Today is Young Adult Fiction day at Cybils, and we highlight TadMack, a member of our YA Nominating Committee. TadMack is "Another random over-educated Californian… MFA English & Creative Writing", with a tentative release date for her first YA novel set for next winter.
TadMack blogs with a team of other writers at Finding Wonderland: The Writing YA Weblog and ReadingYA: A Reader’s Rants. She especially enjoys books with strong female characters, and she’s not afraid to say what she really thinks on her blogs.
TadMack has been reading and reviewing tirelessly since the Cybils nominations began. Her reviews are witty and written with a sharp eye for both writing style and emotional content. This excerpt is from TadMack’s review of Just in Case, Meg Rosoff’s follow-up to her award-winning How I Live Now.
Sometimes life itself is just… blinding. David Case has one such blinding moment when he sees his small brother teetering on the edge of a window sill. Suddenly possible futures collide: what if his brother had fallen? What if he walked into a truck today — tomorrow? What if he’s hit by a plane, trips and breaks his neck on a sidewalk, falls asleep and never awakens? It’s as if lightning has ripped through David’s mind. Suddenly he’s awake — all too awake — and he’s terrified. Convinced that something evil is waiting right around the corner, David becomes obsessed with his mortality. He changes his name to Justin, he changes his wardrobe, and he changes his whole identity in order to hide — from Fate. But in hiding and running away, David misses some of the unexpected gifts from a life in this world — new friends, hidden surprises, the relief and joy of survival, and the love of those around us.
Read the rest here.