booktalk Archives - Page 1256 of 1260

doreen
Doreen
by Ilana Manaster (Author)

Booktalk: If Doreen Gray were to take a selfie upon her arrival at the elite Chandler Academy, it would capture a face marked with acne, a head full of frizz, and eyes looking anywhere but at the lens.

What Chandler queen bee Heidi Whelan sees is a desperate hunger for acceptance and the makings of a willing and useful protégé. Heidi’s roommate, Biz Gibbons-Brown, works her Photoshop magic to create a stunning profile pic of Doreen—a glossy, digital makeover that Doreen initially rejects . . . only to wake up the next morning transformed as the girl in the picture.

But Doreen quickly becomes accustomed to her newfound power and lives without considering consequences of her actions. Only the picture knows the truth, and she will do anything to protect her secret.

In this sharp, scandal-filled retelling of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, the men of nineteenth-century London become three girls of twenty-first century New England.

Snippet: Oh, how she hated her looks, her face, her skin. She stepped in front of the mirror to relish in her own disgust. She looked up at her reflection with a scowl on her face. And the scowl returned to her–on the face of the perfect-looking girl she remembered from the photograph.

What? Doreen couldn’t compute what she was seeing. The beautiful mirror-girl had on the purple flannel pajamas Doreen’s mother brought back from Nashville that time, the same pajamas Doreen had worn to bed. When Doreen moved her hand, the girl also moved her hand.

howtoputyourparentstobed
How to Put Your Parents to Bed
by Mylisa Larsen (Author) and Babette Cole (Illustrator)

Booktalk: No one likes going to bed. And you’re not even tired. You want to stay up and have all sorts of fun adventures! But take a look at your parents. They’re really tired. They’re exhausted. But they just won’t go to bed! Help them put down the cell phones, turn off the TV, stop cleaning the dishes, and go to bed! You might be small, but you can handle this task. Follow the instructions in this book and you’ll have them snoring in no time.

Snippet: Parents are not good at going to bed.
“I have to put in a load of laundry,” they say.
“I need to do dishes.”
“Just one more email.”
It’s one excuse after another with them.
You need to take charge.
Take the plate out of their hands.
Gently close the computer.
Tell them, “It’s time for bed.”