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Friction Won’t Rub Your Business the Wrong Way

By Brookelorren on Leave a Comment

I was at the library the other day and I picked up Friction: Passion Brands in the Age of Disruption.  I remember Glenn Beck talking about it a year ago.  At the time, it seemed like a book for larger companies with physical products, but it looked like a quick read, so I picked it up.  If you are a small business owner, I recommend you pick it up.  It’s not just for big businesses.  It’s for bloggers too.

I’ve been writing on the internet since college (and earning money from my writing for almost as long), but I still don’t earn enough to equal my pay at Walmart.  It doesn’t help that some of the places that I used to write for no longer exist, so that money is gone.  At least personal blogs don’t go away unless you want them too.  Anyway, I always feel that I can be more successful at what I’m doing.  Friction actually has pretty good advice for small businesses like bloggers.

One of the main premises of the book is this: people don’t like commercials.  Do you ever pay attention to banner ads?  Do your eyes glaze over like mine when you scroll past sponsored Tweets and Facebook posts?  I thought so.  Getting the word out about your product today is a lot different than it was 10, 15 years ago.

People like getting value for their time.  They don’t want to watch commercials.  They want personalized content.  They don’t like popup ads.  Removing the “friction” from a user’s experience will cause people to want to come back.  This is good advice, whether you are running a physical business where you want to make it easier for people to shop at your store, or if you’re running a blog and you’re hoping that people will want to come back.

The book is really easy to read.  I read it in a few hours.  The type is big and there are a lot of pictures.  Even though it’s not a densely packed book, it will get you to think, what can I do to reduce friction with my customers/readers/etc.?  That question that you will walk away with is probably the most important part of the book.

Whatever your business goals are, Friction is a helpful book to read.

Alternate Universes for Books (Top Ten Tuesday)

By Brookelorren on 32 Comments

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday Topic is technically “Books You’d Mash Together”, but I did a slightly different take today.  Since I couldn’t really think of many ways I’d mash books together (although My New Best Friend technically mashes Divergent and Legend together, I guess), I thought that I’d think of alternative universes for different books instead.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted, as always, by That Artsy Reader Girl.  Follow the rabbit hole down over there and see what other people have to say about this topic as well!

Here’s this week’s list (in no particular order):

Warcross coverWarcross in Wonderland:  If you’ve read Warcross, then you know that it’s a video game that people play with virtual reality glasses.  The possibilities for Warcross worlds are endless.  Why not have Emika fall down the rabbit hole into Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland universe?

Flame in the Mist CoverFlame in the Mists of the Middle East:  Mariko is a fairly badass character.  What would happen if she appeared in a story set in the Middle East, and she was captured by ISIS?  She could escape, then meet up with a rebel group and fight against the terrorist organization.

Legend coverA Legend in Medieval Times:  Maybe this one is cheating, because in April I woke up from a dream and ended up writing the short story Happy Birthday, which basically features some of the Legend characters on June’s 17th birthday, in Medieval times.  I made June a dutchess, Day her Captain of the Guard (previously he had been a brigand and then saved Prince Anden’s life and started working for her), and Natasha Jameson was her Lady in Waiting.  It’s not the greatest story because I put it together in an afternoon, but I do think it makes a cool alternate universe.  I’m probably going to do a fanfic of this fanfic for NaNoWriMo this year (although it’s going to be really different… it’s going to have elves and a different plot and I’m altering the characters quite a bit).

Young Elites coverThe Young Elites in Modern Times:  This is another story that I’m cheating on, because this is basically what my work in progress Gamers is all about.  In this story, Adelina and Magiano would meet in a World of Warcraft guild, then they run away from their abusive parents and end up finding other Elites like them who have already formed The Dagger Society.  Of course, Magiano wouldn’t really be a petty thief stealing candy bars from Walmart; he’d be an expert hacker who stole some of the Bitcoin that the US government had seized from people.

Strange the Dreamer CoverStrange the Dreamer in Space:  I could definitely see this book written in an alternate universe, where instead of having humans and gods, there are aliens instead.

