MMGM ~ Dream Keeper Take Me Away!

This is my first-ever Marvelous Middle Grade Monday (courtesy of Shannon Messenger) post! Yeah! I'm excited to be here . . . and a little nervous! I'm not very good at reviewing books. I always think someone else can summarize and postulate a lot better than me. And what the heck does "postulate" even mean, anyway? I don't know, it just seemed like a fancy way to say "talking about". :P

But when my kid says, "Hey this book is really good," I take notice and it makes me want to read the book, too. (Note: This doesn't seem to go the other way. If I say, "Hey, this book is really good, you should read it," both my sons usually say something like, "Oh, that's nice" and they DON'T read it.)

Anyway, my son Xan (Thing 2) read The Dream Keeper by Mikey Brooks, said it was really good, so I thought I'd read it too. Like I said, I can't talk fancy about books, but I can tell you . . . I LIKE THIS BOOK!

Dreams: Dorothy called it Oz, Alice called it Wonderland, but Nightmares call it HOME.When an evil shifter takes over the gateway to the realm of Dreams, it falls to 14-year-olds Parker and Kaelyn to stop him. Their only hope lies with Gladamyr, the Dream Keeper, but can they trust a Nightmare to save their world?

Add it on Goodreads!

From the first pages I wanted to keep turning the page. I liked the troubles Kaelyn faced with bullies, and as a mom of boys who play video games, I totally got the angst of gaming and wanting your friends to think you were "the man". But it was the rebellious, kind, Dream Keeper that I wanted to know most about. I turned the pages for Gladimyr, The Dream Keeper.

The author, Mikey Brooks, did not let me down. I loved this book. I loved the real friendship between Parker and Kaelyn (and really related to Kaelyn's personal troubles).

Thank goodness I have the second book, The DreamStone ready to read next! (Xan liked that one, too!)

I give The Dream Keeper by Mikey Brooks 5 Ninjas of Awesome!

Summer Reading Contest! Win BOOOKKKSSS!!!

I am a lucky duck because I get to be part of this amazing group of middle grade authors ~ Emblazoners. Our goal is to champion independent middle grade to "tween" books and really encourage a love of stories in our readers. 

Plus, we write kickin' stories!

This summer we're hosting our first summer reading contest! Every tween book read qualifies as an entry for our drawing to be held on August 18. Three winners will receive signed duplicate copies of any five paperbacks listed below—one set for themselves and one for their most recent teacher. The more you read, the greater your chances of winning!

Here are the official rules:

1. Participation is limited to children who are between the ages of 9-14 at the start of the contest. (Children of Emblazon authors do not qualify.)
2. Contest runs from June 15 to August 15, 2014. Only books read within the contest dates qualify. Any entries received before or after those dates will not be counted.
3. Only middle grade and young adult novels qualify as entries. (But not just ours. Any MG or YA book counts!)
4. To enter, send an email to misenhoff@hotmail.com that includes your name, the book’s title and author, and a brief review (a summary of the book and why you liked it or not). Reviews should be 75 to 100 words in length. There is no limit to the number of entries a reader may submit, but only one entry will be credited per book.
5. By submitting, contestants agree to allow the Emblazon authors to publish their book summaries on the Emblazon blog or Facebook page. Only first names and last initials of contestants will be used. Not all submissions will be published.
6. The drawing will be held August 18, 2014. Winners will be announced immediately on the Emblazon blog and contacted via the email addresses used for submissions. All addresses received will be held confidential but will be added to our semi-annual Emblazon catalog mailing.
7. Three winners will receive: duplicate sets of five signed paperbacks of their choice from the list below—one for themselves and one for their most recent teacher.

Here are some of the awesome paperback prizes winners will choose from, in no particular order. Each image is linked to an Amazon page with listing information. We’ll be adding more…

Publishing in June!