Meeting Catherine Gilbert Murdock!

I've had a great deal of fun recently! It's taken me a while to get this up, but on Tuesday I got to meet the amazing Catherine Gilbert Murdock, author of Princess Ben and the Dairy Queen trilogy. Catherine and her sister Elizabeth, author of the popular Eat, Pray, Love and several other books, were special guest lecturers at my college. I was very sad to find out that I wouldn't be able to attend their lecture due to a conflict with my terrible PE class that I loathe. However, this ended up being a good thing because in consolation I got to go to the invite only breakfast the next morning. The breakfast was so much fun! Being me, I got there 10 minutes early and was the only one in the building for a while. When everyone started arriving I sat down with a girl that I didn't know, and then another girl sat with us as well. The sisters came in, and much to my surprise and pleasure Catherine sat down beside me. I would like to think that I stayed calm and composed, but inside I was having a total fangirl moment. She chatted with all of us about random things (red hair and secret compartments, for example) as we ate. Then I revealed that I was a blogger, and she talked about how much she loves us, and that she reads our reviews. That made me so happy, and then she said that she'd read my reviews of her books! Excited doesn't begin to cover it. After chatting she and Elizabeth went to answer questions and were tons of fun. I also now have a very lovely SIGNED copy of Dairy Queen. Then I continued to talk to her (she liked my jacket :) ) and am currently compiling a list of YA fantasy books for her to read! I still can't believe she asked me for reading suggestions! Yet again, I forgot to take pictures, so you'll have to trust me about how much fun it was. I had a great time. Catherine is amazingly cool and I can't wait to read the rest of her books!!!

Dairy Queen

When you don’t talk, there’s a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.

Harsh words indeed, from Brian Nelson of all people. But, D. J. can’t help admitting, maybe he’s right.

When you don’t talk, there’s a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.

Stuff like why her best friend, Amber, isn’t so friendly anymore. Or why her little brother, Curtis, never opens his mouth. Why her mom has two jobs and a big secret. Why her college-football-star brothers won’t even call home. Why her dad would go ballistic if she tried out for the high school football team herself. And why Brian is so, so out of her league.

When you don’t talk, there’s a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said.

Welcome to the summer that fifteen-year-old D. J. Schwenk of Red Bend, Wisconsin, learns to talk, and ends up having an awful lot of stuff to say.

from barnesandnoble.com

Beth says 4.5 Stars...
I have found a new series to love. Generally I'm not the biggest fan of realistic fiction, but I couldn't help being pulled into D. J.'s world. I know what it's like to grow up in a small town and Murdock captured that perfectly. The first person stylizing worked well with the story; it was interesting to get a glimpse into D. J.'s mind. I felt like the plot moved a bit slowly at times, but it always picked back up before I got bored. The characters were interesting, but a few lacked depth. Most of them, however, felt like real people; shortcomings and all. D. J. wasn't a typical heroine, but that was her charm. I felt as though she could really be out there somewhere milking cows. I also enjoyed her relationship with Brian and thought that it grew beautifully. I'm not a very big football fan, so more than a few things went totally over my head. Despite my lack of football knowledge, the story was simple delightful. It managed to stay fun without becoming fluffy and pointless. I have the second book in the series on my bookshelf and I can't wait to read it. Murdock didn't disappoint me with this book, and I have a new author to follow.

Princess Ben

“My gown suited me as well as I could ever hope, though I could not but envy the young ladies who would attract the honest compliments of the night. My bodice did not plunge as dramatically as some, and no man — no man I would ever want to meet, surely — could fit his hands round my waist. What I lacked in beauty I would simply have to earn with charm...”

With her parents lost to assassins, Princess Ben ends up under the thumb of the conniving Queen Sophia. Starved and miserable, locked in the castle’s highest tower, Ben stumbles upon a mysterious enchanted room. So begins her secret education in the magical arts: mastering an obstinate flying broomstick, furtively emptying the castle pantries, setting her hair on fire...
But Ben’s private adventures are soon overwhelmed by a mortal threat to her kingdom.
Can Ben save the country and herself from foul tyranny?

from amazon.com

Beth says 4 Stars...
I really had a good time while reading this book. It was fun, despite its seriousness at times. The basic plot wasn't that original, but there were moments of true uniqueness in the minor plot points. What made this book good was the writing. It was funny and felt realistic. Nothing felt contrived, even when witchcraft started to pop up. The book was infused with humor, and this really allowed me to stay engaged for the entire time. Ben was an interesting character. At times I was ready to reach through the pages and strangle her, but that's a good thing in a way. She appeared to be a real person, but at the beginning is so immature. Despite my thoughts of killing a fictional character, Ben definitely grew up over the course of the book. That was really interesting to see, because her character development was very subtle. You didn't really realize that she was changing until it was as obvious as a club over the head. This was really Ben's book, and so the supporting characters were just that, supporting. They added to the story, but never upstaged Ben. I thought that this was an enjoyable read perfect for lovers of light fantasy.