The Stereotypical Freaks - Howard Shapiro

Genre: Young Adult, Graphic Novel
Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

From Goodreads:
Four disparate high school seniors come together to compete in their school's battle of the bands. Sharing a love for playing rock and roll, the members name the band "The Stereotypical Freaks" because they feel stereotyped by their classmates - smart kid, geek, star athlete and quiet weirdo… when in fact they know they are much more than those labels that have been placed on them.

When one member reveals life altering news, winning the competition takes on more of a meaning to each member. Scared and angry, upset and yet still with a lot of resolve they set out to win one for the good guys… will they?

My Thoughts:
Howard Shapiro has made me a lover of graphic novels.  At least I can say I love his graphic novels.   I don't read a lot of graphic novels.  I would read his non-stop. My students keep them circulating.  In The Stereotypical Freaks we meet four teens who seem to be so different, but are really more alike than they know.  Music is what brings them all together and shows them how similar they are.  Tom is the nerdy one. He tutors his former best friend Mark. Dan is his newest best friend. Dan has issues with his dad. Dan and Tom have a band.  Dan wants them to enter the Battle of the Bands. the problem is that they need a drummer and a guitar player.  This is where Mark and Jacoby enter.  Jacoby is fairly new at the school. They end up forming the band The Stereotypical Freaks.  Jacoby is the motivator in this group.  When you read the story you learn that he is the person who you would expect to have legitimate reasons for being depressed.  The story is about true friendship and healing relationships.  The lessons are those that teens need to hear.  It is not preachy at all.  I would say it is very real.  That is why my students like his books. They can relate to them. One thing I found extremely cool was at the introduction of each chapter there was a list of songs to listen to while reading that particular chapter.  My students were shocked that I knew some of them.  Definitely one of my favorite books of the year. I had just finished it in the class when a student said, "Can I check it out now?" There are now three others in line for it. They know a good book when they see it.

Through a Daughter's Eyes: The Samuel "Dock" Pollard Story by Sharran Pollard

Genre: Adult, Memoir

Source: I purchased a copy

I work with the author. I realize I really never knew her.  I've worked with her for six and a half years.  During those years, until her father passed away, I knew very little about her dad.  I knew he was a pastor and that she adored him.  I guess you could say she worshipped the ground he walked on.  I had no idea he was such an awesome businessman. It explains a lot about the author.  After reading the book you can definitely say she is her fathers daughter.  Sharran gives us an open and honest look at her father and what it was like growing up in his household.  I don't think she could sing his praises enough.  From her book he was a very fair person, even when it came to discipline.  I loved her story of missing curfew by two minutes and losing her car for a month. He didn't give in.  Her mother stood behind her husband.  Sharran remembers the lessons learned.  I have to say that knowing only one side of her, the teacher, I can now see her father's influence in her classroom management.

Her father showed how strong his faith was as he leaned on God through multiple medical conditions.  He showed grace to those who sought to oust him from the very church he had started.  He is the standard by which we want others to judge Christians.  We want to be that person who wears their Christian faith on their sleeve for all to see.  We want to be that person that will one day be able to stand before God and hear him say, "Well done my good and faithful servant."  I have no doubt that these were the first words Samuel "Dock" Pollard heard as he entered through those heavenly gates.

About the Author

Sharran Pollard always enjoyed reading and writing as a child. She became an educator in the manatee County School System. She went on to forward her education in Ed. Leadership from the University of Central florida in Orlando, Florida.

Through a Daughter's Eyes is her first memoir that tells the story of her father's hardships throughout his lifetime and how he overcame these struggles to become a prominent successful baptist pastor of Mt. Raymond full gospel baptist Church, one of the largest African American churches in Southwest Florida. this story tells how his vision became his reality. When Sharran is not in somebody's mall shopping, she's most likely mentoring children or spendng family time with her mother Versia, her "special" friend Des, and their spoiled dogs. Sa'Jia and Diego. Sharran currenly resides in Palmetto, FL

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Interview with Christopher Cloud Author of Adelita's Secret

Today, we're shining the book spotlight on a young adult fantasy novel, Adelita’s Secret thanks to Rebecca's Writing Services. Christopher Cloud is an award-winning novelist with his collection of young adult novels. 

About Adelita’s Secret 

Lost in a superficial world of materialism and social status—and ashamed of her Latino heritage—seventeen-year-old Adelita Noé is loved by two men, two men separated by a hundred years and vastly different stations in life. One man owns little more than the shirt on his back. The other, a poet at heart, is heir to a vast fortune. Their love for Adelita serves as the backdrop for the Latino girl’s quest to better understand herself and her Mexican roots.

Read Chapter 1 – 4 on Amazon

Title is available at Amazon kindle or paperback

Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble

Q: Have you ever had a character take over a story and move it in a different direction than you had originally intended? How did you handle it?

A: I’m glad you asked because my teenage protagonist in Adelita’s Secret took me in a totally different direction with her own ideas for the storyline. I don’t write fantasy (or didn’t before this novel) and had no intention of writing fantasy. But Adelita took control about 5,000 words into the story, and changed the genre from young adult to young adult/fantasy. I’m pleased the story unfolded as it did.

Q: Any tips for character creation?

There has been much written about the so-called "composite" character, borrowing bits and pieces from several characters to build one character. Personally, I find this premise irritating because you end up creating a character that readers will find unbelievable. That is not to say that your character’s personally/physical makeup/speech can’t be tweaked. Create a character that readers can wrap their minds around.  

Q: Lessons readers can learn from the books characters?

I write middle-grade and young adult novels, and my characters dispense small doses of historical facts, facts that become an integral part of the story. Indeed, each of my four middle-grade/young adult novels plays out against a backdrop of history.

Q: Is there a theme or message in your work that you would like readers to connect to?

There are no messages per se in my novels, but I do try and tactfully educate the reader about the role history plays in all of our lives. In A Boy Called Duct Tape I educate the reader about the exploits of Jesse James and his gang of outlaws; in Voices of the Locusts I show my readers the ugly psychological scars left by World War II; in Adelita’s Secret, the importance of the Mexican Revolution forms the backdrop for my story; in The Ghosts of Petroglyph Canyon, the significance of preserving ancient rock drawings subtly weaves its way through the novel.

Q: If you could be any famous person/author for one day, who would you be and why?

I gave this question much thought. I’ve decided I’d like to be John Steinbeck when he was halfway through his first draft of The Grapes of Wrath. I’d love to learn his writing routine and who he relies on to read his copy, not for typos, but for content. For my money, The Grapes of Wrath is the most important book by an American author of the 20^th century.

Q: One of the most terrifying or difficult things about being a writer?

One of the most problematic issues for me are critiques. When I first began writing, a reviewer panned one of my middle-grade novels. However, the novel received more than 200 five-star reader reviews on Amazon. These days I judge the quality of my stories by reader reviews. Such reviews are far more telling.

Q: What do you believe is your strongest trait?

I am not a quitter. I believe this trait has helped me survive the bump road of writing fiction. I continue to hold the belief that a good story will always find a home. 

About Christopher Cloud

Award winning author Christopher Cloud began writing fiction full time after a long career in journalism and public relations. He writes middle-grade and young adult novels..Cloud graduated from the University of Missouri in 1967 with a degree in journalism. He has worked as a reporter, editor, and columnist at newspapers in Texas, California, and Missouri. He was employed by a Fortune 100 company as a public relations executive, and later operated his own public relations agency. Cloud attended high school in Japan, and lives in Joplin, Missouri. His website Is: www.christophercloud.com

Visit Christopher Cloud’s website

Visit Cloud’s blog

Check back on December 10th for my review of this book.