All entries are in and judges are making their first round eliminations.
Only 5 finalists in each category will move on to our guest judges, who will choose winners in each category. Stay tuned for an update announcing this year’s guest judges!
And the winners… of the 2016 Totem Head Contest are…
…..pause for effect….
All Ages, No Prescribed Beginning
Winner: ONLY STORMS by Miranda Sun
2nd Place: INTREPID by Anna Durand
3rd Place: SLOPPY’S WILE ADVENTURE by Seoyoung Kim
Ages 8 and Under
Winner: THE SURPRISE COOKIE POTION by Hannah Lee
2nd Place: RAINA THE RAIN DROP by Joanna Kim
3rd Place: AN AWESOME ADVENTURE by Olivia Handzel
Ages 9 – 10 Years Old
Winner: REFLECTIONS OF THE FUTURE by Azlyn Raja
2nd Place: THE SLEEPING STORY by Ben Handzel
3rd Place: THE CAVE OF EVER-REST by Connor Straub
Ages 11 – 12 Years Old
2016 Grand Champion: NAPOLEON AND JOSEPHINE by Maria Therese Qualkinbush
2nd Place: A THISTLE BEDTIME by Maria Therese Qualkinbush
3rd Place: THE KATCHETHORDAN DIAMOND by Karen Wang
Ages 13 – 18 Years Old
Winner: WHEN THERE WERE FOUR OF US by Ella Osborn
2nd Place: FELINE FLUMMOX by Isabella Astuto
3rd Palce: FIGHTING THE FLAMES by Adaline Griffiths
A Note of Gratitude and Congratulations
A great big CONGRATULATIONS to our category winners and to all our finalists, who made our JUDGES’ job SUPER tough this year. I lost track of how many judges wanted to declare a tie, but there can be only one winner 🙂
We hope you’ll all enter a story in our 2017 contest. All the details are here: 2017 Contest Details
Once again, congratulations to our 2016 entrants!
Look for the winning stories online in the next couple weeks. And our winners can expect their packages in the mail about a week after they confirm their mailing address (look in your email for a note from Adventure Write).
Ladies and gentlemen…
Our 2016 Totem Head Contest finalists!
All Ages, No Prescribed Beginning
TUNNEL SECRETS by Suhyeon Emelie Kim
ONLY STORMS by Miranda Sun
INTREPID by Anna Durand
THERE IS A FAN AROUND EVERY CORNER by Josiah Durand
SLOPPY’S WILE ADVENTURE by Seoyoung Kim
Ages 8 and Under
MOUNT EVEREST by Amelia DiValerio
ROCKY THE SUPER DOG by Olivia DePrince
AN AWESOME ADVENTURE by Olivia Handzel
RAINA THE RAIN DROP by Joanna Kim
THE SURPRISE COOKIE POTION by Hannah Lee
Ages 9 – 10 Years Old
THE SLEEPING STORY by Ben Handzel
THE ADVENTURES OF ME, A HOPELESS KID by Lila Shelton
REFLECTIONS OF THE FUTURE by Azlyn Raja
THE CAVE OF EVER-REST by Connor Straub
AN ADVENTURE FOR LUCIA COIN by Eliana Du
Ages 11 – 12 Years Old
THE MYSTERIOUS BOOK by Rama Khabbaz
THE MIRACLE OF TIME by Savannah Weaver
NAPOLEON AND JOSEPHINE by Maria Therese Qualkinbush
A THISTLE BEDTIME by Maria Therese Qualkinbush
THE KATCHETHORDAN DIAMOND by Karen Wang
Ages 13 – 18 Years Old
MONKEYING AROUND by Monica Inda
THE BIRD AND THE ANCHOR by Ella Osborn
WHEN THERE WERE FOUR OF US by Ella Osborn
FELINE FLUMMOX by Isabella Astuto
FIGHTING THE FLAMES by Adaline Griffiths
What next?
These finalists now go to our FINAL ROUND JUDGES, who will choose one winner in each category! Click here to meet our judges.
Stay tuned!
Well it wasn’t easy, but with the help of our awesome preliminary judges, we selected our semi-finalists in each category. They are the top 5 (or more) from our mailed-in entries and the top 5 (or more) from our emailed entries. Next, our judges will select the top FIVE semi-finalists in each category. Those will be our contest finalists, and those finalists will go to our guest judges who will choose one winner in each category.
