Alice in Everville by S.C. Langgle / $20 Amazon Giveaway, Review and Blog Tour

Welcome to the first day of The Alice in Everville blog tour. We have a fun couple of weeks planned with guest post, book reviews, interviews and giveaway of a $20 amazon.com gift card and two ARCS of Alice in Everville.  Abut author S.C. Langgle  S.C. Langgle is a lifelong lover of words and stories who has never outgrown her preference for children's and young adult literature. A graduate of the Master of Professional Writing program and the University of Southern California, S.C. is originally from Baltimore, Maryland. She currently lives in Hollywood, California, only a blog from Marilyn Monroe's Handprints at Grauman's Chinese Theater, though she spends more time at home with her computer than mingling with celebrities. Luckily, she has her two adorable dogs - a Chihuahua, ChinMae, and a maltipoo, Sasha - to keep her company, and she'd shoose them over a gaggle of Hollywood stars any day. 

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Alice in  Everville A poem can seem like a labyrinth, a maze of words you can lose yourself in.  The key is to find a thread to hold on to, to guide you in your reading, to lead you into and out of a labyrinth of words…    Alice Little thinks she’s read every word the world-famous poet Sylvie Plate published before her untimely death…until she discovers a coded message hidden in Sylvie’s final collection of poems--a message that may explain the poet’s mysterious demise.   All she has to do is decipher the code and she knows she can convince her beloved English teacher, Miss A, that Sylvie’s message is real. Unfortunately, she only has one manic day at Everville Mall to do it. And between keeping track of her fountain-splashing, havoc-wreaking sister, finding a new copy of Sylvie’s poems, and…oh yeah…dealing with the blue-eyed, guitar-playing, majorly swoon-worthy Jaden Briar, who keeps popping up everywhere she goes, Alice wonders if she will ever finish deciphering in time.

From Pendrell Publishing

March 12, 2013

S.C. Langgle

Buy Alice in Everville is currently on sale for $3.99!

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My Thoughts: 

Alice in Everville takes place all in one day. Alice whose favorite poet is Sylvie Plate discovers a mystery that no one has yet to discover encoded in Sylvie’s last work She spends the day chasing her wild little sister through the mall and trying to figure out the clues left by Sylvie. The adventure is somewhat comical and frustrating all at the same time. But the moral of the story is one that every person should learn, making the short read (176 pages) worth it.  

What I liked:

The idea for this book is intriguing. The descriptions in Alice in Everville are very vivid and easy to imagine making it an easy read.  I like that Alice is a responsible young woman who helps take care of her wacky family.

I really liked the moral of the story.

What I didn’t like:

It seemed like Alice didn't have much adult support. Sure she had her teacher who nurtured her love of Sylvie Plate, but when she spent time with Alice it was all about teacher’s news and not what Alice needed a caring adult who shows genuine interest in her.

I enjoyed the dialogue she had with other characters and felt that Alice’s character grew on me in those moments. But there just weren't that many interactions with other characters.

Overall:

I felt that the lesson Alice learned during her quest was an excellent lesson that many people should learn.(Or be reminded of every once in a while) I would have liked to have Alice spend a little more time explaining how she felt about her discovery and the link between her life/family situation and Sylvie Plate.

Rating: 

I give Alice in Everville 3 skulls. I would recommend this book to a middle grade reader. I think a lot of young kids who feel a little bit isolated could really connect with Alice. Specifically, I would have really liked this book in 5^th grade. I would have connected with Alice's emotions of having the cute boy talk to you when you thought he didn't know you were alive. The discovery of things you love and individuality that comes with it makes this story easy to relate to for the middle reader. 

Author S.C. Langgle is giving away a $20 dollar Amazon gift card (International), 2 Alice in Everville ARC's (US only), 2 finished copies of Alice in Everville and 2 ebooks of Alice in Everville (International)

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Blog Tour Stops

February 27 – Jennifer @ My Life With Books www.jenkjovus.com

February 28 – Misty @ The Book Rat  www.thebookrat.com

March 1 – Jessica @ www.booksatruestory.com

March 4 – Kathy @ I Am A Reader Not A Writer www.iamareader.com

March 5 - Penelope @ The Reading Fever www.thereadingfever.com

March 6  - Jamie @ Writers, Write, Right? www.jmanni32.blogspot.com

March 9 – Haley @  Life and Lies www.haleymathiot.blogspot.com

March 12 – Author post @ www.sclanggle.blogspot.com

  March 13 – Michelle @ Book Briefs www.bookbriefs.blogspot.com