Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books.  It’s easy to participate – just post a picture that was taken by you, a friend, or a family member and add your link on Alyce’s site.

Someone has been stealing lobsters from Eddie’s father’s traps and Eddie’s family is dependent on those lobsters to survive.  When Eddie’s father has to go to the mainland for surgery, Eddie decides to take matters into his own hands.  He needs to be careful though, because he suspects his sister might be involved.  As he tries to figure out who’s behind the thefts, Eddie he meets Briggs, who has run away from a sailing camp, and the unlikely pair set off to capture the thieves.

Into the Trap, by Craig Moodie, is an exciting novel for middle grade readers that will probably appeal to boys more than girls.  Told in the third person from Eddie’s point of view, the action takes place in a little over 25 hours.  The book is non-stop action and adventure so you definitely have to suspend disbelief to enjoy it.  That shouldn’t be a problem for the target audience, though.

I thought Eddie was a great character and admired his determination to help his family.  I thought his loyalty to his sister was admirable as well.  Briggs is fun and adds a little comic relief to the tension of the book.

I thought Into the Trap was good, but not great.  The problem for me was all the nautical terms – it seemed the book got bogged down in nautical details and terms and there were times I wasn’t quite sure what was going on because of it.  Young readers, especially those familiar with boats and sailing, would probably enjoy this more than I did.

For more children’s books reviews, go to Booking Mama’s feature, Kid Konnection. If you’d like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children’s books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, leave a comment as well as a link on her site.

Review copy provided by Roaring Brook Press.  I am an Indiebound Affiliate.

I’ve had “All is Bright“, by Sarah Pekkanen for a while but figured it was a Christmas story and set it aside.  When I saw that Sandy read, and loved, it in March I decided to read it and, boy, am I glad I did!  It’s official now, I’ve loved everything Pekkanen has published and should probably start a fan club for her.

Shortly after her break-up with Griffin, Elise is back in town for the holidays to visit her grandmother when she runs into Grif’s mother, Janice, in the grocery store.  Elise’s mother passed away when she was six and Janice has been like a surrogate mother to her.  Seeing Janice makes Elise realize she misses her more than she ever missed Grif, so she gladly accepts an invitation to dinner.  Something upsetting happens at the dinner and Elise leaves early, feeling rather aimless.

She spends the next day at the assisted living facility with Nana and her friends and, let me tell you, they are a hoot!  I want to be just like them when I grow up.  (I also want a whole book about them!)  Elise leaves the women feeling refreshed but it’s not until she gets home and finds something at her front door that she realizes how important love is.

That’s quite a description for a short story, isn’t it?  “All is Bright” might be short in words, but it’s long in emotion.  Once again, Sarah Pekkanen grabbed at my heart and wouldn’t let go – I teared up and laughed as I read this delightful story.  It reminded me of the importance of love and acceptance.  It also made me think of my father – he was a lot like Janice.  My old boyfriends would stop by our house to visit my father and he was always happy to see them.  Even though the story is set around Christmas, I wouldn’t call it a Christmas story – this is a great read for any day of the year.

This is the second wonderful short story I’ve read by Pekkanen and I keep hoping for a collection from her.  “All is Bright” is available for most e-Readers for 99¢ and is just perfect when you need something quick to read.

I am an Indiebound Affiliate.

Wiley Cash was recently in town for a Book Your Lunch event and, after meeting him at SIBA last year and reading his novel, A Land More Kind Than Home, there was no way I was going to miss it.   The event was everything I expected and more.  I predict wonderful things for Wiley and, so far, his debut novel is a great success.  It’s nice to see that he is both humble and grateful.

Wiley told us that he left North Carolina in 2003 to attend the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and study under Ernest Gaines.  Even though he was still in the south, he found Louisiana to be very different from his beloved western North Carolina and he came to realize there are many different parts of the south, each with its own character.

While he was pursuing his PhD in Louisiana, Wiley read a news article about a boy in Chicago who was smothered during a healing service and it planted a seed that became the idea for A Land More Kind Than Home.   Wiley is currently working on his second book – it’s about a washed about minor league baseball player and it sounds great!

Since they’ve been so fortunate, Wiley and his wife wanted to give back to the community and decided to concentrate their efforts on literacy because reading means so much to both of them.  He is donating to literacy organizations all along his tour and the Greenville Literacy Association benefited from his generosity while he was here.

You need to watch this video to see just how entertaining Wiley is:

 I got Wiley to autograph a copy of A Land More Kind Than Home for one lucky reader.  To enter to win an autographed copy of A LAND MORE KIND THAN HOME, simply fill out the entry form.  Contest is open worldwide – one entry per person, please.  I will use random.org to determine the winner. Contest ends at midnight EDT Tuesday, June 12, 2012.   Winner will be announced on Wednesday June 13, 2012.  Comments are welcome (and appreciated) but will not get you an entry in the contest.

