"The Lipstick Laws" by Amy Holder Book Review

This is the first book I finished for the Just For Fun Reaching Challenge 2013.  I chose my book in a very unique way.  I went to my goodreads TBR list, and I found out how many books were on that list.  I went to random. org, and I put in that number.  I let it choose the number of book on my list I would read.  And this was the book that came up!  I was so glad the library had it!

Summary (from goodreads):

At Penford High School, Brittany Taylor is the queen bee. She dates whomever she likes, rules over her inner circle of friends like Genghis Khan, and can ruin anyone’s life with a snap of perfectly manicured fingers. Just ask the unfortunate few who have crossed her. For April Bowers, Brittany is the answer to her prayers. April is so unpopular, kids don’t know she exists. One lunch spent at Brittany’s table, and April is basking in the glow of popularity. But Brittany’s friendship comes with a high price tag, and April decides it’s not worth the cost. Inspiring and empowering, this is the story of one girl who decides to push back


The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the first book I have ever read that was chosen for me to read by a random method. I wasn't sure what I would think of this book, but I have to admit that I was quite pleasantly surprised. This is almost the perfect YA book. No sex scenes, some mild profanity (yes, I could have done without that), and a very positive message. This book deals with female bullying, and the book is quite realistic. It is written with pathos and humor, and I found myself truly loving April, and Brittany was the perfect snob. I have often said that as a teacher, I could handle boys much better than girls, and this book illustrates why. Boys tend to be silly, immature, and physical. Girls are mean, conniving, and vicious! My only real complaint is there is no sequel! I hope that Amy Holder writes another book to continue on with the adventures of April. I would love to find out what her next chapter is.

I got this book from the library, and I wasn't paid for this review in any way. It is my absolutely honest review of this fantastic book!

View all my reviews

About the Author (from her site):


I was born and raised in Upstate New York, the home of the Finger Lakes Region, Kodak, snowpalooza winters, and the best grape pies you'll ever eat (thanks to the Grape Festival). The youngest of three, I established my place in my family as the "artsy" one early on.

My love of all things creative swiftly translated to an infatuation with books and the written word. Often dreaming of seeing my picture on the back of a book someday, I began writing and illustrating my own stories and poems at six years old, followed by my first chapter book written in third grade. I took up non-fiction writing by funneling the awkwardness of my middle school years into the safe confines of my locked diary. By high school, I was writing angst-ridden poetry that would be fully deserving of an Emo-rific award in today's time. Apart from my undergrad years, when I traded in fiction reading and writing for psychology books and papers written in APA style, creative writing has always been an essential part of my daily life.

Since graduating college with a degree in psychology and a minor in sociology, I've worked in the early education, social service, and freelance writing and design fields. After some career soul-searching, resulting in my desire to pursue my love of writing professionally, I've captured the writing dream I've had since childhood. Today, I reside in the Philadelphia area with my furry pets. No, I'm not a crazy cat lady... yes, I'm a huge animal lover.

Ten random facts that may surprise, confuse or amuse:
1) Chocolate solves all of my problems by relocating them to my thighs.
2) I think the Chi hair straightening iron is the best invention since air conditioning and Scrabble.
3) Story goes that Henry the VIII killed off my relative who was a rival for the throne.  Had he lived to wear the crown, I would have been royalty.  Oh well, I can still wear a tiara, right?
4) In college, I was in two honors fraternities (Psi Chi and Order of Omega) and a social sorority (Alpha Sigma Alpha), blending both the academic and social worlds.  
5) I was clinically obsessed with grunge music and its various lead singers as an early teen when the flannel wearing genre was at its peak.
6) Black pants are my fashion staple.  I have enough pairs to dress a small village.
7)  I'm a certified night owl.  I have a night owling license.
8) When I turned eighteen, I celebrated (and shocked my parents) with the rash addition of an eyebrow ring. I have the scar and pictures to prove it...plus a strange tweezing/sneezing reflex.
9) Germs freak me out, but Microbiology was one of my favorite college courses.
10) I love laugh out loud silliness...especially from my SNL favorites, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig, and the late but great Chris Farley.

