INK Sisters Write

Dear Alison, I do love book recommendations. Sometimes my #TBR pile resembles the leaning tower of Pisa. If I discover that a book towards the bottom of pile is a MUST read such as PAX, I pretend I'm playing Jenga and yank that book out. Normally, I manage to win the teetering game. Other times, I lose and need to re-stack.  This past month, I've been eyeball deep in writing Book Two of the Starr Fall series , Starr Lost . Happily, I submitted Book Two last Friday, and now I'm catching up on all the work I've neglected including my TB-Reviewed pile. My TB-Reviewed pile closely resembles my #TBR pile.  Exhibit 1:  Yep, it ain't pretty. Well, the books are certainly pretty, but the size of the pile is unsightly. You see Alison, as an author, I've come to realize just how important book reviews are. The more reviews a book receives, the more likely search engines, including the all-powerful Amazon, will bring that book to the top of their lists rather t...

Dear Kim, I am happy to hear that you are feeling better (Baby too.) You and I find common ground in our young adult, even adult, book recommendations. I typically leave Donna to send us recommendations about terrific Middle Grade novels. But, boy oh boy, do I have one for you today. WONDER by R.J. Palacio Poster of precepts by one of my lit circle kids. I need to keep up with the best in Middle Grade fiction in order to engage my small literature group of amazing readers that I meet with at our local elementary school. This school year we've already read Kathy Erskine's Mockingbird and R.J. Palacio's Wonder . Currently we are enjoying Kwame Alexander's The Crossover . When we finish Alexander's novel-in-verse, our next pick is PAX . Oh, PAX . I could write a love song about this book. Hey, that's not a bad idea. The kids might enjoy writing a song about the love between Peter and Pax. Peter and Pax were best friends. Peter, age twelve, ne...