Review: Solid + Interview with Author

Title: Solid
Author: Shelley Workinger
Publisher: Self-published(CreateSpace)
Pages: 222
Date Finished: December 12th, 2010

Summary of Book:
Eighteen years ago, a rogue Army doctor secretly experimented with a chromosomal drug on unknowing pregnant women. When he was killed not long after the children were born, any knowledge and evidence seemed to die with him - except for the living, breathing, human products of his work. Almost two decades later, the newly self-proclaimed "open-book" military unearths the truth about the experiment, bringing Clio Kaid and the other affected teens to a state-of-the-art, isolated campus where they soon discover that C9x did indeed alter their chromosomes, its mutations presenting as super-human abilities. The military kids, who come from across the nation and all walks of life, come into their own as lighter-than-air 'athletes'; 'indies' as solid as stone walls; teens who can make themselves invisible and others who can blind with their brilliance. While exploring her own special ability, forging new friendships and embarking on first love, Clio also stumbles onto information indicating that the military may not have been entirely forthcoming with them and that all may not be as it seems...

Review:
You guys know me, always have to gush about the cover first. So, isn't it cool?? It's actually a chromosomes 9, which I found out later from Shelley Workinger, the author of Solid. I think the cover looks great =) But, we can talk about that some more later with the author :)
I think the book was actually quite interesting. Especially with the love life thrown in with the mix. I loved pretty much all the characters. Except the goth girl. Kind of weird. . .Anyway, this isn't going to be a really long review since I have the interview with Workinger as well. So, my rating:

☺☺☺

To find out what my rating means, go to the Review Policy page.

Now for the interview!

H: Tell us a little bit about, Solid.
SW: The brief description is: Teens who discover they were secretly genetically altered before birth are brought together at a classified site where they develop "super-abilities," while at the same time forging new friendships, finding love and unearthing a conspiracy. Several readers have told me they thought Solid was like an X-Men for girls, focusing more on the relationships than the abilities. I haven't seen or read any of the X-Men publications, so I have to take their word for it :)

H: How long did writing, Solid, take?
SW: I wrote and rewrote for a year and a half from the first draft to the ARC release.

H: How did you come up with the marvelous cover?
SW: That graphic actually is chromosome 9 (the one the kids in the story have had altered), and I was very fortunate to not only stumble upon it, but to be given permission to use it for Solid.

H: Where did the inspiration come for Solid?
SW: I first dreamed the romantic scene that is now Chapter 12. I have wild and vivid dreams regularly, but my thoughts kept coming back to that one until I finally sat down and explored the idea by backing out of that scene and developing how those two people could end up in that setting.

H: How did you go about publishing Solid?
SW: Solid moved from the hypothetical realm into print mainly because of my personal relationships with reluctant and challenged readers. I strongly feel that the tween and early teen years are when kids (reading-challenged or not) become so overwhelmed with their required reading, that some lose interest in pleasure reading entirely.
So I took the idea that had been nagging at my subconscious and fleshed it out specifically for the young teen girls I saw drifting away from books in an effort to bring them back into the booklovers' fold by offering a fun and fast story. To prove the point, though, I had to deliver a bound book - not just pages printed from my
computer. Ironically, a friend of mine had recently released a self-help book, and when she told me about her self-publishing experience, I knew that company she used could be a great fit for me as well.

H: What was your favorite thing to do as a kid?
SW: Play cards - any and all games, from spades with my friends to cribbage with my grandparents to solitaire by myself. If it were legal, I'd channel all my energy into professional card counting.

H: Do you have a favorite author? If so, who?
SW: I have tons; don't we all? Lately, I've been looking for more humor in my reading; I've been loving Christopher Buckley and Lisa Lutz's Spellman series.

So, now you know a little about Shelley and her book, Solid. I hope you'll read it and enjoy =)

Review: So B. It

Summary(Shelfari's):

You couldn't really tell about Mama's brain just from looking at her, but it was obvious as soon as she spoke. She had a high voice, like a little girl's, and she only knew 23 words. I know this for a fact, because we kept a list of the things Mama said tacked to the inside of the kitchen cabinet. Most of the words were common ones, like good and more and hot, but there was one word only my mother said: soof.
Although she lives an unconventional lifestyle with her mentally disabled mother and their doting neighbor, Bernadette, Heidi has a lucky streak that has a way of pointing her in the right direction. When a mysterious word in her mother's vocabulary begins to haunt her, Heidi's thirst for the truth leads her on a cross–country journey in search of the secrets of her past.

