Giveaway: THE HEALING SPELL by Kimberley Griffiths Little

Keeping in spirit with THE HEALING SPELL (available from Scholastic Thursday), here are exactly 9 reasons why you need to buy this book. Now.

9. The author. Kimberley is maybe one of the nicest people we have ever met. She is incredibly supportive of other writers and has a great deal of wisdom to share because she's an old pro. Check out all of her other books here!

8. The blurbs. Um, hello Richard Peck of Newbery Award winning greatness.

7. The cover. After you read the book, the cover will have much more significance. The artist did a beautiful job capturing the spirit of the bayou and the tone of the novel.

6. The trailer. This speaks for itself. Show this to a room full of kids (okay fine, and thirty-something-year-old sister-writers) and they'll be begging to read. End of story.

5. The setting. Hello Louisiana. There's the bayou, the dialect, the gators, the pirogues. By the end of the book you'll want your own baby gator to hold while you lay back in your pirogue letting your fingers skim over the waters of the bayou with a belly full of crawfish. Trust me.

4. The culture. There are scenes in this novel that encapsulate the culture of the deep South. And the healing spell? I'll never forget it.

3. The secondary characters. Kimberley creates a solid cast of characters readers will fall in love with. A dad, sisters, an aunt, a cousin, the love-interest. They all work to thread the pieces and parts of the story together in a really rich and beautiful way.

2. The story. Middle schoolers everywhere will truly connect with Livie's situation whether or not they've ever dealt with a sick loved one. She's smack dab in the middle of two sisters (I feel your pain Livie), she idolizes her dad, struggles to understand her mom before the accident and feels nothing but guilt afterwards. Add in a confusing crush amidst difficult circumstances and you have the perfect storm of tension. Bravo!

1. Livie. Her voice rings so true to middle school. She tells the story with such heart that you can't help but fall in love. I was rooting for Livie all the way through and couldn't wait for her to find the strength she needed to come to terms with her mother's illness.

So, there you have it. THE HEALING SPELL stands out in the world of middle grade lit making it a must-have.

AND lucky for you, one reader will take home a SIGNED copy today. Become a follower, leave a comment with your email address and we'll let the random number generator decide!