Lost in PARIS blog tour- review+guest post+GIVEAWAY

hi everybody! So, this is my post as part of the “Lost in Paris” blog tour. ;) Below you’ll find my review, a guest post from the author and giveaway (US/Canada only) :)

Title: Mira’s Diary: Lost in Paris

Author: Marissa Moss

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Release Date: September 4, 2012

Written like a journal and featuring doodles, cartoons, whimsical notes and memorabilia like postcards and ticket stubs, MIRA’S DIARY: LOST IN PARIS takes readers on a fast-paced adventure around the globe to view the Wonders of the World through the

eyes of a 13-year-old girl.

Mira, her older brother Malcolm, and her photographer father are traveling the world to document the Modern Wonders — and search for Mira’s missing mother. The only clue they have is a postcard from Paris. When Mira touches a gargoyle at Notre Dame, she is whirled into the past where she meets historical figures like the painter Degas and catches a brief, shocking glimpse of her mother.  Mira begins to suspect that her Mom didn’t run out on them, but has become a prisoner of the past. Can one family on an incredible worldwide adventure stop a plot in time?

Accompanied by fun and engaging illustrations, MIRA’S DIARY is a fresh take on weaving together real history and art with action, adventure, time-travel and family drama in an exciting new series.

My Thoughts:

 I loved the story. I love the doodles and basically I love how everything was put together in a very creative way. Content wise? It was also informative. Perfect for MG readers, as well as YA readers too!

I have always showed how I adore Paris and one day I will be able to visit it. Plus time travel? I also love them! Seriously this book has all the ingredients I love in a book. The writing was okay. But the overall format was what really convinced me to read it. The history part is major to the story too and quite heavy if I may say for MG readers, but it depends though.., so I hope future readers will enjoy it as much as I did. 

Guest Post:

 Around the World by Marissa Moss

            I've lived in Paris and Rome, each a wonderful experience.  Living in a foreign city broadens your sense of who you are and how you want to live in ways that are delightfully unpredictable.  In both cities, I explored the cultural riches in a way you can't during a brief visit, but more than that, I learned the rhythm of a different lifestyle.  There's no such thing as rushing in Rome, no sense of urgency – or, frustratingly – of efficiency.  You learn the Italian shrug of acceptance. 

            Travel in general demands that kind of flexibility.  Planes are delayed.  Connections are missed.  A drive into the Amazon jungle that was supposed to take five hours ends up taking ten because roads have been washed out.  But being open to what happens during travel mishaps means you end up having tea with Bedouins in Petra or are invited into a house-raising for a newly married couple in Vietnam.  I love the expected parts of travel, the amazing sites, the great art, but I also love the completely unplanned, the moment you have to be open to in order to experience it.

            I've been to more than 30 countries.  The ones that have been the most difficult, have also been the most rewarding – India, Peru, Vietnam, Jordan, Egypt.  I hope I can keep adding to this list.  I'd love to see Indonesia, South Africa, Namibia, anywhere new.  But the place I keep going back to, the city that has my heart, is Rome.  Must be the gelato.

Giveaway!

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