Throne of Glass coverThrone of Glass and Ice:  The cover of Throne of Glass already has kind of an icy feel to it.  I don’t know if the story would change a lot in this one, but it would make the world a little bit different looking.

An Ember in the Ashes CoverAn Ember in the Ashes of the American Revolution:  Elias could be a revolutionary general and Laia could be helping him out.  I haven’t thought this one out much, but it might have some potential.

Caraval coverCaraval in Vegas:  Caraval already has a dangerous, risky kind of feel to it; I could imagine a kind of scenario where the story could take place in Las Vegas.

City of Bones CoverCity of Bones in Old London:  With its werewolves and vampires, I could completely see this story set in some sort of Victorian England setting.  Not the setting of queens and royalty, but the Oliver Twist, workhouses for the poor type of Victorian England.

Kiss Quotient coverThe Kiss Quotient of the Schoolmarm:  I don’t know exactly how this one would work out, as school teachers aren’t paid very much, but we could put Stella in a role as a school teacher in the 1800s in the wild west (maybe she’s an heiress or something).  She could hire Michael because she just can’t figure out how to find the right guy.

So there’s ten alternate universes for books that could have been… or could be, if you write fanfiction.  Are there any books you could imagine an alternate setting for?

My Mother, Barack Obama, and the USA

By Brookelorren on 4 Comments

My Mother Barack Obama coverAbout a month ago, I received an advanced review copy of Kevin Powell’s My Mother, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and the Last Stand of the Angry White Man.  It’s a long title for a book that’s only 281 pages long.  I think I won it in a contest.

For a book like this, it’s probably important to know a little bit about my political thoughts, because it might shape my perception of this book.  I’m a conservative libertarian.  While I think that Donald Trump’s policies have been a mixed bag, as a person, I think that he is an adulterous, racist, sexist, compulsively-lying braggart; I don’t like him as a person at all, and didn’t vote for him (I voted for Darrell Castle).

I didn’t know how I would feel about this book when I entered the contest to win it; however, I believe in listening to the opinions of others.  How are you going to learn if you live in a bubble and only read books by people that agree with you?  Nevertheless, I did find this to be an enjoyable book, even though I don’t agree with him on several issues.

This book is a collection of essays written by Kevin Powell over a period of several years.  It covers a variety of topics, including racism, sexism, music, and sports.  Evidently, Mr. Powell is a former cast member of The Real World, as well as a staff member of Vibe magazine.  I didn’t know that when I started the book, but I guess some people may recognize him from those sources.

I found this book an interesting view into another person’s thoughts.  I’ve never been the victim of sexual harassment before, but his mother has, and he speaks about her experiences, and about the experiences that he had, growing up and thinking that sexual harassment and domination was a normal thing.  His thoughts on racism from the perspective of a black man growing up in the ghetto was also interesting (my husband is also black and grew up in a poor neighborhood with a single mother as well, but his experiences were quite different).  His essays on music brought back memories.

I rated this book more highly on Goodreads than I did Harbor Me, which I reviewed last week.  They both cover similar topics, but I think that My Mother, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, and the Last Stand of the Angry White Man did a better job covering the subjects than Harbor Me did.  Of course, this is a collection of essays, while Woodson’s Book is a fictional Middle Grade book, but I think that this book just seemed to work better.

Powell’s unique perspective did cause me to see things from a different perspective.  Although I don’t agree with him on everything, I can understand how he feels about the political situation that the United States finds itself in today.  I felt for his mother, who was abandoned by her baby’s daddy years ago, and never really found love in her life.  As I read about his mom and how he one day discovered how old she had gotten, I had to call my mom (I talked to my parents for over an hour this evening).

More than anything, I could imagine the cycle of despair that his family had grown up in, and I imagine how things like that continue to this day.  There are families where the kids grow up without a parent, and they are told that they are worth less for one reason or another.  I see how people might take someone’s ignorant or malicious comments personally.  I don’t know how we end this cycle, because children growing up under these difficult circumstances can sometimes grow up to become angry adults whose children have the same kind of childhood, but I do know that we can do our best to treat everybody with respect, and do our part to try not to contribute to the hate in the world.

