Party and a Vlog Post: Janitors

Check out this cool art work for

Janitors: Curse of the Broomstaff

It came out on the 10th so it's PARTY TIME!

Deets stolen from Deseret Book website

All are invited to join bestselling author Tyler Whitesides for the launch of Janitors: Curse of the Broomstaff!

This free event will feature a performance by Tyler and the Jammin Janitors, with a special appearance by author Chad Morris.

Friday, September 13, 2013
Doors open at 6:30 pm

Show begins at 7:00 pm

Logan High School

162 W. 100 S. Logan Utah

Janitors T-shirts available for purchase only at the Janitors Launch party.

Did you see that? Chad's going to be in the show. I heard his part was garbage though ;)

Don't know much about Janitors?

Never fear, we vlogged about it!

Plus a little tip for writers.

We Broke a World Record!

We did it!

(Aftermath pic. At this point people are cleaning up and scraping their shoes)

We broke the world record for marshmallows in a war!

Seriously people this is a coveted record.

People train for lifetimes to break this one.

(again, the carnage!)

How did we do it?

Well we showed up.

Then we threw marshmallows.

(and I might have eaten a few)

Here is the delightful video that Shadow Mountain put together to celebrate the victory.

(If you watch carefully you might just catch a glimpse of Chad's torso. Yep, he's famous!)

My New Favorite Middle Grade Novel

This might be an exaggeration but it definitely rates up there in the top five

Candy Shop War 2:

The Arcade Catastrophe

I read this book to my children and we all just loved it.

I caught myself grinning from ear to ear and thinking "That would be SOOOO cool!"

Just like Brandon always says that he is just trying to make his inner 10 year old happy, well my inner 10 year old was high-fiving my inner 11 year old. That book was rad! My actual 10 year old was squealing and laughing. My kids now play in the backyard and pretend they have various 'stamps' that give them powers.

If you like to read fun Middle Grade books READ IT!

Preorder yours now

The Candy Shop War, Book 2: Arcade Catastrophe

(Disclaimer: Many of you know that I am good friends with Brandon Mull but Brandon didn't give me the ARC nor tell me that he needed any sort of endorsement. I just read the book. Loved the book. Wanted to share my love for the book with the world. THE WORLD, I SAY!!!!)

Books I read in 2011

by Shelly Brown

Here is my list of books I read cover-to-cover in 2011. If we counted books I read a chapter here, a chapter there (most non-fiction that I read) or started but never finished (for one reason or another) this list would be much longer. As it is I KNOW it doesn't hold a candle to some of your lists but I find these lists amusing so I'm doing it anyways.

Beyonders

Twelfth Night

The Barcode Tattoo

Enna Burning

The Thing That Keep Us Here

The Comedy of Errors

Wonderwings and Other Fairy Stories

The Princess and The Goblin

Magyk

The Princess of the Glass

Emma Smith (by Black)

The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Harry Potter 3

Slathbogs Gold

The History of Joseph Smith by his Mother

The Daily Life of Jesus

The Amazing Powers of Spiderman

The Holy Land

Princess Academy

The Footsteps of Jesus

To Kill a Mockingbird

On Holy Ground

Maze Runner

Charles in Charge (Chad got this for me out of the elementary school recycling bin as a joke, but not being one to turn away Scott Baio, I read it. Someone just wrote the pilot as a novel)

Tarzan of the Apes

Goosebumps: One Day at Horrorland (did you know Brandon Dorman did the art for the new Goosebumps?)

The Witch on Blackbird Pond

Nancy Drew and the Dollhouse 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

The Hardy Boys: The Spy that Doesn't Lie

Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go

Full Circle

Armies, Angels, and Jackson Boswells Amazing Imagination

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Gaes

Craggbridge Academy

My Ridiculous Romantic Obsession

Courting Miss Lancaster

The Strange Case of the Origami Yoda

Frankenstein

Emma

The Princess Bride

Amelia's Story

The Next Door Boys

If you're curious what I thought about any particular book or whatnot just ask in the comments and I'll tell you. But with this many books I figured that my commentary would get...well...long.

Janitors by Tyler Whitesides

I'd like to pretend like I have an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of this book...but alas, I do not.

(If you would like to read my review of this book you will find it at the end of the post in RED. Apparently not reading a book doesn't stop me from reviewing it.)

I can say that if you want to buy a book from like the nicest author in existence (no offense to my other author friends) you will want to buy this book from Tyler Whitesides.

Seriously, nicest guy.

Don't believe me?

How about some testimonials:

"Ty is a really nice guy. He's fun to tube with in the summer." -my brother.

"Tyler did a musical with me. He was really funny." -my cousin.

"Tyler played football for my team but I don't know what you want me to say about him." -my dad

"Ty is one of the most amazing percussionist I have ever heard." -my other cousin.

"Tyler Whitesides is the biggest kidney donator we have. We have saved 125 children, this year alone, from all of his kidney donations. He also donated one of his eyes to a blind kid." -my uncle the doctor

Oh my gosh! I know what you're thinking, right???

What? These are all from your family and they probably aren't even real. 

*You're so foolish! Of course my family is real!*

Where can I get one of these books?!?!

Well, you can wait until August 3rd 

or you can pre-order one for $13 on Amazon

Go check out his cool website, too.

And if you're on Twitter you should follow him because he has less friends 

than I do and he's MUCH nicer than I am.

Janitors summary 

Stolen from Amazon 

(Please don't turn me into the Amazon police, I heard that they offer you to their rainforest snake gods if you don't have a Brazilian passport.)

Have you ever fallen asleep during math class? Are you easily distracted while listening to your English teacher? Do you find yourself completely uninterested in geography? Well, it may not be your fault. The janitors at Welcher Elementary know a secret, and it s draining all the smarts out of the kids. Twelve year- old Spencer Zumbro, with the help of his classmate Daisy Gullible Gates, must fight with and against a secret, janitorial society that wields wizard-like powers. Who can Spencer and Daisy trust and how will they protect their school and possibly the world? Janitors is book 1 in a new children s fantasy series by debut novelist Tyler Whitesides. You ll never look at a mop the same way again. 

(I've never read this) Book Review

I found this book to hit on a lot of existential problems that exist in the public school system but in a humorous way. The witty banter between The Teachers Union and the Janitors keeps you coming back for more. I am glad that someone finally acknowledged the fact that the powdered soap in Elementary bathrooms is really just pink sand. The funniest part was when we found out that Welcher Elementary was owned by the grape juice family and they just added the -er so that the IRS couldn't track them down. It was a riot!

If it had one weakness I would say that it needed more pictures. Especially of the School District Superintendent. She intrigued me but I was having a hard time envisioning her. When I visited the local one, out of curiosity, I was somewhat disappointed. I was hoping she looked more like the picture below.  Somebody pay Brandon Dorman more, please.