Like a lot of kids, Jess and his mute brother, Christopher (“Stump”), are curious about the world of adults.  They’re not above spying to satisfy their curiosity either.  One day, Stump witnesses something that will change their lives, and their community, forever.

A Land More Kind Than Home, by Wiley Cash, is a superb novel that just oozes atmosphere.  Set in the mountains of western North Carolina, the book tells the story of a region and its people and Cash gets both perfect.  I’ve lived near that part of the country for a while and I appreciated the quality of the dialogue and the sense of place in this wonderful novel.

The story is told from the points of view of Jess, Sheriff Clem Barefield, and Adelaide Lyle, a pillar of the church and the community.  Through their different perspectives, readers are able to piece the story together as they learn of the past and secrets kept.  It’s a story fraught with tension that had me on the edge of my seat.  It’s hard to believe this is Cash’s debut novel, because his writing ranks right up there with the best Southern authors.  This book is sure to be one of my favorites of the year.

I listened to the audio version and thought it was just wonderful.  It’s narrated by Nick Sullivan, Lorna Raver, and Mark Bramhall and they all do a marvelous job.  They get the accents and the rhythm of the area just right.  The audio version lasts about nine hours and the time just flew as I listened to it.

A Land More Kind Than Home is a book you don’t want to miss.  I have a feeling it’s the start of something big for Cash.

Review copy provided by Harper Collins. I am an Indiebound Affiliate.

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, a meme started by Marcia and hosted this May by Martha of Martha’s Bookshelf.  I hope everyone’s having a wonderful holiday weekend.  Please take some time out to remember our fallen heroes today.  These are the books I received last week:

Monday

• An Unmarked Grave by Charles Todd came from Harper Collins
• The Pleasures of Men by Kate Williams came from Hyperion

Tuesday

• Last Call for the Living by Peter Farris came from Forge Books
• Rather Outspoken by Dan Rather came from Media Connect
• Ten Girls to Watch by Charity Shumway came from Simon & Schuster
• Prosper in Love by Deborah Michel was a win from Savvy Verse & Wit

Thursday

• Townie by Andre Dubus III came from W. W. Norton
• The Bucolic Plague by Josh Kilmer-Purcell came from Tantor Audio
• In the Land of Believers by Gina Welch came from Tantor Audio

Saturday

• I Suck at Girls by Justin Halpern came from Harper Collins

Did you find any goodies in your mailbox last week?

Carol M is the winner of autographed copies of THE BEACH HOUSE and BEACH HOUSE MEMORIES both by Mary Alice Monroe.  Congratulations to Carol and thanks to all who entered!  Watch for more giveaways coming soon!

Lisa Skye truly loves corn and has collected fifty corn recipes from some of the most well know chefs in the country in a wonderful little cookbook called I Love Corn.  The cookbook opens with tips on buying, storing, preparing, serving, and freezing corn and ends with bios of the contributing chefs as well as conversion tables and an index.  In between are recipes for breakfast, soups, starters, main courses, side dishes, and sweets, all made with corn.

Almost every recipe in this cookbook is appealing, after all, they’re made with corn.  Some of them are a little unusual, like Fresh Corn Ice Cream and Corn and Cherry Tomato Hash with Poached Duck Egg and Truffle Hollandaise, and I doubt I’ll make them – I wouldn’t even know where to buy duck eggs – but most of them look delicious.  Some of the recipes that I want to try are Roasted Corn and Goat Cheese Quiche with Brown Rice Crust, Grilled Corn, Mexican Style, and Spicy Stir-Fried Corn and Broccoli.  I tried the Jalapeño Corn Muffins since I had all the ingredients on hand and they were a big hit.  The directions were clear and concise and the muffins were easy to make.  This recipe comes from Jay Foster, the chef-owner of farmerbrown in San Francisco.

Jalapeño Corn Muffins

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
1/3 granulated sugar
3 ½ teaspoons corn flour
1 1/8 teaspoon salt
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 1/3 cups whole milk
2 large eggs
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 1/3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
5 tablespoons finely diced, seeded jalapeno (about 2 medium-sized jalapenos)

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF.  Coat twelve silicone muffin cups (or a twelve cup muffin pan) with nonstick spray.
• Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, corn flour, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl.  Whisk together the milk, eggs, and vegetable oil in a separate medium-size bowl  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredient and mix well with a soft rubber spatula.  Add the butter and jalapeño.  Stir until completely incorporated.
• Ladle the batter evenly into the prepared cups.  Bake for 26 to 28 minutes on the center rack, until slightly golden on top.

If you love corn or end up with a lot of corn from your garden or CSA, you need to checkout I Love Corn!  Part of the proceeds from the cookbook will be donated to The Dougy Center in Portland, Oregon, an organization that gives support to grieving families.

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend.

Review copy provided by Andrews McMeel Publishing. I am an Indiebound Affiliate.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books.  It’s easy to participate – just post a picture that was taken by you, a friend, or a family member and add your link on Alyce’s site.