Rgz Salon: Irises by Francisco X. Stork, Reviewed by Lyn Miller-Lachmann

Rgz SALON member Lyn Miller-Lachmann has been the Editor-in-Chief of MultiCultural Review; the author of the award-winning multicultural bibliography Our Family, Our Friends, Our World; the editor of Once Upon a Cuento, a collection of short stories by Latino authors; and most recently, the author of Gringolandia, a young adult novel about a refugee family living with the aftermath of the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile. The book has had multiple print runs and is available for order. (Don't forget to read the fascinating Cover Story for Gringolandia.)

We're honored to have Lyn here as part of the rgz SALON, a feature where top kidlit experts clue us in to the best YA novels they've read recently. Today, she reviews Irises by Francisco X. Stork (Scholastic):

"Eighteen-year-old Kate Romero and her 16-year-old sister, Mary, have helped their father take care of their mother for years, after a car accident left her in a permanent vegetative state. The stress has taken its toll on their father, a Pentecostal minister with an increasingly restive flock. When Reverend Romero dies suddenly of a heart attack, Kate and Mary must take care of their mother themselves. Their financial resources are dwindling rapidly, and the people around them to provide support—Kate’s boyfriend, Simon; their Aunt Julia; and Andres Soto, the ambitious young preacher who intended to replace Rev. Romero even before his death—have their own agendas. When the intellectual Kate spurns Simon’s marriage proposal because she wants to attend Stanford University on scholarship and the artistic Mary falls in love with an unlikely gang member, the girls weigh, in their separate ways, their duty to family against their right to pursue their dreams.

"Stork (Marcelo in the Real World and The Last Summer of the Death Warriors) has proven himself a master of characterization and character development, and Irises—his first novel narrated from a female point of view (though in third person)—is no exception. There is a subtle creepiness in otherwise good people that draws the reader in and doesn’t let her go. Basically, no one is who he or she seems on the surface. A concerned and overwhelmed father turns out to exert a level of psychological control, even beyond the grave, that borders abuse. An ambitious preacher who challenges doctrine and urges congregants to be honest with themselves struggles with inappropriate sexual urges. (Stork’s restraint for this plot thread is masterful.) A resentful, grudging aunt makes a far larger sacrifice for family than she is willing to reveal. The reader senes the competition and jealousies beneath Kate and Mary’s apparent closeness. While Stork doesn’t feel compelled to give his protagonists a happy ending, insight into who they are serves as the first step to genuine growth and maturity." -Lyn Miller-Lachmann

Avi's City of Orphans Contest

Attention students, teachers, and librarians: Check out this news from Winding Oak about an awesome Avi contest!

Children’s book author Avi, winner of a Newbery Award and multiple Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards among his many other high honors, is hosting an “American Idol” style video contest for young readers in fourth through ninth grade. The videos are to be inspired by Avi’s 2011 title City of Orphans (Richard Jackson Books), which has already garnered multiple starred reviews in journals such as Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and Kirkus Reviews.

Any teacher or librarian is eligible to submit a City of Orphans video for a student or classroom in fourth through ninth grade. Options include formats such as live action, documentary-style, readers’ theater, costumed theater, and book trailers; the format is not as important as the entrants’ demonstration of creativity and their interpretation of City of Orphans.

Cover Stories: Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala

Diva Holly Cupala was here to talk about the cover of her debut novel, Tell Me a Secret. Now, her second novel, Don't Breathe a Word, is out this month, and it has a cover that manages to convey both darkness and sparkle! Here's Holly with the Cover Story:

"After the gorgeous cover HarperTeen put together for Tell Me a Secret, I knew to expect something fantastic for my second, Don't Breathe a Word… though it came about in a completely different (and for me, much more nail-biting) way…

"The original working title was Street Creed, which is what the design team initially had to work with. The first cover concept was… steamy (below). It featured two gorgeous creatures, probably Italian models, who met as if by chance after a swirling, beaded-dress-bedecked night for an almost-kiss. Sigh.

"But it didn’t feel like my book.

"Don’t Breathe a Word is the story of Joy, who runs away from home to escape an abusive relationship to the streets of Seattle. She finds allies who have secrets of their own, including Creed—a homeless boy who dreams of making it in the music industry.

"There is a steamy relationship (and Creed is swoonworthy!), but there are no beaded dresses. In fact, the only scene where that dress could have appeared was at a fundraiser party where Joy meets her boyfriend Asher—the dark reason she has to leave. Also, I was worried with the final title, it would look like 'Don’t Breathe a Word about that naughty thing we did after the prom.' No. Oh no..."

Read the rest of Holly's Cover Story at melissacwalker.com, and read about her amazing launch contest too!

Cover Stories: Unraveling Isobel by Eileen Cook

Eileen Cook has been here before, sharing Cover Stories for What Would Emma Do?, The Education of Hailey Kendrick and Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood (all awesome tales, btw). Her new release is Unraveling Isobel, and there's a rainbow Cover Story to tell:

"When I finished this book I was certain I knew what should be on the cover.  I pictured a creepy gothic house perched on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean.  I’d been imagining the house in the book for so long I could imagine it perfectly.  I’d even drawn floor plans of the house when writing the book.  Of course the problem with having this type of clear vision, it’s really hard to find something in the real world that matches.

"I’m incredibly lucky to work with the team at Simon Pulse. They always invite me to participate in the cover design process. They talk to me not only about what I imagine the cover looking at, but also the feeling I want the cover to impart. My cover designer, Cara Petrus, wanted to make sure that the cover had some of the creepy gothic feel, but also wasn’t too dark as the book has humor too. Cara picked up on Isobel’s interest in art and also her feeling of being trapped..."

Read the rest of Eileen's Cover Story, and see the other color scheme possibilities, at melissacwalker.com.

Cover Stories: Unbreak My Heart by Melissa Walker

Writing my own Cover Story is always odd. But here goes.

I sent Caroline, my editor at Bloomsbury, a bunch of inspiration images for this cover (one is below). You know, girl, sailboat, sun, water... okay, so I was kind of vague.


When they came back to me, it was with this first draft (right). And it DID capture the girl, sailboat, big sky stuff. But the boat? It wasn't right. So here's how I responded:

Thanks so much for sending along this design! I do like the echoing heart from SINNERS and the general feeling of being out on the water, glimmering sun, and mood of the girl. I have a couple of things I'd like to mention though:

1. That boat is a Catamaran, totally different from what Clem's family is on. I think because the boat is such a big part of the story, it matters. 

2. The pink feels a little like it veers over the cheese line. Maybe it's the pink with the heart, maybe it's the pink and purple of my name... it just feels a bit like it's trying too hard somehow to shout "Love Story!" Maybe there's a way to get a similar tone in there with a natural element, like a sunset?

And Bloomsbury was great, really took my concerns to heart. Everyone really loved the girl (myself included) so at first they tried to adjust the boat so it would look more like Clem's... but that just made it look less like a real boat. So they went in a totally different direction...

Read the rest of my Cover Story at melissacwalker.com!