Let’s give a HUGE congratulations to our 2016 Semi-Finalists!
All Ages, No Prescribed Beginning
AWAY by Durva Kamdar
THERE IS A FAN AROUND EVERY CORNER by Josiah Durand
INTREPID by Anna Durand
SLEEP SWIMMING OR MIDNIGHT MEMORIES by Anna Durand
ONLY STORMS by Miranda Sun
TUNNEL SECRETS by Suhyeon Emelie Kim
THE DREAM by Yuli Choi
SLOPPY’S WILE ADVENTURE by Seoyoung Kim
THE HIDDEN WORLD by Kayd Bell
Ages 8 and Under
THE AMAZING ADVENTURE LANDS by Sai Dheeraj K
UNICORN HOLLOW by Claire Timperley
MY ADVENTURE WITH THE PINK UNICORN by Jaliyah Johnson
SPARKLING SNOW by Kathleen Durand
TELEPORTATION by Hayden Miller
SUNNY’S ADVENTURE by Katie Nam
MOUNT EVEREST by Amelia DiValerio
ROCKY THE SUPER DOG by Olivia DePrince
THE SURPRISE COOKIE POTION by Hannah Lee
AN AWESOME ADVENTURE by Olivia Handzel
RAINA THE RAIN DROP by Joanna Kim
Ages 9 – 10 Years Old
AN ADVENTURE FOR LUCIA COIN by Eliana Du
AS A DRAGON by Katherine Min
REFLECTIONS OF THE FUTURE by Azlyn Raja
THE MAGICAL PEPPERMINT by Ayza Siddiqi
REMEMBER ADELINE by Allegra Gray
GONE by Evan Hansen
BIRD OF PREY by Penny Dugan
THE SLEEPING STORY by Ben Handzel
THE CAVE OF EVER-REST by Connor Straub
THE ADVENTURES OF ME, A HOPELESS KID by Lila Shelton
ARCTIC CHILL by Lizzy Higgins
THE ALIENS OF ZYBORG by Lauren Waldstein
TRAPPED by Hemali Patil
Ages 11 – 12 Years Old
THE KATCHETHORDAN DIAMOND by Karen Wang
LETTING GO – by Caroline Zhao
IN THE WOODS by Katie Schornhorst
THE LOVE DESTROYERS by Macy K. Li
THE ATTACK IN ST. AUGUSTINE by Eli Hagelberg
HOW I GOT ACCEPTED INTO FT. HAMER MILITARY ACADEMY by Kyle C. Rickly
THE SEARCH FO THE LOST CITY OF SUBMERGED by Andrew B. Brannon
NAPOLEON AND JOSEPHINE by Maria Therese Qualkinbush
A THISTLE BEDTIME by Maria Therese Qualkinbush
SOMETHING IN THE WOODS by Emma Wisecarver
THE MYSTERIOUS BOOK by Rama Khabbaz
VANISHED by Bolanle Ayangade
CALL OF DESTRUCTION: SURVIVAL OPS IV by Ajitesh Kundeti
LIGHT IT UP by Nicolas Potts
THE MIRACLE OF TIME by Savannah Weaver
Ages 13 – 18 Years Old
THE SIGNAL by Saddat Nazir
PANACEA by Annika Russell
WOODEN SECRETS by Hae-in Joann Ryu
DMT by Laura S. Moser
THE MOUND OF BASKERVILLE by Seth Roetenberger
FIGHTING THE FLAMES by Adaline Griffiths
FELINE FLUMMOX by Isabella Astuto
SNOW DOG by Sylvia Nica
A WORTHY RISK by Matthew Inda
MONKEYING AROUND by Monica Inda
A FRESHMAN’S WORST NIGHTMARE by Evan Orozco
THE BIRD AND THE ANCHOR by Ella Osborn
WHEN THERE WERE FOUR OF US by Ella Osborn
What next?
Now our judges will select their top FIVE from each category. Those will be our contest finalists. Those entries will go to our guest judges who will select one winner from each category 🙂
Stay tuned!
THE SCHOOL IS ALIVE! (Eerie Elementary #1)
by Jack Chabert
Genre: Children’s Chapter Book, Scary Stories
Publisher: Scholastic (June 2014)
Format: Paperback, SALE $2.97 on Amazon
Summary
Eerie Elementary is one scary school!
This series is part of Scholastic’s early chapter book line called Branches, which is aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!
