I got a fun surprise in the mail the other day–a big box of books. Not just any books, though–advance reader copies of Alone in the Woods!
Of course I had to take them out to the park for a proper photo:
A few weeks ago*, the awesome website YAYOMG! helped me share the cover for The Disaster Days–and an exclusive sneak peek into the book.
Be sure to check out all of YAYOMG!’s great book coverage–tons of interviews, posts, cover reveals, roundups, and more!
I also got a special delivery from my editor at Sourcebooks: ARCs!
I’m so excited for this story to head out into the reading world.
*Er, why am I sharing this just now? I have a book due on May 1, and I’ve been in my writing cave. 🙂
I’m so excited to share the cover for my next middle-grade novel that I’m skipping an introduction. Here it is!
Robyn Ng illustrated it, and Laura Lyn DiSiena designed it–the same team that created the beautiful cover for Summer of Lost and Found. And again they perfectly capture the spirit and setting of my book. I love the vintage font (perfect for historical fiction) and the sunset color palette, and the way my characters, Bea and Pidge, are facing out toward the great wide world.
Before I tell you all about The Last Grand Adventure, here’s information on how you can win an ARC and find out (early!) for yourself:
Simply leave a comment on this post to enter–if you’d like an extra entry, you can sign up for my newsletter or tweet about the cover. Full instructions and links below.
About The Last Grand Adventure:
Twelve-year-old Bea finds herself on a unique road-trip with her grandmother as they search for her grandmother’s long-lost sister—the legendary Amelia Earhart—in this charming and poignant novel from the author of When Audrey Met Alice and Summer of Lost and Found.
It’s 1967 and twelve-year-old Bea is in need of some adventure. Her mother is off in San Francisco, while her father has just gotten remarried in Los Angeles. Bea has gained a younger stepsister, and she’s not thrilled about her blended family. So when her ailing grandmother, Pidge, moves to an Orange County retirement community and asks if Bea would spend a few weeks helping her get settled, Bea is happy for any excuse to get away.
But it turns out, her grandmother isn’t interested in settling in. What she really wants is to hop a train back to Atchison, Kansas—where she thinks she’ll be reunited with her long-missing sister: Amelia Earhart. And she wants Bea to be her sidekick on this secret trip.
At first, Bea thinks her grandmother’s plan is a little crazy. But Pidge has thirty years of letters written in “Meelie’s” unmistakable voice, all promising to reunite. This might be the adventure Bea needs . . .
With letters in hand, Bea and Pidge set off on their quest to find Amelia. But getting halfway across the country proves to be more of an adventure than either of them bargained for. And their search for Amelia leads to some surprising truths about their family—and each other.
Early Praise
The Details
Coming from Simon & Schuster/Aladdin on March 20, 2018
Historical fiction for ages 8+
ISBN: 9781481496926
Preorder from:
Barnes & Noble
Indiebound
Amazon
Books-a-Million
or your local bookstore (the ISBN is 9781481496926)
And you can add The Last Grand Adventure to your shelves on Goodreads.
ARC Giveaway Instructions (the long version):
To enter to win an ARC, simply leave a comment on this post. Don’t worry if it doesn’t appear right away–my site requires approval for all comments. If you’d like an extra entry, you can sign up for my newsletter or tweet about this cover reveal. Make sure to let me know in your comment if you did one or both of those! This giveaway is open to readers in the US and Canada, and will end on Wednesday, June 28. I’ll announce the winner, chosen randomly, on Thursday, June 29. Good luck, and thanks for entering!
Update: Congrats to Kaitlin Hundscheid, who won the ARC–I’ll send you an email shortly. And thanks, all, for the cover love!
I spent January and February speeding through the stack of MG/YA ARCs I picked up at ALA Midwinter. And if these ten books are any indication, 2016 is going to be an amazing year for kid lit. Here’s what I read, and in one(ish) sentence, I’ll tell you why I loved it:
Ravenous: I raced through this adventure-ful fairy tale reimagining–and I adored Greta, who is one brave, determined sister.
