie had the neatest handwriting in her class and was homework monitor five years in a row. Or when she had a tidier bedroom and better manners than her many cousins, who all lived in two-parent, semi-detached splendour in Belsize Park. When your boss was giving you hell and your flatmates were fighting and you’d been dumped again, there was something cathartic and peaceful in spending the afternoon in your pristine, minimalist office, rearranging your reference books by height and colour. So, a girl who could parade around Glastonbury in a spotless white dress was a girl who was calm and in control. Sometimes you had to fake it to make it.

Recommendation Roundup: Dec. 2013 & Jan. 2014

Recommendation Roundup: Dec. 2013 & Jan. 2014

Sarah Moon
Recommendation Roundup

I combined December and January's recommendation posts due to our year-end List of Awesome compilation. We have a ton of very mixed books to recommend this time--I think the only one we all read was Jennifer Lynn Barnes' super-fun thriller The Naturals, which our book club read in January. 

I had a particularly good run of books over the last couple months, including that I got to read a super-early copy of Lisa Schroeder's lovely new novel, The Bridge from Me to You, which was special to me for a number of reasons (disclosure: including this), but particularly because it reminded me so much of growing up in small town Oregon. 

I was also excited to discover Maureen McGowan's action-packed post-apocalyptic thriller series (Deviants and Compliance), which is a whole lot of fun--especially on audio. And, if you're looking for a charming adult novel about the suckitude of adulting, I have to point you to You Had Me at Hello--it was a bestseller in the U.K. for a reason, let me tell you. 

AND! One one final note, I was thrilled to read another super-early copy of a much-anticipated book, Gabrielle Zevin's The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, which I adored. If you like Zevin's novels, you'll love this one, trust me.

Obviously, Sandra discovered the awesomeness of Sarah Addison Allen this month--hooray for another convert! And I peer-pressured Laura into reading more Liza Palmer, as one does...

Onward to the recommendations!

A Grown-Up Romance for the Rest of Us: Live by Mary Ann Rivers

A Grown-Up Romance for the Rest of Us: Live by Mary Ann Rivers

Sarah Moon
Books

When I heard that Mary Ann Rivers had a series of full-length novels about an Ohio family coming out this year, I was pretty thrilled. I quite liked both of her novellas, one of which--The Story Guy--I recommended here on Clear Eyes, Full Shelves. 

“He hadn’t thought that once Destiny understood where he was going with this, where he believed them to be going, that she would retreat. He had been prepared if she looked at him straight and told him no, that she knew she belonged here. He would know, if she told him in the way she always told him everything she was sure of, that she was right. He wanted to see the world with her because even the bits of it he’d seen would look different with her along. His home was with her.”

Live is the first in Rivers' series featuring the the Burnside siblings of Lakefield, Ohio (which seems quite a bit like a fictionalized version of Columbus, Ohio). The family is deeply-entrenched in their working class city neighborhood. Each of the siblings live in the area where they grew up and one is starting a medical clinic in their neighborhood. The Burnsides' parents have passed away, leaving them physically close to each other, but adrift at the same time. 

This first installment in the series focuses on one of the two Burnside sisters, Destiny (Des), who's never left Lakefield. At 27, she finds herself unemployed and spending her days at the public library searching for job openings and filling out applications online. After six months of job-seeking frustration, she finally loses it in the library after receiving yet another rejection.

Storify: My Under the Radar YA Recommendations

Storify: My Under the Radar YA Recommendations

Sarah Moon
Listorama

A couple nights ago Dahlia of The Daily Dahlia tweeted asking for recommendations for good "under the radar" young adult novels. Being one who cannot ever resist the opportunity to book push, I jumped in with some of my favorite recommendations (Racquel beat me to the punch with one, Burning by Elana Arnold). 

Be sure to visit Dahlia's post on her blog with a roundup of the the most commonly recommended books and also visit the hashtag on Twitter--you know, in case your to-read pile isn't enormous enough. 

Here are my picks in Storify form, including links to blog posts on CEFS (or an Amazon page for more information). Thanks to Dahlia for prompting this fantastic whirl of enthusiasm for lesser-known novels.

Podcast 18: Author Elizabeth Scott on Heartbeat, Writing Angry Girls, Reader Response & the Awesomeness of Courtney Summers

Podcast 18: Author Elizabeth Scott on Heartbeat, Writing Angry Girls, Reader Response & the Awesomeness of Courtney Summers

Sarah Moon
Podcast, Podcast: Season Two

I could not be more excited to have one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth Scott, as a guest on our latest podcast episode!

Elizabeth's most recent novel is Heartbeat, which all three of us at CEFS have read and loved. It's a unique, emotionally intense, authentic examination of grief and anger that's unlike anything I've read. It's out tomorrow from Harlequin Teen and I really hope you'll check it out because it's one of my favorites of the year already. (While you're at it, you should read Miracle, which came out in 2012 and didn't get nearly the love and attention it deserved--here's my review.)

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