Event Recap: Busting the Newbie Blues

Thank you all so much for participating in Busting the Newbie Blues! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your enthusiasm for this event. I hope your blues have been busted and that you've met many new blogging friends along the way.

Though the linky list is now closed for new entries, you can still click on the links and visit any blog you may not have gotten to yet. I am slowly but surely making my way through the list and I will be stopping by every blog that entered!

The discussions and Tips & Tricks posts will remain open indefinitely, so please feel free to join it at any time. The same goes for the Tips & Tricks Challenge.

If you like these posts, I hope you decide to stick around! Small Review features new discussion and Tips & Tricks posts every month.

Miss anything? Here are some posts you may want to check out:

Introduction post with list of participating blogs
My Busting the Newbie Blues questionnaire responses (2012)
My Busting the Newbie Blues questionnaire responses (from when I was a newbie)

Tips & Tricks Challenge
Your questions answered
How to Get ARCs: A Step-by-Step Guide
List of all Tips & Tricks posts

Discussion: When Blogging Makes Me Cry (and How I Smile Again)
Discussion: The Dark Side of Blogging

Ruby's Busting the Big Blogger Blues:

General Chat
Scheduling
How do you deal with blogger burnout? (part 1)
How do you deal with blogger burnout? (part 2)

2012's Busting the Newbie Blues has come to an end, but I hope to see all of you again next year!

In an effort to make next year's Busting the Newbie Blues even better, I would love it if you shared your feedback on the event! If you would like to help, please fill out THIS FORM. Thank you!

If you would like to receive an email when Busting the Newbie Blues returns in 2013, please fill out THIS FORM. I will send only one email and your email address will not be used for any other reason, nor will it be shared with anyone.

February will be a little quieter here at Small Review, with only reviews and a Review Comparison. But don't worry, all of the regular features will return in March! Tweet

Bx4 Guest Posting

We've been talking all month about being a blogging newbie, but what about when you're a big blogger?

Is it pretty much paradise on earth...with ARCs?

Why yes, my vision of paradise on earth DOES include unicorns!

Well, no. Not exactly.

Don't get me wrong, blogging is awesome, but just like newbies have all sorts of newbie things to stress about? Yeah, oldies have oldie things to stress about, too. 

But don't worry! Ruby from Ruby's Reads has got you covered! Check out her sister event to Busting the Newbie Blues in these great discussion posts:

Chat about oldie blues (The comments are filled with awesome)
Learn all about scheduling! (I get really excited about scheduling. You can color code things!)
Learn how to bust your big blogger blues from experts!
And from more experts! (and me!)

Yes, you read that right. If you're still dying to get more bits of Small wisdom, check out what I do when I start to feel the blogging blues. Here's a teaser:

Blogger burnout happens to me when I’m feeling stressed and overwhelmed. So what do I do? I procrastinate. I let things pile up even more…and then I feel even more burnt out and stressed! 

Wonderful, right? But that’s not the advice part, this is:

Ooooh cliffhanger! Hahaha. I know, I hate them too. But unlike a book, I'm not going to make you wait to find out more. Just click over to Ruby's Reads! See you there!

Why is he here? Um, because he was here the last time I guest posted at Ruby's blog. Isn't that reason enough?

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Book Review: The Dead of Winter by Chris Priestley

The Dead of Winter by Chris Priestley
Release Date: January 31, 2012 (already out in the UK)
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 224
Received: ARC from publisher, via NetGalley
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads Page

Summary

From Goodreads:

Michael Vyner recalls a terrible story, one that happened to him. One that would be unbelievable if it weren't true! Michael's parents are dead and he imagines that he will stay with the kindly lawyer, executor of his parents' will ...Until he is invited to spend Christmas with his guardian in a large and desolate country house.

His arrival on the first night suggests something is not quite right when he sees a woman out in the frozen mists, standing alone in the marshes. But little can prepare him for the solitude of the house itself as he is kept from his guardian and finds himself spending the Christmas holiday wandering the silent corridors of the house seeking distraction.

But lonely doesn't mean alone, as Michael soon realises that the house and its grounds harbour many secrets, dead and alive, and Michael is set the task of unravelling some of the darkest secrets of all. This is a nail-biting story of hauntings and terror by the master of the genre, Chris Priestley

Review

Looking for a good Gothic tale?

