Spring Catch-Up: THE CHANCE YOU WON'T RETURN

Hey there, Blog. It's been a while.

I was stuck in a revision cave for the better part of spring, but I'm out now and playing catch-up with all the stuff I missed! So get ready for a series of posts covering all the things that I'd wanted to blog about, but didn't get a chance to do until now.

Let's start with the most exciting one...

ANNIE'S LAUNCH PARTY!

That's right! My good friend and critique partner had her YA debut in April!

THE CHANCE YOU WON'T RETURN by Annie Cardi is a contemporary YA novel that's gotten absolutely glowing reviews (including multiple starred reviews!).

It tells the story of Alex--a girl who should really just be worrying about failing driver's ed and figuring out the guy she may or may not be flirting with (who may or may not be falling for her), but instead has to deal with a frustrating family secret. Out of nowhere, Alex's mom has decided she's actually Amelia Earhart, and that Alex is no longer her daughter, but a young female protégé of the 1930's.

Intrigued? Then you might be like one of the completely PACKED launch party-goers from last April. Probably good you weren't at Porter Square Books in Cambridge that night, though, because they sold out! Good news is you can find copies at many different places now, likely including your local bookstore!

When asked how she's able to write a teen voice so realistically, Annie admits that's just what the inside of her head sounds like...and that she was surprised to learn that's not what the inside of everyone's head sounds like.

Annie is the best. She's basically one of the coolest people you could ever know. Her writing is witty, heartfelt, so very real, and brings you right into the experiences of her characters. Annie's an author you'll want to keep tabs on, because she's definitely going places. And if you aren't following her on Twitter, then I don't know what you're doing with your life.

So proud!!!

A Bird on Water Street

I wanted to take a moment to talk about a touching new book--one that ties perfectly into this month's upcoming Earth Day.

A BIRD ON WATER STREET is a fictional environmental story based on a real town and a real era in American history. I had the good fortune to hear about this book earlier this year, and when I sat down to read it, I couldn't stop.

Elizabeth Dulemba takes readers to a setting almost entirely unbelievable: Coppertown USA, just over 30 years ago. This small Appalachian mining town is like "living on the moon". There's no nature here. No birds, no bugs, no trees. Just scarred earth. Dulemba's skill is twofold, and the first half of that is placing the reader in this incredible setting. She paints the picture of this alien world so visibly, that I wanted to bust into the pages myself to plant some seeds and give this poor town some life back.

Her second great skill is involving the reader in the struggles of the Coppertown community. I was rooting not only for the main character--young Jack, who just wanted a chance to live near some trees--but for all the mining families whose lives were shaken by a series of layoffs and accidents. Dulemba crafts a world where everyone's story matters, which is so completely authentic to small town lifestyle.

I highly recommend giving this a read if you're at all interested in environmental tales, modern historical fiction, or just love a heartfelt story about family and real life relationships. I finished it weeks ago and still feel touched by the residents of Coppertown.

You can find A BIRD ON WATER STREET online at Barnes and Noble or on Amazon. And you can find Elizabeth Dulemba on the web at www.dulemba.com.

GOLDEN BOY

Tomorrow, Tara Sullivan's debut novel GOLDEN BOY hits stores.

I've been a fan of it ever since I joined Tara's writing group in 2010. Back then, GOLDEN BOY was just a partial first draft, and my first contribution to the project was messing with one of Tara's beautiful metaphors by pointing out that howler monkeys don't live in Africa. Sorry, Tara.

The project's obviously come a long way since then. In honor of Tara's exciting debut, I was going to do some science-y tie-in about one of the book's plot elements, such as albinism, poaching, or genetics. But as I sat down to start my blog post, I found I couldn't do it. It just felt too kitschy. And GOLDEN BOY deserved better.

Here's what readers of this blog really need to know about this debut novel:

GOLDEN BOY is a beautifully written tale of self worth and true bravery. GOLDEN BOY doesn't shy away from the horrors of its real-life inspiration (namely, albino-hunting in Tanzania), but never does it feel too gruesome to read (the violence is kept below the PG-13 level). GOLDEN BOY takes what could have been a lecture on human rights, and instead does what every human rights story should do--it makes its hero a person, instead of a symbol.

And that's really what GOLDEN BOY is all about. Finding the person beneath the stigma. Habo is a real person. At least he is to me, and he will be to you, if you give this book a chance.

I had the honor of getting to know Habo as he grew. It all started in Porter Square Books in September, 2010. From there, I spent months, then years, working with Tara and Habo alike, participating in and cheering on the development of this amazing book (which is already getting starred reviews). Tomorrow night, I'll be back in Porter Square Books, wearing my GOLDEN BOY t-shirt and celebrating with Tara at her launch party. It comes full circle, and I can't stop smiling about that.

If you're in the Boston area, the party starts at 7pm. If you can't make it, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of GOLDEN BOY anyway. Trust me, you want to read this book.

I'm so excited for this debut, and so incredibly proud of Tara and her journey to publication. This is just the beginning for this impressively talented young author, and I look forward to many more Tara Sullivan launch parties down the road.

Congratulations, Tara. You've earned this!

Childhood Revisited

Sarah Guillory has been running a blog series called "Childhood Revisited" on her blog this month, and it's a lot of fun. She's asking writers to read one of their favorite books from their youth and review it, thinking especially about how it shaped them and their writing.

I got to participate as a guest blogger, and you can find my review on her site here: Katie reviews A WRINKLE IN TIME.

Go check it out when you get a chance! And make sure to visit her other posts, and keep an eye out for Sarah Guillory's debut YA novel, RECLAIMED, coming in October this year!