Hello, again. Here to acquaint you with more inside information about our town is word from Patella Sackworth, columnist for the Balona Courier. Patella also writes a blog, but tells us that this newsletter stuff will not interfere with her intellectual progress.

So here now you have me, Patella Euphella Sackworth reporting. I would like to tell you about some fine new books in the works here at BalonaBooks. An ex-boyfriend (who shall remain nameless) did get credit for writing a book said to be "really funny" by a reviewer for School Library Journal. The title is An Almost Private Eye, actually written by a fine Balona teacher named Joaquin Peralta and edited by Mr. Jon Riis. Mr. Riis is very cute but has a girlfriend who hangs around him like a fly on the wall. Mr. Peralta is also very handsome, but is reported to be happily married. So enough of that.

But about Mr. Peralta: He has also been an editor for BalonaBooks, but lately he has been writing them. His BANDITS! is now on the marketand his Emma Snow is, too. Pre-publication teen and mostly-grownup readers of the ARCs of both books could not stop praising them. I use "mostly grownup" to describe school librarians who in my experience have not lost their feeling of being kids at heart.

Here's a review we got from Laurabelle McCaffery, Indiana librarian.

I thoroughly liked the quirky characters (in BUDS by Jonathan Pearce) once I got used to the vernacular... The young people involved seemed a tad wise for their years until I recalled my own teen years as well as those of my own offspring and their group and then we got along fine. Sometime they are all eerily real. Events that could have seemed surreal were very believable. The sexual interplay between the young girl and the married man was realistically handled.The people involved had the fragility as well as the strength found in that age group (to label a bit). And their basic neediness was there to view. Strange how people miss seeing it in real life as well. I liked the story being told in more than one voice. I found the story humorous, touching, and a totally cool read. It really is about life, death, friendship and all that stuff and it really works. I liked it a lot.

Here's a snap of one of BalonaBooks' fine editors. If a book wasn't edited by Joaquin or Chris or Jonathan, it was surely edited by Jon Riis, shown here in his usual thoughtful (peaceful) pose.
Jon's latest edits are for Joaquin Peralta's An Almost Private Eye and for Bandits!, and for Emma Snow.