Look no further. From the spooky old house, mad residents, and ghostly occurrences, The Dead of Winter is classic Gothic horror. It's even set up in that typically Gothic "Let me tell you a tale" narration style I love so much.

The Dead of Winter is so classic Gothic, in fact, that it almost felt like Chris Priestley wrote the whole thing with a "Features of Gothic Fiction" checklist in hand.

I'm the type of reader who delights in the comfort of repetition (just look at my fairy tale obsession for proof of that--how many times can I possibly read a 12 Dancing Princesses retelling? Endlessly), so I don't mind this checklist of the familiar approach. I even think it's fun spotting all of the requisite features.

Erm, except for when the features aren't really developed beyond the level of a checklist item.

I wanted more

The book is short, and that could be fine, but too many things were crammed in and none were particularly fleshed out. Plot threads were minimally developed and some were even dropped all together with no resolution. The supernatural parts didn't have enough explanation for me either. It was a fun read for sure, but the more I think about it the more I can find to nitpick.

There was SO MUCH potential with the haunting mystery, but it didn't turn out entirely right for me. It was like having a recipe for a perfect, delectable cookie...but then the baker accidentally doubled the flour and then forgot to add half the sugar. The bland, boring parts of the story were too much in the forefront and the zesty interesting parts were only half developed.

Seriously?

The Big Bad was a big disappointment. It came out of nowhere while also being utterly predictable. There was no build up or subtle suspicion on the part of the MC, and so there was also no depth or development to the villain.

There were a few not-so-subtle nods to the reader (like an old man elbowing you saying "Get it? Get it?" when, duh, everyone in the world gets it), but dummy Michael remained totally in the dark until the big reveal. When the Ah-ha moment finally came, it was almost hokey in over the top and out of the blue evilness.

And I'll admit it, I giggled. I know that sounds bad, but in The Dead of Winter's defense, this IS a Gothic book, and "over the top to the point of giggles" is pretty much one of those checklist features of the genre. So I guess I can give it a pass on that. It was fun.

Michael honey, CARPE DIEM!

What a whiner. I mean, ok, fine, maybe his mom did just die, but, jeez, can he tear himself away from his pity party for ONE SECOND and focus on the spooky hauntings? Please??

Nothing annoys me quite like a character who squanders good opportunities for fictional fun. Michael can't seem to recognize the value of being an orphan. Hasn't he read ANY books?? Fictional orphans get to have all the fun and Michael's situation is rife with potential excitement.

But apparently Michael missed this memo because he spent most of his time feeling sorry for himself and prissily complaining about how he wanted to leave ASAP. He also pouted because people didn't believe he saw a ghost. Pouted.

If he were a good little protagonist, he would have been throwing himself in perilous situations, hellbent on tracking down the malevolent presence stalking the dilapidated mansion and driving its residents off their rockers. We could have had so much fun together!

But no, Michael is a total killjoy. Things happened TO  him while he sat there like a grumpy log. He had absolutely no engagement or curiosity. The situation was all "ooooh scary noises! Randomly shattering mirrors!" and Michael was all dispassionately "Uh, no. I'm sad my mom died. And why do I need to stay here again?"

He even complained that an old man gave him money. Money?! Something is clearly wrong with that boy.

I'm complaining too much

Ok, ok, I'm whining too much myself. I actually did enjoy reading The Dead of Winter. The story, though thin, is a fun Gothic yarn. And it was seriously scary.

I'm a wimpy reader, and there were a two scenes that pretty much terrified me. Yes, terrified. One is in the middle and one is toward the end, and both made me want to run around screaming in fear. Then there were about three or four other scenes that were more on the usual level of leave on all the lights and walk with my back to the wall kind of scary. It was wonderful!

I also loved the "big family love" provided by the servants. They were a perfect warm fuzzy balance to the heart-attack-inducing scenes.

Bottom line

If it weren't for Michael, I would have given this an easy 4 stars. Really, he was the part that bugged me the most. I still managed to have a lot of fun despite him, and I definitely recommend The Dead of Winter to readers looking for quick Gothic fun and a good scare. I am for sure checking out more of Chris Priestley's books.

Explanation of rating system: Star Rating Key 

Do you have any questions about The Dead of Winter that I haven't addressed? 
Feel free to ask in the comments!

Looking for another book like this? 

You might like: 

Click on the covers to go to my reviews/Goodreads.