 Follow the author:

http://www.amyholder.com/
https://www.facebook.com/amyholderbooks

https://twitter.com/amyholderbooks
http://www.myspace.com/amyholderbooks
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3132269.Amy_Holder
http://www.amazon.com/Amy-Holder/e/B003YF238K/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
http://www.youtube.com/amyholderbooks

My Unpublished Books--Day 8 #UltimateBlogChallenge

I happened to miss a day, and I know  I will from time to time, but this has been a fantastic challenge for me. This is Day 8 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge.  It is kind of strange to be writing about this because it has been ages since I thought about it, but here goes.

When I was twelve years old, I began writing a book.  I was a lover of Anne of Green Gables.  It is still one of my favorite book series, and it was this book coupled with a Little House on the Prairie episode where a woman became a doctor that led to my yet-unpublished book Doctor Jane.  Honestly, this was before Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.  I remember asking my mom about why women couldn't become doctors, and for some reason, that stuck with me.  Also, the idea of having a physical feature that caused people to pick on you (like Anne Shirley's red hair) began to formulate a character--Jane Nolan.

Now, this was not the first time I had ever written anything.  I think my first poem was written in fourth grade:

"Eyes are so useful,
They're not at all toothful.
Noses are fun
Though you can't do them up in a bun.
Mouths were made for singing,
They were not made for clinging.
And that's the face.
Please don't put it in a case.,"

I had teachers that instilled the love of reading and writing within me.  And so I began to write all sorts  of stories.  They usually starred me meeting famous people, and they also featured orphans.  After all, I was a little Orphan Annie want-to-be, too.  I had read about children writing books, so why not me?

So I made up this character named Jane Nolan.  She had black eyes and blacker-than-black hair.  She was an orphan, and she had a terrible life.  Anthony and Mary Embrey, a very wealthy Southern couple, adopted her, and it was one pitfall after another.  They lived in Moss Point, Mississippi.  It's a real place--look it up.   Any time someone spoke disparagingly of her hair and  eyes, she went ballistic.  Worse than Anne Shirley ever thought of being!  She  had one friend (based on my next-door neighbor), and her name was Rosalee, if I remember right.  Yes, I used to read "name books," too, as I hunted for names for my characters.  She was a Catholic, and her parents forbade her to spend time with her.

As you can imagine, Anthony and Mary grew to love their new daughter (and she them).  And then she met Curtis Lloyd.  He was a horrid boy who fell in love with her at first sight.  But he was a "Gilbert Blythe" take-off, and so it was a long time before they realized their love.  After all, he left her standing in a rainstorm as a mean joke (always one of my favorite scenes in the story).  I was also a reader of the thesaurus, so my book was peppered with words that were way above my years.

Jane Nolan grew to be an incredibly intelligent woman who left home (and the man she loved) to become an ophthalmologist.  I had all sorts of eye problems (still do), and so it was natural for me to pick this medical field.  This girl studied at all the prestigious universities of the day--Cambridge, Oxford, and Harvard.  I did incredible research (I used to read encyclopedias, too--I was a strange child) concerning the admittance of women to these schools in the 1800's, and so Jane was forced to spend a lot of time studying to become a doctor.  She had all sorts of dates during this time--often based on teachers, pastors, and more--who dropped her like a hot potato once they found out she wanted to become a doctor.

When she was in her 30's, she finally opened her own practice.  She operated on the eyes of the wife of President Benjamin Harrison (if I remember right--I remember I was not impressed with having to use a president that I didn't like in the story),and her practice suddenly took off.  And Curtis Lloyd (who had become a lawyer) showed up with some kind of unusual eye complaint.  Of course, Dr. Jane Nolan had developed all sorts of innovations in ophthalmology that no one else knew about, and she saved his vision through a risky operation.  And at the age of 36, she gave up her practice  to become Mrs. Jane Lloyd.

