Book Lists

Deep in the heart of a mist-shrouded island, an impossible secret is about to be discovered. 

Twig is used to feeling unwanted. Sent to live on a pony ranch for “troubled” girls on a misty, haunted island, Twig is about to discover the impossible — someone who needs her.

Jolted awake from a bad dream, Twig follows the desperate whinny of a terrified horse out to the stables. There in the straw is a bleating little scrap of moonbeam. A silver-white filly with cloven hooves and a tiny, spiraling horn.

A baby unicorn.

Now Twig knows what secret is hiding in the island’s mist: the last free unicorn herd. And a mysterious boy named Ben who insists that this impossible creature is now Twig’s to care for. That she needs Twig’s love and protection. Because there’s something out there in the deep, dense shadows that’s hunting for them…

Amie:  Welcome! Your book sounds like something I would have loved as a kid. Oh, who am I kidding? I would love it now! I’m obsessed with unicorns. Well, not obsessed…it’s not like I sleep with a stuffed pink one with glitter on it’s hooves…I mean, *clears throat* why do you like to write middle-grade books?

R.R.: Because many of my readers are kids, and there’s nothing more fun than talking with kids who are reading my books.

Amie: That’s so true! Who is your favorite author?

R.R.: I couldn’t point to one author, book, or even genre. I read everything from crime novels to love stories, mysteries to historicals.

Amie: It’s hard to chose, isn’t it? So many great books, so little time! What do you like most about your main character and why?

R.R.: At the beginning of the book, Twig wants nothing to do with anything fantastical. She just wants to stay safe in her shell with her own secrets for company. I liked watching her grow and learn how to love and be loved. Twig becomes very protective of those she loves, and she does some very brave things in spite of feeling helpless and afraid.

Amie:  Being brave is a very admirable trait. Are you brave enough for toadstools or tree sap?

R.R.: Toadstools sound pretty gross, but nothing’s worse than tree sap. Have you ever tried to get that stuff out of your hair or off the seat of your pants? Ugh!

Amie: I hear you! Thanks for joining us today and enjoy your tree sap stained pants. Errr…toadstools. 🙂

R. R. Russell lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest. She grew up traveling the world as an army brat and now travels the country as a coach with a non-profit judo club. She loves to read and draw, and like Twig, once spent a lot of time sketching unicorns. Visit her blog at wordwrestlerwrites.wordpress.com. Visit wordwrestlerwrites.wordpress.com

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Amie Borst is the author of Cinderskella, the first book of three in the Scarily Ever Laughter series. You can find her on her blog and facebook.

Some authors struggle for days…weeks…months…even years to write the perfect opening line to a book. Finding the right words to start a story can definitely be a challenge. A short, powerful sentence? One word? Dialogue? Or something dramatic and unusual? Not like there’s any pressure, but the first line sort of, um, sets the tone for the entire book.

I thought it might be interesting to look at some opening lines in recent middle grade novels to get a sense of the different techniques employed by authors. Some start with a bold sentence, such as:

“You’ve never met anyone like me.” — Sure Signs of Crazy, by Karen Harrington

And:

“The sofa wasn’t there on Monday but it was there on Tuesday.” — What We Found in the Sofa and How it Saved the World, by Henry Clark

These two openings are short, strong, and full of the promise of a good story. Don’t you want to find out about a character who is unlike anyone you’ve ever met before? And of course, the intrigue and questions surrounding the mysterious sofa — absent one day, there the next — is sure to pull the reader in immediately.

Short sentences can accomplish a great deal with just a few words, while also setting the stage for what’s to come. Three other first lines that are also short and hook the reader right away include:

“Going was easy.” — A Long Walk to Water, by Linda Sue Park

And:

“This is how Kyle Keeley got grounded for a week.” — Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, by Chris Grabenstein

And:

“There was only orange juice in the fridge.” — Fortunately, the Milk, by Neil Gaiman

Another technique is the use of dialogue, such as the opening line in Greetings From Nowhere, by Barbara O’Connor:

“Harold would have known what to do,” Aggie said to Ugly.

Notice that this isn’t just any old dialogue, but a line full of worry, and perhaps, lament. Plus, I’m curious right off the bat — what should Harold have known? Who’s Aggie? And who would be called Ugly?

The first line in Kate DiCamillo’s Flora & Ulysses is also dialogue:

“Flora,” her mother shouted, “what are you doing up there?”

I think any kid, anywhere, could relate to that opener.

I also love longer opening lines that give us a sense of the narrator’s voice immediately, such as in Twerp by Mark Goldblatt:

“My English teacher, Mr. Selkirk, says I have to write something, and it has to be long, on account of the thing that happened over winter recess–which, in my opinion, doesn’t amount to much.”

Another powerful method is starting a book with just one word, such as Sharon M. Draper’s Out of My Mind, which begins with simply: “Words.”

Once you nail that first word, or words, it’s like knowing you’re heading in the right direction on a long, lovely journey. It’s the best feeling in the world.

On a personal note, I was so saddened to hear of Barbara Park’s passing. I will miss her wit, charm, and optimism. My children, like millions of others, loved Junie B. Jones. While Barbara is no longer with us, Junie B. will undoubtedly live on forever.

Michele Weber Hurwitz is the author of Calli Be Gold (Wendy Lamb Books 2011) and The Summer I Saved the World…in 65 Days (Wendy Lamb Books, coming April 2014). Visit her at micheleweberhurwitz.com,and at her author page on Facebook.