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Discussion: The Dark Side of Blogging

Last discussion post we talked about envy, an emotion that most newbies (and even established bloggers) will feel at some point. Since I don't like being a downer, we also talked about solutions.

Today I'd like to talk about three things most bloggers will encounter eventually. In the spirit of staying up beat, I'd also like to discuss how to stay positive in the face of these situations. Of course there are MANY different ways to respond to these situations and there is no one right answer. I'm sharing how *I* would respond, and I hope you will share in the comments how YOU would respond!

By laying out some of the pitfalls now, I hope to help newbies (and established bloggers who have been lucky enough to avoid these dips!) prepare themselves for these situations so they won't be caught off guard.

Because the thing is, there ARE downsides to blogging, but they're manageable. I promise.

Someone plagiarized my blog!

Yes, it happens. It has happened to me (it is likely STILL happening to me) and it may happen to you.

Here are a few excellent posts written by other bloggers about plagiarism, what constitutes plagiarism (yes paraphrasing IS plagiarism!), how it feels to be plagiarized, and what to do if you've been plagiarized:

• Steph Su Reads
• Presenting Lenore
• The Compulsive Reader
• Persnickety Snark
• The Story Siren

They've done a fantastic job covering the ins and outs of what IS plagiarism, so I'm going to focus on the emotional side of things.

Having your work plagiarized is upsetting. It hurts and it kills the motivation to continue blogging like nothing else. For weeks after I found out my work was being plagiarized, I couldn't bring myself to write a single word (here's another example of why scheduling your posts in advance is wonderful.)

I couldn't shake the depressing thoughts of "Why bother? Someone is just going to take it, replace a few of my words with some synonyms, and pass it off as theirs."

It's hard to get past that, and honestly, I STILL struggle with this. The reality is that your work is always at risk of being plagiarized. To get back into writing, I needed to remind myself why I blog.

I feel great whenever I get comments and positive feedback. I have gained friends who brighten my life. I feel good when I introduce someone to a book they then read and enjoy. I love talking about books with fellow bookworms. I gain internal satisfaction from the pride of knowing I have produced written content, stuck with and nurtured a hobby, and continued to persevere even when I have encountered bumps in the road.

No amount of plagiarism can take any of that away. If your work has been stolen and you're having trouble finding the motivation to blog again, try to remind yourself of the positive side of blogging. 

Authors Behaving Badly

Unless you post nothing but absolutely glowing reviews, it is likely that, at some point, your review will upset an author and they will publicly discuss it. Maybe the author is straight up immature. Maybe the author read your review when they were already having a really bad day. There are a million reasons, but the result is the same: Public confrontation.

How you handle it is a personal decision, but this is what I say to myself:

When this happens, recognize that you are probably dealing with someone whose feelings have been hurt and they are lashing out with all of that emotion and pain. Those emotions are natural and understandable and it is important to remember that. It is equally important to remember that this is no excuse for bringing those feelings to a public forum.

Likewise, YOU will be emotional and hurt if an author criticizes you. Recognize your emotions, but do not allow them to dictate your actions. This is what the author should have done, but they didn't and the result wasn't pretty, was it? Don't make the situation worse by adding your own emotional response to the mix.

Maintain your professionalism.You cannot control the author's actions, but you can control your own response.

On your blog, you do have the option to delete offending posts. It is a good idea to make a note of what types of posts you will delete either on a policy page or in a customized comment form message. This can be a good approach to help avoid conflict on your blog and prevent anyone from (further) losing face.

If you choose to respond, be polite and do not argue with or engage in the specifics of their comment. Settle on agreeing to disagree and then wish them and their book the best. Leave it at that and move on.

If the criticized post is the result of a book you received for review, then you can direct the author to your review policy. Make sure your policy clearly states how you handle reviews for books you do not like and books you do not finish (and make sure your reviews adhere to this policy!). By providing a book for review, the author/publisher is agreeing to work with your policy.

Is this the pushover approach? Maybe. But, for me, it's also the approach that saves me from a boat load of drama, headaches, disappointments, and hurt feelings. I can't stop an author from getting upset and lashing out, but I have far too many books to chat about to waste my time on negative drama. I want Small Review to be a happy, welcoming place and I will always strive to keep it that way.

Oh, oh no

Have you ever misspelled an author's name? How about the title of their book? Or, oh gosh, have you ever sent the wrong review/email/request to the wrong author/publisher?

