Friday, April 1, 2022

Literary Sewing Circle: Premeditated Myrtle


Our Spring 2022 session of the Literary Sewing Circle starts today! 

I'm pleased to announce that our group read this time is:

Premeditated Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce

I chose something different this time around: an Edgar Award winning middle grade mystery. We haven't done any children's books in the LSC before, but with the state of the world right now, a lighter read that takes us into another world might be just what we need. This funny, clever mystery was one of my favourite reads of 2021 and I hope you'll enjoy it too. 


Summary:

Twelve-year-old Myrtle Hardcastle has a passion for justice and a Highly Unconventional obsession with criminal science. Armed with her father’s law books and her mum’s microscope, Myrtle studies toxicology, keeps abreast of the latest developments in crime scene analysis, and Observes her neighbors in the quiet Victorian village of Swinburne, England.

When her next-door neighbor, a wealthy spinster and eccentric breeder of rare flowers, dies under Mysterious Circumstances, Myrtle seizes her chance. With her unflappable governess, Miss Ada Judson, by her side, Myrtle takes it upon herself to prove Miss Wodehouse was murdered and solve the crime, even if nobody else believes her — not even her father, the town prosecutor.

(via publisher)

photo credit: 

About the Author: 

Elizabeth C. Bunce is an award winning author who has currently published three YA novels and three middle grade novels. Her novel A Curse Dark As Gold, inspired by Rumpelstiltskin, won the William C. Morris Award for a Young Adult Debut. Premeditated Myrtle won a 2021 Edgar Award for Best Juvenile Mystery, and the latest Myrtle Hardcastle mystery is nominated again for an Edgar this year. 

She lives in the American Midwest and is a maker as well as a writer. You can find out more about her at her blog. 


This book is available for purchase in multiple formats.

You can find many formats at all of these locations:


IndieBound

Amazon.ca

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com.au

Book Depository

Chapters Indigo

Powell's

Barnes and Noble

ABE Books

Biblio.com


Or, of course, check your local library!

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How does the Literary Sewing Circle work? We read a book together, discuss it, and then make something inspired by our reading. As long as you can point out what inspired you from your reading, even if just a sentence, you can share your makes in our final roundup!

Anyone can join, and you can sew, knit, quilt or embroider - any textile art that you like doing - to participate. This is a reading/sewing circle, very low-key; no competitions here, just reading and sewing for fun. 

There is no official sign-up to worry about; just start reading along if you wish, and leave your thoughts on the book or your project on any of the Literary Sewing Circle posts. We do have a dedicated book discussion post halfway through and again at the end, but leave your thoughts anytime. And you can follow along on Instagram too if you like: look for #LiterarySewingCircle and you'll find us.

And when the final post goes up, so does the project linkup -- you can leave a link to your finished project there, whether it is on your blog, a pattern site, or even Instagram. It's easy :)

So, join in, and share!


Literary Sewing Circle Schedule


April 1 - Announcement & Introduction

April 8 - Inspiration post 

April 15 - Preliminary book talk

April 22  - Author feature 

April 29 - Inspiration post

May 6 - Final Post: book discussion wrap up & posting of project linkup


(you will then have the rest of May to finish your project and post it; we'll close the link-up on May 31)

4 comments:

  1. This will be fun, Melanie. I put it on hold from my library. I think my 13-year old granddaughter has read it (might actually own it) so I'll have a chance to talk to her about it too.

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    1. Being able to dicuss it with your granddaughter would be a lot of fun! I think you'll enjoy it :)

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  2. Hi Melanie, I am thrilled the time has come around again. Oddly my (state) library has three copies! So it must be popular. One thing the LSC has done for me is make me read way out of my normal, and this will be no exception, if only that it is junior fiction.
    And what an interesting author!

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    1. So glad your library has a copy! Being an Edgar Award winner probably helps :) I think that this book has a great balance between appealing to the junior reader and to adult readers so I hope you'll have fun with it.

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Share your comments, ideas or suggestions here -- I am always interested in hearing from readers. It's nice to have a conversation!