HOW WE LIVE

Super Summer Reader Club Week 8: Preparing for the summer reader festival

Local authors interviewed before they attend festival at TD Bank Ballpark on Aug. 25

Grace Segers
@Grace_Segers
  • Ten authors from Central Jersey will be at our summer reader festival at TD Bank Ballpark on Aug. 25
  • MwA interviewed the 10 authors before they attend the summer reader festival
  • Bridgewater Barnes & Noble is hosting an event on Aug. 27
Marlo Berliner, the author of "The Ghost Chronicles," will be at our authors festival on Aug. 25.

As August winds down, we at MyCentralJersey.com, the Courier News and the Home News Tribune are preparing for our author festival on Aug. 25 at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater. Last week, Mondays with Authors printed the interviews with five authors who will be attending the festival. This week, we have recorded the interviews with the other authors who will be featured at the event.

Members of our Super Summer Reader Club who send in reviews can receive tickets to attend the author festival. This event is happening during the Aug. 25 Somerset Patriots games. Ten local authors and illustrators will be attending the festival.

New members are still welcome to join this year’s Super Summer Reader Club, which began in late June. In order to join, readers must pledge to finish a minimum of five books. Anyone may send a written or drawn review.

READ: Mondays with Authors: First five reading festival authors

READ: You can still be involved with the Super Summer Reader program

MONDAYS with AUTHORS: Catch up with our Mondays with Authors series

READ: "Read the Magic" at your local Barnes & Noble's

Club members also are invited to attend the Reading Triathlon celebration on Aug. 27 at the Bridgewater Barnes & Noble at the Somerville Circle. That event, which begins at 11 a.m., will include author appearances, games, medals and more. Visitors will be able to see Michelangelo, the Little Therapy Horse; Sparkee, the mascot of the Somerset Patriots; children’s author Tara Lazar; and author Jim Arnosky, who is visiting from Vermont.

To become a club member and take part in the summer reader fun, fill out the pledge form that can be found in the newspaper, or email your pledge information and reviews, to ssreader@MyCentralJersey.com. For questions, call Carolyn Sampson at 908-243-6624.

The creative process

Papoulas: I was a painter and illustrator for many years when an author saw my work and asked me if I would illustrate his wonderful true-life story. I accepted and found translating the story into images a challenging and very rewarding experience.

Ted Papoulas, artist and illustrator of "The Sound of All Things."
"The Sound of All Things," illustrated by Ted Papoulas.

Santamaria: I began writing because I was teaching at the time, and I did not always have the literacy resources in which the children were interested. Therefore, one day after reading countless books, I began analyzing my own struggles with reading and decided I should try writing a book. I want my books to be learning tools for schools, parents (families) and children. Essentially, I would love if my books were picked up by a large publishing company and eventually created into an animated television series, to assist children in learning and growing in all developmental areas.

Stack: I began writing because I love using my imagination. Creating characters and stories made me feel alive. Someone once told me when you are doing something that you love you lose track of time. I can write for hours and I enjoy every minute! When I am writing “Patton and Peanut” stories, I am trying to achieve a balance between creating a story that is silly and fun but also teaches a lesson. I am also trying to create a book that children would love to read over and over.

Berliner: I had my "eureka" moment one day while sitting on the beach in the Outerbanks of North Carolina. At the time, I was reading “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” (by J.K. Rowling). Chapter Eight, “The Deathday Party,” deals with the ghosts at Hogwarts and that provided the spark that ignited the fire to write “The Ghost Chronicles.” As a flood of ideas filled my head, I scribbled down a rough outline and the book quickly took shape. From the very beginning, I knew I wanted “The Ghost Chronicles” to be not only a story about ghosts, but a story of great hope for anyone who has lost someone tragically, particularly someone young.

Rewards and challenges

Papoulas: Creating an image and then seeing others get enjoyment out of it and be moved emotionally is a wonderful experience. In the case of "The Sound of All Things," being able to help bring this story to life and share it with young readers is especially gratifying.

Santamaria: The most rewarding thing about being a writer is seeing children enjoy my books and hearing from both parents and children how much they like my work. Watching the smiles on kids’ faces as I read, or even having them ask me to reread a story, never ceases to put a smile and warmth in my heart!

