Okay, loyal blog readers: this is it. HOW IT FEELS TO FLY comes out in four days!
How am I supposed to focus on anything else?? Nonetheless, I'll try to come up with a Friday Five that isn't all about me, me, me... ;)
1) I've read some really great books lately. On Saturday, I blazed through Caela Carter's new YA, TUMBLING. It takes place during the Olympic gymnastics trials, and follows five girls whose fate will be sealed by two days of intense competition. Grace wants to be the perfect gymnast, but she always seems to come in second to her friend Leigh—whose parents push her to have a life that doesn't revolve around gymnastics. Wilhelmina wants a come-from-behind win, while Camille wants to walk away but fears disappointing everyone who's invested in her. And Monica is the girl no one notices—until she starts having the meet of her life. This book has so much power and emotion. If you're a sports fan, you'll love this story. But it's also for anyone who's a fan of girls dreaming big and kicking butt. (I can't wait to talk more about TUMBLING and the themes it shares with HOW IT FEELS TO FLY at my, Caela's, and Jennifer Castle's shared book launch on June 21 at Books of Wonder!)
2) Another spectacular recent read: Neal Shusterman's CHALLENGER DEEP. It's no surprise that this book won last year's National Book Award for Young People's Literature—it's a gripping, raw, beautiful, and harrowing depiction of a teenager's descent into mental illness. Caden Bosch is a sophomore when his mind starts to fill with strange thoughts and beliefs that eventually take over. These early chapters are interspersed with Caden as a crew member on a ship traveling to Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench, the deepest place on earth. As Caden's reality slips further and further away, the sea journey becomes more and more interwoven with his struggle. I don't want to spoil how it all fits together, but I will say that it's stunningly done. To read CHALLENGER DEEP is to get a tiny taste of the havoc schizophrenia wreaks on the mind. I was blown away.
3) I'm almost at the halfway point of my current manuscript revision! Onward and upward.
4) Hm. Had some really good ice cream this week. Thanks, Blue Marble!
5) HOW IT FEELS TO FLY comes out on Tuesday! Have you preordered? (If so, don't forget to fill out THIS FORM in order to claim your preorder prize!) Are you coming to see me at one of my upcoming EVENTS? Are you available to give me a hug and calm me down? I'd be so very grateful... :)
What's new with you?
~Kathryn