WWRW: Olivia and the Little Way (Also, a Little Giveaway, and a Little Press on CTN)

I just love this 1895 painting of two sweet little boot-clad bookworms by eminent Impressionist artist Pierre August Renoir.  I forgot to look up its title, but I've decided I'm going to call it "What They're Reading Wednesday."  These two little girls would make the perfect audience for the book I'm reading today--their mom could read it aloud to them, and they would be entranced.  But more about that in a minute.

I've got exciting news: I'm giving away 3 paperback copies of my novel Finding Grace on Goodreads.   All of you voracious readers who frequent Jessica's Wednesday on-line book club probably know all about Goodreads already; but if you don't, it's a great place to find titles you haven't heard of yet and to read reviews by both published authors and fellow book enthusiasts.

Anyway, if you'd like to enter to win a copy, just go over to the sidebar, right there at the top right, and click on the "Enter to win" button.  The giveaway contest started today and runs through midnight on Feb. 15.

Maybe if you win a copy, Finding Grace could be the book you're reading some Wednesday in the future!

From all reports, there is a growing number of adult readers who choose to read young adult fiction, which they find feeds their souls in a way that many current offerings in the adult fiction market simply don't.  (And I know this is true from all my visits to WWRW, when I hear Jessica and other linker-uppers saying just that sort of thing.)  Yesterday on Catholic Television Network's show "This is the Day," Cheryl Dickow (the woman behind Bezalel Books, publisher of Finding Grace) was interviewed over the phone on this topic, and in the course of her interview she mentioned some great Bezalel titles--including my book.  My husband and I watched the show together, and he was so excited about it that when the segment ended, he turned to me, grinning ear to ear, and gave me a high five.  Cheryl's interview takes place pretty early on (from just before 7 minutes in until about the 14 minute mark) if you'd like to check it out. (http://catholictv.com/shows/this-is-the-day/young-adult-literature-retreat)

So, jumping right on the old bandwagon with enthusiasm, here's what this adult reader whose soul needs feeding is reading this Wednesday: Nancy Carabio Belanger's Olivia and the Little Way.

I've been meaning to read this YA novel of Belanger's for quite some time (as well as its sequel, Olivia's Gift).  I'm not finished, so I don't have a review for you yet.   But I'm excited about it, because--like Jessica and lots of other bloggers I know--I'm beginning to think there's more beef (and certainly less smut!) to be found in works targeted at young adult readers.  I know that the Olivia books are very well thought of and used regularly in Catholic and homeschool curricula, and I know that someday I'm going to want to pass them on to my granddaughters.  Before I do that, I decided, I need to read them myself.

I admire Nancy Carabio Belanger as both an author and a person, although I have yet to meet her.  And I'm sure that her heroine, a young girl who learns about St. Therese of Lisieux from her grandmother and calls on the saint to help her navigate the pitfalls of middle school life, will become a favorite character of mine.  (And my granddaughters', too!)

Hopefully, I'll be back next Wednesday with a review and a recommendation for you.

Now head on over to Housewifespice for more great recommendations, from the YA category as well as many others.