Congratulations to Tracie Vaughn Zimmer on the release of Reaching for Sun (Bloomsbury, 2007)!
Promo copy: “Josie Wyatt knows what it means to be different. Her family’s small farmhouse seems to shrink each time another new mansion goes up behind it. Her mom is demanding, her gran is opinionated, and her father–well, she’s never known him. Then there’s her cerebral palsy: even if Josie wants to forget that she was born with a disability, her mom can’t seem to let it go. Yet when a strange new boy–Jodan–moves into one of the houses nearby, he seems oblivious to all the things that make Josie different. And before long, Josie finds herself reaching for something she’s never really known: a friend…and possibly more. Interlinked free-verse poems tell the beautiful, heartfelt story of a girl, a proud family farm reduced to a garden, and a year of unforgettable growth.”
“Josie’s voice has a universal appeal,” –Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Written in verse, this quick-reading, appealing story will capture readers’ hearts with its winsome heroine and affecting situations.” -Booklist
“Readers of all levels will enjoy spending time with Josie and may gain an increased awareness of what it’s like to live with a disability.” -School Library Journal
See author interview, teachers’ guide, and book-club guide.
More News & Links
Congratulations to Lisa Yee on winning the James Thurber Writer-in-Residence Award. Read a Cynsations interview with Lisa. Lisa’s latest release is So Totally Emily Ebers (Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine, 2007).
Interview with Sara Zarr, author of Story of a Girl (Little Brown, 2007), at the YA Authors Cafe. Read Sara’s interview, and then ask her a question!
Thanks to Mitali’s Fire Escape for including me in a round-up of good author news.
Teen Fiction @ Suite 101: Mechele R. Dillard offers thoughtful coverage of YA literature. See Intro to Young Adult Literature, Looking Across the Pages, interview with Michael Harmon (author of Skate (Knopf, 2006)), interview with Dr. Susan Vaught, and Are You a Readergirlz girl?
“Teens Buying Books at Fastest Rate in Decade; New ‘Golden Age of Young Adult Literature’ Declared” by Cecelia Goodnow of Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Source: Little Willow at Slayground.
The Forever Dog Blog from Bill Cochran, author of The Forever Dog (HarperCollins, April 2007).