Good Morning! Here’s the Monday Morning Blog!
Did you get a chance to touch base with that teen or young adult in your life last week? Be sure to check in with them and see how they are doing. Take an interest in what they are doing. Ask them about a book they are reading or an app they are using on their phones. It may start a great conversation.
March’s Theme – National Reading Month
National Reading Month is an author’s dream come true. Throughout the month of March, kids across America will be doing a lot more reading with activities that will take place throughout the month to promote reading. It also tries to close the learning gap by promoting reading, the cornerstone to learning.
This month, I am centering this theme on my blogs and mentor page. Check out my mentor page and see how I am focusing on it Selma P. Verde – Mentor Page
Another fun thing I am doing to celebrate National Reading Month is to track the number of pages I read this month. So far, I am at 688 (through last night).
Book of the Month
When we are celebrating a month which is all about reading books, why not feature a novel that is not only a young adult read (the genre I write in) but also pick a book that has an intriguing title. There are many milestones that we face throughout life and when completed, will lead to the next one. This book is about a teen’s journey through becoming a cadet in military school which has many steps to go through. It is called Rites of Passage.
Selma’s Book Review
Book Title
Rites of Passage
Author
Joy N. Hensley
Type of Book
Teen/Young Adult Fiction
Author Background
Joy N. Hensley is a former middle school teacher. She writes this novel from a bit of experience since she also went to military school on a dare.
Summary of the book
Samantha McKenna was the daughter of a military father. Her two other brothers were following in his footsteps. On a dare from her oldest brother, Amos, she decided to become a cadet at the Denmark Military Academy, where she would be attending with her other brother. Not only are the rites of passage to become a cadet challenging, but being a girl in that situation made it even tougher. She not only had to fight against the teen young men who didn’t want her there, but also an institution that didn’t want things to change.
Reaction to the book
I really liked this book. It not only showed the challenges of military school, but it also showed how strong of a will Sam had to be able to stand her ground and work through the steps to becoming a cadet. I would recommend this book for teen young women who are looking for a role model of someone who may be doing what they want to do. Or anyone looking for that story of a character with the will to work towards something when the odds seem to be against them.
Link to the author
If you want to learn more about the author, here is a link to her website Joy N. Hensley
Link to the book
If you want to purchase a copy of The Rites of Passage, here is a link to Amazon – The Rites of Passage. Or you can pick it up from one of your local bookstores or shop Bookshop.org and have the purchase credited to them.
Subscribe to my Email List
If you would like to learn a little more about me and what I do behind the scenes as an author, blogger and mentor, subscribe to my email list through my website. Emails arrive in your email box weekly which contain updates about my writing journey, fun announcements and contests. Also included a little blurb about the weekly blog post with a link to check it out. Here is a link to the blog page of my website for a place to sign up. Join my List
Have a great week!
