Cover Reveal: THOROUGHLY MODERN MIRELLA

I'm so excited to reveal the cover of my YA contemporary debut. The fabulous art is by the wonderful Sarah Kettles and the design was done by the flawless Jenny Adams Perinovic. I love them both and I could not be more pleased with the final product. 

About the book: 

In a small town like Paradise, everyone has a role. 

High school senior Mirella Danville is a proud "theatre nerd." That is, until she makes a scene at the Halloween party she shouldn't have even gone to, flirts with the football captain, and reunites with an old friend who ditched her for the popular crew.

It's a dream come true when Mirella lands the lead in the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie, and it should put her firmly back in her usual role. Instead, it only fuels her desire to change up her boring existence so that her first kiss won’t be onstage with a gorilla-handed junior. The line between Mirella and her character blurs as she dives head first into a world of fruity flavored cigarillos, sweet and sour schnapps, and college boys. 

But when her antics--and the expectations of her hot college boyfriend--start to cause drama off the stage, Mirella questions her decision to be more "Millie" than "Mirella." With her friendships, family, and performance on the verge of crumbling, Mirella has to get back into character...or risk losing herself.

And now.... the cover; 

Don't you just love it?!

THOROUGHLY MODERN MIRELLA debuts on 4/12 (preorder links coming soon)

Don't forget to add it on goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29553628-thoroughly-modern-mirella

Book Review: PUSHING SEND

I received a copy of PUSHING SEND by Jacqueline Ross and Ally Derby from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This book was not what I expected from the description and cover. That being said, it was a gritty story with solid character arcs and unexpected twists. However, the pacing to me felt slightly off. Perhaps it is the teacher in me but I felt like if I had charted it out like we used to do in middle school, the curve between inciting incident, climax, and denouement would have been a little wonky. I also felt like the voice was a little telling at times, instead of showing. There were points at which I wanted to know what a character's facial expression or their beat movements were.

That being said, I cried over this book and its characters. At some points it is so visceral and painful that it becomes difficult to read. This book isn't perfect but it is different and intriguing. It is borderline contemporary dystopian. By that I mean that everything that could go wrong, does go wrong, the characters are put through the wringer, and then beaten to a pulp afterwards. It struck me as very gritty and harsh for a contemporary.  It is not a happy book. But it might be a good one.  

Scream and Shout for THE GEEK GIRL'S GUIDE TO CHEERLEADING!

THE GEEK GIRL'S GUIDE TO CHEERLEADING  by Charity Tahmaseb and Darcy Vance follows Bethany and her best friend Moni as they try out for Varsity Cheerleading, unexpectedly make the squad, and deal with the consequences. Is a geek with pom-poms still a geek?

I really enjoyed this book partially because I was the artsy girl who went out for football cheerleading as a senior and partially because I had the biggest crush on the team captain and partially because I fought with my friends over it and partially because it is just so well written.

But that run-on sentence aside, Tahmaseb and Vance understand high school girls, the social hierarchy, and geek friendship. They understand crushes and first loves and heartbreak and family. Also, how uncomfortably short cheer uniforms are. And how sweet freshmen boys can be. And ugh. This book, ok?

I don't want to give anything away but if you love geeks, sports, and romance this book is for you.