Stack: I find going to libraries, school or parties to do book readings is the most rewarding part of being an author for me. I love talking with all the amazing children and hearing their laughter.

Meredith Stack, the author of the "Patton and Peanut" children's book series.
The cover of one of the books in the "Patton and Peanut" series, by Meredith Stack.

Berliner: For me, the most rewarding thing about being a writer is hearing from all the readers who say they loved the book and really ‘get it’.

MwA: What is the most challenging aspect of being a writer/illustrator?

Papoulas: Every painting presents new challenges. When creating a picture book, it's important to make sure all the images flow well together and that each helps move the story forward.

Stack: I believe the most challenging aspect for an author is marketing your book. You need to create an audience and a following, which takes time, patience and perseverance.

Berliner: The most challenging aspect of being a writer is having so many ideas and not enough time to explore and write them all. A writer has to juggle many different tasks besides writing including family life, social media, promotion and everything that goes along with the business side of publishing.

Personal favorites

Papoulas: My work: “The Sound of All Things” by Myron Uhlberg, illustrated by me. Children's books: “The Snowy Day,” by Ezra Jack Keats, “Tuesday,” by David Wiesner, “The Watering Hole,” by Graeme Base, “Knuffle Bunny,” Mo Willems. Young Adult books: “A Wrinkle in Time,” by Madeleine L'Engle, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” Roald Dahl, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,” by Mark Haddon, “The Illustrated Man,” Ray Bradbury. Adult books: “The Catcher in the Rye,” by J.D. Salinger, “Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World,” by Haruki Murakami, “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,” by Robert Pirsig, “Ball Four,” by Jim Bouton.

Santamaria: A few of my favorite books include "The Girl on the Train" (by Paula Hawkins), "The Alchemist" (by Paulo Coehlo), "The Magician's Lie" (by Greer MacAllister) and Napoleon Hill's “Outwitting the Devil."

Stack: “Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus” (by Mo Willems), “The Day The Crayons Quit” (by Drew Daywalt), “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” (by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault), “The Magic of Purple” (by Neysa Griffith).

Berliner: A few of my recent favorite books are “Before I Fall” by Lauren Oliver, “The Ocean at the End of the Lane” by Neil Gaiman, and “The Magician” series by Lev Grossman. And of course, the “Harry Potter” series.

The cover of "The Ghost Chronicles," by Marlo Berliner.

Advice for aspiring writers

Papoulas: Don't worry so much about the end result, just the task at hand. If you like art, keep on painting and drawing. If you like telling stories, keep on writing them down. Don't expect them to be perfect. All images and stories, like life, are works in progress. Just do the best you can at that moment.

Santamaria: My advice to young readers who are interested in writing or illustrating is to just go for it! Take it one day at a time and never give up. Just keep plugging away and before you know it, you will have your own masterpiece. It's an amazing feeling to take something from start to finish. So what do you have to lose really?! If you love it, then you should do it!

Stack: Do it! Do it now. Start creating your books now. The more you do it the better you will become. Believe in yourself. There is no one else out there like you. You are wonderfully unique. Your imagination in unlike anyone else, so use your unique imagination to create greatness and of course have fun!

Berliner: My advice to the Super Summer Readers who might someday want to write would be to start early. Becoming a great writer is like training to be an athlete — you must exercise your writing muscles every day, and the more you do that, the better you will get. It will take awhile to hone your craft, discover your own voice and learn all there is to know about the ever-changing publishing business, so the sooner you can start, the better off you will be.

Author biographies

Ted Papoulas earned his illustration degree from Pratt Institute where he fell in love with Brooklyn, a continual source of inspiration for his art. In addition to painting beautifully detailed Brooklyn scenes, Ted is an avid SCUBA diver who has exhibited original stereoscopic 3-D underwater photos. He's been a freelance illustrator, participated in fine art exhibitions and is now excited to have completed his first picture book. He currently lives in Montclair with his family.

