Guest Post by Patty Blount

Stay or Go?

Things change. For some of these changes, we’ll camp out and line up a day in advance just for the chance to say we got it (iPhone, anybody?). And others die a lonely little death and we hardly notice. Here’s my list of the things that should stay and the things I wish would just go.

Stay!

• Social networking – My social activities not only planted the seed for a book idea, but connected me to many brilliant people – authors, agents, publishers, editors, celebrities, moms, PEOPLE. That’s the key – it exposed me to different opinions, different belief systems, different lifestyles and opened my mind in the process.

• Flat Screen TVs – Oh, how much do I love being able to hang a TV on a wall?

• The surge in popularity of YA fiction – Rowling, Meyer, Collins – It warms my heart to see adults reading young adult fiction and I hope my own book will add to the ranks.

• GPS – For someone like me who gets lost in a bathtub, the GPS is the most significant technological advancement of my lifetime.

• On Demand, HBO2Go, and DVR -- I work a nine or ten hour day and then come home and write novels. There is no time for TV. That’s why these VCR-less wonders that let me watch what I want when I want are the BEST.

• eReaders -- Writers love books. My eReader lets me carry hundreds with me at all times. Plus, it’s a lot easier to turn pages on an eReader when you’re pedaling an elliptical machine than a real book. That encourages me to actually go to the gym.

Go!

• Pants that expose boxers, pants with the crotch down by your knees, baggy pants that hang off your body instead of emphasizing it. I don’t know anybody who finds this sexy so stop. Just stop. Please. I’m begging.

• Logos on butts – Juicy? Pink? Ladies, guys don’t need another reason to stare at your butt. Really.

• Fake reality TV shows – please, Dear God, MAKE IT STOP.

• Teens who sit low in their cars so that it looks like the car is driving itself as they go by.

• Text slang in spoken conversation.

• Tebowing – I get that you feel blessed and that’s great. But put it in perspective. I find it kind of insulting that God answered your prayers to score that extra point in a game but ignored the prayers of millions of other people praying for things like cures for terminal illnesses, a place to live or a meal to eat.

What do you think? What fads are you crazy about? What fads are on your Can’t Wait Until They’re Gone list?

Send by Patty Blount

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Source: Publisher

Edition: Advanced Reader's Copy

Pages: 291

Rating: B+

To keep his secrets, all he has to do is listen to the voice in his head and just walk away...

On his first day at his new high school, Dan stops a bully from beating up a kid half his size. He didn't want to get involved. All he wants out of his senior year is to fly under the radar. But Dan knows what it's like to be terrorized by a bully-he used to be one. Now the whole school thinks he's some kind of hero, except Julie Murphy, the prettiest girl on campus. She looks at him like she knows he has a secret. Like she knows his name isn't really Daniel.

Coming into this book, I was totally ready to be challenged. I never understand why people bully and I usually don't see the other side of stories. Surprisingly, I did find myself to be sympathizing with the main character, Dan.

While I did sympathize with Dan, I had a little trouble connecting with him. I usually have this issue with main characters who are guys, assumingly because I'm a girl. I try so hard to move past the gender difference but for some reason I still couldn't do it. I still found myself wishing I could relate and connect a little more to Dan.

The story itself was heartbreaking though. It wasn't totally addicting but it definitely held my interest. I completely recommend this book and I think more people should really peak into this subject matter!