Hey Everyone, Happy Independence Day! July is here and I just arrived home from Peru yesterday, full of knowledge, culture and bug bites. I had a great experience with 9 students and a teacher friend of mine. We met and traveled with a group from Eugene, Oregon and one from Chicago, Illinois. It is truly good to be home as I missed my family and reading. Not much time to read when you are climbing Machu Picchu and seeing Peru. OMG, I absolutely love traveling.
The Minnesota Author in the Spotlight here on Booksnob for July, is Pat Schmatz. She has written several books for Young Adults. I met Pat at the Teen Lit Fest in May and I attended her writer's workshop. She teaches writing classes on-line and in person. I think you are really going to like her books. Her latest is Bluefish and it has received lots of awards and praise.
Hew newest book, Lizard Radio will be released this Fall.
Here is the synopsis from Goodreads for Bluefish and Lizard Radio
Travis is missing his old home in the country, and he’s missing his old hound, Rosco. Now there’s just the cramped place he shares with his alcoholic grandpa, a new school, and the dreaded routine of school. But that’s before Travis meets Mr. McQueen, who doesn’t take "pass" for an answer—a rare teacher whose savvy persistence has Travis slowly unlocking a book on the natural world. And it’s before Travis is noticed by Velveeta, a girl whose wry banter and colorful scarves belie some hard secrets of her own. With sympathy, humor, and disarming honesty, Pat Schmatz brings to life a cast of utterly believable characters—and captures the moments of trust and connection that make all the difference.
Lizard Radio
In a futuristic society run by an all-powerful Gov, a bender teen on the cusp of adulthood has choices to make that will change her life—and maybe the world.Fifteen-year-old bender Kivali has had a rough time in a gender-rigid culture. Abandoned as a baby and raised by Sheila, an ardent nonconformist, Kivali has always been surrounded by uncertainty. Where did she come from? Is it true what Sheila says, that she was deposited on Earth by the mysterious saurians? What are you? people ask, and Kivali isn’t sure. Boy/girl? Human/lizard? Both/neither? Now she’s in CropCamp, with all of its schedules and regs, and the first real friends she’s ever had. Strange occurrences and complicated relationships raise questions Kivali has never before had to consider. But she has a gift—the power to enter a trancelike state to harness the “knowings” inside her. She has Lizard Radio. Will it be enough to save her? A coming-of-age story rich in friendships and the shattering emotions of first love, this deeply felt novel will resonate with teens just emerging as adults in a sometimes hostile world.
This month you can expect a book review, a giveaway, an author interview and if we are lucky a guest post written by Pat. For information about Pat Schmatz and her other books please check out her website at http://www.patschmatz.com/
