New Mormon Books

I had a hard time getting into this book at the beginning. I suppose I didn’t relate to Abe and Maddie as well as I did to Lizzy in Lyon’s previous book House on a Hill. Abe seemed to be too modern minded for the historical time period and that threw me off. His first point of view chapter felt too preachy for me to really get sucked into the story at the start, but I ended up enjoying his character later on. I also felt for Maddie as she tried to heal from the death of her fiancee. While on the surface this seems like the typical LDS romance plot—girl converts boy to gospel and they marry—Lyon’s characters have layers that made it feel unique and fresh.

At Journey’s End by Annette Lyon
By Gamila
Gamila’s Review: YA and LDS Fiction, July 18, 2009.
http://gamilareview.blogspot.com/2009/07/at-journeys-end-by-annette-lyon-abe.html

… as Latoya Peterson pointed out in a piece for Double X … the current crop of pointy-toothed dramas continues the genre’s fascination with sexual violence and the idealization of the chaste woman. I can’t fault her for taking issue with eroticized depictions of abuse, often against women. But she’s wrong to equate the sexual politics of True Blood with those of the abstinent, repressed Twilight. These two are not the same animal.

Rough Sex With Vampires: What Does “True Blood” Tell Us About Women and Sexuality?
By James Brady Ryan, Nerve.com.
AlterNet.org, July 18, 2009.
http://www.alternet.org/sex/141317/rough_sex_with_vampires:_what_does_%22true_blood%22_tell_us_about_women_and_sexuality/

The success behind the books stems from the ability of Stephenie to convey an array of emotion within each character, mainly Bella, from whose point of view of the books are written, with a few exceptions. Stephenie has written the books in such a fashion that readers don’t simply enjoy them; they climb into the world of the Cullen family. The books span beyond simply an interesting plot; they tug at the emotion and heartstrings of tweens, teens and adults alike.

Twilight Parents 101: Who is Stephenie Meyer?
By Kimberly Sherman, Twilight Parents Examiner
Examiner.com, July 18, 2009.
http://www.examiner.com/x-13198-Twilight-Parents-Examiner~y2009m7d18-Twilight-Parents-101-Who-is-Stephenie-Meyer

Julie is very good at writing suspense. I read this book rather quickly because I had to see if everyone made it out alive. I felt the book had a good ending, though some people have a thing against a “Happy Ever After” type ending. Personally, I don’t mind reading a happy ending once in awhile. I have had too much reality in my own life lately and like to be taken away to a happy place when I read.

Review of “All’s Fair” by Julie Coulter Bellon
By Sheila
LDS Women’s Book Review, July 18, 2009
http://ldswbr.blogspot.com/2009/07/review-of-alls-fair-by-julie-coulter.html

It seemed to me that Strain was going for a Shannon Hale-esque cutesy chick-lit humor. But, while that generally doesn’t bother me, in this case it didn’t work. Not by a mile. The humor was grating (but then — as I’ve mentioned before — humor is such a fickle thing), as were all the “dear reader” asides. The dialogue was flat, and the vague Mormon-ness (it was published by a small LDS publisher) was awkward (either go all out, or don’t go there at all). But, what really bothered me was that Annabelle was shallow…

Previously Engaged
By Melissa
Book Nut, July 16, 2009
http://melissasbookreviews.blogspot.com/2009/07/previously-engaged.html

…then the Harry Potter comparisons started rolling out. Media pundits everywhere declared Twilight the new Harry Potter. I wondered, flabbergasted, how any person could ever believe such a thing. Potter?! Really? What I saw onscreen was soap opera trash for the tween nation. It didn’t bear anywhere near the universal appeal of the Harry Potter series. But now I’m here, explaining how such a preposterous claim is less an arguable statement and more a joke, an unfunny one at that, like Will Ferrell trying to ice skate.

Do The Math: 8 Reasons Harry Potter Is Greater Than Twilight
By Tim Gomez
Cinema Blend.com, July 16, 2009
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Do-The-Math-8-Reasons-Harry-Potter-Is-Greater-Than-Twilight-13981.html

I’m about to make a very unpopular comparison, one that surely will have some fans trying to revoke my own Whedon fandom: Bella, Buffy, and the bloodsuckers from Twilight and Buffy aren’t all that different.

Girls on Film: Bella, Buffy, and Bloodsuckers
By Monika Bartyzel
Cinematical, Jul 6th 2009.
http://www.cinematical.com/2009/07/06/girls-on-film-bella-buffy-and-bloodsuckers/

The Actor and the Housewife is completely unbelievable and totally credible. The dialogue is witty, the romantic suspense genuine, and the finale? It ends the way it should.

Chick-lit confections: A shelf full of great summer reads
By Sherryl Connelly, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
New York Daily News, July 5th 2009
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/arts/2009/07/05/2009-07-05_chicklit_confections_a_shelf_full_of_great_summer_reads.html#ixzz0Lfi2gdKQ

It’s no surprise, then, that Stephenie Meyer hit the jackpot with her young adult vampire series, Twilight, which is now a major motion picture enterprise as well. … But as a child of the nineties, and quite possibly the biggest fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I have to ask: what the hell happened to us?

Twilight
By Jessica Ferri, Kissing Dead Girls
Bookslut, July 2009
http://www.bookslut.com/kissing_dead_girls/2009_07_014759.php

It’s always interesting to read the backliner for the first time and see how your publisher describes your book, what they chose to emphasize, and how they provide a hook for the story without giving too much away. I’m pleased with this backliner (and not just because they said nice things about me).

And Here It Is
By Stephanie Black
Six Writers and a Frog, July 01, 2009
http://sixldswriters.blogspot.com/2009/07/and-here-it-is.html