Monster Like Me by Wendy S. Swore

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're taking a closer look at a title that released earlier this month via Shadow Mountain.  It's a Children's Fiction title, sat squarely in the center of the Middle Grade arena, and while it is Fiction, it was inspired by the author's life.  Sounds wonderful, right?  Well, the moment that inspired it...absolutely not...but what she did with that moment, how she turned it into something relatable for readers of all ages, and made it a message of positivity instead of ignorance?  Now THAT'S what is truly MAGNIFICENT.  Ladies and gents, allow me to introduce today's book of choice...

Monster Like Me

by

Wendy S. Swore

9781629725550

Shadow Mountain

About the book...

There are trolls, goblins, and witches. Which kind of monster is Sophie?

Sophie is a monster expert. Thanks to her Big Book of Monsters and her vivid imagination, Sophie can identify the monsters in her school and neighborhood. Clearly, the bullies are trolls and goblins. Her nice neighbor must be a good witch, and Sophie’s new best friend is obviously a fairy. But what about Sophie? She’s convinced she is definitely a monster because of the “monster mark” on her face. At least that’s what she calls it. The doctors call it a blood tumor. Sophie tries to hide it but it covers almost half her face. And if she’s a monster on the outside, then she must be a monster on the inside, too.

Being the new kid at school is hard. Being called a monster is even harder. Sophie knows that it’s only a matter of time before the other kids, the doctors, and even her mom figure it out. And then her mom will probably leave—just like her dad did.

Because who would want to live with a real monster?

INDIEBOUND  |  BAM  |  B&N  |  AMAZON

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When we first met our little "monster", I just wanted to hug her. No one, especially a child, should feel like that about themselves...and what happened in the grocery store? I would have smacked the teeth right out of that woman's mouth. No lie.  I mean the audacity of some people is just beyond me!  Where did she think she had the right to say something like that to a anyone, let alone a child?!?!  I just...ugh!  *deep breath*  Anywho, moving forward...

Sophie is a special girl, and I'm not talking about her looks in the least.  She has a BIG HEART, a VIVID IMAGINATION, high level of INTELLIGENCE, and while she may depend on her 'Book of Monsters' a bit too much to get through life, there are worse things.  The biggest thing Sophie needed to learn wasn't just to let others think what they wanted and to be herself, but to SHARE her true self.  She needed to find her inner strength to say world, this is me...accept me as I am, or step aside.  She had those in her life to help her with that confidence boost, but she was so drawn into herself, so worried that even her mother would reject her, that she didn't open up...not truly...and while I'm not blaming the parent, at some point that conversation HAS to happen.  You can't just shy away from it on either side...you have to face it, own it, get down to the nitty gritty of it all, and decide just who you want to be.  Sophie was never the hemangioma on her face...she was a sweet girl that just happened to have a hemangioma.  BIG difference, but one only understood when things reached a crucial breaking point...

All in all, it was a wonderfully uplifting story with heartfelt messages to boot. I can't say I didn't cry a time or two...out of anguish (ignorant people befuddle me), and love (OMG...the wish...my heart!)...but still, Sophie is quite a remarkable, MAGNIFICENT young lady, and she can always be certain that the friendships she's made are genuine, true, and filled with love...just like her.  A great read for the kiddos just navigating the sometimes treacherous waters of growing up, as well as for older readers that need a reminder of how things are, could be, and should be, if only they had a little help from those with well placed intentions.

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About the author...

Wendy S. Swore and her family are farmers. She writes part-time, particularly in winter when her farming chores give her time to plant seeds in her imagination. She is a member of SCBWI. This is her debut novel.

SITE  |  TWITTER  |  INSTAGRAM  |  FACEBOOK

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Special thanks to Jill at Shadow Mountain Publishing for the copy for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is available now, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!

HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY to...Mustaches for Maddie by Chad Morris and Shelly Brown

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're exploring a work of Middle Grade Fiction that finds its inspiration in FACT.  That's right.  It's a true story with embellishments and I'm warning you right from the start, it will warm your heart, make you shake your fists in frustration, bring you to tears, and tickle your funny bone, all at the same time.  Yep...and I speak from experience because I quite literally did ALL of those things.  No shame in my game.  😉  Anywho, today's featured title is ready to shine, so if you'll all gather round, the big reveal will happen in 3...2...1...

