Good Enough by Paula Yoo

I just read the most AMAZING debut novel by Paula Yoo! The book's main character, Patti, is smart, sassy, and incredibley lovable. If you are, or know an intelligent, driven teen you should buy this book! Here's the reviews:

- BOOKLIST (Nov. 17, 2007): Yoo follows her picture-book biography Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story (2005), with a funny, contemporary first novel about a high-achieving high-school senior who struggles between her Korean parents' expectations and her growing desire to shape her own future. Patti, a self-described "B-tier violin prodigy" and class valedictorian, recounts her senior year, in which her first deep crush is a powerful distraction from college applications and her parents? stringent requirements for a "P.K.D." (Perfect Korean Daughter). Like the best comic writers, Yoo uses humor to illuminate painful experiences: "Why does Susan get to be called . . . dork or geek but I always get called Jap or Chink or gook?" Patti wonders. "I'd take geek over gook any day." The frequent lists ("How to Make Your Korean Parents Happy"), SAT questions, and even spam recipes are, like Patti's convincing narration, filled with laugh-out-loud lines, but it's the deeper questions about growing up with immigrant parents, confronting racism, and how best to find success and happiness that will stay with readers. Gillian Engberg

KIRKUS REVIEWS: Patti knows that the only thing harder than calculus, or maybe mastering the cadenza from the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E Minor, is being a PKD, a Perfect Korean Daughter. The PKD achieves great grades, shines at extracurriculars and is devoted to her church but never complains or brags. Most important, the PKD never questions her parents' pushing her to get into Harvard, Yale and Princeton and become a doctor or a lawyer. Though witty, linguistically gifted Patti has a number of academic talents, her greatest joy is playing the violin. She knows she's not supposed to rock the Harvard/Yale/Princeton boat but, encouraged by her violin teacher, she applies to Juilliard. Now her dilemma is not her SAT scores or her grades, but how to hide her desire to attend music school from her academically oriented parents. The Clash, a jam session and a new boy at school encourage Patti to break from her PKD shell and see her social life and violin studies in new ways. Teens living through the pressure of college applications and questioning their futures will sympathize with Patti in this enjoyable, funny but not superficial read, which bears many similarities to Alex Flinn's Diva (2006). (Fiction. YA)

PUNK WIG! by LORI REIS Illustrated by ERIN EITTER KONO...available now!

PUNK WIG!
by LORI REIS Illustrated by ERIN EITTER KONO from Boyds Mills Press is in Bookstores NOW!

ISBN: 1-59078-486-3 ISBN-13: 978-1-59078-486-0


From The Book Cover:"Mom is on her way to the hospital to get "alien blobs" zapped with medicine. The alien blobs are cancer. The treatment helps, but it also makes Mom lose her hair.One day she says, "Today is wig day," and she and her son head down to Harriett's Hair, where they find wigs of all styles and sizes: big hair short hair, spiky hair, and curly hair. Finally, Mom finds the wig she been looking for-and it looks perfect with her jeans and leather jacket.Lori Ries's loving story of a mother whose son gives her constant support during chemotherapy is illustrated with warmth and humor by Erin Eitter Kono."

Praise for Punk Wig!

"Kono's watercolor illustrations convey a blithe touch and reflect the warm relationship between mom and son. This positive and upbeat approach to coping with cancer will be a welcome addition—younger than, but complimentary to Patricia Polacco's The Lemonade Club (2007). "
-PUNK WIG - Kirkus Reviews - 12/15/07
"In this tender tale of love and healing, the difficult subject of cancer is dealt with in an honest and straight-forward manner... This lovely story of love through hardship will lift you up."
-Strand Bookstore, NY
available at all bookstores across the country

you may also order a copy online at:

Powell's Books:
http://www.powells.com/biblio?PID=719&cgi=product&isbn=1590784863

Barnes&Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9781590784860

Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Punk-Wig-Lori-Ries/dp/1590784863/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202759198&sr=8-1

And many other fine stores.

I humbly ask that you post a review (hopefully positive and with lots of stars!) to promote our book ranking.


Please pass this e-mail on to anyone you feel might be interested.
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robert's snow snowflake

I'm honored to once again participate in Robert's Snow, the fundraiser originally organized by Grace Lin and Robert Mercer for the Jimmy Fund. I finished my snowflake today... just in time. I wanted to tie it in the the Twelve Days of Wisconsin Christmas, I've noticed in the past that snowflakes tied to books often get higher bids. Hopefully it'll do well.

The Grandmother book I'm ill. for Little, Brown is due next week.... I'm setting it aside for a few hours so that I'll be able see it with fresh eyes. OK... really it's called procrastination. Here's Te Te playing outside.

catching up...

Well... I'm as bad at posting as I'd anticipated. When it comes down to it, deadlines come first, and I've been just keeping up of late.

I have had some fun illustration events. I spoke to 2nd and 3rd graders at Peninsula Heritage Elementary School through a conference run by YOUNG WRITER'S CONFERENCE ( www.youngwritersconference.org) It was great fun! I love talking to kids. In the past I spoke with older grades. So I was actually surprised by just how interested and involved the younger children were. I spoke about the inspiration for Hula Lullaby. How I tried to capture the connection the Hawaiian culture has to the rhythm of nature. It was a section I thought they'd be bored with, but it was actually the one they paid most attention to. It just confirms that kids are brilliant and intuitively understand that which many adults need to have explained.

Last weekend I went to the scbwi event "Artworks" It was good to see so many familiar faces. Mary Peterson http://www.marypeterson.com/ and Ken W. Min http://www.kenminart.com/ both won prizes for best portfolio. Yay! The speakers were Marijka Kostiw, AD from Scholastic Press, Orchard, & A. Levine Books... OK... design genius. I love, love, love her work. I've never heard her speak, and took so much away from what she said. Val Adams from Mosaic Licensing also spoke. She had many valuable snippets on licensing. It's a direction I'd love to go... one of these days I might have time to work up an appropriate portfolio.. ahh sigh.

I've also officially joined the committee to help plan illustrator's day. We met Monday night in Santa Monica. I think we're on to some great ideas!

So with that... I'd better get back to my drawing board..

I received my proofs yesterday for THE TWELVE DAYS OF WISCONSIN CHRISTMAS from Meredith at Sterling. The colors look great, and I'm really happy with how it's turned out! (Thanks to Scott the new AD!) I'm looking forward to seeing the book. In the meantime I'm thinking I should dig out my snow boots and plan a bit of pre-Christmas promoting.