Summary:

From the day that Morgan Lee is born, her extraordinarily beautiful and withdrawn older brother, Ginx, is obsessed by her. As Aunt Lois recalls: "Ginx thought you belonged to him Morgan Lee. He would sit on our big couch right there in his sailor's suit and hold on to you for dear life . . . He didn't speak normal till he was five, then-bang-one day he's just talking away in complete sentences. But he wouldn't say, 'I.' He said 'we,' meaning you and him."


Inhabiting their own parallel world, the two communicate through a secret language and make-believe stories; when Morgan Lee begins to explore friendships beyond their closed circle, however, Ginx becomes increasingly disturbed. In luminous prose, Martha Witt explores the intense and private world inhabited by these siblings and the inevitable and necessary pain of their separation.

Review:

Broken as Things Are is by far the best book I’ve read all year! And normally I try to read three to four good size books a month, although books like Broken as Things Are might present a problem to that number. It’s not the kind of book you want to read fast. Think of it as your favorite food, and you only get a little bit. Savor.

The writing is superb, the dialog drips with a realism I’ve known all my life living in the South, and the descriptive use highlighting and paralleling the dysfunction and socially accepting is brought together in an unforgettable cast of three-dimensional characters a reader couldn’t possible forget.  

The characters were so unforgettable, especially the struggle between Ginx and Morgan-Lee, that it becomes the plot. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a writer weave something so beautifully by allowing the characters to drive the words with such a demanding force. Morgan Lee and the journey she had to take into womanhood and then Ginx, her brother, where her affection is questionable and solid. Ginx suffers from autism, and needs Morgan Lee, clings to her, but their journeys have different paths and then other characters drift onto these Southern Gothic roads making things interesting to say the least. 

I want to read more of Ms. Witt’s work! And being a North Carolina resident, I plan to recommend this book as a one for the list.

ARC giveaway: Midnight Blue Light Special by Seanan McGuire

Prize: One ARC of Midnight Blue Light Special, the second book in the InCryptid series by bestselling urban fantasy author Seanan McGuire.

To enter:

• Post about this contest and/or the book on your Tumblr/Twitter/blog/Facebook/social media outlet of choice. (Reblogging and retweeting counts!)
• Email a link to your post to giveaway at foxliterary dot com.
• That’s it!

Bonus entries: anyone who also becomes a new follower of this Tumblr and/or @dianafox on Twitter gets an extra entry for each. If you do this, please mention your Tumblr/Twitter user name and that you are a new follower in your email so I can count it!

The contest is open through Valentine’s Day, and the winner will be chosen at random on Friday, February 15th. I can only mail to the US and Canada at this time. Happy reblogging! 

Saving June is a must read!

I read the summary after the sample. The voice of Harper Scott drew me into the pages of this book. She was opinionated and misunderstood, and definitely the Bobbie Dylan, cigarette smoking chick to put you on the edge of your seat and leave a reader guessing.

She was the complete opposite of her sister, June, the one she didn’t save, physically. But this book isn’t about the physical, well it is a little. There is Jake Tolan, and believe me, he gives Harper’s Dylan image a real nice run, on the fun, interesting road to California.

There’s a lot to be learned in this young adult novel about the big issues of why someone that young might take their own life, but what I found more compelling wasn’t “why”, but the reasons to live and this book gives you plenty. I have to say I’m a sucker for lines like these…

“There is so much beauty in just existing. In being alive. I don’t want to miss a second.” Harper Scott, Saving June.

How can you not like a character like this? I would highly recommend this book to young adults and parents (like me) looking to understand them. With that said, I have a daughter, and if she did take off to California - she would be grounded for life.
Summary for Hannah Harrington's Saving June

Everyone's sorry. But no one can explain why.

Harper Scott's older sister, June, took her own life a week before high school graduation, leaving Harper devastated. So when her divorcing parents decide to split up June's ashes, Harper steals the urn and takes off cross-country with her best friend, Laney, to the one place June always dreamed of going—California.

Enter Jake Tolan, a boy with a bad attitude, a classic-rock obsession…and an unknown connection to June. When he insists on joining them, Harper's just desperate enough to let him. With his alternately charming and infuriating demeanor and his belief that music can see you through anything, he might be exactly what Harper needs. Except…Jake's keeping a secret that has the power to turn her life upside down—again.