Family of Spies: Blog Tour

Today I'm reviewing Jodi Carmichael's newest middle grade novel Family of Spies as part of the book's blog tour.  Please check out the others stops on the tour as listed at Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours and Promotions and enter to win a free copy of Family of Spies here.

Written by Jodi Carmichael

Yellow Dog (an imprint of Great Plains Publications)

978-1-927855-94-2

288 pp.

Ages 8-13

April 24, 2018

Most people who delve into their family histories are hoping for the unusual like connections to royalty, a hint of scandal or extraordinary accomplishment.  But for most, the exercise of discovering family history details is more likely to be a slog and end in disappointment, since  most people in the past lived lives of work and family with few opportunities for the exotic or the mysterious.  Not so for the great-grandfather of thirteen-year-old cousins Ford MacKenzie and Ellie Whitaker and Ford’s older brother Gavin.  Great-Granddad’s story would be the stuff of legends, if it didn’t have to be sealed.

The MacKenzie and Whitaker families, from Canada and the US respectively, are meeting in Paris for a European vacation. Soon after their arrival, Ford begins to experience moments of déjà vu that seem to time-slip him into Nazi-occupied Paris during World War II.  These episodes are especially emphatic when he touches any of the personal effects–letters, photos, postcards, bookmarks, etc.– in his great-grandfather’s briefcase. A visit to a psychic confirms Ford to be a clairvoyant who is able to connect to the past. 

Using a letter his mother received denying them access to Edward Crawford’s service records,  Ford connects to that military office and sees his great-grandfather’s file identifying him as part of  Special Operations Executive, a top-secret spy agency in operation during the war. But the three teens’ search at the military library alerts other forces to their interest in E. H. Crawford and soon Ford’s “visions” are not the only worries they have.

Assessing the various materials in his great-grandfather’s briefcase, Ford determines that he can connect with Great-Granddad and would be able to envision what he was doing during the war by (re)visiting a café/restaurant, the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower and several more stops.  With each visit, Ford reveals more about his great-grandfather’s covert activities, as well as his fears and guilt for a mission gone awry.

The story is very loosely based on Jodi Carmichael’s own grandfather whose military records remain sealed.  By weaving family history with Ford’s supernatural ability to divine the past, Jodi Carmichael has created a multi-layered mystery that honours her family and entertains readers with intrigue, adventure, a bit of the fantastic and a history lesson like no other. Family of Spies also reveals much about family dynamics and reminds us that, like Great-Granddad’s records of spy activity, nothing is ever final, even in relationships modified by guilt or jealousy because forgiveness can unravel much.

For young readers who enjoy an action-adventure story with a bit of history and the supernatural, Family of Spies will completely captivate and satisfy, and leave them anticipating Ford, Gavin and Ellie’s next adventures (fingers crossed) as the family continues their travels to London and Cairo.

🌆🌆🌆🌆🌆🌆

Jodi Carmichael’s dreams of becoming an author began to come true when she attended her first SCBWI conference in Los Angeles in 2007 and was nominated for the Sue Alexander Most Promising New Work Award. A champion for the underdog and kids who think differently, she wrote Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food (and Other Life Lessons) (2013) which won numerous awards including a Gold Mom’s Choice and a Silver Moonbeam in 2013. In 2016 her novel about relationship abuse, Forever Julia (2016), won the Manitoba Book Award, the McNally Robinson Books for Young People Award - Older Category and received a Bronze Moonbeam Award for Young Adult Fiction - Mature Issues.

When not channeling characters from her books, she can be found strolling Manitoba beaches with her husband, two daughters, and exceedingly scruffy Border Terrier named Zoe. 

Family of Spies: Book launch (Winnipeg, MB)

Join author

Jodi Carmichael

for the launch of

her new middle-grade novel

Family of Spies

Written by Jodi Carmichael

Yellow Dog

978-1-927855-94-2

288 pp.

Ages 8-13

April 2018

on 

Sunday, April 29, 2018

2 p.m.

at

 McNally Robinson Booksellers

Grant Park Shopping Centre

1120 Grant Avenue

Winnipeg, MB

I'm pleased to share that I'll be participating in the blog tour for Family of Spies on May 10, 2018 with my review of this action-adventure with a touch of the fantastic inspired by the author's own grandfather's rumoured espionage activities during World War 2.  But, until then, here is the blurb from publisher Great Plains.

When cousins Ford, Ellie and Gavin, discover their great-grandfather was a rogue World War 2 spymaster, they must outrun MI6 and the CIA through the streets of Paris, relying on their wits and Ford’s newfound clairvoyant skills to unlock Great-Granddad’s spy secrets buried in the past. Great-Granddad hid something important to the war effort and these agencies want it back! 

Retrieved from 

https://www.greatplains.mb.ca/product/family-of-spies/ 

on April 25, 2018.

Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food (and other life lessons)

Written by Jodi Carmichael 

Illustrated by Sarah Ackerley

Little Pickle Press/Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

978-1-939775-03-0

152 pp.

Ages 7-10

2013

Though the number of books with characters with ASD is ever increasing (see my abbreviated book list from 2013 here, revised this week), few books are written from the perspective of protagonists on the spectrum, and very few from a preteen's point of view.  Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food (and other life lessons) fits that niche and provides an enlightening approach to the thoughts and behaviour of a child with Asperger's Syndrome that will both teach and astound.

Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food (and other life lessons) is a story told in 14 lessons (chapters) experienced in one school day by third grader Connor Campbell, a little boy on the spectrum.  Amidst his passion for routines and strict adherence to the rules–except when they go against other rules or his thinking leads him astray–Connor is a boy with much knowledge, insight and perspective, though some students may label him as "weird."  He loves counting and he prefers the blue vinyl chair, not the red one, in the office–sadly he is sent there regularly–and smooth things rather than those with rough or squiggly edges and he adores dogs and dinosaurs and seeing others happy.  Of course, as a child and one with Asperger's, his choices don't always make sense to others, and while he can be rather entertaining, he can be frustrating and frustrated when misunderstood.  Fortunately, Connor gets a chance to show off his knowledge and make things right when a dog gets loose in the school, demonstrating that he has valuable and hidden strengths (even if he does do some silly things like dump spaghetti on his head).

From Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food (and other life lessons) 

by Jodi Carmichael 

illus. by Sarah Ackerley

Jodi Carmichael, whose YA book Forever Julia (Great Plains Teen Fiction, 2015) took on the heavy issues of anxiety, grief and abusive relationships, switches flawlessly to the voice of a young child with Asperger's (though I guess the switch is actually the other way since Spaghetti is NOT a Finger Food (and other life lessons) was published in 2013).  Connor's voice is clearly defined, in his head at least, and after a few chapters or lessons, the reader will begin to understand his thought processes and choices.  What Connor's peers and teachers and principal and custodian cannot see or hear is what Jodi Carmichael imparts in his story and it all makes sense.  We might not agree with what he says or does but his lovely resource teacher Mrs. Rosetti helps him and the reader see his day from a different perspective and the path it took and how it could be different the next time.  Connor may be learning that spaghetti is not a finger food but we all learn why he might think it is under certain circumstances and appreciate his unique take on everything from geckos, to library stools and face wrinkles.  Like all of us, Connor is special in his own way and Jodi Carmichael has provided an accessible story about a child with Asperger's Syndrome that will ensure tolerance and compassion in ways that no classroom lesson ever could.

Forever Julia

by Jodi Carmichael
Great Plains Teen Fiction
978-1-927855-20-1
262 pp.
Ages 14+
April, 2015

Julia Collins must feel like she's living her life from out-of-body. And with the life she has, I might want out too. Her much-adored dad has passed from cancer just 6 months ago, and her Mom is so grief-stricken that she can't even bear to speak of him.  They now live in a small two-bedroom flat above their bookstore and money is an issue, though Julia had never minds thrift-store shopping with her long-time best friend and creative fashionista, Annika, who understands about Julia's issues with depression and anxiety and watches out for her constantly.

But now Julia is going out with the obscenely wealthy Jeremy Thurston, a.k.a. the Third, jock and popularity icon, and he is pressuring her to have sex, though she has made it clear that she is not ready.  The gutsy Annika can’t stand Jeremy and makes it clear every time he pulls some stunt, like kicking Julia out of the ski chalet where they were supposed spend the night when she refuses his advances yet again.  Sadly, in her mind, Julia is convinced that she can have it all: the wonderful dating relationship with Jeremy who calls her “beautiful”; new friendships with the popular girls; a scholarship to USC for architecture; and the best friendship she has ever had.  Imagine thinking,

Maybe if I convince Annika to tone down her wardrobe, Jeremy would see how incredible she really is and then maybe everyone would get along. (pg. 105)

Sadly naïve, but probably not atypical for a teen who is trying to work everything out.

Then Grandma, who generally splits her time between Arizona and the cottage, arrives to stay–in Julia’s room–while being treated for breast cancer.  Now both Grandma and Mom are watching her and what’s going on around her, and they’re not always pleased by what they see.

It’s not surprising that Julia questions everything that she feels but what’s worse is that she never trusts her feelings to be legit or honest.  Whether that’s because of her anxiety or depression is irrelevant.  All that matters is that the life that was once warmed with Dad and Mom happily living in a modest home and with a reliable and loving BFF is now a life she doesn’t even recognize as her own.  Who is the girl who lets herself drink when she knows it’s verboten with the meds she’s on?  Who is the girl who kisses her boyfriend in public like there's no one else around?  Who is the girl who apologizes to a guy who thinks nothing of stranding her at a ski resort when she doesn’t want to have sex?  Jeremy may get a tattoo, even a temporary one, that reads “Forever Julia” but Julia can’t be forever when she doesn’t  know who she is, who she wants to be, or who she can be.

Jodi Carmichael gets inside of this Julia and gives her a true voice, albeit one mixed and confused with guilt, grief, envy, desire, and affection.  Julia definitely morphs over the course of Forever Julia though I suspect she hasn’t come into herself completely, yet. Forever is a long time to be someone, to love someone, to trust someone, to be friends. It may be possible but maybe not.  Not everything can be forever: not life, not love, not lust, not even family nor  friends.  And Jodi Carmichael makes sure that Julia accepts this, even if only temporarily, in Forever Julia.