Book Signing in Davenport

I will be signing books at the Davenport, IA Barnes and Noble (in Northpark Mall) on Sunday, March 14, from 1:00-3:00.

Rebecca Janni, Jill Esbaum, and Linda Skeers will also be on-hand to sign their books as well.

It should be a great day!

Books Are Life Review

When I started this book I wasn’t sure what to expect, from the cover I thought it was definitely a middle grade book so I wasn’t sure how I would like it as I haven’t read a middle grade book since probably elementary school. I wasn’t sure if I would still enjoy them, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I like the idea of the theater changing her – I’ve always been one who found the arts and fun things helpful in getting out there.

This book very much so reminded me of my middle school/early high school years. I suffered from a disease called confusion and I’m not saying Mia suffers from this but I feel like everyone at this age is confused to some degree about life and just the way the world seems to work.

Early high school is really the first taste of the world in some ways as Elementary school you’re still a kid, and you act like a kid, and Middle school is full of the awkward growing into yourself years. Early high school however is full of you beginning to become yourself and that’s what I really enjoyed being reminded of in this book.

I would recommend it to you if perhaps you have a younger brother or sister, or if you just want to relive that part of your life and have some fun along the way.

To visit this site, please go to: http://books-are-life-reviews.blogspot.com/2010/03/mia-magnificent-by-eileen-bogess.html

Life in the Thumb Review

Mia is a girl that I truly enjoy reading about. In this third installment of the series, we find Mia going through the typical teen years. Liking boys that like someone else. Liking boys that cheat on you. Having girls hate you for no good reason. Siblings that get on your nerves, and parents that still won’t give you too much freedom, even though she just got her driving license! Mia the Magnificent is a fun, quick read and at times made me laugh out loud. I think Mia would appeal to 12-15 year-old age range because she’s still pretty innocent and not naughty enough for that older crowd who is looking for something grittier. I look forward to the next book and to see what life has in store for Mia during her Junior year.

To visit this website, please go to: http://lifeinthethumb.blogspot.com/2010/03/review-mia-magnificent.html

Katie’s Book Blog Review

Mia The Magnificent is not a book you judge by it’s cover. When I first saw it, I assumed it was a middle grade book and that Mia was younger. It’s actually a YA book and Mia is a sophomore in high school. Not only that, she is one of the funniest characters I have ever read about and Mia The Magnificent is a super cute book!

Mia Fullerton is finally taking charge of her life. After her summer working at the Little Tykes Theater she is a new person. Her sophomore year is going to be The Year. She is going to try out for the school musical, get her drivers license, and move on from Tim. She has it all mapped out but even the best laid plans can be changed.

Mia was one of the best main characters I have ever read about. She was so easy to relate to and she was such a normal person. She had her strengths and her weaknesses. She was cute and funny. I found myself laughing out loud at so many parts of the book. Her banter with Tim and the conversations in the drivers ed car were some of my favorite things. I haven’t laughed that hard at a book in a while.

The plot of the story was pretty good. Mia had so many things going on but it was definitely an honest account of high school life. She was so brave trying out for the play. I never could have done that. Her drivers ed class was also pretty realistic. It took me back to my drivers ed days, something I never want to look back on. The whole story was just so true and the characters were all people I wouldn’t mind reading more about.

Overall, Mia The Magnificent is a great book that I really recommend for high schoolers. It’s the third in a series but I had no problems starting with this book. I hope there are more Mia books in the future. If so, they will definitely be added to my to-read list! =]

To visit this site, please go to: http://katiesbookblog-katie.blogspot.com/2010/03/mia-magnificent-by-eileen-boggess.html

Review from Frenetic Reader

I have to admit, I was mostly interested in this book because there’s a musical in it. And even though the musical wasn’t in it that much, I still really enjoyed Mia the Magnificent and totally want to go pick up the prequels.*

Even though I haven’t read the prequels, I easily followed Mia’s story in this installment. There was enough background information given that I knew what was going on and why, but there was just enough so that it didn’t get repetitive or boring; I was able to quickly get into the story. I didn’t question how anything came about because Mia’s interactions with the supporting characters, especially her ex-boyfriends and brother, were done so realistically that I never wondered about why she acted so annoyed/competitive/etc. This made her easy to relate to, and I was always interested in seeing how her story turned out.

I loved the humor in this book. Some lines and situations were laugh-out-loud funny, which just made the drama that much more fun to read about. However, some scenes were just…I don’t even know. A few cliches found their way in, and on top of that there were some unrealistic pieces of dialogue. For example, I’m still not sure if Jake, one of Mia’s ex-boyfriend’s, is supposed to be a caricature of a person or what, because he spoke and acted like one of those cringe-worthy white guys who think it’s cool to talk and act like a stereotypical “gangsta.”** Whenever he showed up I would hope that he would soon go away and the actually funny stuff would return.

