Blog Tour - Book Review: Priscilla the Great by Sybil Nelson + Chance to win a Prize Pack

Priscilla the Great by Sybil Nelson:
Meet Priscilla Sumner, an ordinary seventh grader with extraordinary gifts. As if middle school isn’t hard enough, not only does Priscilla have to fight pimples and bullies, but genetically enhanced assassins trying to kill her and her family. Armed with wit, strength, and a genius best friend, Priscilla must defeat the Selliwood Institute, an organization dead set on turning children into killing machines.


Add an older brother annoyingly obsessed with Christina Aguilera, mischievous baby twin brothers who could scare the sin off of Satan, and parents more puzzling than a Rubik’s cube in the Bermuda triangle and expect a smoking page-turner.

Priscilla the Great is such a fun middle grade read!  I know my children would enjoy this story and it kept me entertained.  Sort of a Spy Kids meets X-Men type story.

There really is a lot to like about this book - from the plot to the characters to the humor to the awesome superpowers - this book was a page turner.  Sometimes I find my mind wandering while reading middle grade books but this one held my attention and kept me turning the pages.

I'm fairly certain there is a sequel coming and I'll gladly read it if given the chance.



Content: A few instances of taking the Lord's name in vain but otherwise clean

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Source: From author for review as part of a blog tour



Win a Priscilla the Great Prize Pack!

Prize Pack includes:
1 signed Priscilla the Great book,
1 Priscilla the Great t-shirt,
1 Priscilla the Great totebag,
and a $15 iTunes gift card!

That's over a $50 value! All you have to do is comment on one of the posts during the Teen {Book} Scene blog tour March 14th to April 8th and you're automatically entered!

Book Giveaway & Author Interview: Priscilla the Great by Sybil Nelson

Welcome to Author Sybil Nelson.

Yesterday I posted a Top Ten Book to Movie adaption list from Sybil. Today I have her back for an interview & book giveaway.

Interview:

What is one book everyone should read?
The Bible. No matter what religion you are, you can’t defend or attack the Bible unless you’ve read it cover to cover.

If you were a superhero what would your name be?
The Multitasker

If you could have any superpower what would you choose?
Pause time

What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?
Bacon

Night owl, or early bird?
Both. I don’t like sleeping. It’s a waste of time. Can you imagine how much I’d get done if I didn’t have to sleep!?

Pet Peeves?
Untucked sheets! It’s the only thing my husband and I fight over. So, for a ten year marriage I’d say that’s pretty good. I like my sheets tucked in tight and I like them to stay there all night. I will literally wake up in the middle of the night in order to fix the sheets. At one point I really wanted separate beds. Last week I tried something new and added my own separate blanket that my husband can’t pull away from me during the night. It has worked wonders. Good thing too. I don’t think there is divorce for irreconcilable bed sheets.

Any other books in the works? Goals for future projects?
Book 2 of the Priscilla the Great series should be coming out in May. I’m writing book 5 and editing books 3 and 4 right now. I’m working on a book called Shadows of St. Louis, a historical romance about the 1917 race riots in St. Louis. I also started jotting down notes for another teen romance book that I have not titled yet. It’s basically about the perfect girl falling for the not so perfect guy. A story that’s been told many times, but not like this. It’s going to take place in a disadvantaged neighborhood much like the one I grew up in. My book The Queen Bee of Bridgeton will be released May 17th 2011 under my pen name Leslie Dubois.

What inspired you to want to become a writer?
I have a pretty eclectic taste when it comes to reading and I noticed that in all the books I liked to read there were rarely, if ever, any black females. I wanted to create characters that filled this void.

If you could jump in to a book, and live in that world which would it be?
It seems odd, but I would love to be in a Jane Austin book. Namely, Pride and Prejudice. I love that book. Even though women were oppressed and black women were apparently non-existent (or slaves). I just love the era, the accents, and the atmosphere.

What is your dream cast for your book?
My agent has sold the movie option to the book and I have a fun little section on my website where you can go and vote for the cast. Personally, I would love for Kate Beckinsale to play Quin. She is beautiful and fabulous. I think Matt Damon would make a great Greg although I could also see The Rock pulling it off. I’d like Elle Fanning to die her hair red and take on my fiery protagonist. And I’d like a Jonas Brother to play Josh. I don’t really care which one. I can’t tell them apart anyway.

