Black Lion Tours: "The Lola Diaries: Drama Jerk" by Lulubelle Love Book Review/Giveaway (ends 5/1) U.S.

Today we welcome Lulubelle Love and her newest work: "The Lola Diaries: Drama Jerk"

If you have kids, you can't miss this book.

The Lola Diaries: Drama Jerk 
by Lulubelle Love.

Quick Facts

Release Date: February 28,2013.

Genre: Middle Grade Fiction.

Formats Available for Purchase: Paperback and ebook.

 Book Synopsis

Let’s face it turning eleven can be difficult especially when you still wear diapers to bed.  This is a secret that Lola Swanson wants to keep under wraps. But secrets always have a way of coming out especially when Hannah Thompson ( A.K.A . Captain Evil) is involved.
And then there’s the little problem that Lola and Hannah are both in love with the same boy.

GOODREADS

AMAZON

BARNES & NOBLE

The Author

Liz Steele (Pen Name Lulubelle Love) grew up in Holden, MA. She graduated from Worcester State College with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and from Assumption College with a Master of Arts in Education. After working as a special education teacher for several years, she decided to follow her passion for writing and publishing books.

Find more about her at: www.lulubellelove.com

The Lola Diaries Drama Jerk by Lulubelle Love
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Let me be honest with you.  When I began this book, I instantly made up my mind that I probably wouldn't like it. After all, the mother is a psychic, and an 11-year-old girl was in love.  I figured this would spell disaster for the book.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  This was a fun read, and the message of anti-bullying (and more) is very clear.  The fun of pre-adolescence is seen on every page of this book, and it is coupled with the pathos of it as well.  My daughter is nine, and she is a drama queen.  I have already told her that she should read this book because it is one with which she could connect.  She is a tomboy, but she is also growing up.  Occasionally, she transforms into a lovely, young lady as well.  I don't want to spoil this book for anyone--it is short, sweet, and to the point.  I think it could open up some great discussions between both parent and child.  I hope there will be many more in the series to come!

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.  I was not financially compensated, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.


View all my reviews

GIVEAWAY:

Participate for a chance to win one of the 20 Paperback Copies of "Drama Jerk" available.


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Follow the Tour:

Tour Schedule 

April 17: Black Lion Tours Blog: Tour Kick-Off
April 18: Bunny's Reviews Blog: Promo Stop.
April 19: Laurie's Non Paranormal Thoughts and Reviews: Interview.

            Cheryl's Book Nook: Review.
April 20: I know that Book: Guest Post.
April 21: Melissa's Midnight Musings: Guest Post.

April 22: Kimberly Lewis: Guest Post.
April 23: My Devotional Thoughts: Review.

April 24: Pure Jonel Book Reviews: Review and Interview

               Ohana Day Academy: Review. 

April 26: Bookworm Lisa: Review.

April 27: Makayla's Book Reviews: Guest Post

April 28: A Novel Idea Live: Live Interview.

April 29: A Novel Idea Live: Promo.

May 1 : Black Lion Tours Blog: Wrap- Up.

ICE BlackBox IPhone App Review-Sponsored

Bullying is a fact of life for our kids in this day and age.  I have a 9-year-old daughter who was bullied for the first three years of her elementary school life.  In fact, she was sexually harassed hen she was in second grade by a boy in the sixth grade.  Thankfully, the school and I worked in cooperation to end this bullying, and all has been well for her.  But I fear the worst is yet to come as she continues on in her school years.  I am a substitute teacher who sees bullying on a fairly regular basis.  It seems that no matter what we as adults do to stop bullying, it still happens!  I hate that our kids have to go through such things.

I was pleased to be asked to review the ICE BlackBox IPhone App.  They did provide me with compensation in monetary and free product form, but all opinions are 100 percent mine.  They only wanted an honest review, and to the best of my ability, that is what I shall do.

When you see the statistics concerning bullying, it can be overwhelming.  Every day, there are 160,000 students who skip school because they are afraid of being bullied.  And then when you add sexual assault into the mix, it is estimated that every two minutes, this happens to someone in America.  Every fifteen minutes, there is a woman somewhere in America who is beaten by her husband.  And what about jail time for offenders?  Ninety-seven percent of rapists will never even spend one day in jail!

ICE BlackBox is a new way to defend victims against this kind of abuse.  Whether it involves rapists, bullies, strangers, sexual predators, or any other kind of potential crime, this new app will put a face on the potential attacker.  The beauty of this app is that if you or your child believes that the attack is going to happen, they can launch the app and point it at the attacker and say, "I have you on ICE."  Then the app will capture video, audio, and GPS information.  The beauty of this app is that it doesn't save the information to the phone.  This could be potentially erased or lost if the attacker were to get a hold of the phone.  Instead, this valuable information is saved to ICE's secure vault.  The victim and anyone in the victim's contact list can access the files.  If the victim still is being threatened, there is an icon for calling 911.  When this happens, the app will dial 911 and message the victim's contacts with a link to the video and your exact GPS location.  In a court of law, this video would be admissible as evidence.  No longer is it just the victim's word against the attacker's word.  There is actual video and audio to back up the stories.

