Interview with David Alan Binder

https://sites.google.com/site/dalanbinder/blog/eileenboggessinterviewwithdavidalanbinder

 

Mia the Melodramatic is Here!

I am so excited about the the upcoming performances of Mia the Melodramatic at Davenport Junior Theatre this weekend! It will be so much fun to see Mia and her friends come to life!

Mia the Magnificent Review

It’s not a secret by now, but I have to say once again how much I adore this series. It’s funny; it’s fab; it’s real. Just all around greatness. And Mia the Magnificent? How was that one you may ask. Well, it was just like it’s prequels, and fortunately tons better than the second one, which was close to being the definition of a sophomore slump.

In Mia the Magnificent, Mia’s life is once again chaotic because of several factors. For one, she finally is given the chance to get her license, which spells F-R-E-D-O-M to her. Secondly, she’s unsure about her feelings for not only Eric, gentleman to the bone and guy she’s considering a relationship with, and Tim, the guy who broke her heart but still feels romantic feelings towards. Add in a crazy girl with 16 piercings, her genius best friend’s break up, and more of her brother’s pranks, it’s starting to seem sophomore year will be the complete opposite of smooth sailing.

One of the aspects I love most about this series is that Mia and her problems always seem like real normal things that teens her age deal with, since from nasty breakups, to shyness problems, to arguing with her best friend, it’s all here within the pages of the Mia Fullerton series. In this addition specifically, I once again liked how Mia dealt with her problems with Tim in a mature way. Also, as like the previous additions, this was one book that’s crazy antics always left me with a smile on my face.

The plot of this always had me on my feet, eager to find out what would occur next because of all the crazy things that would occur. Though, while I love action as much as the next person,I sometimes felt that everything happened a little too coincidentally. Since it often felt that Boggess was throwing in all these items just to keep the plot moving without giving each enough time. But overall, it wasn’t the biggest of problems, since I still did enjoy the book quite a bit. Lastly, Boggess’s writing was as smooth as always.

In all, Mia the Magnificent proved to be a funny book filled with characters you can’t help but love and lots of heart. I can’t wait to read the next addition!

Grade: B+

Mia the Magnificent is now out!

To visit this website, go to: http://laurenscrammedbookshelf.blogspot.com/2010/07/mia-magnificent-by-eileen-boggess.html

Reader on Vacation Enjoys Reading about Mia

Lauren’s Crammed Bookshelf Review of Mia the Melodramatic

After reading the first Mia book, Mia the Meek, and falling in adoration to the world Boggess had created, I was eager to read the second one, so as soon as humanly possible I started Mia the Melodramatic. And while Mia the Melodramatic provided to be funny and fast paced addition to the Mia series with some of my favorite old, as well as new characters, it didn’t quite live up to it’s prequel.

In this addition, Mia is not looking forward to the tedious, boring summer that is sure to ensue, because of the fact Tim, as well as Lisa, are leaving her for the summer. Though, soon enough, she is given the chance to work at Little Tykes, the local community summer with Eric, former shy boy turned out going hottie, Henry, Eric’s best friend, and Zoe, a girl who has 16 piercings along with goth attire and an attitude that seems to be leading to the making of the “Join if you think Mia is a preppy princess!” club. This leaves Mia to wonder how on earth she’ll make it through the summer, especially when a secret about Tim, one that may change everything, comes pouring on out.

Mia is yet again an overly likable character with a great and funny out look on life. I really enjoyed seeing how she broke out of her shell even more in this addition, as well as the drama that ensued with her employment and the new friends she made. My favorite out of her new group would have to be Zoe, a girl whose sarcasm provided to always be funny and fierce. Eric and Henry were also great additions, though I really would have liked more depth to Henry, because I often had trouble remember who exactly he was; a bad sign, no? Tim, though, was the one who brought down my liking of this novel. I knew he was arrogant and pompous from the first Mia book, but he seemed overly so in this one, leaving Boggess to ultimately kill him slowly but steadily, in my opinion. I mean this was a character I secretly adored in Mia the Meek, but here I started to despise him because of his actions. Hopefully, he manages to redeem himself in Mia the Magnificent.

The plot of this once again provided laughter, as well as page-turning fun. I adored the different funny moments that ensued with Mia’s new job, as well as her and her brother’s new pranks pulled on each other. Also, I liked the way Mia dealt with Tim’s betrayal, because she showed maturity through it, as well as setting a great example for other teens out there. Further more, Boggess writing moved swiftly, making this novel I finished in record time.

In all, Mia the Melodramatic is a funny novel filled with countless characters that you can’t help but love. I can’t wait to read the sequel!

