Mandabach, author of OR NOT profile picture

Mandabach, author of OR NOT

I want roses in my garden bower, dig?

About Me

from FOREWORD magazine:
"Brian Mandabach’s ...Or Not? (Flux, 978-0-7387-1100-3) is a smartly written novel about a smart girl with smart parents who gets in trouble for being smart. Recent trouble starts when the kids in her new school’s science class cite dragons as proof that dinosaurs traveled with Noah in his ark. Conclusion: all fossils are from the Great Flood. Told through journal entries, Cassie recounts the long journey of her isolation. With many wonderfully insightful and irreverent references and discussions of literature as a guide to growing up, this is a book for middle school (and high school) stealth rebels."

OTHER REVIEWS:(click on publication title for full review)
…OR NOT? is definitely one of my favorite books read in recent memory. Cassie is such a completely real, entirely interesting, and very unique character!
-- TEEN BOOK REVIEW
Mandabach understands what goes on in . . . school so well, I can match up characters from the book to people I go to school with. And it takes a skilled author to be able to do that.
-- FLAMINGNET
Many teens will read Cassie’s story and think, “I thought I was the only one who felt this way about life!” And that by itself will give them hope as they learn to be.
--Lisa Chellman, UNDER THE COVERS
. . . beautifully written, thought-provoking . . .
-- SUSAN VANHECKE
OR NOT puts in writing the process of self-discovery every girl goes through . . .
-- BOOK DIVAS
Cassie is my hero. She is an intelligent non-conformist . . .
--Marta Morrison, TEENSREADTOO
. . . cross-over appeal to kids and adults alike.
--Melissa, POISED AT THE EDGE whateverlife.com

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 2/9/2006
Band Website: mandabach.com
Influences: Cassie's voice is funny, angry, sad, sarcastic, and perplexed as she struggles to find her own identity. And to find hope for the future despite all the yahoos surrounding her. You will laugh, you will weep, and you'll really enjoy this delightful and poignant novel about a kooky idealist who refuses to give up as she grows up. --John Nichols, The Milagro Beanfield War

J.R.R. Tolkien
Record Label: FLUX--for the new LITERATI
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Ink

what do you think?This is just sharpie, I'm trying to get used to the idea.The design is from J.R.R. Tolkien, his very stylized initials. I wanted some runes or Elvish script, but that stuff is diffi...
Posted by Mandabach, author of OR NOT on Tue, 19 Feb 2008 09:59:00 PST

Grassroots Shinola--be my rhyzome?

You might have been wondering what's up with all the grassroots and shinola babble. This may explain a little of what I've been hinting at:Many grasses grow from the roots, spreading with rhyzomes tha...
Posted by Mandabach, author of OR NOT on Sun, 03 Feb 2008 11:11:00 PST

rhyzomes

What I'm talking about:...
Posted by Mandabach, author of OR NOT on Sat, 02 Feb 2008 04:53:00 PST

Books for English Class

TELL ME, TELL ME:WHAT BOOKS FROM ENGLISH CLASS DO YOU HATE?  WHICH BOOKS DO YOU LOVE?I read THIS BLOG about how much Teen Book Reviewer hates  Holden Caulfield and The Adventures of Hucklebe...
Posted by Mandabach, author of OR NOT on Fri, 25 Jan 2008 08:53:00 PST

What is young adult? What’s not? Why? And other QUESTIONS . . .

Not long ago I read a really interesting novel, The Tribes of Palos Verdes by Joy Nicholson.It's a bildungsroman, story of a girl, her twin brother, water, and fire. (Salon Review of Tribes)My wife, ...
Posted by Mandabach, author of OR NOT on Tue, 15 Jan 2008 11:36:00 PST

Interview with Mr. Mandabach

Hey!  Who says there is no significant content on myspace?!?!?!? Check out Melissa's blog for an interview with MEEEEEEE!  Okay, it's not significant, but please read it and comment it! Cli...
Posted by Mandabach, author of OR NOT on Tue, 15 Jan 2008 05:13:00 PST

The Beatles

This is excellent and funny. The second song, "Loser" is one of my fav Lennon tunes, but dig the way they can't stop grinning even though it's such a sad song. And the last one, "Boys? lmao ...
Posted by Mandabach, author of OR NOT on Sat, 12 Jan 2008 09:22:00 PST

Quotable Quotes for 500

From Friedrich Nietzsche:The man of knowledge must be able not only to love his enemies but also to hate his friends.Digressions, objections, delight in mockery &  carefree mistrust are signs...
Posted by Mandabach, author of OR NOT on Sat, 12 Jan 2008 04:46:00 PST

I’m talking about SHINOLA! (Sheesh! Don’t you know your brass from your woodwind?)

shinola!Shoe polish:From Wikipedia:Shinola was immortalized in colloquial English by the phrase You don't (or He doesn't) know shit from Shinola which first became widely popular during World War II. ...
Posted by Mandabach, author of OR NOT on Wed, 09 Jan 2008 04:52:00 PST

Shinola

From an old song I used to dig from from Todd Rundgren & Utopia, "Shinola":Sung:    I see you're still in the headlines You pegged the latest trend again this weekI'm not impressed ...
Posted by Mandabach, author of OR NOT on Tue, 08 Jan 2008 09:41:00 PST