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This is the blog of children's book author and elementary school teacher, Stacy Barnett Mozer. I blog about my own writing journey, the journey of other kidlit authors, my classroom, and talk about books. Thanks for stopping by. Your thoughts are always welcome (and encouraged).

Monday, November 28, 2016

#IMWAYR November 28, 2016


Each week I try to join Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers to share all of the reading I've done over the week from picture books to young adult novels. It's #IMWAYR.

Here's what I read last week:


Middle Grade


A beautiful story about family and friendship set against a background of segregation and integration. 


Young Adult


An unexpected twist on the backstory of the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. 


 When K narrowly escapes a bombing attempt by a group known as the Brotherhood she is recruited to infiltrate their organization to find the terrorist cell. But the teens she meets are the opposite of her expectations and instead of finding danger, she finds acceptance for the first time in her life. Could these people really be the terrorists she has been taught to fear or is fearing them for no reason the underlying problem? 


Sam's life fell apart when he and his sister Livy walked in on their mom having an affair. Hadley's life fell apart when her house was plastered with notes saying her father cheated on her mother. When these two broken teens end up living in the same town months later, they are immediately drawn together. Now they will suffer love. A heartbreaking story of family relationships and finding a way to move forward. Told from two points of view.

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If you like my reading choices, you can check out all the books I've read on Goodreads and please leave a comment below. It's Monday, what have you been reading?

Monday, November 21, 2016

#IMWAYR November 21, 2016


Each week I try to join Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers to share all of the reading I've done over the week from picture books to young adult novels. It's #IMWAYR.

Here's what I read during the last three weeks:


Picture Books



I loved this rhyming picture book about a young dinosaur pirate working to prove himself among his older peers. My class wanted me to play the trailer over and over just to sing with the song.

Middle Grade


A well told story about a fight for freedom during the time of the Berlin Wall. Unfortunately it has many parallels to modern times.



When a girl name Max and a robot named Fuzzy find themselves in a school run by tests and rules, their fuzzy logic will have to save the day to let free thinking triumph. 

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If you like my reading choices, you can check out all the books I've read on Goodreads and please leave a comment below. It's Monday, what have you been reading?

Friday, November 4, 2016

Release Party and Giveaway for Starr Fall by Kim Briggs

Starr Fall by Kim Briggs releases today! 

About the Book: 
On the run from the Organization, Starr never planned on falling in love.

Starr Bishop’s the complete package. A perfect smile, brains to match, and a winning attitude. Boys want to date her and girls want to be her. She’s the type of girl you want to hate, if only she wasn’t so damn likable. But don’t worry, she’s not interested in your boyfriend. Boys are one complication she can live without.

When the Organization decides she’s not only the model student but the ideal assassin, Starr’ll need a lot more than high test scores and extracurricular involvement to get herself out of that commitment.

Dark, moody, and dead sexy Christian Evergood is the last person she’d expect—or even want— to come to her rescue. From opposite ends of Webster Highs social hierarchy, their lives collide in one electrifying moment. Christian isnt the Goth loner he pretends to be, hes a part Cherokee, All-American boy who wants to be a hero, Starrs hero. Christian makes Starr forget that the Organization is after her, but nothing will stop the Organization from collecting their top recruit.

By the way, the spot for junior class president just became available.

About the Author


Kim once smashed into a tree while skiing. The accident led to a concussion, a cracked sternum, temporary notoriety as a sixth grader returned from the dead, and the realization that fictionalized accounts are way more interesting than just slipping on the ice. 

An unhealthy obsession with conspiracy theories combined with a love of travel and happily ever afters led Kim to write her YA novel, Starr Fall, where a secret organization decides Starr Bishop would make the ideal assassin. While in hiding, Starr meets dark, moody, and dead sexy Christian Evergood. Cue the swoon worthy music. But it’s not all happily ever afters for Kim, her NA novel, And Then He, explores the dark and scary corners of the human psyche. Following a night of innocent flirting with a handsome stranger, Tiffani finds herself in the midst of a nightmare she can’t escape. And Then He is available now through Amazon and other major book retailers. Starr Fall will debut November 2016 with Inkspell Publishing. Starr Lost will release in January 2017, followed by Starr Gone in June 2017.

When she’s not doing something writerly, Kim can be found jumping into snow drifts with her three kids, husband, and dog. She’s careful to avoid trees. 



Buy Links:


What early readers are saying…
GERM  MAGAZINE:

Kim Briggs’ novel truly is a wonderful debut. From start to finish I was hooked, and all I could think about was what could possibly happen next. From believable characters to a brilliant new aspect of YA narrative, if you love action-packed thrillers, then this is the book for you! Now, to begin the wait until book 2 is out!

YA INSIDER
Review
Abandon whatever you are doing and read this book! Imagine being an exemplary student there ever was. You have your life planned out to the minute. You take a placement test for what you assume is a summer internship, only to find out it's a secret organization and they want you to be an assassin. If you can imagine this, you've just met Starr! Starr shows you how much your life can change if just let go a bit! She would make a kick ass assassin... if only she wanted to be one! To help her escape from this is Christian. I need more Christian in my life! Tall, dark, handsome and mysterious! While he seems like he's uptight in the beginning, when he comes to the rescue of Starr you really get to see him. He's sweet, sensitive, understanding, and above all an absolute gentleman.  

It's such a quick paced book. you could easily read five or six chapters without realizing how much time has passed! The ending left me wanting more! I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! Book 2 of this series needs to come to come out tomorrow!


As a bonus, Kim’s supplied the playlist for Starr Fall.    Dive in and give a listen.          

Giveaway Details
To celebrate Starr Fall’s Release, Kim wants to give away some swag. 

One lucky winner will receive a bag of Starr Fall swag including bookmarks, all the fixings for s’mores (once you read the book, you’ll know why), and a $15 Amazon Gift Card.
So dive in, and enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway here: 




a Rafflecopter giveaway