Barnes & Noble First Look Club Selection: Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell

I first discovered book blogs through Barnes & Noble’s First Look Book Club. One of the participants mentioned several book blogs and sources of ARCs. That was a few months and one FL Book Club selection ago.

I haven’t been able to be as active in my last First Look Book Club this August, but the book selection was terrific yet again. The FL selections are always by debut authors and they tend to be books that I wouldn’t have heard of on my own. I’ve enjoyed some more than others but these last few have been wonderful. Let me tell you more about Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell.

Canadian cover – US cover – UK cover

Synopsis, courtesy of Barnes & Noble (First Look discussions):

Spring 1938. After nearly two years in prison for the crime of stealing his own grain, Ukrainian immigrant Theo Mykolayenko is a free man. While he was gone, his wife, Maria, their five children, and his sister, Anna, struggled to survive on the harsh northern Canadian prairie, but now Theo-a man who has overcome drought, starvation, and Stalin’s purges–is determined to make a better life for them. As he tirelessly clears this untamed land, Theo begins to heal himself and his children. But the family’s hopes and newfound happiness are short-lived. Anna’s rogue husband, the arrogant and scheming Stefan, unexpectedly returns, stirring up rancor and discord that will end in violence and tragedy.

Review:

The story of Theo Mykolayenko and his family is heartbreaking and carefully crafted. Each character is well developed and tormented in his/her own way from Theo, his wife Maria and each of their children to his sister Anna, her husband Stefan and their two children. Reading Under This Unbroken Sky, it is hard to stop. The power comes from the beautiful melding of characters, events, and unforgettable writing.

If you are looking for an unusual and moving read, I highly recommend Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell.

About the Author, courtesy of her website:

Shandi Mitchell is a writer and filmmaker. She graduated from Dalhousie University with a degree in English and Theatre and then moved into film. Her award-winning shorts have been featured at festivals across North America. In 2008, she was awarded the Canada Council’s Victor Martin-Lynch Staunton Endowment for outstanding mid-career achievement in Media Arts.

Her debut novel Under This Unbroken Sky has been sold in seven countries and was simultaneously published by Penguin Canada, Weidenfeld & Nicolson (UK) and Harper Collins (US) in August 2009.

Raised on the prairies, Shandi now makes her home on the east coast of Canada, very close to the water, where she lives with her husband, Alan, and their dog, Annie.

Learn more about Under This Unbroken Sky at Shandi Mitchell’s website.

The Mystery of the Third Lucretia by Susan Runholt (A Kari + Lucas Mystery)

“This is the story of how two teenagers from Minnesota lived a tale of adventure involving a woman from ancient Rome, a seventeenth-century painter, forgery and murder, abduction and rescue, disguises and deductions, two continents, three museums, four countries, a criminal hideaway, and two nuns from Amsterdam’s famous Quarter.”
-The Mystery of the Third Lucretia by Susan Runholt

I was intrigued by this book from the start. Books with museums, child detectives, art fraud and adventures have always come through for me, ever since I stumbled upon E.L. Konigsburg’s The Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

I don’t want to reveal too much about this book and think that the passage above tells you everything that you need to know. If it intrigues you, then I recommend that you get yourself a copy of The Mystery of the Third Lucretia. I’ll limit myself to two sentences. The writing, characters, and adventure will not disappoint. I promise. That’s it.

If you’re not drawn to the book, then it’s likely not a fit. No worries – there will be plenty of other books for you and plenty of readers for these Kari + Lucas mysteries. I hadn’t mentioned that The Mystery of the Third Lucretia is the first in a series, but it is! I love series books because I can get invested in the characters knowing that even if the book ends the adventures don’t. The second of the series came out on August 20, 2009. The third is still in the works.

Though I didn’t tell you much about The Mystery of the Third Lucretia, if you’d like to learn more, you might enjoy reading Susan Runholt’s post on how the book came about because of her daughter Annalisa. And how Annalisa helped her come up with the book.

Here’s a little more about Susan Runholt, from her website:

Susan Runholt shares her teenage heroines’ love of art and travel and commitment to feminism. She has traveled extensively in Europe, Asia and Africa, and lived in Amsterdam and Paris, working as a bank clerk and an au pair. She’s also been a waitress, a maid, a motel desk clerk, a laundress, a caterer, and director of programming for South Dakota Public Television.

For the past two decades she has lived in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where she serves as a fundraising consultant for social service and arts organizations. She was named runner-up for the Debut Dagger Award by the Crime Writers’ Association of Great Britain for The Mystery of the Third Lucretia. Her next mystery in the Kari and Lucas series, Rescuing Seneca Crane, will be published by Viking Children’s Books in summer 2009.

Visit Susan Runholt’s blog to read about her, her daughter and what she’s working on now.

Book Review: Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love & Spain by Lori L. Tharps

Synopsis:

In Kinky Gazpacho: Life, Love & Spain Lori Tharps takes us on an unusual and enjoyable journey. The book is part coming of age story, part narrative of a young woman finding herself, and part love story.

Lori Tharps was born and raised in middle class comfort in the suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she was often the only person of color in her school and neighborhood. Feeling dislocated in her home city and fascinated by other cultures and countries from a young age, Lori took all the available opportunities to travel from school sponsored exchange in Morocco in high school to spending her junior year of college in Salamanca, Spain. Lori went to Spain hoping that she would find a place where race doesn’t matter. Although Lori didn’t come across this idealized place, Spain was a did bring her self discovery and love and marriage with a young Spaniard.

