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Why’d it take me so long to figure this out: Undercover Boss = Cinderella! No wonder I’m such a sucker for this show.
Disguised as a lowly worker whose real worth is hidden by strange facial hair or harsh makeup and fake nails, UB toils at various jobs within the company for several days. The hotter and grungier (cleaning port-a-potties, landscaping, snaking drains), the better. During these trials, UB sufferers humiliation, makes friends, and occasionally is horrified by the people who work for the company. Always, he or she comes to appreciate the effort required to do these frontline jobs every day, and the sacrifices workers are making for their families. (To drive home this point, the show’s producers are sure to have lined up people with whom the boss can empathize.)
At the end, UB gets a reverse makeover and is “revealed” to coworkers in some palatial office or ranch or winery or estate, where cash prizes and favors are bestowed on the employees who helped during the previous week. Like Cinderella’s stepsisters, disloyal, rude, or incompetent workers are offered a path to improvement. Implicit is the threat that if they don’t shape up, they will be shown the door of the palace.
And everyone lives happily ever after under UB’s newly empathetic management.
by Rae Carson
Prayer candles flicker in my bedroom.
In this debut novel, a fat girl finds her own strength and learns to be queen. It’s gotten rave reviews and blurbs, including by Tamora Pierce (“engrossing”), and should appeal to fantasy fans who like their heroines brave and sensitive. Some elements reminded me of Harry’s journey in The Blue Sword, but the setting has a distinctive Spanish flavor. The real draw is a sympathetically flawed protagonist who gradually comes into her own.
According to the author’s blog, sequel The Crown of Embers is due fall 2012. Excellent.
The day Sacha found out he could see witches was the worst day of his life.
I’m really glad that this novel was acquired in a multi-book deal, because 300 pages is just not enough time to spend in Sacha Lassky’s alternate turn-of-the-last-century New York. This book gets the ball rolling nicely, grounding us in Sacha’s particular family, neighborhood, and magical tradition before the plot spirals into the city’s wider world when Sacha gets a job with the NYPD’s most notorious Inquisitor. A fun range of characters and lots of action and magic. Next installment, please!
by Kendare Blake
The grease-slicked hair is a dead giveaway—no pun intended.
Not your average ghost story: teenager Cas “Don’t call me ghostbuster” Lowood dispatches dangerous ghosts on his own, without much fuss or drama. Then he meets Anna. She’s a special case, and he’ll need backup to cope with her.
While I thought the plot was uneven, requiring some uncharacteristic lapses of attention to detail on Cas’s part to keep the twists coming, I enjoyed the world, atmosphere, and character dynamics very much.
According to the author’s blog, the sequel, Girl of Nightmares, is on the way. (Amazon.com lists a release date of August, 7, 2012. Put it on the calendar!)
“It is the first day of November, and so, today, someone will die.”
Loved this book. Way to take an item of faerie lore—dangerous water horses—and build a compelling story and characters around it. Strong writing, characters you care about, and a setting that infuses the whole novel with beauty and menace. Most excellent.
(Cabin Boy got to watch several extra episodes of “Ruby and Max” at bedtime, because his mama wasn’t ready to put the book down.)
in San Diego next weekend. Very excited to take off the "mother of a 2-year old" hat and put on my "author" hat for a couple of days. I believe the convention is sold out, but if you're already going, I'll be attending Friday and Saturday, with a panel scheduled for Saturday, 10am
The Realities of Sailing: Fantasy characters often travel via ship over the open waves, whether it be a terrestrial sea or a mystic domain of haunted waters. What do fantasy writers REALLY need to know about nautical vessels in order to bring them to life in fiction? A panel of experienced seamen discusses how boats and ships really work: telling port from starboard, talking about how ships are steered and crewed, how waterways are navigated and diagramming a ship. What details should be excluded in the interest of story flow?
Shelly Rae Clift, Dennis McKiernan, Devin Poore, Heather Tomlinson, Harry Turtledove (M)
hmm... wonder which part of my bio got me on this panel. Maybe the part about selling the house and moving onto a sailboat five years ago?
I'll be on the YALAPALOOZA panel at 5 pm on Saturday. Always a great time... and a new location this year, the USC campus. More info at the LA Times Events website.
edited to fix date... NEXT weekend, not this weekend! Arrgh. Too much excitement.
I knew the draft needed more work, but really, Mr. Y ... was it necessary to shred the pages?
I'm speaking at a Teen Read Week event this afternoon with author Sally Nemeth (The Heights, The Depths, and Everything In Between), at LA Public Library's Junipero Serra Branch, 4pm. There will be prizes...
by Janni Lee Simner
I will not allow it.
or, if you don't count prologue first lines:
Icy rain blew into my hood and dripped down my neck as I knelt on the mossy stones.
A great read on a scorching afternoon. Missed my daily writing page quota to finish it during the baby’s nap. Excellent twisty plot and total immersion into Icelandic lore and landscape. Haley is a believable, funny, and heroic protagonist. Loved it!
If you’re in the mood for more Arctic chill (and polar bears!), follow with Sarah Beth Durst’s Ice.