At any rate, Powell’s book was good.  If you’re looking for a book that could potentially challenge your opinions, you might want to take a look at it.

This book is scheduled to be released on September 4th, but you can pre-order it now.

Ever the Hunted is Ever Wonderful

By Brookelorren on 4 Comments

Ever the Hunted CoverEver the Hunted was a wonderful book.  I discovered it as I was looking through upcoming titles.  Once a King looked really interesting, but since it was the third in the series, I figured that I better start at book 1.  I was in luck, because Ever the Hunted was available at the library (I’m on the waiting list at the moment for Ever the Brave).

The book grabbed me from the beginning pages.  Our heroine, Britta, is in a tough situation.  Her papa died, and the king is ready to come and take her lands, because she can’t inherit it.  She hasn’t seen her ex-boyfriend Cohen in over a year, but that doesn’t matter anyway, because she could never marry him anyway: he has a noble heritage and can’t marry an outcast like her anyway.

After she gets caught poaching, she is asked to go find the murderer: her ex-boyfriend Cohen.

Dun dun dun!!!

If you want to find out what happens, you’ll have to read the book.  As the story progresses, we find out that things aren’t exactly as they initially appear to be.  Britta finds out that she is not exactly the person she thought she was.  She finds out that there is more that she can do than just finding out who killed her papa — she needs to try to save the kingdom itself.  Even if it costs her her life.

I loved this book from the very beginning.  The characters’ struggles grabbed me from the start, and they were well-written.  There were many supporting characters, many which seemed to have their own personalities and desires.

The world was interesting.  There are two main countries in this story, both of which seem to have their own unique personalities.  The two countries are at the verge of war, and you can feel the tension as a result.

This book is suitable for teens of all ages.

I’m looking forward to getting to the front of the waiting list at the library for Ever the Brave.  I can’t wait to read more of this trilogy!

Get To Know Me Tag (Writer’s Edition)

By Brookelorren on 4 Comments

You may have seen this tag floating around the blogging sphere lately. I chose to accept the challenge from Rachel. The tag was started by Savannah and the rules are as follows-

• Link back to the person who created the tag.
• Thank the person who tagged you.
• Share the tag graphic
• Tag eleven bloggers (I’m actually just tagging anybody who wants to do it though)

Vital Stats and Appearance

  • Name: Brooke Lorren (well, that’s my pen name.  It’s my real first name and an alteration of the spelling of my middle name.  BTW, my real middle name comes from the Lord of the Rings.  Not only was I partially named after an elf, my kids were named after bookish elves as well; it’s a multi-generational thing already).
  • Nicknames: Brooke.  My boy calls me something that you would probably pronounce as Mamu (we have an oo language that we made up together, so sometimes I’ll tell him “I love oo”).
  • Birthday: June 22
  • Hair color and length: Light brown/Dark blonde.  Been dying it that color since college.  Goes halfway down my back.  The only time since 1st grade that it’s been short was in boot camp.  Hated it short both times.
  • Eye color: Blue
  • Braces/piercings/tattoos: Had braces for years, but got them off before I graduated high school.  I have one piercing in each ear.
  • Righty or lefty? Lefty
  • Ethnicity: Mostly European.  German (once when I was in Germany someone stopped me and asked me for directions auf Deutsch), English.  I have done a lot of ancestry work and the earliest non-northern European ancestry comes about in the 12th century.  My grandma said that we’re part Nez Pierce Indian, but I haven’t found that yet in my research.

Firsts

  • First novel written: It was a fanwork I wrote in the 11th grade about a girl who started a music group and got into a relationship with a guy from a particular band (who will be nameless).  My second book was called Save the Best for Last, which had a soundtrack to it.  I wrote that in 12th grade.
  • First novel completed: Same
  • Award for writing: Probably the Rising Star award given out by Associated Content (which has long been shut down).  Before that I was named a Featured Reviewer at Epinions.com, but I don’t know if that counts.  I probably got some sort of writing awards in school too.
  • First Publication: I did get a poem published in one of those books that are probably a scam, LOL.  Yahoo! did pick up one of my articles once.  Other than that, I publish electronically.  I write for Archive of Our Own (AO3) and worked as a content producer for Empirical Marketing for a little over a year (but they had a terrible business plan and I knew they wouldn’t be able to keep paying me for very long).
  • First Conference: Never been to one.  Maybe someday.
  • Query/Pitch: I don’t have anything to query at the moment.  I plan on making this year’s NaNoWriMo novel something that I can submit.