Diana Lee Santamaria is an educator and Latina children’s author of a preschool learning series titled "DLee’s World." Her books “DLee’s Color Hunt,” “DLee’s Outdoor Countdown,” “DLee’s First Day of School,” “DLee’s Nighttime Scare” and “DLee’s Bad Day” (Spanish version also available) are the first five books of her preschool learning series based on the character DLee. DLee is a bright and quirky Hispanic girl with a passion for learning. The character was created to mirror the author’s childhood image. However, the storyline of “DLee’s World” incorporates the author’s experiences as a child, adult and educator. Each character in the “DLee’s World” series represents various ethnicities that are underrepresented in today’s children’s literature. Ms. Santamaria has a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education along with eight years of teaching experience. As a child who struggled with reading and social identification, the “DLee’s World” series is designed to promote literacy, diversity and fun. Information about “DLee’s World” can be found at www.dleesworld.com.

Meredith Stack is an author and mother of three beautiful boys from Mendham. She loves reading, dogs and baseball! The proceeds from her "Patton and Peanut" book series go to pediatric cancer research. It is a cause she is very passionate about and would love to create change and awareness for all those children suffering.

Formerly an accounting manager for a Fortune 500 company, Marlo Berliner is currently a full-time writer, as well as an editor at Chimera Editing. Marlo writes young adult, women’s fiction and short stories. "The Ghost Chronicles" is her first novel and was awarded finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards for Young Adult Fiction. The second book in "The Ghost Chronicles series" will be released in October.

This week’s reviews

Elaine Bellock, Colonia

"Between Shandes of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys. We've all seen documentaries showing how the Nazi's took people from their homes, packed them into railroad cars and transported them to extermination camps or work camps.We're all familiar with "The Diary of Anne Frank." This is a fictional version of a Lithuanian Anne Frank. LIna's father is a university professor. The family lives a comfortable life. One night when her father isn't home Lina, her younger brother and her mother are given just a few minutes to gather together a few possessions. They are taken to a place where they are packed into a railroad car whose original purpose was probably to transport livestock. They spend days in this car. Eventually, they are dropped off at a work site. Time passes and they are moved to a different work site. Conditions go from bad to worse. The final camp is in Siberia. Obviously, these people don't have the proper clothing for that environment. Their shelter is inadequate. Certainly, their food ration is insufficient for their needs. There is no medical care of any kind. Although this is fiction I believe it's probably a good representation of what many people endured at that time. It's hard for me to understand how anyone could survive those conditions, but some of them did. I marvel at the strength that some people are able to demand of themselves and how much the human body and spirit can endure.

Pete Clark, North Brunswick

“Murdering McKinley” by Eric Rauchway was chosen by me to learn more about the assassination of President William McKinley with the author providing long ignored evidence about the assassin. The book also detailed the rise of Theodore Roosevelt using the assassination of President McKinley to put forward his progressive policies. The author also provided me with a more in depth description of Teddy Roosevelt before he became President of the United States. The author provided this reader with a better understanding about three men who by their actions/inaction shaped the Progressive Era.

Raegan Haluszka, Whiton School, Branchburg

"Tangled" by Kiki Thorpe (Rapunzel's Amazing Hair) Rapunzel's hair was magic and made her have many new experiences. But at the end, she only wished for one thing.... Just read the book to find out what the one thing is!! You will love the book.

Alice Martin, Edison

"Two for the Road" by Jane and Michael Stern is a great read.  Recent college grads in the 1970s, this married couple set out in a barely-making-it car to discover all the regional foods the USA has to offer.  They have tasted a lot of it over the years. They were regular contributors to Gourmet magazine, commentators on the radio, have been guests on Food Network shows, and have received many awards.

This book tells of travels on two-lane roads away from the fast food places that have made just about every area of the country look like (and taste like) ever other area of the country.  This is a very interesting book, giving down-to-earth reviews of not just the food, but the individuals all over the country serving up tasty (or in some cases) not so tasty food.  Most of these eateries are in little, hole-in-the-wall places.

