A Lovestruck Summer and Books that Connect

This past Memorial Day Weekend, I took the short trip down the road to the local bookstore and spent some meandering time. At the high school reading list table (love those tables) I pondered classics I hadn't yet read and picked up Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. At the popular paperbacks I found and collected a book long on my list—Muriel Barbery's The Elegance of the Hedgehog. My agent, Amy Rennert, had suggested Marianne Wiggins' The Shadow Catcher (about the American West and photography, among other things; how could I resist?) so I went and hunted that down. Next I asked the sales clerk what literary book is currently selling well, and she suggested Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos. I like to be in the know, every now and then, and so I added that to my pile.

Finally, I went to the YA shelves and collected Melissa Walker's newest, Lovestruck Summer. I have a thing about owning all of Melissa's books—she's so cute, to begin with, but also, just as important, I learn a lot from her each time I curl up with one of her teen novels. This time was no exception, for Lovestruck Summer isn't just a compelling tale of summer romance and indie music. It's also a novel that showcases Melissa's tremendous ear and her ability, from the first sentence on, to juice a book with momentum and voice.

Listen, for example, to the book's first paragraph: "I live my life in headphones. That way I can control what I let in. If kids at school are being idiotic and perky, I put on a mellow track and tune out their spirit rally. If my parents are nagging me, I play a fast song and rock out in my mind while smiling and nodding at them."

That's good. That's very good, and here are some reasons why. First, rhythm. This book is about music and from the start, Melissa's language has jazz. From the start, too, the words surprise. Kids being idiotic and perky? Clever coupling. Tuning out a spirit rally? Wait. A spirit rally? Let me take another look, you think, at that. And do we not, in just a paragraph, get who this narrator is? Can we not already picture her, caught up in the medleys she's got tracking through her mind?

There is a reason that those who have big followings have garnered that affection. In Melissa's case, she knows her audience, she knows what they think (Sex and the City characters are old, for the record, and there are just some things that people shouldn't wear), and she knows how to write a credible romantic tale that will keep teens on the edge of their seat.

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Nothing but Ghosts and The No Such Thing Contest

On Melissa Walker's big week (Lovestruck Summer is now out in stores!), Melissa is being utterly Melissa, which is to say supremely generous. Today I'm over at her blog, telling the story of the Nothing but Ghosts cover, with additional photos of Chanticleer, the garden that inspired this novel. Thank you, so much, Melissa. I can't wait to drift away into your own Lovestruck space.

In the meantime, Jill Santopolo has informed me that the No Such Thing short story competition details have now been officially posted on the HarperTeen site. You can find them here.

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Goodness (again), a Contest Update, and Kudos to Melissa Walker

Forgive me for being a tad emotional this morning. The last time I posted a world-goes-streaking-past photograph, it was the morning after the evening that we'd left our son at school—a freshman at a college hours away, a young man on the verge.

Yesterday, downpours and client pressures couldn't keep us away from that guy. His finals were done, and his room was in order; freshman year is done. Our son comes home with broader shoulders, boundless stories, and a multitude of friends—engaging, truly beautiful young people who were chanting his nickname as they made the trek to say goodbye while we boxed things up, Windexed the mirrors, and ran an old vacuum cleaner over nubby, well-worn rugs.

In my absence, goodness happened. The kindness of Little Willow, Holly Cupala, Readergirlz, Alea, Jen Robinson, and others, who made it a point to spread the word about the Undercover poetry contest. Meanwhile, the uber-kind Ed Goldberg, of the fabulous Young Adults (& Kids) Books Central, posted a glorious review; I thank him, deeply, for taking an interest in these books that I write.

For those of you interested in the Undercover contest, you'll see that I have now posted the official judge of the competition: Jill Santopolo. I have worked with Jill at HarperTeen since my earliest introduction there; together with Laura Geringer, Jill shepherded Undercover, House of Dance, and Nothing but Ghosts to their respective finish lines. Jill then took on The Heart is not a Size, due out next March, in Laura's absence, and as an author herself, Jill absolutely knows books and words. I can't wait to share your work with her.

Today my dear friend Melissa Walker celebrates the debut of Lovestruck Summer. She's a force and a presence in this blog world; I've learned a lot from her kick, her poise, her smarts. Congratulations, Melissa, on your fourth book. We (and the spring's entire bounty of daffodils) are cheering you on. (And I can't wait to read it.)

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