Fans of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series, may be aware that he’s recently released The Red Pyramid, which is the first novel in a new series called The Kane Chronicles. I have this one on my wish-list, and from what I’ve heard  it’s great!

Here’s a bit about The Red Pyramid from the official website:

Since their mother’s death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane.

One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a “research experiment” at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives.

Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them–Set–has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe – a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

If for some reason you’re still not sold, or like me you have to wait until you can own for it yourself,  you can check out a preview of the first chapter of the book here!

Ahhh! I’m a bit overloaded at work this week, and with that comes overtime and working lunches, and ultimately less time to read. And if like me, you use reading as a chance to escape the craziness of every day issues, being too busy to read can be a double downer.

So, my fellow readers, I come to you for tips!

How do you manage to sneak in time to read when life is too busy to let you actually sit down and enjoy a good book?

I usually like to steal a few minutes of reading at lunchtime, but with people coming in my office cubicle every five minutes to discuss work, even that’s not happening right now! My poor books look so lonely… what’s a stressed out girl to do?

Tell-All
by Chuck Palahniuk

Summary

Tell-All shares an inside look at the life of Katherine Kenton, Hollywood starlet extraordinaire. This fictional biography, packed with 50’s references is told by Katherine’s personal assistant Mazie, who considers herself to be the conductor of Miss Kathie’s life. What starts out as a gossipy expose, morphs into a twisted noir mystery.

Review

Chuck Palahniuk is a master of language with amazing descriptive abilities, but the case of “Name dropping Tourette’s Syndrome” he developed for Tell-All grows tedious quickly. Some pages contain upwards of 20 bolded names referencing 50’s era celebrities, politicians and media personalities! Unfortunately (for me) Tell-All is set before my time, and most of these references went over my head, causing me to spend a great deal of time on Wikipedia looking up names. This made for some very slow reading, but I did learn a variety of fascinating things in the process. (Tell-All would make a great e-book if you could click on the many references and get explanations as you went along.)

The characters, though entertaining were fairly one dimensional, which works to reinforce the Hollywood stereotypes, but also keeps the reader from developing any sort of attachment to them.  Instead of chapters, the book is broken down into acts and scenes. The story is told in first-person narrative and often reads like stage directions, frequently dissolving into flashbacks, interspersed with Hazie’s recounting of events. These variations were somewhat confusing at times, but as with most stories that jump back and forth chronologically, everything eventually falls into place. While the plot is a bit weak at first, the story eventually reveals itself to be a murder-mystery and things pick up from there. I thought the ending was great and loved that it caused me to view events of the novel in a new light.

Verdict

It took me a long time to get into Tell-All by Chuck Palahniuk, but if you persevere, it all comes together in the end.

*This book was provided for review by the publisher.

Next up in our Summer Book Club selections is The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson.

I read  this wonderful book by debut author Nelson, and I was so moved that I actually hugged the book for a minute when I was finished! And since we’re all about sharing the book love, I just had to share this one with all of you, so I made it our WAGB Book Club selection for June.

To learn more about the book, check out my review. (It’s fairly spoiler free, but if you’re really worried about spoilers just skip the middle “Review” portion of the review.)

I can’t wait to be able to discuss The Sky is Everywhere with fellow book lovers, so please grab a copy and join us in the discussion at the end of the month. I promise you won’t regret it!

As promised, today we have a very interesting interview with author Lesley Anne Cowan. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Lesley, here’s a bit of background info. from her website:

Lesley Anne Cowan was born in Toronto and studied English and education at McGill University in Montreal. She has traveled extensively and works as a secondary school teacher of troubled youth in Toronto. As She Grows, which is her first novel, was shortlisted for the Chapters/Robertson Davies First Novel Prize and is published by Penguin Books.

I’ve read and really enjoyed both of Lesley’s books (As She Grows and Something Wicked), which focus on troubled teenage girls.   I have friends with teen daughters going through some of these issues, and I found both books to be very enlightening. I think it’s important that the stories of these troubled young girls be told, and  Lesley has done a wonderful job of  providing some insight to what can be a very confusing situation for those on the outside.

Lesley was kind enough to answer some questions for us here at With a Good Book. Read on to learn what she has to say about writing, troubled teens and superpowers!

Where did the inspiration for Melissa’s character come from? What made you want to tell her story?

I wanted to write about anger. I also wanted to explore the choices young women are making about their bodies. Adults think that the bartering sexual acts for marijuana is just for urban teens but it’s not true. There are young people in rural settings who are doing the same (in the high school washroom!). All of this really intrigues me. Why do they do it? What are the gains? What are the losses? I also wanted to write about the coping mechanisms teens use to deal with undiagnosed depression. Their dangerous high-risk activities (drinking, crime, sex, etc.) can result in punishment instead of treatment. It’s often very difficult to know why a teen is acting out. It can be the result of bad decision-making but it can also be the result of other underlying issues.

You work with at risk youth, but your books are told from the teenager’s point of view. Is it difficult to tell the stories from the opposite perspective? What was the hardest part of Melissa’s story to write?

No. It’s very easy for me. In terms of adolescent subject matter, I never thought about writing from an adult point of view. That would be interesting. The hardest part of Melissa’s story to write was the scene with Giovanni. That broke my heart.

Both your books give hope by showing that teens in trouble can turn their life around by making the right choices. Leaving a troubled home for a group home, opening up to a good counsellor, or switching to a different school for example. Are these options available for all troubled youth?  I think it’s important for society to know if help is available for those that want it.

So much help is available, should a teen a) want it  b) know about it. Problem is, it’s so difficult for a teen to actually get to the point where she admits she has a problem (especially with drug). Even then, a parent usually has to ‘force’ them (or probation officer) to attend a special school, etc. Teens so often live in the present and don’t worry so much about their future. Ages fourteen to seventeen are the worst. After that, I think they get scared about their future when they see some of their friends moving on to achieve other goals. It’s getting them through the 14-16 years that’s key! Unfortunately, many of the resources for teens are in the city. The best place to start to look for help is with the internet or school guidance counsellor.

Continue reading the rest of our interview with Lesley Anne Cowan

Something Wicked
by Lesley Anne Cowan

Synopsis

16-year-old Melissa is struggling with everything in her life. She can’t seem to stay out of trouble at school, she’s angry all the time, and the people she counts on never seem to make the right choices.  Her mother, her boyfriend and her friends always seem to pick the path that leads them – and Melissa – into more trouble.  When the one good thing in her life ends, Melissa spirals out of control, aware that she’s on a destructive path but unsure of how to stop herself.  Only when she hits rock bottom, is Melissa able find the strength to make important changes in her life.

Review

Something Wicked is populated with a variety of realistic characters who are both layered and flawed, starting with Melissa who is tough yet sensitive, to her mother who is flighty but loving, to her boyfriend who is caring yet distant. Tying this book to Cowan’s first novel are the secondary support characters who also helped Snow (from Cowan’s first novel As She Grows) with her troubles, such as Eric the counselor and Mrs. Dally the teacher at the school for troubled teens. Although these characters play small roles in the novel, it’s clear that these are people who can make a huge difference in a troubled teen’s life. As we follow Melissa on her decent into depression, and then as she struggles to make her way back, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the story and forget that this is actually a fictional tale. With natural dialogue and real-life drama, Something Wicked is a well-written cross-section of a difficult of life that’s been spread open for us to witness.

Verdict

Something Wicked is a dark and emotional story that will touch readers from all walks of life. I enjoyed Melissa’s story and look forward to more novels from Lesley Anne Cowan.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for our fascinating interview with author Lesley Anne Cowan!

*This book was provided for review by the publisher.