Do you ever have one of those weeks where you're running and running on your hamster wheel, trying not to trip and do a complete spin over the top? That was my week. (And it's still ongoing...) So here's a quick Friday Five!
1) On Tuesday, I got to go out to Long Island to observe rehearsals for the new Cirque du Soleil show, Paramour, which is planned to open on Broadway in May. Yes, taking this quick-turnaround assignment for Dance Magazine contributed to the overall hamster-wheel sensation, but how could I turn it down? It's not every day you get to watch some of the world's best dancers and acrobats in rehearsal—or interview a Cirque du Soleil director and two choreographers. I can't wait to see the finished product in a couple months!
2) Fellow author launch parties are the best. I missed the one I'd hoped to attend on Tuesday night (post-Cirque du Soleil stuff), but did get to go to one on Wednesday. Lauren Magaziner writes adorable, magical middle-grade books, and it was a pleasure to celebrate her sophomore novel, PILFER ACADEMY: A SCHOOL SO BAD IT'S CRIMINAL. I can't wait to read it!
3) Remember the Fearless Fifteener ARC tours I used to post about all the time? A few of them are still running, which means I am finally catching up on some fellow debuts' books that have been on my TBR for a long time. This week, I read THE FIX by Natasha Sinel and THE ONE THING by Marci Lyn Curtis. Both books are about teens healing emotionally after difficult times. In THE FIX, Macy has been holding on to a shameful secret, but a chance conversation with a boy at a party cracks her walls and lets those memories bubble to the surface. In THE ONE THING, Maggie is barely coping after losing her sight—and her promising soccer career—six months ago, but a chance meeting with a kid she can see sets her on the path to recovery. Neither author tiptoes around the tough stuff. Check these books out for realistic and heart-wrenching situations and lots of feels.
4) My husband and I are headed to Philadelphia tonight for a family event—my first bar mitzvah! He tells me I have no real reason to be excited, but I've never been to one before, so I can't help it. ;) (Mazel tov, David!)
5) My HOW IT FEELS TO FLY promotional bookmarks have arrived! I'll be sharing pictures all over social media soon...
How's your week been?
~Kathryn