ACADIAN STAR Ontario launch! (and cupcake carnage)
Date: Friday November 28, 2008Posted in: Acadian Star
I’m coming off the high of another wonderful ACADIAN STAR event (or maybe those are the extra sprinkles on my cupcake talking).
The Ontario launch was held this morning at the Markham Village Library. What a GORGEOUS library!
The children’s librarian, Jennifer, was wonderful and had prepared the space for our arrival. And by the way, Markham residents are some of the most prolific library users in Canada. Yay, Markhamites!!
About 90 people were in attendance, lots of familiar faces and some new friendships, too! I talked about being an author, answered lots of amazing questions (kids ask SUCH good questions) read a chapter of ACADIAN STAR and signed lots and lots of books afterward.
And of course, what’s a party without cupcakes…
Oops! I was a bit too late for the ‘before’ picture.
Thanks for coming, everyone! And thanks to the Markham Village Library for helping to make this event such a huge success!
It’s events like these that remind me what a wonderful job our librarians are doing promoting books and getting people excited about reading. So if you haven’t already, please get a library card and visit your local library!
From the publisher:
“Get off of there, Craig!” shouted Shawn. “I can’t! I’m slipping!” wailed Craig. Shawn leaped back onto the ice. He took a breath and jumped over the widening crack, grabbing his little brother by the coat as he flew through the air. Both boys fell heavily to the ice on the other side. The boys stared in horror as the crack widened to reveal an eddy of churning, foaming brown water. Tony, Craig, and Shawn are trapped on an ice floe on the Petitcodiac River in the dead of winter, and the rapid current is pulling them toward the ocean. Twelve-year-old Petra arrives and the boys think they’re saved, but their dangerous journey is only just beginning. The boys and Petra face peril at every twist and turn of the river in Chocolate River Rescue, an exhilarating adventure based on true events. They also learn that a river of chocolate is far better served warm, over ice cream, than cold on an ice floe!
An exciting read from start to finish, Jennifer McGrath Kent kept my attention from the time the trio became stranded on the ice floe and started drifting down the river to the heartpounding rescue. Petra is brave, resourceful and plucky. Shawn and the other two boys are believable and clearly drawn. Boys and girls will enjoy this tale of adventure, danger and heroism. Chocolate River Rescue is a treat! I’ll be recommending it with two enthusiastic thumbs up.
I just finished reading MACKENZIE, LOST AND FOUND by one of our very own kidcritters, Deborah Kerbel and adored it.
From the publisher:
Fifteen-year-old Mackenzie Hill knows something is up when she arrives home to find her father making a home-cooked dinner, instead of his standard delivery pizza. But nothing prepares her for the bombshell announcement: Mackenzie and her dad, alone since the death of her mother a year ago, are moving to Jerusalem, where her father has taken a position as a visiting professor at a university.
The adjustment from life in Canada to life in Israel is dramatic – though it’s eased somewhat when Mackenzie is befriended by an American girl in her new school. The biggest shock of all comes when Mackenzie faces the wrath of her new friends, new community, and even her own father after she begins dating a Muslim boy.
Deborah Kerbel weaves a very convincing tale of a Canadian girl, adrift in an unfamiliar land. Angry at her father for ripping her away from her friends, Mackenzie begrudgingly settles into her new life, her new school and surprisingly to her, begins to forge new friendships and gain appreciation for her new life in Israel.
Deborah uses a first person narrative with her MC, Mackenzie and contrasts that POV very skillfully with the third person perspective of Mackenzie’s new Muslim boyfriend, Nasir. The contrasts of the two characters is striking, Mackenzie with her priviliged life and naivete and Nasir with his gritty upbringing and divided loyalties. The two characters are classically star-crossed, but as their friendship deepens, Mackenzie’s character grows in conviction and Nasir’s grows in hope for a better life.
A wonderful tale with believable characters and an imaginative premise.
Utterly enjoyable!
Great job, Deborah!!
If you’re anywhere near Markham, Ontario next Friday (click to enlarge):
