Well, we’re finally back to Tuesday Talks, and I thought I’d kick off this series on my new site with someone very special. My nephew, Torsten, is a book review blogger at the ripe old age of 13. Apparently I am very good (or very bad?) influence on him. He reviews only fiction books (obviously I’m not that strong of an influence on him!) and has been doing it for several months now. I was very pleased to be able to interview him and let all of my amazing readers get to know this very cool person in my life.
So let’s get this party started, shall we?
To start us off, please tell us about your blog: What kinds of books do you like to review?
My blog name is ‘My Favorite Books: Strictly Fiction Book Reviews‘. I have a load of good fiction books at home that I love to read, and have already read. There’s also more books that I haven’t. I just have a big mix of fiction types, from historical (Number the Stars) to animal (The Tale of Despereaux) to fantasy (Eragon).
I’d love to hear about a favorite book or author that you’ve read recently and why it was your favorite.
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
My most recent review, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo, is my very favorite book of hers. I loved it because the main character, Edward, is a china rabbit, who thinks very highly of himself. He goes on a very special adventure, from owner to owner, learning the meaning of love and humility. I loved it because her writing skills are amazing; you just have to turn the page.
Tell me a little about yourself.
My name is Torsten Pearson, age thirteen, and I’m the author of blog ‘preteen memories’, ‘My Favorite Books’ and the private blog ‘Homeschoolerz Teenz’. I’m also the nephew to Hava of Nonfiction Book Review.
How long have you been reviewing books and why did you start – what was your motivation?
My friend, djyavin, has a blog, Games for Teens, where he reviews video games (be sure to check it out). That got me thinking, “Heck, I’d like to do something like that.” But pretty much the only game platforms I have are my GameBoy, my PC, and the laptop.
“But I also love books – fiction books,” I thought. So that’s how it got started. I wrote my first post on January 30th of 2009, saying I was going to review Eragon. My review on Eragon was posted on February 22nd, and I’ve just kept going. Although it keeps me majorly distracted from ‘preteen memories’.
Do you try to review the same kinds of books consistently, or are you eclectic in your choices?
Right now, I’m just mostly reviewing books I’ve already read and liked. I don’t have have any special genre going, although I am doing authors, and series in order. I suppose in the future I’ll figure out a way to organize them in some special order.
I have seen a lot of different styles when it comes to rating a book. Do you rate your book reviews, and if so, what is the point system and how do you determine what you give?
I rate my books according to my view on them, on a scale of one to ten. It shows, from my point of view, how good the book is.
In your eyes, what is the most important part of a book – the pacing, having well-developed characters, a plot with lots of twists and turns, a writing style that you enjoy, or something else?
To me, the most important part of a story is to either have a good writing style, something that people love with very thrilling twists and turns. Or well-developed characters, who don’t leave anyone going, “Now why did he do that?” You’d know the character and his life, and the reason he did it.
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Thank you, Torsten, for your interview with me. 
For any moms out there reading this, it might be kinda cool to send your kids over to check out Torsten’s review site. If your kids love reading, then I think they’d find plenty of great books through Torsten’s site.
I will be starting up the children’s book reviews again this Friday (my Fun Friday series that I had on my old site) so be sure to watch for that. And next Tuesday, we’ll be back again, this time with Kristen of Book ‘N Around.
I’ll let my daughter know.
Very cool. I’ll have to point my 12 year old to his site and perhaps show my friend’s 12 year old as well since she has shown a lot of interest in reviewing books. Her own blog would certainly get her started!
Hey that’s cool that your nephew has a book review blog. I’m off to check it out!
Thanks for sharing–great site, Torsten!