First, I’d like to tell you about another fantastic historical fiction book from Crispin Books. It’s Odin’s Promise: A Novel of Norway by Sandy Brehl (http://www.amazon.com/Odins-Promise-Norway-Sandy-Brehl-ebook/dp/B00KOX940K), and it’s set during World War II, the first year of German occupation in Norway. I’ve read many WWII/Nazi books, but the fact that this one is set in Norway and wonderfully told from the point of view of a young girl, full of personality and spunk, makes it stand out. Odin is actually a Norwegian elkhound and belongs to 11-year-old Mari. Odin has a way of unfortunately attracting the attention of the German soldiers in the beginning of the novel, and Mari soon discovers that soldiers do not have Norway’s best interest at heart and many of the villagers are NOT happy. There’s an underground resistance movement that Mari and her family are drawn towards, and this leaves the book full of tension and keeps readers turning pages faster and faster to find out what is going to happen to Mari and Odin. I recommend this book to any middle-grade reader, teacher, parent–it’s a great book!
Sandy has a website at http://www.sandybrehl.com/blog/, where you can read an excerpt, find a study guide that includes information about Common Core Standards, FAQ about the book, and more. It’s a great resource for anyone who loves the book and/or wants to use it in a classroom or book club. Thank you to Sandy and Crispin Books for supplying a copy for me!
Besides this review, I wanted to share that my All-Star Sale ($1.99 on e-copy of YA Caught Between Two Curses until July 18 at 10 am CST OR $6.95 for a print copy until July 20) is still going on! I’m sad that the National League lost the game, but still happy to have a whole half of a season of baseball left.
And you can still enter to win a $25 gift card or 3000-word edit on the Rafflecopter form on this post: http://margodill.com/blog/2014/07/14/all-star-week/
Finally a SHOUT OUT to two great bloggers and writing friends who hosted me on their blog this week, during the ALL-STAR party. On Cathy C. Hall’s blog, I discuss how I hear a lot of reviews for CBTC start with–”I don’t really like baseball, but. . .” and then I go on to contemplate whether subplots/expectations should or should not get in the way of what we want to read. On Becky Povich’s blog, I wrote about what draws us in to a book. Is it the characters? The plot? Nostalgia? Join in the discussion here: http://beckypovich.blogspot.com/2014/07/guest-margo-dill-author-friend-books.html . And over on the Lit Ladies blog, I’m talking about girls and friendship, including trying to decide if my main character Julie is a very good friend or not!
All right, check out Odin’s Promise and enter to win a prize at one of the links above. Cheers!