Mustaches for Maddie

by

Chad Morris and Shelly Brown

9781629723303

Shadow Mountain

About the book...

Maddie is a normal twelve-year-old girl. Well, except for the fake mustaches she carries in her pocket. She likes to make people laugh and slapping on a mustache, especially a fuzzy pink or neon green one, always gets a smile. Maddie hopes that the class queen, Cassie, will find her mustaches as funny as she does and want to play with her at recess. She's been self-conscious lately because her right arm only feels normal when it's curled against her chest and she's constantly tripping over her feet. But that's probably just part of growing up and not something weird, right?

When Maddie's arm continues to bother her, her parents take her to a doctor who gives them a shocking diagnosis: the cause of the abnormal behavior of her limbs is a brain tumor and she must have surgery to remove it. She's understandably afraid as he describes the procedure, but knows she must find a way to be brave and must face her fears--all of them--at the hospital, at home and at school.

She will need all of her courage not only to face her illness, but also to face Cassie at school. Both Cassie and Maddie are auditioning for the same role in the school play, but when Cassie accuses Maddie of lying about her tumor in order to get attention, Cassie's bossiness turns into bullying.

And as Maddie's surgery approaches, she begins to worry more and more about the outcome. What if something goes wrong? What if the doctors don't get all the tumor out of her brain? What will happen to her family? What will happen to her?

It will take all of Maddie's vibrant imagination, a lot of kindness-both given and received-and of course, the perfect mustache to overcome the tough stuff ahead of her.

AMAZON  |  B&N  |  BAM  |  INDIEBOUND

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A wonderfully touching, and heartwarming story about a little girl faced with a health scare that no one, let alone a child, should have to go through. She tackles it bravely and with a ridiculous amount of style (and 'stache!), that one could only hope to have as much courage in the face of such an adversary. Though based on a true story, the fiction elements added allow readers to laugh a bit more, smile a bit wider, and, yes, cry a little harder too....but all in all give us a performance worthy of a standing ovation.

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Maddie and seeing the world through her eyes.  It was refreshing.  It was curious.  It was often times dangerous as her imagination ran wild while she made her escape from the Dragoporkisaur, faced off with the Orcalops, or made her final stand against the beast with no name but much more rooted in reality. Though not privy to the events as they unfolded back in 2013 (until now), it was wonderful to see the outpouring of love that came all in an effort to bring a smile once again to this little girl's face.  To see that effort reflected back from her innate kindness towards another seemingly less deserving of such a gesture, simply made me smile all the more.

In the end, it was MUSTACHE-ERIFFIC in so many ways, providing entertainment (in true Maddie form), but also a way for families to come together when facing unknown adversaries.  It makes the subject of health scares that much more approachable for kiddos, allowing them to see that while yes, things can happen, it doesn't mean it will.  A message of hope with a dash of style, and a side of 'stache...perfect for Middle Grade readers and beyond. 

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About the authors...

Chad Morris would love to be able to control animal avatars, see history in 3D, and show everyone how he imagines stories. Since the inventions that would make that possible currently exist only in his imagination, he settles for reading, writing, playing basketball, rappelling down an occasional slot canyon, dating his wife, and hanging out with his five awesome kids. Chad speaks Portuguese, can play the Phineas and Ferb theme song on the guitar, and does decent impressions of a velociraptor and Voldemort—but not at the same time. He isn’t very good at fixing his car, shopping for anything, cooking, or growing hair.

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Shelly has always loved children and books so when she started writing, it seemed natural to write books for children. In her spare time, she loves the theater and traveling. She is also one of the worst tap dancers you will ever meet, but she does it anyway. In addition to her five children, she has three chickens and sixty-four Pez dispensers.

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Special thanks to Michela at Smith Publicity Inc for the ARC for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the authors, the story behind the work, the publisher, or those promotions on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is IN STORES NOW via Shadow Mountain Publishing, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!



Home and Away by Dean Hughes

Hi guys and gals!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're spreading the word and shining the spotlight on a title that came to my attention earlier this month.  It comes to us from Shadow Mountain Publishing and stars a book that impacts the holiday yet spans a much larger timeframe and affects more than just one family.  It'll touch your heart in many ways and for some hit home more than you may realize at this point in time.  Ladies and gents, those you've served and those who have stood by those serving, please join me as we welcome today's book of choice...