The Key to Extraordinary: Every word of this book is beautiful, and my heart felt so full after the pages I spent in Blackbird Hollow.
Up to This Pointe: A story that seamlessly blends ballet, Antarctica, and grief–it’s utterly original, the voice is perfect, and I loved it.
I Woke Up Dead at the Mall: Quirky, dry-witted, and poignant–and points for an awesomely unique title.
The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary: Diverse and in verse!
Makoons: The latest in The Birchbark House series, this was an engaging and informative story of family life on the Great Plains.
Tru & Nelle: Harper Lee and Truman Capote as kid detectives: Yes.
The Darkest Corners: Compulsively readable, and the ending–DID NOT SEE THAT COMING!
Counting Thyme: Thyme and her family–and all the wonderfully drawn characters–will stay with you for a long time.
Wanderlost: Sweet and swoony story of the power of travel to change you.
Which books are you looking forward to this year?
I came home to a great surprise on Monday night: a package from Alyson Heller, my editor at Aladdin/S&S. I started ripping it open before I even got up the stairs. Inside, I found:
ARCs! And a jacket proof–the first peek I’ve gotten at all the true colors and lovely effects (like shiny spot gloss).
I adore the book design–thanks to Laura Lyn DiSiena at Aladdin for making the book look beautiful, and to Robyn Ng for the gorgeous art.
It’s really cool how the foliage and water continue onto the spine.
Inside, the book is just as lovely–and there’s even a map!
Maps in books are one of my favorite things, and I’m thrilled that Summer of Lost and Found includes one of Roanoke.
Writing takes so much work, dreaming, and hope–and sometimes uncertainty. It’s kind of amazing when something that started as an idea and was slowly (or very slowly, in my case) nurtured into document finally shows up in your mailbox. It’s a special moment to hold the story, in book form, in your hands.
I had a most excellent year in books:
What about you?
ALA Annual was amazing! It was fun, surreal, and humbling to be around so many wonderful readers, librarians, authors, and publishing professionals.
Here are some of the highlights (at least the ones for which I have photo documentation):
So I learned what “but it’s a dry heat” means.
AKA, still hot, but pleasantly so. Unless you get kind of lost on the way back to your hotel and have to circle a massive casino a few times to find the entrance . . .
Anyway, shortly after I got to the conference on Saturday, after a very early but thankfully uneventful flight, I got to meet fellow debut author Jessica Love!
Who is just as lovely in person as I knew she’d be. And I now have a signed copy of Push Girl. 🙂
I also got to meet fellow Sourcebooks author Nancy Cavanaugh! Very serendipitously, as I was getting to the conference just as she was leaving.
I headed over to the Sourcebooks booth to finally meet (and thank!) the wonderful marketing and S&L team. And I saw my poster in person!
I stopped by the Egmont booth to say hi and also meet author Len Vlahos, who was about to do the coolest author event, in which he played songs from his book on the PopTop Stage. Then I went back to the hotel with my ALA roommate, Lauren Magaziner, and crashed until it was time for the Class of 2K14 dinner. (Sadly, I didn’t think to take any pictures at that!)
The next morning, we were up bright and early for the MG vs. YA Trivia Showdown, hosted by the charming and talented duo of Jay Asher and Josephine Angelini.
We had so much fun playing trivia and sharing our first lines. The librarians, no surprise, impressed us all with their knowledge!
Later on Sunday, I signed When Audrey Met Alice in the Sourcebooks booth.
I had so much fun meeting librarians and talking about my book. And we actually ran out of copies by the end of the line! I was so touched by the enthusiasm of everyone who came by–it was a dream experience. And author Marissa Moss stopped by–I am a huge fan of her work, and I was so excited to meet her!
I had another fangirl moment when I got to meet Ann M. Martin.
I have been dying to read Rain Reign, and now I will always treasure this signed ARC. I kind of wish I could travel back in time to tell little Rebecca that someday, she’d be at ALA meeting the authors she loved.
