“Arnold’s debut novel...is fun and fantastical, with wacky characters that burst off the page and into readers’ hearts.” from hello there, we’ ve been waiting for you!
INSPIRATION TO LIVE YOUR MAGIC! 75 Inspiring Biographies
HELLO THERE, WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU! Arnold, Laurie B. Prospecta Press (176 pp.) $9.99 paper | $9.99 e-book Sep. 17, 2013 978-1-935212-51-5
Anderson, Larry LIAP Media Corp. (256 pp.) $14.95 paper | $9.99 e-book Dec. 13, 2011 978-0-9869417-0-2
In this middle-grade novel, a girl coping with her mother’s death experiences a series of bizarre adventures involving a magical TV set after she moves in with her shopping-addicted grandmother. Madison McGee, an 11-year-old tomboy with a love of the great outdoors, begins her summer mourning the sudden death of her mother from a heart attack. Madison has never known her father, and she has no guardian to turn to except her maternal grandmother, Florida Brown, a resident of the tiny town of Truth or Consequences, N.M. Florida, who cares less about her granddaughter’s tomboy interests and more about trying to pretty her up, is addicted to shopping shows on TV, filling her house with the useless, bizarre goods she orders every day. Lonely Madison finds solace in one neighbor’s sweet but neglected dog as well as an oddball woman named Rosalie Claire, who has a penchant for wise words and a fanny pack similar to Mary Poppins’ magical carpetbag. Madison’s already topsy-turvy summer gets even weirder when the MegaPix 6000 shows up at Florida’s house. This mysterious, magical television has the power to zap the viewer into whatever show he or she is currently watching, whether it be one of Florida’s shopping shows, Madison’s favorite teen sitcom or a survival-based reality show in the Amazon. Through their time in the MegaPix and in the real world, Madison and Florida end up learning a number of valuable lessons about the importance of family and accepting people’s differences, no matter how odd they might seem. Author Arnold’s debut novel, the first in a trilogy about Madison’s adventures with the MegaPix, is fun and fantastical, with wacky characters that burst off the page and into readers’ hearts. Though the plot at some points relies a bit too heavily on magic, Madison is relatable as a protagonist, which helps keep the story grounded, and its zaniness and originality should be a welcome distraction for young readers. A worthy romp that manages to teach powerful lessons as it entertains.
A compendium of artfully written capsule biographies intended to inspire. In this, one of three books in the Live Your Magic series, Anderson (Wisdom to Live Your MAGIC!, 2013, etc.) follows a winning formula. In this installment, he tells the stories of 75 people who achieved greatness, largely in the face of adversity. He profiles a significant number of wellknown personalities (including Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela and Oprah Winfrey) but focuses on their resilience rather than their fame, and the tales often offer surprising twists. In recounting the story of Alfred Nobel, for example, Anderson writes that Nobel “got the chance to read his own death notice, and he didn’t like what he saw.” It turns out that a newspaper mistakenly published Nobel’s obituary, referring to him as a “merchant of death” because he’d invented dynamite and other explosives. Taken aback, Nobel vowed to change his life, establishing a foundation to award those who had contributed to the good of the world—the origin of the Nobel Prizes. The book also covers lesser-known names, and the most poignant are the biographies of remarkable youths. Ryan Hreljac, for instance, was just 7 years old when he heard that people were dying in underdeveloped countries due to a lack of clean water. This inspired him to do chores, earn money and eventually save up $70—enough to fund a new well in a Ugandan village. Eleven years later, Ryan’s Well Foundation has raised millions. Each story here carries a similar spark of inspiration. The Canadian author apparently scoured the world for these profiles, although for some readers, it may skew a bit too much toward Canadians. However, this doesn’t detract from the collection’s value. The brevity of these illustrated biographies, and the simple elegance of the prose, may particularly appeal to middle and high school students, as well as adults in need of spiritual renewal. An upbeat, inspiring celebration of mankind’s ability to challenge the odds.
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15 february 2014
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indie
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kirkus.com
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