What was your favorite book when you were a child/teen?
In high school I was absolutely obsessed with all things English Literature. For a long time my favorite book was Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy.

Is there a song you could list as the theme song for your book or any of your characters?
“City Chase” written by my friend Brooke DeRosa is kind of the theme song. You can hear it in the book trailer and it’s also the first song on the playlist at the website. The song reminds me of an old fashioned video game chase. It’s got a cool Sci-Fi vibe to it. Brooke is an awesome composer.
Josh’s theme song could be any Christina Aguilera song, but “Fighter” is probably the best choice. On my website, each character has a favorite song listed. Check it out!

What is your favorite Quote?
Never leave the house without a book to read and a book to write.

When you were little, what did you want to be when you "grew up"?
I wanted to be an artist for Disney until I discovered that I couldn’t draw.

How did you know you should become an author?
I just had too many ideas and characters floating around my head. I still have a million ideas and not enough time to write them all down. To date, I have written ten novels.

Favorite Food?
Bacon

What movie and/or book are you looking forward to this year?
I’m a huge comic book fan and there are a ton of comic book movies coming out this year. I can’t wait to see Green Hornet, Green Lantern, X-Men First class, Transformers and Captain America


How do you react to a bad review?
A glass of wine and a bag of M&M’s. Thankfully, I haven’t gotten any bad reviews for Priscilla the Great yet. If so, I’m destined to be an overweight alcoholic…with tons of cavities.

If you were a super hero what would your kryptonite be?
Bacon. I can’t defeat the power of bacon. If I was supposed to be saving someone, all my enemy would have to do is start frying some bacon in a pan and totally distract me. That unfortunate citizen would be a goner.

What do you do in your free time?
I’m a wife, a mother of two little girls, a PhD student, and an author. Free time isn’t in my vocabulary.

If someone wrote a book about your life, what would the title be?
From Free Lunch to Ph.D.

What's your favorite season/weather?
I love summer. The hotter the better. (I guess Priscilla and I have that in common!)

What is your guilty pleasure?
I love bad pop music. I’m sorry, but I do. Yes, I realize that I was Math and Music double major and that I should really have a higher taste in music or whatever, but nothing puts me in a better mood than some Justin Bieber or some Usher. Oh, and Lifetime movies and Syfy channel movies. Nothing makes me happier than bad acting and cheesy plots.

Favorite places to travel?
Disney World. My five-year-old has been 18 times.

In your wildest dreams, which author would you love to co-author a book with?
Meg Cabot

Website: http://priscillathegreat.com/
Blog: www.priscillathegreat.com/prissy-fit

Priscilla the Great by Sybil Nelson:
Meet Priscilla Sumner, an ordinary seventh grader with extraordinary gifts. As if middle school isn’t hard enough, not only does Priscilla have to fight pimples and bullies, but genetically enhanced assassins trying to kill her and her family. Armed with wit, strength, and a genius best friend, Priscilla must defeat the Selliwood Institute, an organization dead set on turning children into killing machines.

Add an older brother annoyingly obsessed with Christina Aguilera, mischievous baby twin brothers who could scare the sin off of Satan, and parents more puzzling than a Rubik’s cube in the Bermuda triangle and expect a smoking page-turner


Giveaway Details:
3 Copies of Priscilla the Great
1 copy shipped Internationally
2 copies shipped to US & Canada
Ends 4/15/11

Optional Extra Entries:
+1 Sign up for the Newseletter @ http://priscillathegreat.com/
+1 Follow Priscilla the Great on Twitter
+1 Like Priscilla the Great on Facebook

Blog Tour: Tens List by Sybil Nelson Author of Priscilla the Great

Welcome to Author Sybil Nelson.

As part of the Teen Book Scene Tour for her book Priscilla the Great, Sybil is here to share her Top Ten Book to Movie Adaptations.

Now this is a category I can really get into. I loooove book to movie adaptations. When I see a movie coming out that was based on a book, I absolutely have to read the book before I will allow myself to see the movie. I consider myself somewhat of an expert in this area. In fact, I’ve written two blog posts about the worst book to movie adaptations. Here http://priscillathegreat.com/prissy-fit/?p=976  and http://yabookiemonster.blogspot.com/2010/12/blog-tour-with-sybil-nelson.html  This is my first time writing about the best. I actually had to force myself to exclude comic book movies in order to get my list down to ten! And in no particular order, here they are:

1. Big Trouble – This was a hilarious book by Dave Barry and a hilarious movie starring Tim Allen. What made the adaptation so great was that the movie was EXACTLY like the book. It was like the directors literally just gave each actor a copy of the book and said, “Here’s your script.” I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie match up so well to the book.