In this first book in the series, Sam Graves discovers that his elementary school is ALIVE! Sam finds this out on his first day as the school hall monitor. Sam must defend himself and his fellow students against the evil school! Is Sam up to the challenge? He’ll find out soon enough: the class play is just around the corner. Sam teams up with friends Lucy and Antonio to stop this scary school before it’s too late!
Author Jack Chabert is a pen name for Max Brallier. Max is the author of more than twenty books for children, including the Galactic Hot Dogs and The Last Kids on Earth middle-grade series. He lives in New York City with his wife, Alyse.
Colleen’s Review
Fun, picture-filled pages, perfect to read to pre-schoolers/Kindergarteners/First Graders.
THE SCHOOL IS ALIVE (Eerie Elementary #1) by Jack Chabert, is an early reader with black and white illustrations throughout. My 5-year-old loves illustrated books about kids, and the quirky title/cover of this book caught his eye and the creepy story line held his attention.
Sam Graves and his two friends, Lucy & Antonio, are students at Eerie Elementary School, where Sam discovers the school is trying to eat the students. As Hall Monitor, it’s up to Sam to fight the school and save the students. In this installment, during the class play, the stage and props come to life and try to swallow the students.
I read this book to my 5-year-old son, who thoroughly enjoyed Sam’s exciting adventure and looking at the pictures as I read. Though this is marketed as a book for newly independent young readers, I saw more than a few large words that might be too advanced for a newly independent reader. However, there may be enough repetition to help in comprehension. As a book read out loud to a pre-schooler, it was perfect. The chapters are numbered with digits, which made my son happy that he could “read” which chapter we were about to start. The print is large enough to point out sight words for him too. He’s excited to read the rest of the books in the Eerie Elementary series.
I’d recommend this book for parents who like to read to their pre-schoolers/kindergardeners/1st graders, and to 2nd-3rd graders who read independently, especially for kids who like adventure and won’t be scared by a dark tale with a student-eating villain.
4.5 Stars
Note: CM McCoy’s Contest Policy applies. Rafflecopter terms and conditions also apply. No Purchase necessary to enter. Void where prohibited by law.
Some readers reached out to us, wanting to learn how to write a more helpful, professional-looking book review, and so we put together this quick “how-to” guide.
The bottom line is that you can write a book review however you want–even one sentence works. If you’re interested in writing a more thorough book review, read on 🙂
How to Write a Book Review
A professional book review includes:
0. A tagline/summation. Give your overall reaction to the book or a summation of your review.
Ex: Wow! <– That’s all you could get out of me for hours after reading this book. OR Hogwarts meets X-Men’s Xavier’s School with an unforgettable romance. OR My head hurts, my heart hearts, and I’m a little sick to my stomach (in a good way)
1. An intro. Give the title, author, genre, and series info (or stand-alone) for the book.
Ex: EERIE by CM McCoy is a young adult fantasy with romance and the first book in a series, which can be read as a stand-alone.
2. Why you decided to read the book. Did the cover call to you? Do you already know and love the author? Did you see a catchy ad and loved the blurb?
Ex: CM McCoy is a new author to me, but when I saw that EERIE had been featured in both PEOPLE magazine and on INSIDE EDITION and I wanted to check it out.
3. Expectations. How you felt going in to the book, how you felt when you finished, and whether the book met your expectations.
Ex: The EERIE blurb and reviews promised I’d find a quirky/dark story with unexpected humor and memorable characters and IT DELIVERED 🙂
4. Summary. Write a short summary of the plot (without spoilers).
Ex: Hailey Hartley suffers a devastating personal loss during her senior year of high school–her big sister is abducted–only to find that the supposedly mythical creatures called Envoys are to blame. Hailey follows an Envoy named Asher to a Paranormal University in Alaska, where Asher promises to protect her from other Envoys who really really want her dead. Things become more and more uncomfortable for Hailey as she struggles to survive her supernatural classes, avoid the campus’s paranormal perils, and get along with her roommate from Hell. When she accidentally ignites Asher’s jealously by spending time with another guy, Fin, things come to a head and Hailey hopes this one creature that can protect her from the other Envoys doesn’t end up killing her himself.
5. Commentary on what worked and what didn’t work for you. This can be however long or short you want to make it. Mention whether the main story line is tied up and whether there is a cliffhanger. Include whatever you want, but be sure to comment on the book the author wrote, and not the book you wish the author had written.