My daughter is getting older, and I know the day will come when she will be going out by herself and with her friends on a more regular basis.  She will definitely be supplied with a phone, and this app sounds like something that is not just a nice thing to have but a necessity.  In light of today's culture and the disturbing statistics, I want her to have something like this for emergency situations.  As this app continues it development process (here's hoping that there will be an android app in the future), I definitely plan to use this app in the future.  And I suppose as a single mother, I can see the benefits for me as well.

When checking out the app in the app store, be sure to follow them via social media as well:
https://www.facebook.com/IceBlackBox
https://twitter.com/ICE_BlackBox

I was sent a free product and compensated for my time in exchange for this promotional post.  All opinions are 100 percent mine, and I was not required to give a positive review--just an honest one.

"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

Virtual Book Tour: "We're Done" by Judy Irwin Review/Giveaway

What if it turns out that YOU'RE the bully - and you didn't know it? 

Up until now, life has been good for 13-year-old Luke. He's good at sports, attractive, and he's a big wheel at Heyworth Academy, his private school. He likes to tease, and poke fun at the other kids, but that's just because he likes having fun. But things start to fall apart, six weeks into eighth grade, when Luke commits an act of 'goofing around' that ends up costing him his best friend and his beloved private school.

After he's expelled, Luke transfers to his local school, Carlyle. Now, he's on the outside looking in. His looks, and background (not to mention his Heyworth hoodie), make him stand out, and the tough guys zero in on him right away.

The upside-down world that Luke finds himself in at Carlyle gives him a whole new way of looking at things. Can he recover from losing his school, and his best friend, and find new friends and a way to fit in at Carlyle?

Excerpt 

Luke looked at his mother. "So it's not — " He turned to look at Mr. Kennedy. "OK, now I get it." He pushed his hair behind his ears. "I was just trying to be funny," he said. "How can that be wrong? I mean, I'm sorry that Jill was upset. If you want, I'll apologize — "

"Luke, please let me continue," said Mr. Kennedy. "As you know, we introduced a new anti-bullying policy two years ago. We decided that, because we wanted Heyworth to be a safe, nurturing place for all students, that we'd have a zero-tolerance approach when it came to bullying."

"I know," said Luke. "You'd have to be a moron NOT to know about it. We hear about it all the time — zero tolerance, three strikes and you're out, yada yada, yada. I know all that. But having fun isn't the same thing as bullying — at least, not the last time I looked. I mean, we're kids. We're going to goof around. So I'm not sure what you're saying."

"Luke, this is what I'm saying," said Mr. Kennedy. "This is your third strike. I'm very sorry to do this, but I am asking you to leave Heyworth."

Luke's mom raised her handkerchief to her mouth, and she let out a muffled sob. "Luke, you see this is serious," she said.  

"This is nuts," said Luke. "I'm not going to leave Heyworth. This is my school. Mr. Kennedy, you can't do this. I'm on the swim team. I'm captain of the soccer team. And you know my parents are really involved in this school. Mom, don't you agree? This is not possible."

We're Done by Judy Irwin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Bullying has become such an issue amongst youths today, and this is a book that addresses this young adult issue in a way that teens and preteens can understand. Yes, this is a book that I believe youth and adults alike should read and discuss. I say this because no matter what has been said about the dangers and intolerance of bullying in schools, it still happens on a regular basis.

Luke is one of those kids that is very likable, but he has a problem. Possibly, it is a problem of which he is not even aware. Sad to say, he is in good company when it comes to bullies in school. I am a teacher, and if you ask students if bullying is a problem, they say it is. But if you ask if they are bullying others, the answer is no. They are just kidding, or the object of their teasing is too sensitive.

This is a very quick read, and it packs a pretty hard punch. Through Luke's eyes, we examine bullying, depression, disconnected parents, facebook, private schools, public schools, loss or friendship, finding your niche, and so much more. And there is no sex nor profanity. How cool is that? I don't usually recommend that everyone reads a book, but I certainly do here! Oh, and just so you know, the book is very realistic--not all loose ends are solved. This only strengthens the message of the book.

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not financially compensation, and all opinions are 100 percent mine.

View all my reviews

Judy Irwin writes books about kids dealing with everyday stuff, like parents and divorce, friendships and bullies, and figuring out how to handle different situations and circumstances. So far, she's written two books: We're Done, and What Did You Say? We're Done is about 13-year-old Luke and how he figures out what went wrong when he's kicked out of school for a bullying incident. In What Did You Say?, 12-year-old Tash tries to figure out what life will be like following her parents' divorce. In this book, which takes place at a trailer park up north, Tash first meets Luke, Jon and Polly.

Judy lives in Toronto, Canada, with a dog, a cat, and two hamsters, plus her husband and two children, ages 10 and 13. She studied English Literature at the University of Toronto. She always wanted to be a writer. She wrote her first book in fourth grade - it was about a boy called Japan, who lived in Japan. In addition to writing books, Judy is a freelance business writer.

For more info:

www.judyirwin.com

www.amazon.com/author/judyirwin

The author will be awarding a $50 Amazon gift certificate to one random commenter during the course of the tour.  So it is to your benefit to visit the entire tour here for more chances to win!