They tell of one instance after they had made a name for themselves, that they made the mistake of making reservations under their own names.  They wanted to sample lots of things on the menu to get the local flavor. Instead, they were greeted at the door by the owner/chef who insisted on making "special" items for them.  Dish after dish of unappetizing fish plates were served to them, in spite of their asking repeatedly to order from the menu. They noticed as they looked around they were the only diners in the place. After their experience, they knew why. The food was not good. In the same town, in a place literally on "the other side of the tracks" was a little shabby looking building. The food was outstanding. The locals knew where to find this, but the tourists, not so much. A person had to park the car on one side of the railroad tracks, look both ways to see no train was coming, and then hightail it across the tracks to the small little eatery that served the delicious food.

The book includes some recipes. You'll get a good feel for different areas of the country as this book is one that not only looks at food, but the culture of the locals — away from the sameness of fast food and look-alike places.

When my friend Adrienne recommended "Emily and Einstein" by Linda Francis Lee, she told me the theme of the book — a young man who lost his life on a stormy February night in Manhattan comes back to his wife in the form of a little, sick, scruffy dog. Adrienne said she wondered about this, but somehow "it worked." I figured I'd give it a try. It certainly wouldn't be the first book I've read that is told in the "first person" by an animal. There are the Chet and Bernie mysteries by Spencer Quinn.  They're great.

When Emily is left a young widow, she adopts the little dog, Einstein. It is clear almost from the start that Einstein is different, somehow. He seems to know a lot more than a dog should know.

Einstein, the dog, really doesn't like the idea that his human life has been taken from him, but he's been given a second chance to do the right thing by helping Emily.  It takes awhile, but he finally gets it right. When he was a husband, he wasn't a very good one. He was a wealthy, spoiled, good-looking man who wasn't true to his wife for very long. She didn't know this until after he was gone. He had betrayed her. Anger set in and it almost made her unable to function.

Meanwhile, her younger, carefree sister shows up on her doorstep and says she's going to stay for who-knows-how-long. Sibling rivalry and probing into their individual experiences with their feminist mother ensue.

With pushing from Einstein, Emily starts running. At first she almost collapsed on the running path. He kept pushing and so did she. She pursued her dream and ran in the New York City Marathon. She wasn't one of the top runners, but she finished.

This book is about love, doubt, hopes, dreams, second chances and the act of forgiveness and putting others first.

Kate Sabella, Bridgewater

“The Best Man” by Kristan Higgins is a sweet romance set in the Finger Lakes of New York. Years after Faith leaves town following her fiancé announcing he was gay — on their wedding day — she returns and finds herself unable to avoid people she’d been trying to forget, including Levi, her former fiancé’s best man. With fade-to-black love scenes and a surrounding cast including both Faith and Levi’s families, the story is sweet without lacking spark. It was the perfect summer read — fun, fast and enjoyable.

Jacob Sabella, age 2, Bridgewater

Jacob loves books that he can interact with right now. His current favorites include “Tap the Magic Tree” by Christie Matheson, which has the reader touch and shake the pages as they’re read to seemingly prompt changes on the next page, and “One Moose, Twenty Mice” by Clare Beaton, which features a hidden cat on each page for the reader to find.

Barbara Santullo, Berkeley Heights

My review on Crisis of Character: "A White House Secret Service Officer Discloses his First-Hand Experience with Hillary, Bill and How They Operate" by Gary J. Byrne. This is a well-written book about life in the White House Secret Service and also in the Federal Air Marshal Service, both of which the author has participated in.  I was impressed by the overall level of professionalism and sense of duty and courage that White House staff, secret service agents, and air marshals bring to their professions.  This glimpse into the various White House roles and the people who serve in these roles impressed me. What failed to impress me, is the hijinks and shenanigans that our elected officials engage in in the most important job in the country — the office of the presidency. My stomach turned over remembrances of the Monica Lewinsky sad saga and other similar stories that took place while the Clintons were in the Oval Office. Just as disgusting are incidents where political maneuverings have put safety and security of Americans in the rear seat and have cost American lives. This book illustrates both the best and worst of American leadership and character.

Kristen Santullo, Seton Hall University, Berkeley Heights

"The Crown" by Kiera Cass. This book was a good conclusion to the popular Selection Series. The events in the novel were well spaced out and built up suspense to the protagonist's final choice. I was surprised in the end, but I feel that the unexpected ending reflected the character's indecision and her personality.