Review:
You know..Sarah Weeks was a new author to me, and yet this book seemed so familiar. I have a family that has more than enough medical problems from kidney failure to heart diseases to whatever else. You name it, someone in my family is bound to have it. I know it's hard to live with someone who has medical problems, but the end still made a tear fall.
I've never met someone who could only say less than 50 words that was under the age of 5. But Heidi's mom was in her 30's or 40's. And she had medical problems that might have driven someone off a roof. Heidi had the patience to help her. Well until soof came along.
That darn camera brought the word soof around more than once. That's of course when you'd go cross country to find out something about your past. I mean, to only know your first name? And that's it about your past? Wouldn't you do all the way across the country just to find out something about you and your mother? I know I would.
*SPOILERS* The past of Heidi kind of sent me spinning. The owner of where Heidi's mother used to live, is her grandfather. And her grandmother was hit by a bus. Then her mother dies. Seriously, I would break down crying because of all that. It would be too much for me to handle. I'd rather close the case on her history and leave it at the bottom of a lake. Anything to be hurting that much. Her whole life changed in the matter of days. Kind of shows you that it's time for you to start living, huh?

If you liked So B. It, you'll love Ida B. by Katherine Hannigan

REVIEW COMING SOON:

Review: Charlotte's Web

SUMMARY:
This is the story of a little girl named Fern, who loves a little pig named Wilbur-and of Wilbur's friend Charlotte, a beautiful large grey spider who lives with Wilbur in the barn. WIth the help of some friendly farm animals, Charlotte saves the life of Wilbur, who is Some Pig.
REVIEW:
I liked this book because this story is from a animals perspective. In this story there is one main character. His name is Wilbur. He is a pig and was raised by a girl named Fern. When he grows up,he is sent to a farm where he will be killed and made into pork in the sping time. Will he find a solution to save himself?

Rating for book: ♥♥♥♥♥
Rating for cover: ♥♥♥♥♥
Rating for plot: ♥♥♥♥♥
Rating for characters: ♥♥♥♥♥

Challenges:
200+ Reading Challenge


Reading Level:
4-8(I think we ALL could read this book though!!)


If you liked this book, then you'll love these!
The Trumpet Of The Swan
Stuart Little


What's your review for this book?

Review: The Devil Wears Prada

REVIEWING:

SUMMARY:
A delightfully dishy novel about the all-time most impossible boss in the history of impossible bosses. Andrea Sachs, a small-town girl fresh out of college, lands the job “a million girls would die for.” Hired as the assistant to Miranda Priestly, the high-profile, fabulously successful editor of Runway magazine, Andrea finds herself in an office that shouts Prada! Armani! Versace! at every turn, a world populated by impossibly thin, heart-wrenchingly stylish women and beautiful men clad in fine-ribbed turtlenecks and tight leather pants that show off their lifelong dedication to the gym. With breathtaking ease, Miranda can turn each and every one of these hip sophisticates into a scared, whimpering child. THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA gives a rich and hilarious new meaning to complaints about “The Boss from Hell.” Narrated in Andrea’s smart, refreshingly disarming voice, it traces a deep, dark, devilish view of life at the top only hinted at in gossip columns and over Cosmopolitans at the trendiest cocktail parties. From sending the latest, not-yet-in-stores Harry Potter to Miranda’s children in Paris by private jet, to locating an unnamed antique store where Miranda had at some point admired a vintage dresser, to serving lattes to Miranda at precisely the piping hot temperature she prefers, Andrea is sorely tested each and every day—and often late into the night with orders barked over the phone. She puts up with it all by keeping her eyes on the prize: a recommendation from Miranda that will get Andrea a top job at any magazine of her choosing. As things escalate from the merely unacceptable to the downright outrageous, however, Andrea begins to realize that the job a million girls would die for may just kill her. And even if she survives, she has to decide whether or not the job is worth the price of her soul.

REVIEW:

Ok, so I BARELY finished this book. I watched the movie after.
1. I can NOT relate to this book. Fashion, always being skinny and barely eating anything. Haha! Not for me.
2. Yes, I see how Miranda worked her to the bone, being a hard boss and all.
3. Andrea has a dream, and yet she settles for less and losing everyone important to her.

I was VERY happy when the book came to an end. I was more impressed with the movie than the book!

I'm happy that in the end, everything worked out.

Rating for book: ♥♥
Rating for cover: ♥♥♥
Rating for plot: ♥♥♥
Rating for characters: ♥♥♥♥

Overall rating: ♥♥♥

CHALLENGES:
200+ Reading Challenge

What did you think of the book?