Home and Away:

A WWII Christmas Story

by

Dean Hughes

9781629720937

Shadow Mountain

About the book...

A historical fiction novel told from the perspective of a son fighting on the battlefields of Europe during World War II and his mother, struggling with worry and uncertainty about her soldier son while she tries to keep a semblenance of a normal, happy Christmas holiday back on the homefront.Norma Hayes has always tried to make Christmas special for her family, but 1944 will make that more difficult with money being tight and wartime rationing making everything hard to come by. Aware of his mother's hardships and the worry from having her eldest son at war, second son, Dennis, is determined to buy his mother a special gift this Christmas, a lavendar blue dress he hopes will bring her comfort as a symbol of special times gone by and the hope of a brighter future with the family reunited at war's end. Meantime, on a battlefield far from home in Holland with his 101st Airborne battalion, her soldier son catches a familiar scent of lavendar which briefly transports him back to the homefront to the perfume scent his mother wore, giving him a short respite and reuniting the family once again if only in his imagination.

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This is the story of the Hayes family, but also that of many families around the world whose loved ones are serving or have served their countries throughout the years.  Our particular tale centers around WWII sharing both outlooks from HOME and those AWAY on the front lines.  It shares the heartache felt everyday as their absence is realized anew.  It shows the strength of heart they were forced to show in order to keep their daily lives going as well as the fortitude necessary to stay strong in the face of the enemy.  It also makes us privy to the particular twists and turns that life took for young Dennis Hayes while his brother was off at war.

Dennis was your average lad; afterschool job, average grades, navigating first love, helping his mom, while steering clear of his pops...the usual.  He and his father never really saw eye to eye and the absence of his older brother didn't help things in that department.  You know how some siblings simply are closer to one parent or the other?  Such was the case here and Dennis was much tighter with his mother.  His father was someone present yet not, for him at least.  He had quite a temper and when stoked by alcohol, things only got worse.  Dennis tried to be the fire blanket to his temper but things didn't always work out that way.  Theirs was a relationship that could only be grown into, not forced. 

The familial bonds were definitely stretched but when you add in the stress of having a loved one on the front lines, it became even more intense.  The lack of communication back then, or rather the delay in its arrival, was enough to put a loved one back home in one fashion or another before word of their whereabouts made it to your door.  All the while, life marches on.  Siblings grow up (in some cases faster than they need to), marriages evolve, and all that was put on hold on that fateful departure day is unrecognizable upon return.  I admit, I wasn't certain what was in the cards for Dennis' brother but when word came, I was hanging on every syllable as much as they, which brings me to another point...

There are plenty of opportunities to grab the old tissue box here, but around page 89-90, I had met my match.  I was tearing up at the sheer love Dennis showed for his mother as well as the generosity of the saleswoman in aiding his cause.  What cause you ask?  To put it simply, to purchase a Christmas present for his mom, but with money tight and expectations (on his part) high, achieving that goal was going to take a little heaven-on-earth assistance.  It was a joy to behold the kindness shown in this simple scene and a testament to the author's ability to write emotively.  If I wasn't a fan of Dennis already, that page alone would have done the trick. 

Overall, I'd say a winning read for any time of year for those that have served our country, those that kept the fires burning at home, or anyone really.  It's a Fiction read straight from the History books that reflects seasonal celebrations both then and now with spot on accuracy.  Whenever a family or friend is missing from the family photo, it's felt, more so at the festive time of year that heralds the enjoyment of that very thing.  The real yet tender way it was portrayed here leaves a lasting impression and reminds us to celebrate EVERY moment because we never know when it will be our last.

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About the author...

Dean Hughes is the author of more than eighty books for young readers, including the popular sports series Angel Park All-Stars, the Scrappers series, the Nutty series, the widely acclaimed companion novels Family Pose and Team Picture, and Search and Destroy. Soldier Boys was selected for the 2001 New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age list. Dean Hughes and his wife, Kathleen, have three children and six grandchildren. They live in Midway, Utah.

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Special thanks to Austin at Shadow Mountain for the copy for review.  (THANKS!)  For more information on this title, the author, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above.  This title is available now, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing.

Until next time....happy reading!