Julie Toigo, Piscataway

"The Shipping News" by E Annie Proulx. Where did Proulx come up with the names of her characters. There’s Quoyle, (the protagonist), Wavey Prowse, Herry Prowse, Nutbeen, Petal Bear, Diddy Shovel, Beety, Partridge, Mucalia, Mrs Moosup, Jack Buggit, Baayonnet Melville.

Quoyle faced many hardships growing up. He had a verbally abusive father who didn’t see much in his son. On the heavy side growing up, he was ignored by people.  The only girl, Petal, who showed interest he quickly married. They had two children, Bunny and Sunshine. When his parents commit suicide and his two-timing wife dies in a car accident, Quoyle moves with his 2 daughters and his aunt back to Newfoundland, his ancestral home. He finds a job at the local newspaper, Gammy Bird, covering the shipping news. There he begins a new life and happiness. I found this story to be dull and dreary. A movie was made of this book, so I rented the DVD. I thought maybe I missed something in the reading. But I didn’t find the movie any more interesting, even though the book won several awards.

"Rainy Day Kisses" by Debbie Macomber. This is the first novel I have read by Macomber. I know a lot of her stories are filmed for the Hallmark channel. I decided to read one of her novels, even though I don’t read many romance novels. The story was light, not much different than what I expected. Savannah Simmons is a career person with no time for distractions like romance. She is asked to babysit her niece for the weekend. The baby’s crying brings her neighbor, Nate Townsend, over to help. This sets up the plot. His laid-back personality is directly opposite to hers. But the predictable plot moves on with both falling in love.

"A Man Called Ove" by Fredrik Backman. Ove is an angry grumpy old man. He Has routines and moral principles and one-sided ideas. If one owned a Saab, Ove thought well of him. He grumbled a lot, but always did the correct honest thing, what Sonya, his wife, would have wanted. Since his wife has died, he is contemplating ending his life also. He really misses her. Each time he tries by several means, he is thwarted by neighbors and unforeseen circumstances. He is not the friendliest of people, but neighbors, friends, a cat befriend him. I enjoyed this book. One can’t dislike him. I would like to see this made into a movie. I see this as a better story than "The Shipping News."

"The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest" by Stieg Larsson. This is the third book in the series about Lisbeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo. I enjoyed all 3 books, especially the courtroom scenes in this novel. Each story can be read separately and not in sequence, and not be missing anything.

Sophie Sunshine Torres, Canterbury School, Kendall Park

"Sidney, Stella and The Moon" by Emma Yarlett. Drawing of Sidney, Stella and the moon.

Drawing by Sophie Sunshine Torres

Andrea Tyson, Piscataway

"The Guardian" by Nicholas Sparks is a bit predictable given his genre but it's still a good summer read. Fast, and it's got a dog. So, what could be bad? Nothing. I'm used to this kind of book in the summer and it didn't disappoint. Not too difficult to keep track of characters and timeline, compelling love story, etc. I recommend it for a Lifetime movie.

"Pepper, Silk and Ivory," a group of individual vignettes compiled by Marvin Tokayer and Ellen Rodman, Ph.D. These stories center around the Jews in the Far East.  Who would have thought, right? But there they were centuries ago. Unbelievable. And it makes sense having them travel from the Mid-East — across borders back then governed by trade routes to the Far East, where they were welcomed. During WW II, as Europe was discarding their Jews, the Far East had no restrictions and many were able to escape there, though the conditions were very poor in ghettos. This is a fascinating book, and can be picked up and put down because each story is a standalone unit. Some are laugh out loud funny — some not so much. But always interesting.

"Henna House" by Nomi Eve. This is a novel, but well researched, about the origins of using henna on brides in Yemen, India and other trade route countries from centuries past. Not a long history book, a love story is woven into it and it moves along quickly. Not just brides were painted as you will read, and it's still used today for bridal showers. So, to read about its origins was quite an eye-opener.

