Hello and happy September, everyone!
This'll be a quick post to let you know the first major review of The Indigo Notebook is in... and it's a good one! Phew! *BIG sigh of relief* ... *Ear-to-ear grin* Here it is:
"Upon arriving in Ecuador with Layla, her flaky, globe-trotting mom, 15-year-old Zeeta has no idea that this latest move will prove any different from the whirlwind to which she has become accustomed. Then she meets Wendell, an Otavaleño boy her age adopted at birth by a white couple from Colorado, and agrees to help search for his biological parents. Descending into a mystery rife with small-town secrets, Zeeta struggles to control her feelings for Wendell. At the same time, her mom has a freak accident that results in some serious self-examination and begins acting responsibly, observing social norms and, much to Zeeta’s distress, spacing out in front of the television. The characters fairly brim with life in this thoughtful, poignant novel filled with cultural details. The writing is simple but evocative—“Far above, the gray peaks wear long, green robes, swirling into valleys, rippling into smooth mounds.” The story’s too-neat ending may strain believability for some readers, but this is a minor detraction to an otherwise remarkably engrossing, layered work. (Fiction. 12 & up)" -- Kirkus
Yay! Thanks, Kirkus!!
Stephanie and me
This is the third book that I've published on with Stephanie Lane Elliott, my editor at Delacorte. We're in the process of working on four more, which will be released over the next two years. I'm so grateful for this wonderful editor-author relationship! I'm often asked how I ended up getting my first book (What the Moon Saw) published. I talk about it a bit in the Q&A section of my website (scroll down and click on the "path to publication" question). You can read Stephanie's perspective here -- she's the featured editor for September on the Editor's Corner page in the librarian/teacher section of the Random House website. I'm hugely honored that she chose to talk about my books-- starting from how she pulled What the Moon Saw from the slush pile. Thank you, Stephanie!!!
I'm in the midst of some blog interviews at the moment... they'll be posted over the next couple months to celebrate The Indigo Notebook release. Come back soon to see what great blogs are on the agenda for my book blog tour. And be sure to check out the growing list of Red Glass and The Indigo Notebook events happening this fall. (My husband and I will post some new ones this weekend.)
Thanks for reading!
Laura