Great Time at Gardner Betts

Last week I had the privilege of speaking to about 75 teens at the Gardner Betts Juvenile Detention Center. The kids - ages 12-17 - have a lot of time to read without the distraction of TV and video games and they were a great audience. One boy said, "My friend was dissing me for reading your book because it's pink, but I told him 'I don't care! It's about the mob and I like it!'" Another boy said, "Dude, just take off the cover. That's what I did." Devo Carpenter is the librarian who created this award winning program called 2nd chance Books and she is my new hero. The kids have great books to read because of her. Check out their website.

I guess I haven't posted my recent review from VOYA. It's a good one! Yay! "Lurie's first person narrator makes this novel come alive. April is bright and insightful. 'I was the oddball, the embarrassing question mark in our family.' Readers will identify with her situation. 'After all, I needed someone to rescue me from my boring life.' Start to finish it is April's story, one that most girls in junior high and high school will enjoy."