In all my craziness this month, I missed blogging about the recent releases for two fellow Class of 2k7 members Karen Day and Aimee Ferris!
So here’s a late congratulations to Karen Day for the May 8th release of her mid-grade novel, TALL TALES, by Wendy Lamb Books/Random House.
12-year-old Meg Summers wants to make a friend. Yet she and her family have moved once again, this time to a small town called Laketon, and the idea of walking up and introducing herself to a group of girls seems so difficult. What if they laugh? What if they aren’t interested? What if they think she’s boring?
And so Meg begins weaving stories about herself, tall tales that make her life sound dramatic and interesting. But they also serve another purpose: to deflect any attention to her real family. Her dad is an alcoholic and prone to unpredictable binges and behavior that traumatize the family. She knows she must keep her real family a secret.
Then Meg meets Grace Bennett. She’s friendly and popular and interested in books, just like Meg. But how can her friendship with Grace continue to grow when Meg has kept such a big secret? What will she do now that the tall tales she told are coming back to Grace? And then Meg has another problem. What will happen at home now that her dad is drinking more and her older brother is beginning to fight back?
“Honest about what it is like to live with an alcoholic parent–the cover-ups, the fear of violence, the denial–Day’s first novel delivers much more than a standard problem novel; Meg’s lies and secrets are funny and anguished, and readers will respond to the intense family drama and the quick, wild fantasies that Meg spins to cover up her shame.”–Hazel Rochman.
And congratulations to Aimee Ferris for the May 10th release of her young adult novel, GIRL OVERBOARD by Penguin!
Swimsuit: check.
Flip-flops: check.
Scuba gear: check.
Leaving behind a longtime boyfriend: not so easy.
Marina has been waiting her whole life to get out on the open sea. And now that she’s studying abroad on a luxury yacht in the Caribbean, her dreams are finally coming true. She loves the feel of the sun on her face, the sand between her toes, and the island music swaying over her. And even better, she’s getting hands-on marine biology experience swimming alongside dolphins in the Bahamas, sharks in the Bay Islands, and sea turtles in the Dominican Republic! But while her experiences tell her she’s in exactly the right place, her boyfriend wants her home in Vermont. And her distractingly cute Aussie boatmate couldn’t disagree more. As the island heat rises, Marina must decide once and for all where her heart is—on land or at sea.
“Never having read one before, I had no idea that any girl-type YA novels were this well written. I liked it! Learned stuff! Good book!”—Daniel Pinkwater
Awesome, ladies!!! Congratulations on your book releases and I wish you the very best!
And, if anyone reading this is going to the BEA, let me know! I decided to go at the last minute and will be there on Friday and Saturday, YAY! I can smell those juicy, wonderful ARC’s from here . . .