Favorites

  • Novel (that you wrote):  Hmm… it’s a novella, but so far I think I like Republican Phenoms the best.  Out of my unpublished works, Saving Adelinetta might have the most potential, but I have a lot of work to do on that one to make it good.  Hero will probably be really good once I can finish it and polish it up.  I’m in the “wrapping it up” stage of the first draft of that one and I think the story itself is pretty good.
  • Genre: Fantasy or dystopian.  Maybe a combination of both.
  • Author: Marie Lu.  Veronica Roth takes a close second, although there are many amazing authors out there.
  • Writing Music: Silence.  I also think about my writing in silence.  I often will not have music or podcasts on in my car just so I can think about my work.
  • Time to Write: Evenings.  Unless I work until 11, then I sometimes don’t have time.  Sometimes in the afternoons.
  • Writing Snack/Drink: tea and water.  I try to drink one kombucha a day (a kombucha a day keeps the doctor away).  I don’t usually eat snacks.
  • Movie: Probably Forrest Gump.  I don’t watch a lot of movies though.
  • Writing Memory: Nothing in particular comes to mind.
  • Childhood Book: I loved a lot of books as a kid, including Little House on the Prairie and Anne of Green Gables.  I don’t really think I had a favorite childhood book.
 

Currently

  • Reading: My Mother.  Barack Obama.  Donald Trump.  And the Last Stand of the Angry White Man by Kevin Powell (as I write this on Monday).  I’ll be starting another fiction book shortly; perhaps before I finish this one.
  • Writing: I’m currently polishing up (and publishing on AO3) My New Best Friend.  I have four other WIPs, Like Normal People (2 1/2 chapters to go; I started that 2 1/2 years ago), Hero, Saving Adelinetta, and Gamers (which is on hiatus, more than likely, until 2019).  I’m making plans for my untitled NaNoWriMo novel.  I know a couple of the characters, have got an inkling of the magic system, am doing a little worldbuilding, etc.  I won’t write a sentence on that one until November.
  • Listening to: Nothing  If I’m not thinking about my stories, I’ll listen to podcasts or one of my playlists in the car (with a wide variety of music).
  • Watching: I don’t really watch much TV.  I used to watch Survivor and The Amazing Race, but I haven’t in a while.  I’ve seen the first season of The Americans.  When I go to my Russian meetup group we sometimes watch movies and TV shows in Russian.
  • Learning: I’m a polyglot, so when I’m not focusing on writing, I’m learning languages.

Future

  • Want to Be Published: Sure!  I have a goal to get 1500 rejections, unless I get published first.  But first I have to write something that isn’t fanfiction.  I always stumble there.  But my latest fanworks have had a lot more original characters and plots, so I am getting better at it.
  • Indie or Traditional: I will try for traditional, but I’m not the kind of person who lets my work sit in a drawer forever.  If I write something and it doesn’t look like it will ever get a chance with a traditional publisher, then I’ll self-publish it.
  • Wildest Goal: I don’t think I’ve thought that far.  I’ll take whatever comes.

Nominees

  • Anybody who wants to write this!  I’m really not a tagging kind of person.

The Kiss Quotient Adds Up!

By Brookelorren on 10 Comments

I recently saw a review for The Kiss Quotient and saw a review that made it look good.  The main character is an econometrician who has Asperger’s.  You had me at math, LOL!  It certainly looked like a unique kind of love story.  I had recently read a string of dark fics where the guy and the girl aren’t together at the end of the story, so I wanted something different.  We can’t read Holocaust stories and stories with war all the time!