I am amazed I can remember all of this.  I was dead serious about publishing this book.  For one of my birthdays, I even requested (and received) a big book about  the Writer's Market with all the publishing companies listed and more.  Does this really sound all that crazy?  I typed the book up, but I never got around to sending it in.  I wrote a sequel--Mother Jane.  In that one, she had a total of six children.  Yes, a set of twins and triplets and one very risky pregnancy later on in life.  I began writing Grandmother Jane as the final installment, but I never finished that book.  I had it all figured out, including one of her adult children who died in some kind of tornado or hurricane.  I had such fun writing about the interactions between Jane and Curtis--they acted just like kids.  I suppose theirs was the perfect marriage I never had.

I began other books.  The Conquering Lawyer about a woman who becomes a lawyer and falls in love with her district attorney.  I always longed to finish that one, but I struggled somehow.  I have all sorts of stories, but I dd better when I wrote longer books.  Dr. Jane was about 359 or 369 pages.  I can be extremely verbose, and I love to be descriptive.

The question is--will I ever publish these books?  Probably not.  One of these days, maybe I can  go back and read them.  I think my finished book of Dr. Jane underwent three writes.  And Mother Jane had two writes.  Writing  has almost always been a passion of mine.

So now you know that I could be an author if I wanted to be.  But for now, I plan to continue to read and promote other authors' works.  I could write a whole other post about all the plays I have written, but those are much more personal.  Maybe I'll tell you about them one day in the future.

"The Phantom of Opera"--Still My Favorite Musical (Day 6 Ultimate Blog Challenge)

I suppose I have not ever written much about my favorite musical on the face of the planet, so tonight seems like the perfect time.  I have posted a video (that I only saw tonight for the first time) from the 1988 Tony Awards.  I didn't know this musical existed back then.  I was in high school, and I had heard of the story, and I think we may have heard the title song in choir, but that was about it.  I also did not know the stars--Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman.  Where shall I begin?

I will begin with my first exposure to Michael Crawford.  It was in the 1969 musical Hello, Dolly! with Barbra Streisand and Walter Matthau.  He played Cornelius Hackl, and I honestly thought that is all he ever did.  I learned a little about him when I read a biography of Gene Kelly (the director of the movie).  I always enjoyed him, but I didn't know he had a career anywhere else.

I was involved in a show choir my senior year in high school (1991-1992). We got to go to New York for a competition and see a real Broadway show.  And it just so happened we were going to see Phantom.  I remember thinking that I may not like the musical, but I was going to see a real, live musical, so who cared?  Right before the show, we stopped at a little shop that sold musical merchandise.  My partner bought the tape (yes, a cassette) of the highlights from the show.  He proudly showed me, and I asked it they had the full musical version.  Yes, they did, and I bought it.  I wouldn't be able to listen to it until I got back home--no tape recorder.  But I opened the tape, and I was absolutely floored.  Michael Crawford??  Played the Phantom??  This had to be a joke!  Cornelius Hackl as the Phantom?

Do you see why I was so confused?  Compare that picture from Hello, Dolly! wish the video! (If you need to place him, watch the opening scenes of Walle.  That's his voice!)

Needless to say, I became a Phantom and Michael Crawford junkie.  I have seen Phantom three times live--once in New York, twice in Dallas.  I saw him in concert in 1998 in Florida (against my then-husband's wishes).  And I joined the fan club.  I even met my friend from England due to this fan club.  I acted the musical out once a week (at least) while in college.  I sang the title song and another song Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again for my senior recital in college.  I wrote an entire series of plays based on me (masquerading as Jeanette Norris) playing opposite Michael Crawford (and the entire original cast) in Phantom.  In the plays, she marries him.  I have a personal letter from dear old Michael.  I organized a birthday party for members of his fan club.  I even have an autographed copy of his autobiography.

As you can see, Phantom changed my life in many ways.  I have seen the movie.  I don't like it as much, but it has its moments.  After all, I got to go see it the first time my soon-to-be-ex came for visitation.  That's another long story.  I know that currently is 70 (71 on the 19th of this month--had to look it up, I thought it was the 21st).  He did play the part of the Wizard in the 2011 production of Wizard of Oz in London.  While I do not live, sleep, breathe, and eat Phantom as I once did, it is still the musical that leaves me breathless.  My only regret is that I never met Michael Crawford (probably never will), and I never got to sing with him!  I would love to.  

Part of the Ultimate Blog Challenge