Mia the Magnificent is a fun, entertaining book with a delightfully realistic and flawed main character, even though it does have a few cringe-worthy bits.

To view this site, please visit: http://www.freneticreader.com/2010/03/mia-magnificent-by-eileen-boggess.html

Hope’s Bookshelf Review

Review:

When I first started reading Mia the Magnificent, I’m not going to lie to you, I wasn’t expecting it to be as good as it was. It seemed like a middle grade book, and you know how I am about cartoon covers.

So, when I started reading, I didn’t expect to find a one of a kind main character, Mia, who is a great role model for girls. I didn’t expect to find more than one scene that made me laugh out loud (very loud, I might add). However, this is what I found.

Some of the scenes in this book were very cliche. However, it didn’t distract from the book. There was enough scenes in the book that were insanely original.

Mia is a character that everyone can relate to. Even if you’ve never been in any of her situations, which I know I haven’t, you can still find some way or another to relate to her. I found her to be a very likable character who is a very good role model to the readers.

This is a book I can definitely recommend. I would maybe recommend getting it from the library, however even if you buy it, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

hope.

Grade:
Originality: 15/20
Characters: 15/15
Writing: 10/10
Voice: 10/10
Ending: 9/10
Entertainment: 9/10
Cover: 5/10
Recommendation: 10/10

Total: 88/100 = B+

To visit this site, please go to: http://princess2293.blogspot.com/2010/03/review-mia-magnificent-by-eileen.html

BookHounds Review of Mia the Magnificent

LOVED IT

This is a very entertaining story about a high school sophmore finding her way in life. It is very funny and captures the thoughts and banter of girls this age perfectly. I wish I had started this series from the beginning, but I had no problem picking up on the the background of Mia quickly. I think this can stand alone easily. This is appropriate for younger teens and fans of Lauren Myracle and Sara Mlynowski won’t be disappointed.

BookHounds Interview

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Mary for her BookHounds blogspot. You can read the interview at :

http://maryinhb.blogspot.com/2010/03/20-questions-with-eileen-boggess-author.html

Booking Mama Review

“I usually don’t read series books out of order, but I made an exception for Mia the Magnificent by Eileen Boggess. Mia the Magnificent is the third book in The Mia Fullerton Series, but I had no problem starting the series with book three. (Of course, it was a middle-grade book, so that probably helped!) I enjoyed this book so much that I’m very anxious to go back and read the first two (Mia the Meek and Mia the Melodramatic) now. I thought this book was so cute! Mia is a terrific character and I thought she had a great sense of humor. I especially enjoyed the back-and-forth banter she shared with her ‘ex-boyfriend’ Tim. It was pretty clear to me that Mia has changed (and matured) throughout the series of books because there were some references to her past behavior. But I thought she was a realistic example of a normal teen-age girl. She had issues with learning to drive, ex-boyfriends, current boyfriends, and school. Young girls will just love her antics! So many scenes in this book were very funny — not in the outrageous sense, but in the real-world sense. Funny things happen to teenagers all the time, and I think Ms. Boggess has a great ability to turn ordinary situations into hilarious ones. Though I am far removed from my teenage years, I still related to Mia and her actions. I liked how she handled adversity and bounced back from it, and I found myself cheering her on throughout the story! Mia the Magnificent is just the type of book that I’m pretty sure my daughter and her friends will love. While my daughter is only ten years old, Mia and her friends are already in high school — but the book is geared towards a middle-grade audience. I know that Booking Daughter likes to read about older girls and their ‘issues;’ and as a mom, I like that this book is clean enough for her to read.”

—Booking Mama

Stella Matutina’s Review

“As an adult, I found this an awfully cute read; nothing of any great consequence, perhaps, but it was a pleasant way to spend some time. But had I read it when I was, say, ten or eleven, I think I’d have loved it. Mia is a great protagonist. I haven’t read the first two books (and, for the record, I don’t think you need to in order to enjoy this one), but it’s clear that she’s made a lot of progress towards becoming the person she wants to be. She may be tempted to just sit back and let life wash over her, but she doesn’t. I really enjoyed watching her deal with each new obstacle, and I appreciated all the lessons she learned along the way. I think younger readers will especially relate to the way she handles several time-honored high school traditions, including the school musical, driver’s ed, and the bad break-up. The story rather reminded me of the Babysitters Club books I read when I was a kid; it seems tailor-made to allow the target audience to deal with some of their own ideas about these issues, even as it delivers a fun story. I’m not sure that adult readers will enjoy this as much as their younger counterparts, but I’d certainly recommend this to those in the 9-13 range. (Parents, take note: it does deal with some relationship issues, including kissing and flirting, but it’s pretty firmly in the PG range). I’m looking forward to sharing it with my younger cousins.”

—Stella Matutina