Hope in the Holler

HOPE IN THE HOLLER

Plea, pen, plan, rope, pine, peer, help, hint, rot, PO (post office--does that count?)...I've never been good at word games. I hate to admit this but my fifteen year old daughter has beaten me the past three nights in Scrabble. That said, I'm sure you can find many more words in the title.  But...are yours all relatable to the story?  At least I can say mine are. And there's one more four letter word that I will keep to myself, but know that it describes exactly what life is like with Samantha Rose as your unofficial guardian.

When 12 year old Wavie's mom dies of cancer, she ends up with her mom's only living relative, Samantha Rose. It is strange, though, because her mom never mentioned she had a sister.  With a court date looming that will assign Samantha Rose guardianship, Wavie and her friends try to stall all plans to keep this from happening because life in Conley "Convict" Hollow is just plain awful.  Imagine Cinderella in Appalachia, but worse.  No ball in Wavie's future as long as Samantha Rose is in charge. 

Or is there?  With her gifted and talented neighbors and friends, Gilbert and Camille by her side, a dash of perseverance, hope, courage and a positive attitude, maybe there is light at the end of Convict Hollow.

A combination of the play on words and the southern setting, had me thinking of Natalie Lloyd immediately.  Then I couldn't get Wish by Barbara O'Connor out of my head either.  The characters are lovable, diverse (ethnically and socioeconomically) and relatable. The story is so full of heart and hope and as sweet as the tea in Kentucky.  Get your copy today!

The Key to Extraordinary by Natalie Lloyd

I knew Natalie Lloyd was special after reading and sharing A Snicker of Magic with all my students last year. I just didn't realize how extraordinary she is. Now I do. And if I were you I would move "lickety-split fast (p.35) to your nearest bookstore on Tuesday, February 23, to pick up a copy of her newest book, The Key to Extraordinary so you, too, could be inspired and dazzled by Natalie's magical way with words.

12 year old Emma is waiting for her Destiny Dream to happen. When she does have it, she's hoping it will be clear what her destiny will be.  This may not be as easy as it sounds.  Women in her family for generations and generations have done extraordinary things so there is quite a lot of pressure on Emma to live up to her own destiny. Even when she has the special dream, things become a bit more complicated.  

To make matters worse, Warren Steele is threatening to come to town and tear down Emma's beloved family owned Boneyard Cafe.  Emma's got to find the treasure, knowing that if she does, she will be able to stop Mr. Steele.  Or will she?  What could possibly be in that treasure that could save her family and her town? Needless to say, Emma is determined.  She will "save [her] town's heartbeat--the Boneyard Cafe." (p.85)

There is so much in this novel to love.  The language for one.  The morning after Emma has her dream she is so nervous that she wonders, "Is it possible to be so nervous your brain coughs up words you didn't even know it'd stored?" (p.60) or "Everything wonderful is possible." (p.149) or "When life gets heavy, sometimes your heart needs to cut loose." (p.163) or....and I could go on and on.

I love all the characters and want to enjoy a long mug of Boneyard Brew with each and every one of them. Well, maybe not Warren Steele or Beretta Simpson.  But everyone else, of course! And believe me, you can taste and smell that delicious, undeniably unique Boneyard Brew through the pages. Are they making books now with "smell-i-vision" or "taste-i-vision"?  If so, this one has it! It's that special ingredient for sure.

And then there's the music!  There are obvious music references and other more subtle ones, like the crow named, "Penny Lane."  Some you didn't think fit in but they actually did, like Emma listening to "White Stripes."  I know I was happy when Patsy Cline was mentioned.

I'll tell you what, we don't have to think twice about what Natalie Lloyd's Destiny Dream was--It's writing these incredibly magical lovely middle grade novels, with fun loving characters who you want to become BFFs with, join their Club Pancake. Seriously, although this is not a sequel or even a companion novel to Snicker, but Felicity's way of seeing words has certainly rubbed off on Natalie through Emma Pearl Casey's voice.  

ps-I have to thank Victoria Coe, author of the next book on my TBR pile, Fenway and Hattie,  for sending me her ARC after reading a tweet of mine on how I tried to reserve a copy from the library  only realizing it was not out yet!  Victoria went that morning to the post office and mailed me her copy!  The #kidlit world is amazing all around!  I owe her a cup of Boneyard Brew for sure!

Dear Mr. Principal, I have redeemed myself....

Today was one of the top five days of my career, no doubt.  And I do believe if I didn't completely redeem myself for that epic observation fail Tuesday, I hope I came pretty darn close.

Was it the Beekle?  Did Castleton become Midnight Gulch?  I don't know, but whatever it was, a "snicker of magic" appeared at Castleton Elementary School this morning.  Fifth graders rocked the house after sharing a winning flag and singing and performing an original song to the tune of "Hey Mickey" called "Hey Chris."  Then, in a magical spindiddly moment, I leapt into the crowd and all our students screamed when they found out that Chris Grabenstein is coming AGAIN to our school in January, just one day after the release of Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics! Believe in the impossible and you just don't know where it will lead you.

Finding out Chris is coming!

*References to A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd and Fourteenth Goldfish by Jenni Holm.