2008-04-16

"Cathy's Book : if found call (650)266-8233" by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman. Running Press, 2006.

Cathy, a senior in high school, journals about events that happen to her after she starts dating Victor. He suddenly dumps her, and Cathy and her best friend, Emma, do their detective thing to find out why. They become involved in a dangerous hunt for who he really is, murder, kidnapping, and laboratories, with a twisted, surprise ending.

The jacket blurb indicates that the authors are PC Game creators (MechWarrior, I Love Bees), and invites readers to "Read. Explore. Investigate. Examine the Clues. Call the phone numbers. Access the websites. And when you're done, you'll know that the teen novel will never be the same again."

I didn't explore, investigate, or call the phone numbers, but if anyone does, I invite you to post what you find out in a comment.

(Cross Posted at grandCENTRAL)

2008-04-07

"Hot Wired in Brooklyn" by Douglas DiNunzio. iPublish.com, 2001.

It's interesting that more librarians are not authors, working day in and day out with books - all kinds - as they do.

The story is actually the second in a series, though the first has not yet been published. Eddie Lombardi, private investigator is persuaded to prove the innocence of a kid who, up to now, has been nothing but trouble. Along the way, we meet Eddie's "goombahs", Charlotte, a sinister and troubled - but beautiful - young woman, and other colorful characters.

This title was written by a now-retired librarian, who worked at Sacramento Public Library. My book club read it this month, and then, instead of a book discussion, we invited the author to our meeting and learned all about what it takes to develop characters, a plot, and a market. He described the research done for the books, his own method of picking up the narrative after a break, and how he is compelled to remain consistent with what the characters would or whould not do if they were real people. Knowing this "back story" gave me a new take on the book, its plot, and especially its characters.