*cringe* I have. The thing is, we all make mistakes, and if you blog long enough, odds are you will make a mistake like this at some point. There's no getting around the fact that this is mortifying, but it also isn't the end of the world.

Again, authors are people, and since you are a person too, try thinking about how you would feel if this happened to you. What would you want the person to do to fix the mistake? Would you want an apology? Would you want the mistake corrected? Would you want to be assured that they do in fact care enough about you to make sure they get your name right?

Do what YOU would want done. Do what would make YOU feel better.

Plus, it's not like you would blacklist someone forever and ever if they made a mistake about your name, especially if they made an effort to fix that mistake, right?

What do you think are the dark sides of blogging? 
How do you address them?
Have any of these situations happened to you?
Do you have any advice on how to handle them?

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Tips & Tricks: Q & A Edition 3

What You Will Learn

A few weeks before Busting the Newbie Blues and Busting the Big Blogger Blues went live, Ruby and I posted up a question form. Readers were encouraged to write whatever newbie or oldie questions they had about blogging.

We've addressed many of these questions throughout our events, but there were a few questions that we either couldn't fit in anywhere else or didn't need an entire post devoted to them. So that's where this post comes in.

If you feel your question still hasn't been answered, please ask again in the comments!

If you have a question you would like answered in a future Tips & Tricks post, I would love it if you filled out THIS FORM. Tips & Tricks posts go up once a month, so it may take a little while for me to get to your question, but I promise you I WILL answer.

Let's Do This!

How do you add originality to your blog? How do you take ideas from other blogs without seeming unoriginal or copying?

The best piece of advice I can think of is to say look at yourself, not everyone else. YOUR voice is what will bring originality to your blog. Let your personality shine through and your blog will be uniquely yours.

But what about features? Memes? Honestly, I wouldn't worry about them. When answering the Busting the Newbie Blues questionnaires, you know what a lot of people DIDN'T like about blogs? When they're filled with memes. You know what people DO want? Quality reviews.

Still stuck? Try this approach:

Other people can be hugely inspiring, but when you look to others for inspiration you walk a tightrope with originality on one side and plagiarism on the other. Of course you do NOT want to end up on the plagiarism side of things (and keep in mind, paraphrasing or taking an idea IS plagiarism!).

Ok, so you're not looking at anyone else now, right? Now I want you to forget about your readers for a minute. *GASP*

Yes, your readers are hugely important, but when you think about them in this context, you're probably thinking of how you can please them. Do you know what that means? PRESSURE! It's incredibly hard to be creative when you're feeling that kind of pressure.

So now you're not looking at anyone else for inspiration and you're not thinking about your readers. What do you do next?

Look in a mirror. Ask yourself, what do YOU want to see? Focus on what YOU want. When you read a review, what do YOU want to know about the book?

How about frustrations? Is there anything that you as a reader and a blogger experience that frustrates you? A problem you've faced? How can you fix that problem? For me, my latest feature was born out of a need for book recommendations.

Once you've brainstormed some ideas, search around a little and see if anyone else is doing something similar. If no one is, then wonderful!

If they are, then no worries. Sure, maybe you'll scrap that idea, but you have discovered that someone is doing something you wanted. Even if it's a loss for the "original idea" category, discovering their feature is still a win for you.

Now get back to that mirror and think of another idea. Or don't. I said this earlier in my discussion post but it bears repeating:

• When the muse is out on extended vacation, embrace the basics. There is nothing wrong with a review blog with nothing but reviews. You do not have to be the NEXT BIG THING to offer something of value. 

How do you get your heading banner thing to become centered on your blog? Mine isn't.

This probably has to do with your code. I'm not sure what's going on, but try looking in your code for words like "Header," "Align," and "Padding." Maybe your padding is set unevenly? Or your align isn't set for center? I'm sorry I can't be more helpful!

How, in comments, do you link your site so people commenting can check it out?

That is called anchor text, and it is fantastically useful! Check out my Tips & Tricks post called How to Make Anchor Text to learn how. Let me know if you have any trouble with it.

I've been trying to link up my Word97 to make it easier to post but it's just not working. I just love how other bloggers have these neat nice rating images and boxes in their post. I'm so not good with design.