Our protagonists are Stella, the econometrician with Asperger’s, and Michael, who works part time as an escort to help solve his money problems.  Stella has really bad luck with relationships.  She really doesn’t care for them, but her parents are bugging her about grandchildren.  Stella decides to hire Michael to teach her about relationships and sex.

Michael is getting a little tired of his job, but he needs to keep doing it because he needs the money.  When Stella hires him, he’s expecting an old lady, but he’s happily surprised when he finds a lady that he’s quite attracted to.  He doesn’t think that she needs to hire an escort, and initially doesn’t want to work with her (she wants to hire him for more than one Friday, but he has a rule to not work with someone more than once), but he eventually agrees.

I liked the characters.  Even though I don’t have Asperger’s, I can see a lot of myself in Stella.  Like Stella, boys have never asked me out (there’s a reason why I met my husband on the internet).  I rehearse conversations in my head before I have them, and sometimes I almost have a panic attack when I have to call someone on the phone.  So I found myself identifying with her quite a bit.  She is also a person who has interests and dreams, and is not a stereotype.  Michael is a kind person, which is exactly what Stella needs as she gains confidence with relationships.  He has family and friends that make his life fuller.  As you read the story, you discover why he needs all of this money.

The Kiss Quotient is not a young adult book; it has some scenes that are not appropriate for non-adult teens.

If you’re looking for a light book, The Kiss Quotient might be for you.  It’s a cute little read that will keep you entertained.  I would consider reading Hoang’s next book, The Bride Test (which deals with Michael’s cousin Khai, who also has Asperger’s) next year.

August Monthly Deals on Amazon.com!

By Brookelorren on Leave a Comment

I have recently discovered how wonderful Amazon.com’s sales can be.  While I’ve known for a while that Amazon has plenty of free books, I’ve often found them to be either books in the public domain or ones that were just “meh” to me.  However, if you look at the right time, you can find books on sale that might already be on your TBR for $1.99 or $2.99.  Here are the books that are on sale in August that I’m most interested in (or have already read):

Renegades CoverMarissa Meyer’s Renegades is on sale this month for $2.99!  I haven’t read it yet, but it’s been on a lot of people’s favorite book lists.  Maybe it will be one of your favorites!

Three Dark Crowns coverThree Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake is on sale this month for $1.99!  It sounds like an interesting story and I’ve thought about getting it.  Now would be a good time to do so.

I’m not a huge fan of superheroes, so I’ll probably pass on this one myself, but Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo is on sale for $1.99 this month.  It’s part of the DC Icons series.

Batman coverAlthough I’m not a fan of superheroes, I do like everything that Marie Lu publishes, and I did like her Batman: Nightwalker.  It’s on sale for $1.99 this month!

Those are the books that seemed most interesting to me that are on sale at Amazon.com this month.  This link will lead you to a list of the rest of the great August 2018 deals, if you’re interested in seeing more!

July Monthly Wrap-Up

By Brookelorren on 4 Comments

So it’s already the last day of July, and another time to do a monthly wrap-up.  Here is what happened for the month of July:

Books Read:

I finished 10 books this month, plus I also reread Like Normal People, since it’s a goal of mine to finish it in August.  When I was reading through it, I discovered a minor error that persists through the book, so I’ll probably go through the published copy on AO3 and fix them.

  • Origin – Dan Brown
  • Ever the Hunted – Erin Summerill
  • Throne of Glass – Sarah J. Maas
  • The House of One Thousand Eyes – Michelle Barker
  • Batman: Nightwalker – Marie Lu
  • Summer Days and Summer Nights – Various Authors
  • 1,000 Years, 1,000 People – Various Authors
  • Red Queen – Victoria Aveyard
  • Harbor Me – Jacqueline Woodson

Blog Stats

  • I gained 41 Twitter followers this month, up to 1570.  My goal was 1550; a few days ago I was three away from that goal, but I got a boost at the end of the month for some reason.
  • I have 7k monthly views per month on Pinterest.
  • I have about 250 monthly users on my blog.  Tuesdays are generally my best day (Top Ten Tuesdays).
  • I have 9 posts written that haven’t been posted yet.  I have generally been able to keep up with my scheduled posts (I have a calendar that tells me what posts I want to publish when) even though I now have to work again.

