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Elizabeth Van Tassel

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Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief among gems and jewelry books with gemologist Elizabeth Van Tassel

Happy Birthday Percy Jackson And The Jewelry Of The Gods

Aug 19, 2018

How meeting Percy Jackson shaped a generation of tween adventure books AND What the jewelry of the Greek and Roman gods might have looked like   I’ll never forget the first time I read Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief. Oh, I loved that scene in the museum where everything goes wrong and the hero side of an awkward kid emerges with lots of magic and mythological characters coming to life. And the fact that the story continued with other novels and took us through all kinds of adventures meeting making real and mythic history come to life was so… 

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Book review of The Door In The Wall with author Elizabeth Van Tassel

Great Reads: The Door In The Wall

May 27, 2018

This week under The Magical Gazebo, where I like to sit for the reviews, is an old favorite called The Door In The Wall by Marguerite de Angeli, which won the Newbery Medal in 1950. The theme of being heroic despite circumstances is very appropriate for the upcoming Memorial Day Holiday, and I want to thank any family and friends here who’ve served for our freedom. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars Is it a clean read? Yes but there are serious topics covered during the time of the plague, so perhaps better for tweens and teens than young readers…. 

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One little voice

Apr 5, 2018

Can one little voice make a difference? I hope so. Having taken pause to notice a few things in the world, and help us craft our own world a bit more after our recent move, I’m going to be fine-tuning the blog and my social media in the coming months. A force for the positive It’s been a bumpy year and I can’t thank my writing community and friends enough for your support. I’ve noticed that even the smallest gesture can make a difference – an email, a call, a positive or funny post on line. Just that one little… 

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Great Reads: Tesla’s Attic by Neal Shusterman and Eric Elfman

Feb 25, 2018

This week under The Magical Gazebo, where I like to sit for the reviews, is a super middle grade adventure by best selling authors Neal Shusterman and Eric Elfman called Tesla’s Attic. Rating: 5 stars out of 5 stars. Is it a clean read? It depends. A couple of things to consider: What could make this slightly more young-adult aged is some kissing and one character’s assumptions about life. Also, Nick and his family are dealing with losing their mom and one of the characters perishes in the novel, too. I feel it’s not completely clean, but the great writing,… 

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Twitter takeover, great conferences updates, and more!

Feb 21, 2018

Hi friends, I’m writing this like a newsletter since there’s a lot going on right now for the blog (my Twitter is taken over by Shilo Snow!) and also with some neat conferences I’ve been able to attend. Thanks for your patience while things have been getting updated, like upcoming articles and I’m lining up some neat things. RIGHT NOW -Reclaiming Shilo Snow Scavenger Hunt! This week author Mary Weber and Just Commonly are hosting a huge, international giveaway and my Twitter feed has been taken over! If you’ve stopped at Thorn & Vine looking for the next clue, just… 

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Elizabeth Van Tassel, middle grade author, with a review of Tumble and Blue by Cassie Beasley, purple vines.

Great Reads: Tumble & Blue by Cassie Beasley

Jan 28, 2018

This week under The Magic Gazebo, where I like to sit for the reviews, is a super middle grade adventure by best selling author Cassie Beasley. Rating 5 out of 5 stars. Clean story? Yes it’s great for middle readers into early teens. My review: Tumble & Blue by Cassie Beasley is wonderfully inventive and transported me to the swamps in Okefenokee. Having spent much time in the South, under those trees draped in wonderful mosses and quiet walks in the woods, I loved every part of the setting for this book. Beasley has such a wonderful voice, especially with… 

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Max Tilt: Fire The Depths by author Peter Lerangis, shark floating by, on Thorn & Vine blog by author Elizabeth Van Tassel

Great Reads: Max Tilt: Fire The Depths by Peter Lerangis

Jan 7, 2018

New from Thorn & Vine: MMGM Book reviews! Due to the terrific response to our December, 2017 post HERE about great reads for kids, we are going to regularly be featuring new (or favorite) books for middle grade and young adult readers. I’ve listed the link to MMGM below as well. This week under The Magic Gazebo, where I like to sit for the reviews, is a super middle grade adventure by author Peter Lerangis. You may already know him from his fantastic series based on Greek myths, The Seven Wonders. He’s started a new series recently based on the… 

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Cheers to 2018! Great things on the way this new year!

Jan 2, 2018

Greetings in the new year! I’ve had a quiet holiday, our first in our new home in the Bay Area. I wanted to touch base and let you know what’s coming up this first part of the year. 2017 was an emotional year, supporting many who’ve lost everything in life and need to make a new beginning. I’m finding I need a reboot as well, so will be refocusing the blog on the following areas given some neat opportunities that have recently come to light. Series: Becoming a resilient writer After 10 years of corporate writing and years blogging and… 

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Fantastic reading ideas for middle graders - clean reads, no romance, just great adventures with writer and resilience expert Elizabeth Van Tassel

Great Adventurous Reads For Middle Grade – 2017

Dec 19, 2017

Great adventurous holiday reads for stocking stuffers! Recently I was walking out of a school and I overheard some moms lamenting the fact that there’s “so little good fiction for middle grade.” I’ll bet my eyes bugged out a bit since I write upper middle grade fantasy and love to read super adventures. “All my son will read is about underpants or gross comedy.” They’re really missing out. Since I know of some wonderful books, and great authors, and perhaps you’re looking for a fun book to read or recommend to a friend who’s a tween or teen, here’s some… 

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Two great devotionals with resilience expert Elizabeth Van Tassel, two books on snowy background.

Tools In Your Holiday Toolbox: Devotionals

Dec 5, 2017

Practical suggestions for placing stress and loss on the back burner, and remembering the reason you’re celebrating with great devotionals to help. If you’re like me you’re yearning to give friends something with a deeper meaning, that can actually touch their lives in a special way. I’ve got two special devotionals to recommend that can help with that desire. Adored: 365 Devotions for Young Women Written by Author Lindsay Franklin and illustrated by Micah Kandros, and published by Zondervan, Adored meets teen girls in that moment where real life brings scratches and bumps—in short, breakfast-portion meaningful thoughts that come into… 

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