Three Amazing Woman with Three Amazing Books

Congratulations to the 2011 SCBWI Crystal Kite Winners! While I'm sure all of the authors and books are wonderful, three have special meaning for me personally.

Kathryn Erskine for Mockingbird

I first met Kathy at a writing conference last year right after she was nominated for the National Book Award. Not only do we share the same name, but we also share the same home state. Over the past year, I've had the opportunity to witness the impact this woman and her books have had on local authors.

Sydney Salter for Swoon at Your Own Risk

Before I could say S-C-B-W-I without thinking about it, I felt Sydney's influence. I got to know Sydney while I was living in Salt Lake City, and she's continued to teach and encourage me from 2,000 miles away.

Kate Messner for Sugar and Ice

I have such great respect for Kate as an author, teacher, mother and friend. Kate's writing career has really taken off in the past couple of years, and I'll continue to learn from her example as more success comes her way.

I heart local authors

There's something about books by people who live close to you. You feel this connection because you know the person writing the book walks the same streets, eats at the same restaurants and knows the same local gossip.

It's different than reading a book with a local setting. You can have a local setting by an author not living in your area and not feel as connected to it as you do reading a book by a local author set in a fantastical land a million years ago.

Thanks to Sydney Salter for reminding me that buying local doesn't just mean a stop at the indie store down the street. It also means supporting authors who live in your neighborhood.

For every-day girls with every-day issues

My Big Nose & Other Natural Disasters by Sydney-Louise Salter Husseman

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

I approached this book a little differently as I read it aloud with my roommate, and I can't imagine having read it any other way. It was so much fun to read this book with a friend and be able to share our own stories of poor self-image, lousy boy experiences and horrific summer jobs. We could totally relate to this book, and not because we had experienced some trauma that had a profound effect on our lives, but because we are every-day girls who deal with every-day life.

Jory Michaels has a problem, and it's as plain as the nose on her face, mostly because it is the nose on her face. Her two best friends have emerged from their ugly-duckling phases and are now beautiful, confident young women ready to take senior year by storm. Her little brother Finn is a soccer star two years her junior who managed to score a date to senior prom when he was still a freshman. Her mom is perfectly proportioned, her dad is a workaholic and everyone around her knows where they are going in life. If only Jory's massive shnoz and perpetual virginity would stop getting in her way.

Her summer plan includes finding summer employment to pay for a nose job, discovering a passion and having sex. But it won't be that easy when she is a horrible driver and the only job she can find is delivering cakes. Not to mention that when water skiing, yoga, soccer, reading and classical music fail to perk Jory's interest, she begins to run out of things to become passionate about. Then her best friend starts hanging out with the guy she has been crushing on for twelve months, six days and however many hours, and the only boy who seems to be taking any notice of Jory is a juvenile delinquent with a super-snout of his own.

Sure there are times when I wished Jory would shut up about her nose and get more supportive friends, and don't even get me started on her superficial mother. But isn't that how life is? We get fixated on something so securely that we can't see past it and we let it rule our lives--that is part of human nature.

At a time when YA fiction has been flooded with books about beautiful, aloof, perfect girls, Sydney Salter has written a heartwarming books about an ordinary girl with ordinary problems yet managed to make an extraordinary novel. Full for laugh-out-loud funny moments, hide-under-the-covers embarrassing moments and call-your-mom-to-tell-her-you-love-her moments, My Big Nose stands out from the crowd.

View all my reviews.