Writing

  • I won Camp NaNoWriMo this month with a challenge that I got on Facebook.  I was challenged to write a Gen Fusion fic… or a fanfict without a love relationship that combined two different fandoms.  I wrote My New Best Friend with those parameters, and I think it turned out well.
  • I realized that we only have three more months before NaNoWriMo this year, and I have four works in progress.  Not going to be able to finish them all.  So… I have decided to put Gamers on hiatus until 2019.  I’m not sure where I’m going with that anyway; I just have the characters and an inkling of what’s going to happen, but I don’t know for sure.  The other fics are all at least 2/3 complete, and I know how I want to end them all.  So I’m going to try to finish the first drafts at least.

Life

This month I had to go back to work after taking a leave of absence for a month.  Life has been pretty busy as a result, but I still was able to get a lot done.

We have decided to let my daughter go to public school this year… ugh.  She’s been homeschooled since she was 3 1/2.  I don’t know if she’ll like it, having to get up early every day like that, doing her homework, etc.  We told her that she can’t fake being sick and she has to do her homework, but this is what she wants… so… she’ll have to live with it.  We’re trying to get her either into an art-focused charter school or a school in another district, because her default school is evidently not that good.

In August, I start teaching Spanish and German again.  It will be my third year teaching these classes.  I still get nervous teaching them, even though I’ve done this twice.

So that’s all for this month.  Hopefully I’ll be able to report that I FINALLY finished writing Like Normal People in August!

Popular YA Books That I Loved

By Brookelorren on 26 Comments

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday Topic is Technically “Popular Books that Lived Up to the Hype,” but since I’ve really only been paying attention to new releases of books for a few months now (in fact, I missed the fact that my favorite author had a book coming out last year until after it was out), I can’t tell you which books were hyped and which books were not.  So… I will be posting the top 10 most popular YA books (according to the Goodreads YA by year lists) from the last 5 years that I loved.

As usual, if a book is part of a series and multiple books of a series are eligible for this list, they will be listed together.  And as always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Summer Days and Summer Nights Cover10.  Our tenth book to make the list is Summer Days and Summer Nights, which I just finished a little over a week ago.  It was the 26th most popular book on the Goodreads YA list of 2016.  If I were to redo this list in a couple of months it probably wouldn’t make the list (since there are a lot of books that were more popular that I have yet to read) but today it makes the list.


The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh9.  Number nine on the list is The Wrath & the Dawn, by Renée Ahdieh.  Since I haven’t read The Rose and the Dagger yet, only this book makes the list.  The first week of June was a Renée Ahdieh week this year, as I read this book on June 3rd and immediately read Smoke in the Sun on June 4th (I was so excited because it arrived a day early, LOL).  Renée Ahdieh is the first of two authors to have to books (or book series) to make this list.


Young Elites cover8. The second author to have two books on this week’s list is Marie Lu.  All three books in the Young Elites series were fairly popular on the Goodreads YA lists (The Young Elites was #14 in 2014, The Rose Society was #11 in 2015, and The Midnight Star was #15 in 2016).


Strange the Dreamer Cover7.  Lazlo might have a Strange name, but Strange the Dreamer was a very popular book, and I loved it as well.  I can’t wait for Muse of Nightmares later on this year, but since that one hasn’t been released yet, it’s not eligible for this list.


Warcross cover6. Warcross is the second Marie Lu book to make this list.  It was the 6th most popular book on the Goodreads YA list of 2017, although it was my #1 book from last year.  Since I haven’t read Wildcard yet, it’s not eligible for this list, although I’d be willing to bet a year’s salary that I will like it once I get to read it this September.


5.  Caraval was the fifth most popular book of 2017, and it comes in on today’s list at number five.  Since I still haven’t read Legendary, that book does not make today’s list, but chances are I will probably like it once I get the chance to read it.