2. The Secret Life of Bees – The book made me cry and the movie made me cry. They both were perfect. The movie was a tiny bit different than the book, but it still worked. And can you say great casting? Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, it doesn’t get any better.

3. The Devil Wears Prada – I chose this one because the movie was so DIFFERENT from the book. They changed some major plot points and even the name of Andy’s boyfriend, but somehow it still worked. (Maybe because said boyfriend was the smoldering Adrian Grenier!)The movie was fabulous. Emily Blount was hysterical.

4. Percy Jackson and the Olympians –Once again there were a lot of differences from the book, but theatrically, I think it worked. I thought it had great special effects and adorable lead actors.

5. The Blindside – Great book and fantastic movie. The book was different from any other that I’ve read. I don’t usually read nonfiction, but like I said earlier, if a movie is coming out that was based on a book, I have to read the book first. The book went into a lot more detail than the movie and I was able to learn more about football than I ever want to know. The movie…Sandra Bullock…nuf said. I boo-hoo cried watching this movie. Fantastic.

6. Mean Girls – Few people know this, but mean girls was actually based on a nonfiction book that I had to read for my job when I was a school teacher. Then the genius Tina Fey comes around and writes a fictionalized story from the book. It was brilliant the way she was able to take some key ideas about girl bullying from the book and weave them into her story. Mean Girls is one of my all time favorite films. It’s hilarious and ridiculously quote worthy. Too bad Mean Girls 2 was so awful.

7. Pride and Prejudice – There are many great adaptations of this Jane Austen classic, but for some reason I’m completely in love with the Kiera Knightly version. I watch it every single time it comes on Oxygen (which is a lot by the way). The soundtrack alone is enough to make me addicted. I actually bought the soundtrack which is something I never do.

8. Ten Things I Hate About You – For a long time this was my favorite teen movie (probably until Mean Girls came out). I love the parallels to the Shakespeare play. Julia Stiles was a perfect Kat, but what I loved most was Heath Ledger as Patrick. This movie made me fall in love with him. Now I can’t even really watch it anymore because I get so sad thinking about the fact that he’s gone.

9. Sense and Sensibility – Yes, I’m back to a Jane Austen flick. What can I say? I love Jane Austen. Actually, when I was in high school, it was a little less like love and a little more like obsession. I read her complete works one summer. Anyway, this film was brilliantly done. And a young Kate Winslet was perfect as Marianne. Did you know that they weren’t going to hire her for the part because they thought she was too young to pull it off?

10. Anne of Green Gables –A cozy tale of love and friendship that will always be firmly implanted in my memories of childhood. I loved Gilbert Blythe and couldn’t wait to see him finally get together with Anne. And what can I say about Anne? She was my hero. A fiery red head with loads of personality. Hmm, not quite unlike Priscilla the Great!

Almost making the list: Hoot, Iron Man, XMen, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World.

http://priscillathegreat.com/

Priscilla the Great by Sybil Nelson:
Meet Priscilla Sumner, an ordinary seventh grader with extraordinary gifts. As if middle school isn’t hard enough, not only does Priscilla have to fight pimples and bullies, but genetically enhanced assassins trying to kill her and her family. Armed with wit, strength, and a genius best friend, Priscilla must defeat the Selliwood Institute, an organization dead set on turning children into killing machines.

Add an older brother annoyingly obsessed with Christina Aguilera, mischievous baby twin brothers who could scare the sin off of Satan, and parents more puzzling than a Rubik’s cube in the Bermuda triangle and expect a smoking page-turner


My review of Priscilla the Great will be posted next week. Watch for an interview & book giveaway coming soon!

Win a Priscilla the Great Prize Pack!


Prize Pack includes:

1 signed Priscilla the Great book,
1 Priscilla the Great t-shirt,
1 Priscilla the Great totebag,
and a $15 iTunes gift card!

That's over a $50 value! All you have to do is comment on one of the Teen Scene blog tour posts March 14th to April 8th and you're automatically entered!