Review:

I found Kinky Gazpacho a sensitive and fascinating read. The anecdotes of her childhood reveal the playground slights and ways that she was treated differently from her peers without bitterness or anger. I found Lori sympathetic, plucky and interesting – the sort of friend that I would loved to have at that age. I enjoyed reading about the different stages of her life and the ways that she and Manuel made a life for themselves and their family.

Kinky Gazpacho is a wonderful read and I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a memoir, coming of age story, or an unusual and satisfying read.

Publisher: Washington Square Press (May 26, 2009), 240 pages.
Book was courtesy of Color Online’s Summer Madness Contest.

Quick contest closed

Thanks so much for participating! The winners of Tamed by a Laird by Amanda Scott will be notified by email.

quick book giveaway for Tamed by a Laird by Amanda Scott

Two of the winners were kind enough to let me know that they’d won the book on other sites. If you’d like a copy of Tamed by a Laird by Amanda Scott, please email me at gaby317nyc AT gmail DOT com with your mailing address. I’ll give preference to those that reply first and those that haven’t won lately. I’ll email the winners but if you don’t hear from me, please assume that someone else has won.

Thanks again to Anna and Hatchette Books Group for sponsoring this giveaway!

Book Review: Tamed by A Laird by Amanda Scott

Review of Tamed by a Laird by Amanda Scott

Synopsis:

Young, wealthy, and orphaned and living in the 1300s, Jenny Easdale is in the unenviable position of being engaged to her guardian’s brother-in-law, Reid. While Reid is good looking, he’s immature and spoiled. Reid hasn’t had experience managing an estate but expects to run Easdale once they’re married.

During her betrothal celebration, Jenny yearns for adventure and with little planning, decides to sneak out with her personal servant when Peg visits her cousin among the entertainers. Jenny passes as her maidservant’s cousin and takes on the role of a singer to be able to join the troupe. During their travels, Jenny overhears a strange conversation that may prove treasonous.

Meanwhile, when her guardian realizes that Jenny’s missing, it’s Reid’s elder brother, Hugh Douglas, that offers to bring Jenny back. When Hugh finds her, he decides to listen to her pleas and agrees to protect her cover and become part of the traveling troupe himself while searching for the mysterious conspirators. As Jenny and Hugh work together, they gradually become friends. As Hugh realizes that Reid would be a bad match for Jenny – Reid would try to control her without understanding or valuing her strengths. So, what should they do when circumstances offer Hugh and Jenny the chance to be together?

Review:

Amanda Scott has delivered a fun and exciting romance set in medieval Scotland. Jenny Easdale is spirited, generous, and beautiful. Hugh Douglas is a wonderful romantic lead. Together, they make Tamed by a Laird an enjoyable escape – either for the beach or during a rainy day.

Publisher: Forever (July 1, 2009), 432 pages.

Courtesy of the publisher.

Thanks so much, Anna and Hatchette Books Group for this opportunity!

Friday 56: Week 14

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*Post a link along with your post back to this blog and to Storytime with Tonya and Friends at http://storytimewithtonya.blogspot.com/
* Don’t dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Here’s mine:

I felt like Lucas and I needed more time to figure out how to handle the situation, but we just had to go on the best we could.

“Hi, Mom,” I said, trying to smile.
“Hi, guys,” she said. “I’m glad to see you survived your day in one piece.”

Normally Lucas and I would have made some sarcastic comments, asking her how much trouble she thought we could get into when we had to talk to her on Robert’s mobile phone every hour.

– The Mystery of the Third Lucretia by Susan Runholt

On President Obama’s Nightstand: The Way Home by George Pelecanos! Enter the giveaway

George Pelecanos’s The Way Home is one of the books that President Obama brought on his vacation. Realizing that we might want to check out The Way Home for ourselves, Miriam and the Hatchette Books Group are generously sponsoring giveaways of George Pelecano’s book.

Curious? Watch the trailer for the book below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZyQwC5EIck&feature=player_embedded

Learn more – visit George Pelecanos’s website at http://www.georgepelecanos.com

CONTEST DETAILS

To enter, share your favorite read of the summer.

Rules:
1. Please include your email address, so that I can contact you if you win. No email address, no entry.
2. For an extra entry, sign up to be a follower. If you’re already a follower, let me know and you’ll get the extra entry as well.
3. For another extra entry, subscribe via googlereader or blogger or by email and let me know that you do.
4. For another extra entry, follow me on Twitter or become a follower of miaking on Twitter. If you’re already a follower, let me know and you’ll get the extra entry.
5. For another entry, blog about this giveaway and send me the link.
6. Leave a separate comment for each entry or you’ll only be entered once.

The contest is limited to US and Canada only. No P.O. boxes. The contest ends at 6 pm on September 21, 2009.

Learn what else President Obama’s got on his nightstand here.

Want another chance to win The Long Way Home? Check out these participating sites:

http://startingfresh-gaby317.blogspot.com/
http://www.eclecticbooklover.com/
http://irecommendgreatreads.blogspot.com/
http://sharonsgardenofbookreviews.blogspot.com/
http://imbookingit.wordpress.com/
http://ajourneyofbooks.blogspot.com/
http://www.bookblabbing.blogspot.com/
http://www.thatsanovelidea.blogspot.com/
http://www.libslibrary.blogspot.com/
http://reviewfromhere.com/
http://www.bellasnovella.com/
http://www.trishasbookshelf.blogspot.com/
http://www.crazy-for-books.com/
http://silviareads.blogspot.com/
http://bookfoolery.blogspot.com/