Kiersten Zinnikas, North Brunswick

"Cinder" by Marissa Meyer. This was an engaging futuristic and dystopian Cinderella re-telling. Given that it is a fairy tale re-telling, there was a certain amount of predictability, but Meyer did a good job at ensuring that the story still had its own unique elements as well. It was quick read and Cinder was an interesting character.  The world Meyer's constructed was complex and it is one that I would not mind learning more about during the rest of the series. Overall, I would recommend this for anyone interested in YA fairy tale re-tellings, dystopian books or books dealing with artificial intelligence and how it merges with humanity. Themes of international conflict, romance, ingenuity and artificial intelligence and its implications.

"Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs. This series has garnered much attention and because of that I had high expectations. The addition of interesting, old pictures was a nice touch, but the story did not enthrall me as much as I had hoped. Most of the characters seemed a bit flat, which could be related to the first person narration, but the protagonist himself did not exhibit a large amount of character development either. The love interest presented also fell a bit flat for me. The world Riggs developed was interesting and I would be curious to see if there is more of an explanation of how the Peculiars came to live in that manner in future books. Overall, the book was not a complete disappointment, but for me it did not live up to the hype. There were themes of grief, family, coming of age, young romance, and good versus evil.

"Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys. I really enjoyed this one as it touched upon a part of history that I do recall having learned much about during school. I had previously read other narratives that dealt with the Holocaust of WWII era, but this is the one first one that I found that dealt with the creation of the USSR and the forced removal of the people in the Baltic region. The chapters were short and went back and forth between Lina's experiences in the present and her memories from her childhood and the time leading up to her family's deportation from their home in Lithuania. I felt that overall the characters seemed realistic, but Lina's parents and younger brother seemed overly positive, but perhaps that is due to the protagonist's view of them. The ending seemed a bit too good to be true, but in the historical note the author does talk about how it was based on an actual event that occurred which changed my view. Overall, I would recommend the book for those interested in YA accounts of the mid-20th century. There were themes of resilience, family, resistance, grief and war.

"Shoot-Out" by Mike Lupica. I picked this one up because I wanted to become more familiar with different genres for middle grade books. The plot follows a pretty typical trajectory and the character development is minimal, but I feel that both of these are to be expected for a book geared towards a younger reader who may be looking for a certain type of book. Overall, I did like this one and I would certainly recommend it for reluctant readers who are interested in sports. There were themes of loss, sportsmanship, friendship, and perseverance.

"Ship of Theseus" by Doug Dorst. This was an interesting book to read as it essentially came in three parts, the text, the conversation in the margins, and the inserts.  The premise is that there is the story written by an ambiguous author who is an object of interest and speculation within the academic community and that two students are trying to piece together clues about the author while developing their own relationship in the margins. The inserts are pictures, maps, notes and postcards that the two students leave for each other. I found the margin conversation a bit more interesting that the text,  but even that conversation could have been read in parts as there are three different color sets delineating how the students are communicating at different times. As time progresses in the margins the reader sees a more complicated and intriguing story develop involving forces that are much bigger than the students themselves. Overall, I did enjoy the complicated nature of this book and would recommend it for anyone looking for a book to truly dive into for a good chunk of time. Given that there are inserts and different parts to read, I would not classify it as a beach read or light vacation reading. There were themes of academic integrity, politics and scandal.

"The First Time She Drowned" by Kerry Kletter. Before beginning the book, we are aware that we are entering the world of an unreliable narrator. Eighteen-year-old Cassie has just become old enough to sign herself out of the psychiatric hospital in which she has spent a good portion of her adolescence. The premise of the book intrigued me, but Cassie and her story did not pull me in as much as I expected. The style was fairly lyrical and the use of first person narration fit the overall topic, but at times the content did seem fairly dramatic. The mother-daughter dynamic was intense, but decently believable although there were some relationships that came off as less so, such as Cassie's relationship with Gavin and her relationship with Zoey. The reader does see Cassie's development over time, but this come across as a bit rushed during the last third of the book. Given Cassie's upbringing and experiences, outsiders (other characters and the reader) can see some aspects of her life clearly before she is able to so there is the element of waiting for her to catch up, which was done well. Cassie's ambiguity regarding her attitude toward relationships and herself was believable as was her struggle to figure out how to navigate herself in the world outside of the hospital. Overall, I would recommend the book, but with some caution given some of the content. There were themes of loss, coming of age, friendship, familial relationships and hope.