Ex: The world-building in EERIE and the sheer imagination involved in creating this new mythology are astounding. There are so many new creatures and characters I’ll never forget, like Hailey’s grumpy “loner” roommate, who just wants to be left alone but optimist Hailey can’t take a hint. And the villain, Cobon, who’s so creepy and gentlemanly at the same time and who’s so unapologetically sure of his “got to break a few eggs to make an omelet” attitude. The heroes are beautifully flawed, and I honestly didn’t know who to root for until the very heart-breaking end. This book is a perfectly paced, with great moments of edge-of-your-seat suspense coupled with the slow burn of unrequited love. Even though the book over 400 pages long, I read the whole thing in one night. I only wish it were LONGER so that I didn’t have to wait for the sequel to get more of the story. There is no happily ever after ending in this fairy tale, but the main story line is tied up wonderfully with a teaser chapter at the end to let us know more is coming (and hopefully soon).
6. How much (if any) you skimmed.
7. Romance / Language / Violence / Age Recommendation. If there’s romance, is it sweet, steamy, or for adults only? How much cussing is there? If there’s violence, is it mild, moderate, or gory? Recommend an age range for the book.
Ex: The romance is sweet, the violence mild, and I counted one F-bomb in this book. I’d recommend this for readers aged 14 and older.
8. A recommendation and comparison for readers who like x, y, or z.
Ex: Fans of Moning’s DARKFEVER will like the adventure and supernatural suspense of EERIE. The romance in EERIE will appeal to fans of TWILIGHT, and fans of HARRY POTTER will love the unique world and new mythology in a remote school setting.
9. A star rating. You can rate a book however you want. This is the scale we use on our review blog:
5 stars = We loved the book enough that we’d buy it in hard cover or buy a copy as a gift for a friend.
4 stars = We’re keeping this book because we enjoyed it or parts of it so much we might read it again.
3 stars = We very much enjoyed this book, but we probably won’t read it again.
2 stars = We didn’t really enjoy the book as much as we wanted and on the whole, it simply fell flat for us.
1 star = We finished reading the book, but there were so many issues with the writing/editing/story line that we were sorely disappointed and can’t in good conscience recommend the book at all.
DNF = We didn’t finish reading this book, because for whatever reason, it simply wasn’t for us. If what we read warrants a star-rating, we’ll use the above scale to rate what we did read, and we’ll try to recommend an audience for this book.
Where to leave a review
Here are some places you can leave a book review:
Meet our 2016 contest judges!
Final Round Judges
These guys will choose our Grand Prize winners:
Astronaut Bill “Billy O” Oefelein
Billy O was the first Alaskan in space and the first person to write a blog whilst in orbit. He’s logged over 300 hours in space and thousands of hours flying in more than 60 types of aircraft with more than 200 carrier-arrested landings. He’s climbed both Kilimanjaro and Aconcagua (two of the seven summits), completed an expedition to Antarctica, and teaches corporate pilots how not to crash when stuff goes wrong. He also writes Picture Books 🙂 Billy O loves a great adventure story that makes his heart pound and his eyes race through the pages.
PEOPLE Magazine Staff Writer Jeff Truesdell
As a staff Writer for People magazine since 2005, Jeff Truesdell draws on three decades as a newspaper reporter, editor, freelancer, journalism educator, and budding documentary filmmaker. Jeff loves emotional stories that ring true to life.
Literary Agent Michelle Johnson
Michelle is the founder of Inklings Literary Agency. After a life long obsession with books, a career in business management/ownership including bookstores and community writing centers, and a few years with small presses in an editorial capacity, Michelle Johnson is now a sought-after literary agent, who represents many NYT Bestsellers, award-winning authors, debut authors, and indie authors alike. She loves books that are like watching a train wreck you can’t look away from, characters that leave you feeling like you’ve just lost a friend because the book is over, and plots that she can’t predict at every turn. She especially loves books that make her think about something in a new way, but without preaching. Michelle also loves to laugh and loves dark, smart humor.
Literary Agent Naomi Davis
Naomi Davis has a background in writing, editing, and customer service. When she’s not entertaining her spawn, she’s immersed entirely in imaginary worlds with the characters who inspire her fiction, or reading stories with characters who spring off the page, grip her by the heart (/throat), and wring her emotionally dry. She loves a good bad guy, especially when he has a story to tell, too.