Hm, I'm not sure what you mean about linking up Word97. I will say though, that when it comes to blogging DO NOT use Microsoft Word if at all possible (it took me a while to figure this out). Microsoft Word adds all kinds of extra code that could mess up your formatting and potentially cause errors. See:

Click to see in all it's awesomely bad glory

This is a blog post after I copied it from Microsoft Word. See the arrows? See all that green text? It goes on for almost THREE HUNDRED LINES OF CODE. It is entirely useless and is only there because Microsoft Word wants to be the bane of a blogger's existence.

Every time someone tries to view your post, their browser needs to read every line of code you have written. Look at all that useless code! Sloppy, sloppy.

Click to make larger

Ah, THAT is what I wanted! See how neat and clean it is? See how I couldn't even fit the whole blog post in one screen cap when it was copied from Microsoft Word, but in reality MY work only takes up five tidy little lines? MUCH better.

I highly recommend Notepad or Notepad++.(which is the program I've used to show my code in both of those pictures). Personally, I write all of my blog posts in Notepad++ because it does code highlighting (this is what makes the text different colors, and I am a color coding fanatic).

As for the rating images, I love them too! You can try sites like All Silhouettes or All Vectors to get an image you like for your ratings. You can crop the images using a program like Paint or something more advanced like Photoshop or Gimp (free).

By boxes, if you mean colored boxes, I have a tutorial called How to Make Colored Boxes that explains how you make them. I hope that helps!

And don't worry if you're not good at design. You'll learn! A lot of design is much easier than it seems at first. It's easy to be overwhelmed by design, but if you try to learn things in bite sized baby steps, it's a lot less intimidating. Also remember, a neat and easy to navigate blog is far more important than pretty graphics. 

Click here to make a request for a future Tips & Tricks post.

The form is anonymous, so please don't feel shy at all!

I'm certainly not an expert, but I'll try my hardest to explain what I do know and research what I don't know.

Click here to read previous Tips & Tricks Posts 

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WoW (41): Abby Grahame, Cassandra Golds

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine where we all feature upcoming books we're eagerly anticipating.


I've altered things a little to include one book that hasn't come out yet and one that has already been published but I still haven't gotten around to reading yet.

Wentworth Hall by Abby Grahame
(May 1, 2012)

From Goodreads:

The Darlington family is among Edwardian Britain’s most revered, but underneath this façade of respectability hides secrets that could mean their ruin. Lord and Lady Darlington’s seat at Wentworth Hall is one of England’s oldest estates, but the servants have been whispering about the lack of hands (and funds) for the upkeep of the grand manor.

Are the Darlingtons hoping to find 18-year-old Maggie a wealthy husband? Is that why newly moneyed Teddy Fitzhugh, whose father recently drowned in the sinking of the Titanic, has been invited to stay? His visit-and the complete change in Maggie’s personality since her return from a year abroad in France-gives the ever-curious staff even more reason to gossip than usual.

When scandalous satires start appearing in the newspaper with details suspiciously similar to the goings on of Wentworth Hall, the Darlingtons are determined to keep their secrets to themselves and their affairs (both private and public) in order. And the first order of business is finding the culprit. But where to start? Downstairs among the staff? Or should the Darlingtons look even closer to home . . .

Why I want to read it: 

Because I LOVE historical fiction. And gossip. And secrets. And mysteries. I can't wait!

The Three Loves of Persimmon by Cassandra Golds
(April 24, 2012)

From Goodreads:

Persimmon Polidori is a fine young lady, but within her is a rebel. She must follow her heart's desire, even if it means her family will reject her for the choices she makes. These choices bring her adventure and a world she never knew existed - they also bring her loneliness...

Along the way, Persimmon undergoes the trials of love, heartbreak, doubt and the discovery of her own true value.

And she does it with the aid of a tiny, brave creature named Epiphany.

Why I want to read it: 

Ok, so I'm not really feeling that cover, but I DO like the sound of the story. Persimmon sounds fun with best friend potential. I also like how the story sounds like it will be heartwarming with a sweet romance (but, heartbreak? Oh no!) and adventure. Plus, who--or what--is this tiny, brave creature named Epiphany? I am curious. 

Have any of you read either of these books? Would you recommend them? 

Join the fun!

Ever feel blue when it comes to blogging? Ever wish you could network your blog more, gain more followers, get ARCs, or learn more about the ins and outs of YA book blogging?

Check out Busting the Newbie Blues!