Flame in the Mist Cover4.  Number four on today’s list is the other Renée Ahdieh book, Flame in the Mist.  Because I also loved Smoke in the Sun, that book also places here.  Flame in the Mist was the fourth most popular book of 2017.


Carve the Mark cover3.  Veronica Roth’s Carve the Mark was immensely popular last year, coming in at number three on the Goodreads list as well as on today’s list.  I also loved The Fates Divide, so that also gets a spot here on today’s list.


An Ember in the Ashes Cover2.  Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes books get the number two spot this week.  A Torch Against the Night and A Reaper at the Gates also share this spot.  The first two books in this series were both number 6 on the Goodreads list in 2015 and 2016, but A Reaper at the Gates is number 3 on the 2018 list, which is why it ranks so high here (in case of a tie, the newer book wins out).


1. I just finished Red Queen on Saturday, so it barely makes its debut on this web site by only a few days.  It was the second most popular book on the 2015 Goodreads list (#1 was Winter, which I haven’t read yet), and so it makes top spot on this week’s list.  I have not read any of the other books in this series yet, so this is the only one in the series that is eligible for this week’s list.


And that’s this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, tracking the most popular YA books released in the last five years that I have read and loved.  Have you read any of these?  What is your favorite popular YA book?

Harbor Me is Preachy but Potentially Useful

By Brookelorren on Leave a Comment

Harbor Me coverI recently read Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson.  It is a middle grade book that I received through Penguin’s First to Read program.  So far, I’ve had pretty good luck with this program, getting chosen for two books already.  Anyway, Harbor Me is a middle grade book where a bunch of kids talk about contemporary issues that kids face today.  While I thought that it was good, it came across as a little preachy.

The kids in Harbor Me are six kids of different races that go to a mostly-minority school in the Bronx.  The narrator is an eleven-year-old mixed race girl whose father is in prison (during the story you discover why).  These six kids are placed in a “special” classroom, and have a caring teacher that they like.  At the beginning of the story, their teacher starts putting them in the ARTT room every Friday for them to talk.  ARTT stands for “A Room to Talk”.

I did enjoy reading about their stories.  Esteban’s father was taken by immigration; Tiago is Puerto Rican and is upset when people tell him to not speak Spanish with his mother.  Another kid was told that he couldn’t play with toy guns any more because his parents were afraid that he’d be shot.  All of the kids have things they have to deal with.

This book addresses a lot of situations that kids might be going through these days.  A middle-grade reader might find this useful if they are going through difficult times as well.  This book is good in that it addresses these topics and might make kids feel a little less alone; it also may help kids feel compassion for other children that they may know that could be going through these things.  A little compassion is always a good thing.

The kids behaved like you would expect 11 year olds to behave.  Since there are six characters in this story and it’s fairly short, it really didn’t get the time to allow the reader to get to know them incredibly well.

That, I think, may be where this story falls a little short.  The book mainly focuses on the issues that these kids are having with the hot-button political issues of our day.  11 year olds might be also having trouble with peer pressure, girls, school work, etc., but these kids are all dealing with race issues and the like; in reality, kids are dealing with everything all at once.  This book feels a little preachy in that almost the entire story is politics-driven

Perhaps it is the setting that these kids are in, but I think that it paints these issues too stereotypically.  My kids are mixed-race.  When the boy came to school one day and talked about how his parents no longer allow him to play with Nerf or water guns because they’re afraid of their child getting accidentally shot by the police, I think of my own boy, who likes to go to the neighbor’s house down the street and have water-gun fights.  Never once in my life have I ever thought to tell him to not play those games because of his brown skin.  Maybe it’s different for us because we live in a nice neighborhood where people aren’t afraid to leave their garage doors open all day, and not the Bronx.  I felt that perhaps people might come away with the wrong impression though, thinking that all parents of brown children are afraid of their kids getting shot by the police if they play with guns.  That is simply not the case.

Overall, while I think that this is a book that definitely points out problematic issues of our day, I think that it focuses a little bit too much on that.  This book would have been better if it would have been a little longer and made these characters more real than just kids with stereotypical problems.

Harbor Me is scheduled to be released on August 28th, but you can pre-order it now.