Literary Agent Amanda Jain
Amanda Jain has loved books for as long as she can remember. When she was a kid, Amanda always had her head in a book. In her room, in the car, in the bathtub, wherever. She probably would have brought a book to the dinner table every evening if that was allowed. After earning a BA in English, she worked in the trade department at W. W. Norton for seven years before earning her MA in the history of decorative arts. Amanda loves stories that completely immerse her in their world. She wants to feel the sun on her shoulders, smell the smoke of the battlefield, and hear the horses galloping in the distance.
Author Lynn Lovegreen
Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Website | Books
Lynn Lovegreen grew up in Alaska, and still lives there. She taught English for 20 years before retiring to make more time for writing. She enjoys reading, hanging out with friends and family, and hitting targets with a cowboy action shooting club. Her young adult/new adult historical romances are set in the Alaska Gold Rush, a great time for drama, romance, and independent characters.
Preliminary Round Judges
These guys choose which entries go to our final round judges. It’s arguably the toughest job in the contest to whittle all these great entries down to the top 3-5 in each category!
Author CM McCoy (aka Colleen Oefelein)
Twitter | Facebook | Website | Books
Our contest coordinator, Colleen is well aware no one can say or spell her last name, hence the pen name. She’s an Irish dancer and retired military officer living in the Great White North. Though she holds a B.S. in chemical engineering and one in German from Penn State, she’s far happier writing stories of near misses and awkward kisses. In Alaska. While working 911 dispatch for Alaska State Troopers, she learned to speak in 10-codes, which she still does…but only to annoy her family. Her debut novel is EERIE, a teen fantasy about a girl from the city who travels to a Paranormal University in Alaska. There she battles Yetis and carnivorous trees and finds that if her classes don’t kill her, the guy she fell in love with just might.
Author Crystal Brinkerhoff
Crystal writes teen fiction and currently lives in Spring, TX with her adventure-loving husband, five boisterous children, and one boxer who’s happiest when he’s in the thick of it all. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Her current project, CLEVER ELSIE, is hauntingly intriguing: Elsie quickly learns that an asylum in 1930 is full of sterile smells and whispers of experiments. Desperate to gain Ma’s freedom, Elsie seeks out the director of the hospital to appeal for Ma’s release. But Elsie soon finds that the director is not what he seems and the asylum has its own sinister secrets.
Read more about her novel, CLEVER ELSIE on Crystal’s website.
Author Jodi Gallegos
When she’s not saving lives (she’s a nurse) or kicking butt (she’s a black belt), Jodi writes historical teen fiction. An intern at Lakewater Press, Jodi G is also a devourer of books, publishing reviews on her blog where she also posts about writing. She lives with her husband, three sons and an evolving herd of undisciplined animals in Colorado. She has a well-earned fear of bears, but tolerates the Teddy and Gummy variety. She loves historical fiction featuring well-developed characters with beautiful backstories.
Author Karen Nunes
Karen writes dark teen fiction and likes off-the-wall stories. She works numbers by day, words by night and lives in sunny California with her husband, two children, and dogs. Most of her spare time is taken up with reading and writing. She’s currently hard at work on her 2nd Young Adult novel and enjoys reading anything dark and/or strange.
Author Sherry Howard
Sherry Howard lives with her children and crazy dogs in Middletown, Kentucky, a stone’s throw from the beautiful horse farms Kentucky is always bragging about. In her previous life Sherry was a teacher, consultant, author, and principal in one of the largest urban/ suburban school districts in America. She was published in the educational field for years, and she’s seen her poems and stories appear in multiple journals and anthologies. After writing six novels, she finally decided to see about getting an agent and getting one published. Sherry loves poetry, scifi, and fantasy in the vein of Jumanji and Beetlejuice.
Author Destini Sawyer
Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Books
Destini writes contemporary romance and fantasy. She’s a wife of a billion years (feels that way sometimes) with three beautiful demon children that keep her active and make her insane. She reads romance and mystery, when she has time, and drinks enough coffee to keep the small town she lives in awake for days. She likes road trips that lead to nowhere and pulls ideas for her writing from everyday life.
The 2017 Contest is now open for entries 🙂
Here’s all the info: 2017 Contest Details
The details for the 2017 Writing Contest for Kids are up!
Deadline to enter: 31 Dec 2017
Click here for all the details and the entry form: http://adventurewrite.com/blog1/contest/
