Just Sayin'

GIVEAWAY

MACKALL, DANI DALEY
JUST SAYIN'

Dear Mom,
Have you found yourself yet?
Gram ust gave me a hard time telling me not to give you a hard time. She said I shouldn't write anything sad or whiny. So I guess this letter will be short.
I miss Julie.
I miss Nick.
I even miss Travis.
Okay, I miss you too.

Nick and Cassie almost had their perfect family: their parents were getting married, and that meant a best-friend brother and a sweet little sister for Cassie, and Nick would have Cassie as his partner in crime. When their parents mysteriously call off their wedding and Cassie is left in her Gram's care, Cassie and Nick become "almost-step" pen pals. Through letters, they scheme about how to get on their favorite game show, The Last Insult Standing, and just maybe figure out how to get their parents back together. Just Sayin' is a heartwarming, funny story told through letters, demonstrating the power that words have to tear people apart or bring them together.

My Review:

Yes, I know I said last Sunday that I would review A Dark Road Home by Elizabeth Ludwig today but then I realized that next Saturday is St. Patrick's Day and since A Dark Road Home is an Irish tale I wanted to leave it for a St. Patrick's Day review because...well, I'm into details like that. And I'm Irish. :-)

We interrupt the regularly scheduled retro read for a new release in Christian Fiction kidlit -- because we're all about supporting Christian Fiction here at BestReads no matter the genre or intended reading audience.

I first fell in love  Dani Daley Mackall's storytelling last summer when I read her World War II Historical Romance, With Love, Wherever You Are and then discovered that she is a multi-published, award winning author of Young Adult and children's fiction. My library has become my best friend (well it was already my best friend but now it's my bestest best friend) because they have a collection of this author's novels. Woot! And this gem was among that bounty.

It's touching and funny and subtly hard-hitting as Mackall tackles the power in words. Love the letter writing format! The publisher had some fun with creating unique fonts for each letter writer and the understated background sketches add to the pen pal ambiance.

Cassie is a fire cracker with a passion for vocabulary. She's audacious, dramatic, sarcastic and tenderhearted. And a schemer. She's not shy about sharing her feelings in letters but it's when her pastor suggests she write to God...well, that's when things begin to get interesting.

Brilliant and heartwarming -- this novel may target preteens but I think there's plenty here for us 'slightly' older readers to enjoy!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Just Sayin', leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you add your email to a comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it's easy for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday March 18 2018.