Lastly, I have to mention that I like how Eileen makes this a series you can pick up and enjoy no matter which book you start on.

Grade: B

To visit this website, please go to http://laurenscrammedbookshelf.blogspot.com

Lauren’s Crammed Bookshelf Review of Mia the Meek

I have to admit that when I first saw the cover of this one, as well as the other two, I was extremely hesitant to give the Mia series a go, since to me the cover screams low end middle-grade. Though, after much thought I decided to take the whole Mia series with me on vacation, and boy, oh boy, did I love them all, especially this one!

Mia has finally decided that this year is the year she’ll drop the name given to her in elementary school- Mia the Meek; so soon she makes it her purpose to be out going through several tasks, such as running for class president, talking to her long-time crush, as well as countless other endeavors. Though, will they pay off? Only time and pages will tell!

Mia is a character I adored right of the bat. She was smart, savvy, and just an overly hilarious character to read about. I, as I’m sure countless others, could relate to her shyness, since believe it or not, when I was young I was incredibly shy, though over the years, like Mia, I have made it my purpose to become out-going. Also, I loved her friendship with Lisa, the intellect of her grade whose scientific talk often provided for laugh-out-loud moments just because of how far off it seemed, as well as her rivalry with her brother Cris, which also provided funny moments, and her romance with Tim, the boy who was easy to love to hate.

The plot of this provided to be addicting given the different events, as well as it’s short length and Boggess easy, smooth writing. And while some of Mia’s problem’s solutions always seemed a bit cliched, it wasn’t the biggest of problems.

In all, Mia the Meek is a thoughtful, romantic, and funny read based on the universal problem of shyness; a book I highly suggest you pick up, even though the cover is hideous.

Grade: B+

To visit this website, please visit http://laurenscrammedbookshelf.blogspot.com

Children’s Museum Visit

I will be at the Children’s Museum in Bettendorf, IA on July 31 from 10:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. Please stop out and say hello!

Interview on Cover Art for the Mia books

You can read an interview on MelissaCWalkers’s blog about the cover art for the Mia series at:

http://www.melissacwalker.com/blog/2010/04/cover_stories_mia_the_magnific.html

Family Review

I just had to drop you a line and let you know how much my family and I enjoyed your latest Mia-book. I read it out loud for 2-hours straight (out of the 3 1/2-hour drive) on the way to Minneapolis for hockey practices. Everybody begged for more, but my mouth was so dry from speaking for so long that I could barely talk anymore. Every spare moment that we had for the remainder of the weekend, my family was asking, “Can we read more Mia?” The book was completed before we even crossed the Iowa state-line on our travels back home on Sunday. Thanks for making that trip so much fun! I have to say, we just about had to pull over on the side of I-35 when I was reading the various ways of describing the art of farting. We were all laughing so hard that my husband could barely drive. And once I finished that part of the book…the kids made me read it again!

You are a gifted author, Eileen. Thank you so much for sharing your talents with my children. We look forward to reading your next masterpiece.

Miss Remmer’s Review

Mia sure has it rough. A school play, an over zealous best friend, busy parents, annoying little brother, and a whole “hot mess” of relationships with boys. I throughly enjoyed reading this novel and finished it in one in one sitting. It’s a quick read that would be great for upper middle school students or underclassmen. But don’t let this fool you, the characters are great and the plot keeps readers guessing.

I couldn’t help but want to be Mia’s friend and to witness her life unfold. Just when I thought I had the story down, a twist would appear at just the most opportune moment. I learned to love Lisa’s quirkiness and the love/hate relationship between Mia and her brother Chris. The dialogue between Chris and Mia was great – it reminded my of the Gilmore Girls dialogue.

A few things did bother me though: I did not like Jake, all the “dudes” and similar jargon I thought was unneccessary and overdone. He was the stereotypical class idiot – it seemed over played. Along the same lines, Mia’s friend Zoe also bugged me (a little – but not as much) in regards to being overly stereotyped. I will also add (I may be a prude) that when I was sixteen I definitely wasn’t getting as much kissing in as Mia and her friends.

But other than those small things – I adored this book. The ending was great – so much emotion! While I didn’t like how it ended particularly, I can’t deny how emotionally attached I was to the characters in so little time. I will definitely be keeping this book to have in my classroom and I hope to read the rest of Mia’s adventures in the near future!

Favorite Quotes:
“What do you call a man on a beach? – A tan-gent!” (7).
“I don’t know what your problem is, but I’ll bet it’s hard to pronounce” (47).
“If you ever fell down a well, Lassie would leave you there” (47).
“You’re about as optimistic as a weatherman calling for sunshine while holding an umbrella” (50).

To visit this site, please go to http://www.missremmersreview.com/