New bloggers ask their blogging questions, old bloggers help answer them! A casual event for the YA book blogging community.

Are you an established blogger? Come share you advice with newbies, or check out Ruby's Busting the Big Blogger Blues event!

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Book Review: Borrowing Abby Grace by Kelly Green

Borrowing Abby Grace series by Kelly Green
Release Date: October 2011 - December 2011
Publisher: Backlit Fiction
Pages: ~50 pages per episode
Received: Review copies of episodes 1 & 2 from author
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Summary

From Goodreads:

Smart and sassy Abby Grace is a seventeen-year-old with a talent for getting out of trouble. Sent to repair the lives and loves of teenagers on the edge of disaster, Abby is the perfect girl for the job. She has everything going for her… except one thing: a body.

This fast-paced and exciting episode is the first installment in an ongoing mystery series with a supernatural twist.

Review

This review is for the first two episodes in the series.

Here's the deal

This is the first time I've read a book published in episodes, but it is very similar to reading a novel serialized in magazines. Each episode is approximately 50 pages long, so it's entirely doable to read an episode in a single sitting. For a person like myself who lately is always struggling to find time to read, I really appreciated this format.

Each episode had a self-contained mystery as well as clues to the overarching mystery of Abby's out-of-body predicament. The self-contained mysteries easily kept my interest. The situations were creatively drawn and clues were fed at a perfect pace to both keep me on my toes and let me feel engaged in solving the puzzles alongside Abby.

By the end of each episode, the central mystery has been solved and Abby is a few steps closer to figuring out why and how she ended up in the body-swapping business.

Abby's got The Voice

When Kelly Green first sent me a review pitch, I almost declined because 1) I'm not accepting e-books at this time, and 2) I'm not accepting indie books. So why did I agree to review the Borrowing Abby Grace series?

Because I fell in love with Abby's voice. The premise of the story also caught my eye (body swapping to solve mysteries? Score!), but it was Abby who cinched the deal for me. I read the first few pages and knew I had to spend more time with this girl.

Abby is that type of hilarious character who is always coming up with amusing inner commentary on her situation. That she routinely finds herself thrown into some unknown person's body (where she needs to not only convincingly act like she IS that person, but also figure out the problem they're facing AND solve that problem), makes for a lot of opportunities for Abby's humor to shine.

Other things I liked:

-The budding maybe-friendship-maybe-more relationship Abby has going on with her enigmatic guide Will.

-The enigmatic guide Will. What time period is he from? Who is he? WHAT is he? What is his connection to Abby? I love it!

-Abby's attempts at blending in. Whether it's time travel, body swapping, or some other cause, I never get tired of watching the "I've got this, I can totally blend in...even though I have NO clue what is going on here" premise in action.

-The mini-mysteries were sweet. I aawww-ed.

Is this format for me?

I'm intrigued by this format, but I'm not entirely on board as a customer. First off, I don't have an e-reader, so I'm not really an e-format purchaser. I am also an extremely impatient person who likes to sit down and read the WHOLE story at once, so this format isn't really made for people like me.

I'm not sure that I would buy individual episodes, but I would totally buy a print bind-up of the whole Borrowing Abby Grace series. In fact, I'm crossing my fingers that it comes out in a print bind-up edition someday because I want to both own it myself AND buy a copy for my library kids.

Bottom line

I'm hooked. Kelly Green has accomplished what every series author should strive for: She's hooked me with the strength of her writing instead of relying on feeding me an incompete story.

Sure I'm totally dying to find out what happened to Abby's body (is she dead? in a coma? a paranormal creature? I NEED TO KNOW!), but my main reason for wanting more is because this series is straight up fun. I enjoy it, and I know that I'm going to have a fun reading experience every time I pick up another episode.

The subject matter and situations Abby finds herself in are pretty much in the MG/YA crossover spectrum. Abby does go to a party where characters engage in underage drinking and sex is talked about and implied, but nothing is racier than what teens and (often tweens) watch on TV or in movies (think something like Gossip Girl or 10 Things I Hate About You).

Explanation of rating system: Star Rating Key 

Do you have any questions about Borrowing Abby Grace that I haven't addressed? 
Feel free to ask in the comments!

Add the Borrowing Abby Grace series on Goodreads
Buy the Borrowing Abby Grace series

Looking for another book like this? 

You might like: 

Click on the covers to go to Goodreads.

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