Posts Tagged ‘jill-maclean’

Yesterday was Pink Shirt Day in Canada. To promote the anti-bullying campaign, Lost in a Great Book reviewed Creeps and Nix Minus One, both YA novels with a bullying thread. Here is what the reviewer had to say about Nix Minus One: “Nix Minus One by the remarkable Jill MacLean tells us about Nix, a […]

In Jill MacLean’s YA novel Nix Minus One, protagonist Nixon Humbolt develops a relationship with his neighbour’s neglected dog, Twig. When Twig is sold to another owner who physically abuses her, Nix is determined to rescue her. But how? Many of us have been in Nix’s situation. It can be daunting—how can you protect the […]

“Beautiful verse, weirdly romantic, fantastic setting in Maritime Canada, violent, redemptive, sad, uplifting. I really loved this. I especially love the brilliantly simple cover and the woodworking motif that permeates the book. The cover is TEXTURED! Check it out!” Click here to read the full post.

“…In an interview Jill Maclean she said she writes character driven books. She hit the nail on the head with that statement, given the memorable characters she creates here…Nix, Roxy, Bryan, Twig, Chase, Loren and Blue, and Nix’s parents. Set in Newfoundland, this is his story about family, conflict, friendship, death, secrets, a dog and a budding romance. The […]

“…Nix Minus One shows off Jill MacLean’s characteristic strong plotting that helped win countless awards and nominations for her other books: The Nine Lives of Travis Keating (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2008), The Present Tense of Prinny Murphy (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2009) and Home Truths (Dancing Cat Books, 2010).  She creates characters who would be considered […]

Jill MacLean, whose YA novel Nix Minus One is set in small-town Newfoundland, has always passion for that province. Today she shares with us: ONE If you choose to canoe in Newfoundland in June, July, or August, you’d better be wearing a bug jacket and you’d better be prepared to view the lake through a […]

Jill MacLean’s new novel is coming in 15 days. To whet your appetite in the meantime, check out the teaser trailer. You can also visit Jill’s website or “Like” her on Facebook. We’re counting down the days. Are you?

“I enjoy the succinct nature of novels in verse. The format does, however, require careful and evocative word choices. The author must say a lot with a little, or the reader is left with too many gaps to fill and too little direction to make sense from. Jill MacLean successfully meets the challenges of the […]

“…Nix’s story is one of transformation. Nix is an introvert. He finds relationships difficult, and is more at home expressing himself through the things he makes. A connection he does form his to his neighbour’s neglected (and possibly abused) dog, whom he arranges to start walking every day. With Twig, Nix can do what he […]

Novels written in verse are difficult to execute well. On one hand they have a tendency toward melodrama; on the other they showcase poetry’s inherent ability to communicate flashes of thought, emotion, and experience. For YA novels in which the protagonists are often dealing with difficult situations, balance comes from allowing the characters to emerge […]