Day 4. 2015 ALA MORRIS FINALIST BLOG TOUR

Almost to the home stretch for the Blog Tour discussing the Morris Finalists who are being celebrated this week at the American Library Association in Chicago: Leslye Walton, author of The Strange and BeautifulSorrows of Eva Lavender (Candlewick); Len Vlahos, author of Scar Boys (Egmont Publishing); E.K. Johnston, author of The Story of Owen, Dragon Slayer of Trondheim (Lerner); Jessie Foley, author of The Carnival at Bray (Elephant Rock); and Cinco Puntos’ own Isabel Quintero, author of Gabi, a Girl in Pieces. Congratulations to each and every one of them. May they all have wonderful careers in front of them. 

Muchas felicidades to all the publishers, a great list of Indies! The links above go directly to the book's page on the publisher site. Go visit the publisher, browse around, see what else you would like to put into your "must read" list. 

So onto the Day 4 blogs. 

Over at YA Bibliophile Isabel Quintero offers up a short essay entitled "For Reals" that's an in-your-face piece that declares, yes, the events that happen in Gabi, A Girl in Pieces happen all the time in high school. And, yes, they happened too when the older generation was in high school.  

Dragons in modern-day Canada? Tasha Saeker at Waking Brain Cells interviews E.K. Johnston about the fantasy writing of The Story of Owen, Dragon Slayer of Trondheim.

"With images as whimsical as wings and feathers, Leslye Walton has created a fantasy that explores the many ways we capture love … or perhaps how love captures us." At Pirate Tree Nancy Bo Flood reviews The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Eva Lavender.

"The masculine vibe of this story – male protagonists, masculine voice, and male author – is direct and refreshing...That doesn’t make The Scar Boys a boy book, though. It’s good to peer into another gender’s mind for awhile" That's what Writer's Rumpus says about Len Vlahos' Scar Boys. Wacky Momma chimes in too, giving The Scar Boys Five Stars!