After the conference wrapped up on Sunday, some of the Class of 2K14 members who were still around went out on the town to celebrate.
We did find the most amazing doughnut soap while wandering around.
Truth: I went into the store after seeing that in the window and thinking I could eat it.
And then bright and early the next morning, I was on my way back, jet-lagged and happy and grateful. I didn’t win any money, but I did carry home a suitcase bursting with books.
It’s time for another Bookanista recommendation: (my friend and fellow Bookanista) Jessica Love’s Push Girl.
Here’s the jacket copy from the publisher:
Kara is a high school junior who’s loving life. She’s popular, has a great group of friends and an amazing boyfriend, and she’s a shoe-in for homecoming queen. Even though her parents can’t stop fighting and her ex-boyfriend can’t seem to leave her alone, Kara won’t let anything get in the way of her perfect year. It’s Friday night, and Kara arrives at a party, upset after hearing her parents having another one of their awful fights, and sees another girl with her hands all over her boyfriend. Furious, Kara leaves to take a drive, and, as she’s crossing an intersection, a car comes out of nowhere and slams into the driver’s side of Kara’s car.
I’ve been telling every YA reader I see about this one, which is both a great contemporary YA novel and a really powerful story of handling adversity with grace, grit, and hope. Kara is a character I won’t soon forget–my heart broke for her many times as I read. I loved how as the story progressed, Kara not only started to rehabilitate physically, but grew emotionally. Her injury brings physical limitations, but the new way she looks at her world and her self brings Kara so much agency. Even before the accident, Kara encounters things in her life that are beyond her control. But it’s only after that she has gained the strength to make healthy choices about how she responds. That’s an important lesson that all teens can relate to: you can’t always control what happens to you in life, but you can control how you respond.
I think teen readers are going to get so much out of reading this book–a well-written, diverse contemporary story and an invitation to think about how one chooses to live life.
And now I really can’t wait for Jessica’s next YA novel, In Real Life, which will be out in 2015!
Push Girl releases on June 3 from St. Martin’s Griffin.
See what my fellow Bookanistas are recommending today:
What I’m Reading
I read a ton of books (or what amounts to a “ton” for me) in March: No Surrender Soldier, Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, Leading Man, The Secret Hum of a Daisy, The Ninja Librarians, and Push Girl. Now I’m back to Barbara Kingsolver’s Flight Behavior, which I reluctantly put aside when I was in the middle of a debut-author ARCapalooza.
What I’m Writing
I’m back to revising an old manuscript and doing some research so I can begin outlining a new one. I’d love to be finished with these revisions in the next week or two so I can focus on outlining. In truth, I am itching to get to the drafting stage of this new project. I’m one of those writers who gets caught up in counting new words–sometimes I need to remind myself that reading/researching, outlining, and daydreaming is part of the writing process–and that time “counts,” too.
What Inspires Me Right Now
I am knocking on wood as I type this, but I think it’s finally warming up! Thanks to longer days, I’m loving going home from work while it’s still light out. Hooray, spring. 🙂
What Else I’ve Been Up To
I finally got back to a yoga class, after a few months off due to an injury. It was kind of a bummer to realize how much I still can’t do, but it feels great to know that I’m making progress.
A quick note on an online event I’m doing this week: Booklist Webinars is hosting me and three other New Leaf Literary debut authors for an hour-long presentation on our books and the the debut experience. It’s free, and should be a fun conversation! You can register here: https://alapublishing.webex.com/alapublishing/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=662413562
So what have you been up to lately?
What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme that helps readers and writers touch base with blog friends. You can find the link widget (and cute buttons!) on Jaime’s and Erin’s blog posts.
What I read in 2013, more or less*:
(How much do I wish I’d read two more books to get a nice, neat last row?)
*Based on Goodreads–I didn’t join until summer, so I might’ve missed a few books.
