'The Atomic Weight of Secrets' reviewed by Ryan

Synopsis: (click here for the extremely long version)

In 1903, five truly brilliant young inventors, the children of the world's most important scientists, went about their lives and their work as they always had.

But all that changed the day the men in black arrived.

The Atomic Weight of Secrets is not the best story I've ever read, but it's not the worst either. I would compare this book to an apple tree that is not yet ripen, after awhile the tree's apples become ripe and able to eat. Well the trees unripened apples are the beginning of the book, the ripened apples are the middle and the end. I didn't like the beginning of the book because what the wrote never caught my attention. Later on in the book, I wouldn't say my mind was captured but more like tangled into the book. Also, if the writer was going for a mystery he did a horrible job of it.

Recommend? No, I wouldn't because this book has nothing a good book should have --- something to catch a reader's mind! I believe the writer tried to, but failed in doing so.  In the beginning of the book he started in the middle of events and it left me lost and confused rather than curious.

Rating: 5/10

P.S. I feel really bad asking Ryan to read this book because he really struggled to finish it!!! But he's a trooper and told me he wouldn't give up on it because it might get better. Too bad that wasn't the case! Sorry Ryan!!! I also want to add that I was glancing at the reviews of this one on Goodreads and noticed most of them were posted by adults. I think it's important to get a kid's POV on these books that are marketed to them.

 ~Mrs. T

Read and reviewed by Ryan B. Ryan wrote this review at the end of this seventh grade school year. He has since grown about 4 more inches and is currently terrorizing me on a daily basis when he comes into the library eager to find the next great book to read! Look for two more reviews from Ryan.....coming in November and December!

Author: Eden Unger Bowditch
Published: March 15, 2011
Publisher: Bancroft Press
Genre: Middle School Fantasy
* Review copy from Bancroft Press

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@Barrie Summy

Ryan was not compensated for his review. His thoughts on this book were in no way influenced by the author or publicist.They are his personal reflections based solely on HIS experience while reading this novel.

© 2011, Staci of Life in the Thumb. All Rights Reserved. If you reading this on a site other than, Life in the Thumb or Staci's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Helping Out the Little Guy

Over the past year I've had the pleasure of requesting/receiving ARC's from big publishing companies and small publishing companies. But as the economy gets worse and I see stores and businesses closing left and right here in Michigan, I can't help but worry about the publishing houses out there that are trying to sell books in these tight times. So I just wanted to take a minute and highlight a company that I've had the pleasure of dealing with for the past couple of months---- Bancroft Press.

I was first introduced to Bancroft Press when I was contacted by Harrison to read Back Creek. After reading and loving this sweet gem, I sent Harrison my review link and he wanted to know if I would like to read some other books from their Children's/YA catalog. So I poured over it and chose 7 or 8 and he sent them ALL to me!! How many companies will do that? Not many! This means a lot to me as a reader. On Tuesday, September 8, to help celebrate the kick-off of going back to school I will be reviewing a series about a girl named Mia. She was created by a junior-high teacher who had sent her manuscript to every single publisher out there. She received many rejection letters, until one day Bancroft Press told her that Mia needed to be heard!! How awesome is that? Without the little guys, these talented writers would never get a chance to show the world what they can do. Without the little guys we, as readers, may miss out on a beautiful story that makes an impact on our lives. I would like to take my hats off to Bancroft Press and all of those little guys out there who are trying to make it in these hard, economic times and are trying to compete against the mega $$$ that the larger publishing companies have to promote their books. I ask you, my fellow bloggers that review books on a regular basis, to please consider accepting books from a little guy every once in a while.


About Bancroft Press:

Based in Baltimore, Maryland, Bancroft Press is a general interest book publisher that seeks to produce high quality works of fiction and nonfiction. By conscious choice, our writers have been, are, and will continue to be "in-the-trenches" journalists and other professionals -- authorities who know and present their stories and subjects better than anyone in the country.

Established in 1995
Bancroft Press operates under the slogan books that enlighten. It has published nearly two dozen books, from a TV thriller, a Hollywood novel, young adult fiction, and adult mysteries to non-fiction books ranging from humor, health, and cultural criticism, to history, business, art, and personal investment.

Recognition
Publishers Weekly called Bancroft Press small but enterprising, Bancroft Press has received plaudits from syndicated columnist Liz Smith, who calls Bancroft up and coming, and a special honor from book publishing guru John Kremer who in 1998 designated Bancroft "one of the top 101 independent book publishers in the U.S." based on design, content, selection, marketing, volume, and sales.

As of June 2005, five of Bancroft’s books have been sold to mass market paperback, seven to book clubs, four to the movies and television, four to a foreign publisher, three to audio book publishers, and two to serial sales. In just the Young Adult area, it has published one Alex Award winner, one Edgar finalist, and one book garnering a Booklist starred review.

Bruce L. Bortz - Publisher

Book Review: Back Creek by Leslie Goetsch

Back Creek: A Novel
by Leslie Goetsch
Genre: YA
Published: Bancroft Press 2008
Pages: 226

Synopsis from Goodreads:
It's the summer of 1975. Eighteen-year-old Grace Barnett knows she should be preparing to leave for college in September. But a strange Memorial Day boating accident on the creek near her Virginia home she s the only witness to the apparent suicide kicks off a series of events that will define her family's future as well as her emerging view of life.







My Thoughts:

I truly loved every single word written in this brilliant coming-of-age story. The main character Grace is a person some of us book geeks can totally relate to.

High school wasn't of great interest to me: I was far more absorbed by the fiction I read than the fiction I lived.
p.11

How can you not connect with this young girl? She lives inside her two favorite novels, Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. They're the one constant in her life that she can depend on, that and Back Creek itself. Within this story is another character that you will grow to love and that is Back Creek. Even though this is a fictionalized sleepy town, you feel as if you've been there on your travels to the south and that it would be a place to welcome you home. Grace's life is tumultuous, not by her own doing, but rather by the sudden departure of her mother, the sudden reappearance of her wayward sister, and her father's alcoholic binges.

Remembering my berry-picking made me realize I was always trying to make peace through gifts--drawings I made, unusual shells I found on the shore, even a heron's feather. I guess I didn't know how else to respond to the tension I felt in the house. p.75

The writing in this novel is lyrical and somehow transports you back in time to 1975....to a place that you really don't want to leave when you've read the last page. Goetsch is a new author to me that I feel has so much promise. To me this book has mass appeal that goes beyond the YA target audience. I totally recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of southern fiction and just wants to read a good story.

As we followed the recipes her mother had followed and her mother before that, we talked in an abstract way. As the afternoon wore on
and Mother kept talking, I was listening to preserve the stories in mind. p.176

Other reviews of Back Creek:
Carrie at Books and Movies

**I would like to personally thank Harrison Demchick from Bancroft Press for contacting me to read and review this great story!!!