New Mormon Books

This book has received more award and list loving than any book of mine besides princess academy. It’s a very precious book to me and my husband’s favorite. I’m thrilled to have it coming out in paperback.

Presenting…Dashti
By Shannon Hale
squeetusblog, July 17, 2009.
http://oinks.squeetus.com/2009/07/presentingdashti.html

The book we’re reading first is The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. It’s good, but it’s written for twelve year olds. If I were twelve, I would be so in love with this book, but at thirty-three…not so much. I’m having a hard time imagining what we’re going to discuss (I’m only halfway through it, so maybe it will surprise me).

Bad Girls’ Book Club
By Brandi Douglass
Douglass Diaries, July 14, 2009
http://douglassdiaries.blogspot.com/2009/07/bad-girls-book-club.html

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

Shannon Hale’s The Actor and the Housewife was a fantastic read, and a much different book than what I expected from the cover and plot synopsis. I can tell form some of the other reviews I’ve read that I wasn’t the only one surprised by this book. I expected this to be light and funny – a perfect summer read. And it was funny, but it was anything but light.

Book Review: The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale
By CarrieK
Books and Movies, July 2, 2009.
http://booksandmovies.colvilleblogger.com/2009/07/02/book-review-the-actor-and-the-housewife-by-shannon-hale/

“It’s not what I expected.” That’s the first response I keep hearing from readers of the actor and the housewife. I wondered if the title or jacket was misleading, or the jacket text. Or all. They may be. But as I’ve listened to these readers, I’ve come to realize that, at least in part, it’s something more ephemeral than all that: this book doesn’t have a genre.

This is what Shannon Hale says about her newest book The Actor and the Housewife and this is exactly the response I had when reading it.

The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale (and Shannon Singing . . . Karaoke?!)
By Natasha
Maw Books Blog, June 29, 2009.
http://blog.mawbooks.com/2009/06/29/the-actor-and-the-housewife-by-shannon-hale/

The Actor and The Housewife is somewhat fanciful, definitely romantic and at times, well the only word that comes to mind is perky. Though I would be the last one found browsing the romance aisles, I’d have to say what really peaked my interest was the synopsis of the book.

The Actor and The Housewife - Shannon Hale
By Bev
Merry Weather, June 8, 2009

Any argument about the freshness of Hale’s ideas seems closed. While the Salt Lake City mother of two considers her just-published book, The Actor and the Housewife , her best, it’s also her riskiest work in terms of subject matter.

Books: Shannon Hale’s risky new title
Utah writer tackles affectionate, Platonic friendship.
By Ben Fulton
The Salt Lake Tribune, June 11, 2009
http://www.sltrib.com/features/ci_12569920

Latter-day Saints may be fielding a lot of questions about their religion this summer, thanks to Shannon Hale’s new book “The Actor and the Housewife.” This award-winning author is one of the first nationally published novelists to feature a Mormon as the main character.

The claim that Hales is “one of the first nationally published novelists to feature a Mormon as the main character” has no basis in fact.

Writer’s challenge: infusing religion
By Michelle Lehnardt
Deseret News
Saturday, Jun. 13, 2009
http://www.mormontimes.com/mormon_voices/mormon_experience/?id=9167

“The Actor and the Housewife is an entertaining romantic drama with depth, emotion and humour; I couldn’t put it down!”

Book Review – The Actor and the Housewife (ARC)
By Bobbie Crawford-McCoy
Book Reviews by Bobbie, June 17, 2009
http://bookreviewsbybobbie.wordpress.com/2009/06/17/book-review-the-actor-and-the-housewife-arc/

What happens when your not-so-secret celebrity crush walks right into real life and changes everything? Mormon housewife Becky Jack — seven months pregnant with her fourth child — is about to find out when she meets celebrity hearththrob Felix Callahan.

On the Bookshelf
By Kathy Kirby
Muncie IN Star Press, June 21, 2009
http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20090621/LIFESTYLE/906210303

I picked up this book last Sunday morning, since I wanted something to read during the hour between dropping my daughter off and the beginning of her dance recital. Once I started reading, I didn’t want to stop. I finished before I went to bed that night, in spite of a packed day. I can’t remember the last time I was sneaking in a few pages while my husband drove us to a family activity.

Review: The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale
By Laura
I’m Booking It, June 18, 2009.
http://imbookingit.wordpress.com/2009/06/18/the-actor-and-the-housewife/

This is a ridiculous book. The characters are stock, the premise goofy and, while a few things happen, nothing changes. Of course, this sort of thing can be enormously entertaining. All it takes is wit and inventive writing. Uh-oh.

The Actor and the Housewife By Shannon Hale.
By Tricia Springstubb
Cleveland OH Plain-Dealer, June 07, 2009
http://www.cleveland.com/bookreviews/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-1/1244277052117870.xml&coll=2

With the overwhelming popularity of her fairy tales, one has to wonder why she would make the jump to books for adults. The truth is, however, Hale’s books for adults are really just modern-day fairy tales cast for an older audience. As with her first novel for adults, “Austenland,” Hale’s latest work, “The Actor and the Housewife,” takes an average woman and throws her into a situation that is beyond her wildest dreams and not as perfect as initially thought.

‘Actor and Housewife’ an entertaining tale
By Jessica Harrison
Deseret News, June 6, 2009.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705308768,00.html