What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme that helps readers and writers touch base with blog friends. If you’d like to join in, you can find the link widget on Jaime’s and Erin’s blog posts. I love this idea because it gives a structured, easy way for me to keep up with blogging. Also, the buttons are cute (especially this winter scene). Thanks for the idea, Jaime and Erin!
What I’m Reading
All the ARCs. Right now, I have copies of Open Road Summer, All Four Stars, What the Moon Said, and Ask Again Later on my desk or en route to me. It’s a smorgasbord of 2014 debuts!
What I’m Writing
So, November is over. The status of the project I was kinda sorta NaNoing? Done! I definitely limped to the finish line, but as of Friday, November 29 I have a completed first draft. I wound up writing about 42,000 words in November, which I’m really proud of. It was fun to try to write without a filter and kick out a fast first draft. This WIP is one I wanted to write just for my own enjoyment and creativity–it’s not something I’m going to work actively toward publishing anytime soon. For that reason, I didn’t want to take too much time to write the first draft. I started writing it in early October, making this the fastest I’ve ever completed a draft–70,000 words in a little less than 2 months. And I’m usually a fairly slow writer!
That said, I’ve realized that for me to be happy with my writing and the overall process, I should allow myself a little more time in the future, or at least do a better job of outlining before diving in. (This was also my first largely pantsed project.) I’m glad I did my pseudo NaNo, though, and I’m looking forward to sometime revisiting this WIP in between other projects. I also believe that it’s never a bad thing to try a new way of working–even if it ends up not being your thing, it can teach you a lot about your process and preferences.
What I’m writing now (and for the rest of the month): Nada. It’s time for a break and IRL holiday stuff.
What Inspires Me Right Now
Holiday stuff: I held off until the day after Thanksgiving to get out decorations and fire up my playlists, but from now until the 26th, it’s Christmastime.
I’m also inspired by all the people who shopped at their local indie bookstores on Small Business Saturday. Particularly these shoppers! http://whitehouse.tumblr.com/post/68607360338/president-obama-sasha-and-malia-shop-for-books
What Else I’ve Been Up To
Listening to my nephew coo and gurgle in the background when I call my sister. He’s pretty adorable; I’m a happy aunt.
And eating pie. Lots and lots of pie.
So what have you been up to lately?
What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme that helps readers and writers touch base with blog friends. If you’d like to join in, you can find the link widget on Jaime’s and Erin’s blog posts. I love this idea because it gives a structured, easy way for me to keep up with blogging. Also, the buttons are cute. Thanks for the idea, Jaime and Erin!
What I’m Reading
Last week I read Just One Year in just one day. I loved getting to see the other side of the story; I’ll say nothing else because I don’t want to spoil anything. Then I lucked into an ARC of Nikki Loftin’s Nightingale’s Nest. It’s beautiful and unique and haunting, and I’m savoring every word.
What I’m Writing
Still doing odds and ends for the business side of writing. When I’m not doing that, I am playing around with a new idea. This is a project I’d maybe like to work on for NaNo in some form. I guess for now I’m treating it more like a writing exercise and less like a WIP, if that makes sense. Sometimes you need space to play with words in order to work with them.
What Inspires Me Right Now
I had the day off on Monday, so I went up to the Bronx Zoo. A lot of little kids were running around in their adorable Halloween costumes. Dime-store capes and some face paint are all it takes to let them create adventures for themselves. It’s always fun to see children being imaginative and playful, and I find the creativity surrounding Halloween really inspiring–that’s probably why it’s one of my favorite holidays. (Also the candy. Mmm, candy. I think I might actually get trick-or-treaters this year, so I have an excuse to stock up.)
What Else I’ve Been Up To
Last Friday I went to Alison Cherry’s launch party for her debut, Red! It was at the lovely BookCourt in Brooklyn, and it was a fabulous time.
And in other news, there’s a Goodreads ARC giveaway for When Audrey Met Alice going on right now. You can sign up here!
So what have you been up to lately?