Happy Book Birthday – Help Wanted Must Love Books

March 2, 2020July 2, 2021 ~ Patricia ~ 2 Comments

It’s been a while since I’ve done a Book Birthday post on the blog, and today’s is extra special. My good friend Janet Sumner Johnson’s debut picture book HELP WANTED MUST LOVE BOOKS is out in the world today and it is adorable and amazing!!

Happy Book Birthday | Help Wanted Must Love Books | www.patriciabaileyauthor.com

Shailey loves bedtime, especially reading with her dad. But her dad starts a new job, and it gets in the way of their bedtime routine. So Shailey takes action! She fires her dad, posts a Help Wanted sign, and starts interviews immediately. She is thrilled when her favorite characters from fairytales line up to apply. But Sleeping Beauty can’t stay awake, the Gingerbread Man steals her book, and Snow White brings along her whole team. Shailey is running out of options. Is bedtime ruined forever?

See, adorable, just like I promised in my Goodreads review:

Help Wanted, Must Love Books by Janet Sumner Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A sweet and funny read that both kids and adults will enjoy.
A solid story, great illustrations, and a host of fun characters make this a must for anyone’s picture book shelf. The resumes at the end were a perfect and adorable touch. I’m looking forward to more from this author.

View all my reviews

Head over to your local independent bookstore or to one of these online vendors to pick up a copy of HELP WANTED MUST LOVE BOOKS.

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Powells

You can also learn about Janet’s Middle Grade book, THE LAST GREAT ADVENTURE OF THE PB & J SOCIETY here.

Congratulations, Janet!

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Surreal Moment No. 9

May 5, 2017July 3, 2021 ~ Patricia

Surreal Moment in a Debut Author's Life | www.patriciabaileyauthor.com

Surreal Moment – April 25, 2017
Ashland, OR. Bloomsbury Books

THE TRAGICALLY TRUE ADVENTURES OF KIT DONOVAN is officially out in the world and on the shelf at Bloomsbury Books in Ashland!

Ashland Oregon and Bloomsbury Books has always held a special place in my heart. I went to college in Ashland, and Bloomsbury Books was one of my favorite places to browse. I especially loved their staff recommendations. In fact, the first book I read that made me think it might be possible for me to write stories about things I knew was a book I bought at that bookstore.

So to see my little book on the shelves there was beyond thrilling.

KIT DONOVAN Book Launch | Bloomsbury Books | www.patriciabaileyauthor.com

Thanks so much for the staff at Bloomsbury for making my visit a memorable one! By now, Kit should also be at Treehouse Books in Ashland and Barnes and Noble in Medford.

As for me, I’m back in Klamath, still in a state of shock.

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2017 Debut Book Love – The Shadows We Know By Heart

March 14, 2017July 3, 2021 ~ Patricia

Fellow Class of 2k17 Books member Jennifer Park’s incredible YA debut, THE SHADOWS WE KNOW BY HEART, releases today and it is quite simply the book you did not know you have been waiting for all of your life.

Leah Roberts’s life has never been the same since her brother died ten years ago. Her mother won’t stop drinking, her father can’t let go of his bitter anger, and Leah herself has a secret she’s told no one: Sasquatch are real, and she’s been watching a trio of them in the woods behind her house for years.

Everything changes when Leah discovers that among the Sasquatch lives a teenager. This alluring, enigmatic boy has no memory of his past and can barely speak, but Leah can’t shake his magnetic pull. Gradually, Leah’s life entwines with his, providing her the escape from reality she never knew she needed.

But when Leah’s two worlds suddenly collide in a deadly showdown, she uncovers a shocking truth as big and extraordinary as the legends themselves, one that could change her life forever.

Jennifer handles this Tarzan retelling perfectly. She tells this story about love and loss beautifully – with just the right blend of heart and mystery.

THE SHADOWS WE KNOW BY HEART is one of my favorite all-time YA reads. I cannot wait to share it with everyone I know.

The Shadows We Know by Heart by Jennifer Park
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved every word of Jennifer Parks’s debut novel. The story is captivating from page one. Park plunges you into the East Texas woods until you feel like you’re part of the story and never want to leave. Great characters, a great setting, gorgeous writing and exactly the right amount of action/tension to keep you turning the pages. A haunting look at love, hope, and the lies we tell, this is a book I can’t wait to read again.

View all my reviews

For readers

An original love story.
A great, true-to-life sibling relationship.
A compelling mystery

For teachers

A beautifully drawn setting.
A unique retelling of a classic.
Flawed and likeable main characters.

THE SHADOWS WE KNOW BY HEART is on sale today. You can pick up a copy at your local bookstore or online at:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Powells

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Happy Book Birthday – ALLEGEDLY

January 24, 2017July 3, 2021 ~ Patricia

Happy book birthday to fellow Class of 2k17 member Tiffany Jackson!

Her YA debut, ALLEGEDLY, launches today!

Publisher’s Weekly called ALLEGEDLY “…intensely relevant, addressing race, age, and mental illness within the criminal justice system. Well conceived and executed, this is an absorbing and exceptional first novel.”

Kirkus described it as “Searing and true.”

I found it simply amazing.

Nine-year-old Mary B. Addison killed a baby. Allegedly.

She didn’t say much during the trial but the media filled in the only blanks that mattered: A three-month-old white baby had died under the care of a church going black mother and her daughter.
After spending six years in prison for the unthinkable crime, sixteen year old Mary discovers she is pregnant. When the state threatens to take her baby, Mary must find the voice to fight her past while surviving life in a Brooklyn group home. But her fate lies in the hands of the one person she distrusts the most: her mother.

Check out Tiffany at her website – and be sure to sign up for her Newsletter of Dopeness.

Then head over to you local bookstore or to one of these online vendors to pick up a copy.

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Powells

Congratulations, Tiffany!

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Happy Book Birthday – A TAIL OF CAMELOT: MICE OF THE ROUND TABLE

October 4, 2016July 3, 2021 ~ Patricia

Happy Book Birthday | www.patriciabaileyauthor.com Today is the launch day of Julie Leung’s new middle grade fantasy novel, A TAIL OF CAMELOT – the first book in her MICE OF THE ROUND TABLE series.

I had the privilege of reading an advanced copy of A TAIL OF CAMELOT – and the even bigger privilege of interviewing Julie for a feature on the Swanky Seventeen blog.

This book is one of my top ten favorite reads this year – and a book I wish I would have gotten to read as a child.

Seriously – it has it all: Camelot; mice in chain mail; a darling reluctant hero. What’s not to love?

It’s pretty much a perfect book. Smart, beautifully written, and adorable.

You can read more of my thoughts in my Goodreads review.

A Tail of Camelot by Julie Leung
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Julie Leung has written an enchanting novel. Filled with a darling hero, truly evil villains, page-turning action, and beautiful imagery, A TAIL OF CAMELOT is a story that readers of all ages will turn to again and again.

Calib is the perfect hero – big-hearted and brave – and in way over his head. He’s easy to root for. He’s a good mouse trying to do the right thing only to find himself falling into one bad situation after another. The writing is so fresh and gorgeously detailed that you feel like you’re right there with him – following in his pawsteps as he struggles to save his kingdom and live up to the legacy of his family name.

I simply adored every page of this book. I was only sorry it wasn’t around when I was a kid. It’s a must for any classroom or home library. Middle grade readers are going to devour it, and teachers and parents are going to love to read it aloud with their kids.

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For readers: