Guest Post: Jackson Pearce interview and Article by Groovy Gal!

January 8, 2010 — freshtalkingkids

A Freshtalkingkids reader did an interview with author Jackson Pearce recently, and she offered to post it here on the blog! Thanks so much Groovy Gal for sharing this with everyone!

As You Wish

By Elizabeth Waid 9/09

Have you ever asked your librarian for a book with a specific plot or characters, and then been disappointed to find out that such a book doesn’t exist? Well, that’s what started the newly published author Jackson Pearce on her writing adventure.

At the young age of 9, Jackson Pearce asked her school’s librarian for a book about an orphan, baby animals, and magic. Upon finding out that no book matched her description, she wrote her own. Her book was about an orphan girl that little baby animals were strangely attracted to.

15 years later, she is now an “official” author. Her book, As You Wish, is about a teenage girl named Viola who accidentally summons a young genie from his world to hers, where he will remain until she makes 3 wishes. Now I bet you’re thinking, Just wish for more wishes! Well, Viola can’t. Like everything else in life, there are rules as to what she can (and can’t) wish for.

Rule #1- You can’t wish for more wishes.

Rule #2- You can’t bring people back from the dead (one lady does bring back a dog, though).

Rule #3- You can’t change what a person is, so you couldn’t turn into a mermaid, or make your mortal enemy suddenly nice.

If more wishes was your first thought for a wish, then I bet world peace was your second thought. Viola thought of that too, but her genie cautioned her against it, because it wouldn’t last. If you’re thinking I’d wish for happiness, then sorry! He told her that she should wish for something that would make her happy, and not just happiness, because it wouldn’t last, just like the world peace.

Anyone would leap at the chance to have 3 wishes granted, but really think about it: whatever your heart desires within your grasp. Would you immediately wish without hesitation? Or would you ponder it for weeks or even months? Viola not only contemplates her wishes, but actually tries to delay them, because once she wishes, her genie will go back to the world from which he came, leaving her forever.

This exciting story is written in 1st person present tense, with the chapters switching between Viola’s point of view and her genie’s. Jackson prefers 1st person to 3rd person, because she thinks that 1st person is more “in the moment” and that it sort of gives you an inside look on everything.

Jackson Pearce is one persevering tough chick. Her first book she tried to get published was called The Keybearer…it got rejected 76 times. In her frustration, she started writing As You Wish to take her mind off it. The two stories do not resemble each other at all, because she wanted to completely start over.  “The key is to keep writing, even when you think you’re not going anywhere,” she told me. “I’ve always been writing, as long as I can remember.”

I asked Jackson if any of her characters resemble anyone she knows. She said that “there’s never just one person” who completely makes up a character, but little details here and there reminding her of friends. “Whether you intend to or not, people you know start climbing their way” into the story.

When you’re writing, does reading help you, or does it cause you to self-consciously copy other authors? “Anytime you read, it helps your own writing. If I’m stuck, if I read another book it’ll get my mind moving forward again.”

And now, here are 10 fun things about Jackson Pearce.

  1. She’s part of a writer’s group called the 2009 Debutantes . It’s made up of about 50 authors that debuted in 2009.
  2. She lives in Atlanta.
  3. Her Web Site is www.asyouwishthebook.com and her blog is www.jacksonpearce.com .
  4. Her YouTube videos are hilarious!
  5. She has a cross-eyed cat, “but he counts as 7.”
  6. She teaches High School color guard.
  7. She dances and twirls batons.
  8. When she was in High School, she tried out for the circus.
  9. About 3 years ago, she auditioned to be the princess at Medieval Times and even made it to the top 5.
  10. She’s an awesome writer!
Posted in Book Reviews, Guest Posts. 1 Comment »

Book Trailers!

January 7, 2010 — freshtalkingkids

I read a lot of books. I go on the internet a lot. So whenever I get a new book recommendation, naturally, I look it up on the internet! And a lot of times, I find book trailers done professionally by the publishers.

Making video trailers for books is a popular fan thing, but lately publishing companies have been making movie trailers to advertise their books. It’s a good thing when I’m trying to figure out what the book’s about, but a lot of fans don’t like the trailers for their beloved favorite books. I can’t quote anyone directly, (not sure whether that’s plagiarism or not), but many fans say that the trailers don’t properly represent the book. They complain that the trailer’s actor doesn’t look like the book character, the trailer gives the wrong idea about the story, or it just isn’t done well in general.

However, there are a lot of very good trailers out there too! This post is for the best book trailers! Personally, I have 3 kinds of favorites:

  1. YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK! : This kind of trailer is simple in its message: “You must read this book!” It gives you a glimpse of all the action in a book, and gets you excited about reading it! My favorite of these trailers is the one for Scott Westerfeld’s book, Leviathan.  
  2. Ooohhh… that’s creepy! : This works best for sci-fi books and mystery. It’s often told by the main character, and it’s told in a kind of spooky way. It’s the kind of thing that leaves you staring at the screen for minutes after it’s over, and when you regain your senses, you immediately watch it again. I have two faves for this category:  
  3. The Author’s Thing: This is like the author advertising their own book. They’re often funny or interesting. Here’s one video one: and a LINK TO ONE that’s not postable here, but it’s hilarious!

Okay, that’s enough book videos for one post… anyone have one they want to share?

Posted in Book Reviews, Thinking. 1 Comment »

Emotional Books

December 20, 2009 — freshtalkingkids

I was just rereading one of my favorite books of all time… The Giver by Lois Lowry. I have read it so many times that I’ve lost count.  But I can still remember the first time I ever read it.

I was in fourth grade when I first read The Giver. My teacher had recommended it to me, so I thought I’d try it out. In the beginning I thought it would be the kind of book I was used to: a light story with a bit of emotion. Far from it! I found The Giver to be a beautiful story with characters who were honest and believable.

I started out reading it at school, but I had to bring it home to finish it. I can still remember when I finished it. I was sitting on the couch with my mom baking muffins.  She brought a warm muffin over to give me, and found that I was crying. I had never done that with a book before! But the ending of The Giver was so beautiful, I was just overcome with emotions.  My mom looked at me, and asked, “Is everything okay, sweetie?” I had to shake my head and explain that nothing was wrong, I had just finished a really good book.

Then my mom decided that she wanted to read the book too.  She loved it, and was thrilled that I liked it so much.  We researched the author, and I found her two other books in the trilogy of The Giver… Gathering Blue, and Messenger. (And yes, I cried at the end of Messenger too… who wouldn’t?)

The Giver was the first book that really touched me.  Sure, I had read good books before,  but The Giver was the first time I was really touched by it, and crying with the characters.

The Giver is a science-fiction book, and deals with the “what if?” question.  Lois Lowry decided to explore the question… “what if there was a way to lose sad memories? What if we didn’t have to remember all the horrible things that have happened, and we could just move on like it had never existed?”  This is a very emotional book, coming to the conclusion, “We need sad memories so we can appreciate good things. Without our sadness, we cannot truly have happiness.”

The author writes in a very interesting way, which was why I loved the book so much.  Even though the book was meant for children, it includes some very mature emotions.  Lois Lowry didn’t worry that the book would be too upsetting to young children.  She just wrote.  Most parents, on the other hand, are very protective of their kids.  My mom would probably rather have me watch iCarly on TV than read about people fighting in Afghanistan, but I feel like I have a right to know about the real world.  My life is very good, but how will I appreciate that if I’m not aware of the pain others are feeling?  Children should not be protected from the world outside, but should be able to reach out and touch it if they’d like to.

Of course, I’m not saying that protecting children from the news is wrong.  There are a lot of awful things that happen, that kids don’t need to know about.  But if it will in any way concern the child, tell them! Authors  also make that mistake, putting horror stories in books.  For instance, in a book I just read called Unwind, there was some of that.  It was a great book, but the author made it overly graphic and shocking in some parts.  The best book is where the author slips in sadness as a part of the plot, and doesn’t try to make it really horrible.

That’s why The Giver was so powerful for me.  It was my first experience with real sadness in books, and it really made a big impact on me.  That was when I discovered how much emotion was woven into writing, and how that emotion was very powerful.  When used not to tell a horror story,  but simply as part of a touching book, it can make a child look at the world in a whole new way.

And someday, that’s what I’d like to do with my writing.

Posted in Book Reviews, Thinking. 3 Comments »

Good books?

December 16, 2009 — freshtalkingkids

A while ago I was thinking about what makes a good book so great. So I asked you to write about why your favorite book was so amazing. Here are the responses:

  • Princess Bobo: Kiki Strike in the Shadow City is my favorite book because it has a ton of action and even though its pretty long, it goes by really quickly. The book seems so real because the characters do what i expect them to do, but the book still manages to suprise me. Finally, I find that i admire the talents of all the irregulars. Please read it and post a comment about it. :)
  • Smileygerbil: book: Will of the empress  author:Tamora Pierce  because: The author really puts you in the characters shoes, and the author really creates vivid characters that stick in your mind.
  • Bookz: Book: twilight  by: stephenie meyer  I like it because I think that the book is very interesting and you could never put it down. the vampires especially Alice are awesome. The book contains love, and adventures that are breath taking.
  • Freshtalkingkids: Book: Harry Potter by JK Rowling I like it because: I think the author of HP is really good. The characters are honest, and I find I can really relate to them. Harry is the person I would like to be, good and kind and brave. But he also makes mistakes, and gets into trouble, which makes him a more believable character.

So what makes a good book so good? The things that kept coming up were:

  1. Believable and interesting characters
  2. Characters with special abilities/traits/powers
  3. Action and suspense… and a bit of romance too?
  4. Surprising plot
  5. Realistic emotions (Yeah, that one didn’t actually come up but it’s really important)

That’s all.  I was going to post this a while ago, but I forgot to.  :(

Posted in Book Reviews, Thinking. Leave a Comment »

Guest Post: Bookz on Twilight

October 10, 2009 — freshtalkingkids

This will kind of be a Twilight post. I think that Twilight is awesome. I haven’t read Uglies but it has to be REALLY good to compare with Twilight. In Twilight, Bella moves into Forks and meets Edward. They like each other and there is Alice Cullen, Jasper Hale, Emmett Cullen, Rosalie Hale, Esme and Carlisle. The colored ones are married. There is also Jacob Black a werewolf and his pack/tribe in LAPush, I love that name!!!!!! Enough about the summary. The series contains of four books,


I don’t want to spoil anything but the last book has some exciting adventures.
-BOOKZ
Posted in Book Reviews, Guest Posts. 4 Comments »

Twilight vs. Uglies

September 11, 2009 — freshtalkingkids

One day this summer, in the library, I found several lists of books picked by teens.  At the top of one list was Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer.  Another list had Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld.  I had read both books, and I found it funny that they both ended up on Teen Picks lists.  Why?  Well, they are both sort of about beauty, which is something teenagers and pre-teens focus a lot on.  (girls especially!)  But, while both books have beauty as a theme, they actually send opposite messages.

Twilight takes place in the present-day town of Forks, where the main character, a 17 year old girl named Bella, falls in love with a vampire named Edward.  Edward is amazingly gorgeous, and not only that, he is perfect at everything he does.  He is the fastest runner, the strongest, and he plays the piano wonderfully.  On the other hand, Bella, (who is constantly saying she’s not beautiful, she’s ugly, she’s nothing compared to Edward), is a very weak character who does whatever Edward says.  The fact that the pretty character is perfect, and the not pretty character is weak, says that people who look good are better on the inside too.

Uglies is different.  It takes place in the future, a completely different world.  At age 16, everyone gets an operation that makes their skin smooth, eyes big, and basically makes them into what they call “pretties.”  Of course, everyone wants to be a Pretty.  But before Tally, the main character, turns pretty, she finds out a horrible secret about the operation.  Being pretty not only changes the way you look, it also changes how you think.  Pretties are lazy, weak, and whiny, while Uglies, (normal people), are able to think for themselves.  This actually sends the message:  it doesn’t matter how you look, it’s what you do that makes people like you.  It’s like David, one of the characters, says:  “What you do, the way you think, makes you beautiful.”

I would say I like both of the books. Twilight is a fun book to read when I want something light and happy. The plot is good, and the writing style fits the tone of the book: a teenage girl’s romantic fantasy. And I like the action-packed plot of Uglies, and the way the author’s writing style makes me really think: what if I lived in this world?

On a fan website, I found a teenage girl who recommended both Uglies and Twilight. She said she liked Twilight because: “Edward is so hot, and Bella is so cute!”  She liked Uglies for similar reasons: “Zane (Tally’s boyfriend) is so hot, and Tally is so cute!” Could she be missing the point here?

Posted in Book Reviews. 22 Comments »