The Librarian Writer

Title: Love and Other Perishable Items Author: Laura Buzo Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers Publication Date: December 11, 2012 ISBN-13: 978-0375870002 256 pp. ARC provided by publisher This novel was originally published in Australia under the title Good Oil , which makes sense once you read the book. The American title makes it sound a little chick-lit, but the book is much smarter and funnier than that. Fifteen-year-old Amelia takes a part-time job as a cashier at her local supermarket. When cute boy Chris trains her, Amelia falls hard for him. She realizes that charming, funny, smart, and occasionally brooding Chris is twenty-one, and therefore out of her league. But she cannot stop thinking about him. Or talking about him. Or making a fool of herself over him. Meanwhile, Chris is pining for a girl who broke his heart, watching his friends become more successful than him, and wondering what the hell to do with his life. The book is written from both Ameli...

Title: Tune Book 1: Vanishing Point Author: Derek Kirk Kim Publisher: FirstSecond Publication Date: November 13, 2012 ISBN-13: 978-1596435162 160 pp. ARC via Netgalley Another graphic novel book review for graphic novel fans! Derek Kirk Kim's Tune is a webcomic about Andy Go, an art school drop-out whose life gets considerably worse and wacky after he meets a couple of aliens. Tune Book 1: Vanishing Point is the print version of the first ten chapters of Andy's adventure. Chances are you know at least one person who is like Andy, a pop culture geek who thinks he's talented enough to drop out of school and become successful overnight. When that doesn't happen, Andy is pressured to find a job, any job, by his parents. Having realized that he is qualified for absolutely nothing, Andy decides to apply for a job at a zoo. Except he doesn't know that this zoo is in another dimension and he's the exhibit. And, oh yeah, he finds his long-time cr...

Title: Cardboard Author: Doug TenNapel Publisher: Graphix Publication Date: August 1, 2012 ISBN-13: 978-0545418737 288 pp. Reading copy via local library Ever since I heard Doug TenNapel speak about Cardboard at the ALA conference last summer, I've been dying to read this graphic novel. I ordered it for the library and devoured it as soon as I could (yeah, I'm a little behind on my book reviews) . Cardboard   begins with a down-out-and-out dad who doesn't have the money to buy his son, Cam, a birthday present. Cam's mom has recently passed away, and dad feels like a total failure. When the dad comes across a mysterious street vendor willing to sell him -- for the last bits of change in his pocket -- a magical cardboard box, the dad is skeptical. But the dad is good with his hands and figures he and Cam can make something cool out of it. Yes, the cardboard box is magical. Yes, they do make something cool out of it. Yes, it does go all horribly wr...

Welcome to 2013, everyone! Another year is upon us, which means fresh starts and big plans. The big thing for me this year is that the screenplay I wrote last year is going into production later this month! It's been a rollercoaster getting it to this point, but so worth it. First, major thanks to Kelli Bennett , my producer extraordinaire. She approached me with a crazy idea to make a microbudget film and I said, why not? I've always wanted to write a script that was nonlinear and from multiple points of view and I thought such a script would be perfect for an independent feature. Kelli kept challenging me to make it clearer, make it meaningful, make it better. There are still challenges to come, distribution being the big one, and I'll keep you posted throughout the year. On the fiction front, I just got back a critique from agent Mary Kole , via one of the Writer's Digest seminars . I was pleased with what Ms. Kole had to say, and after I revise via her ...