The characters are well-rounded and face problems that are very real and important. Lisa BunkerĪuthor Lisa Bunker has written a book that will be a welcome addition to the LGBTQ canon in middle schools. Zen, who happens to be a computer whiz, helps find the hacker. Someone hacks the school website making threats to some in the group. At school, Zen finds a person who does not identify by gender at all, Arli, who has a small group of friends who, for one reason or another, don’t quite fit in. Fortunately, her aunts are very supportive, and they have a good friend, a transvestite, take Zen clothes shopping to help her fit in better. Now she will start at a new school where no one knows her or that she is transgender. Her father had never accepted who Zen was because she had been born in a boy’s body. Zen had lived with her father after her mother had died when Zen was five. Zenobia has recently moved to Maine to live with her aunt and her aunt’s wife. It’s such a rich and complex book that my short review (remember, I am limited to 200 words) doesn’t really do it justice, but I just don’t have it in me to rewrite it today, so I hope it’s enough to grab your interest so you will get hold of a copy. What an unusual name! So I read a little about it and chose it for review.

I ran across a book called Zenobia July by Lisa Bunker on the list of books available for review from the Seattle Book Review. I have another giveaway this week, so please keep on reading!

If you don’t know Greg, what cave have you been living in? Seriously, though, the link to his wonderful blog, Always in the Middle, is HERE. This week’s winner is our very own Greg Pattridge, host of MMGM! Congratulations, Greg. Last week I offered a gently-read ARC of Camp Shady Crook by Lee Gjertsen Malone to one of you. Allen has a good post HERE on ways to use action beats in your writing. Rebecca Luella Miller at Rewrite, Reword, Rework has an excellent post HERE on Adding tension during the editing process.

Lakin at Live Write Thrive has a terrific post HERE to help you effectively show emotions in your characters. “I’ve failed over and over and over in my life and that is why I succeed.”Ĭ.