GGP is proud to invite to The Penguin Teen Tour 2012 featuring Gayle Forman\, author of If I Stay and Where She Went\, Stephanie Perkins\, author of Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door\, Jess Rothenberg\, author of The Catastrophic History of You and Me\, and Nina Lacour\, author of Hold Still and The Disenchantments\, in coversation with Yvonne Prinz\, author of The Vinyl Princess\, on Tuesday\, April 17th at 7\:00 p.m.
GAYLE FORMAN
In the three years since the tragic accident Mia barely survived in If I Stay\, she and high school ex-boyfriend Adam have lived separate lives on opposite coasts. But then Adam\, now the dissatisfied front man of popular LA-based band Collateral Damage\, stops over in New York City for one night before kicking off the European leg of his tour. It happens to be the same evening that Mia\, now well on her way to becoming a renowned cellist\, is performing at Carnegie Hall. Adam buys a ticket\, planning to slip in and out\, but Mia spots him and for the first time in years they’re face-to-face with each other and their shared past. Over the course of one evening\, as Adam and Mia traverse the city’s streets\, they relive the four days Mia spent in the intensive care unit as well as her departure to Juilliard and from the life she knew. Emotionally raw and incredibly moving\, Gayle Forman again showcases her considerable talent for drawing complex characters who face impossible decisions and then bear the consequences. Equally as compelling as If I Stay\, Where She Went is powerful\, heartbreaking\, and everything fans of Mia\, Adam\, and Forman could hope for.
STEPHANIE PERKINS
In this companion novel to Anna and the French Kiss\, two teens discover that true love may be closer than they think
For budding costume designer Lola Nolan\, the more outrageous\, the outfit - more sparkly\, more fun\, more wild - the better. But even though Lola's style is outrageous\, she's a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins move back into the house next door.
When the family returns and Cricket - a gifted inventor and engineer - steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life\, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.
JESS ROTHENBERG
Brie's life ends at sixteen\: Her boyfriend tells her he doesn't love her\, and the news breaks her heart--literally.
But now that she's D&\;G (dead and gone)\, Brie is about to discover that love is way more complicated than she ever imagined. Back in Half Moon Bay\, her family has begun to unravel. Her best friend has been keeping a secret about Jacob\, the boy Brie loved and lost--and the truth behind his shattering betrayal. And then there's Patrick\, Brie's mysterious new guide and resident Lost Soul...who just might hold the key to her forever after.
With Patrick's help\, Brie will have to pass through the five stages of grief before she's ready to move on. But how do you begin again\, when your heart is still in pieces?
NINA LACOUR
Colby and Bev have a long-standing pact\: graduate\, hit the road with Bev's band\, and then spend the year wandering around Europe. But moments after the tour kicks off\, Bev makes a shocking announcement\: she's abandoning their plans - and Colby - to start college in the fall.
But the show must go on and The Disenchantments weave through the Pacific Northwest\, playing in small towns and dingy venues\, while roadie- Colby struggles to deal with Bev's already-growing distance and the most important question of all\: what's next?
Morris Award–finalist Nina LaCour draws together the beauty and influences of music and art to brilliantly capture a group of friends on the brink of the rest of their lives.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20130519T215503Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120420T030000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120420T030000Z UID:http://www.ggpbooks.com/event/lindy-hough-and-contributor-karine-schomer-wonderous-child-joys-and-challenges-grandparenting URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.ggpbooks.com/event/lindy-hough-and-contributor-karine-schomer-wonderous-child-joys-and-challenges-grandparenting SUMMARY:LINDY HOUGH AND CONTRIBUTORS KARINE SCHOMER AND DONNE DAVIS--WONDEROUS CHILD\: THE JOYS AND CHALLENGES OF GRANDPARENTING DESCRIPTION:Editor and author Lindy Hough and contributors Karine Schomer and Donne Davis will be discussing their book\, Wonderous Child\: The Joys and Challenges of Grandparenting\, on Thursday\, April 19th\, 7\:00 p.m.
A Santa Cruz postpartum doula\, a New Hampshire flute-maker\, a Zen teacher\, a dance therapist\, a Sri Lankan film director—these are a few of the grandparents who share their stories in this bracing collection. The essays cover a wide range of experiences as they examine the marrow of this often undervalued relationship from both the grandparent and the grandchild point of view. A common thread running throughout is the special importance of these relationships\, which are often as complex and rewarding as the parent-child connection.
Wondrous Child is divided into four parts. In Part One\, “Settling In\,” new grandparents survey the territory and describe their expectations. Part Two\, “Balancing Reality and Hope\,” takes a deeper look at some of the heartbreak that can occur\, as well as complexities\: step-grandparenting\, spanning geographical distance\, the surprise of children living with grandparents. Part Three\, “Grandparents Raising Grandchildren\,” explores men and women parenting their grandchildren in the absence of parents. Part Four\, “Grandchildren Remember” is written by grown grandchildren who catch the tone and feeling of this special person in their life. These vivid essays will appeal to both grandparents\, as a celebration of their place in the family\, and new parents curious about how grandparents can contribute to their children.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20130519T215503Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120426T030000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120426T030000Z UID:http://www.ggpbooks.com/event/maxine-hong-kingston-i-love-broad-margin-my-life URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.ggpbooks.com/event/maxine-hong-kingston-i-love-broad-margin-my-life SUMMARY:MAXINE HONG KINGSTON AND PHYLLIS HOGE--HELLO HOUSE DESCRIPTION:
A Great Good Place for Books welcomes our good friend\, Maxine Hong Kingston\, author of I Love A Broad Margin\, and her friend Phyllis Hoge reading from Hello House on Wednesday\, April 25th at 7\:00 p.m.
The poems in Hello\, House describe in small\, significant detail what
goes into daily chores\, like making beds\, doing laundry\, cooking\,
cleaning\, straightening. Phyllis Hoge lavishes attention on favorite
things around the house and home\, and in the process she examines her
self\, and learns that living in a house involves compromise\: with pets\,
with clutter\, with imperfection\, and with loss. Many of these poems are
written in formal verse\, with rhyme and meter\, but the poet works well
in free verse as well. All the poems are strong\, honest\, and friendly.
Each poem is Illustrated by Maxine Hong Kingston's black and white
line drawings.
Phyllis Hoge is a retired Professor of English at the University of
Hawaii. She was awarded the Hawai'i Award for Literature from the
Hawai'i Literary Arts Council. Hoge's poetry has been widely published
in periodicals\, including Hudson Review\, New Yorker\, Prairie Schooner.
She is the author of eight previous poetry collections.
Maxine Hong Kingston
has written three novels and several works of non-fiction about the
experiences of Chinese immigrants living in the United States. She has
received several awards including the National Book Award in 1981 for
her novel China Men. and the Nationlal Humanitarian Award\, awarded by
President Bill Clinton in 1997. While not well known for her art work\,
she now spends more time drawing than writing and enjoys the change of
pace.
Regina O'Melveny will visit GGP on Thursday\, April 26th at 7\:00 p.m. She'll be reading from her debut novel\, The Book of Madness and Cures.
Dr. Gabriella Mondini\, a strong-willed\, young Venetian woman\, has followed her father in the path of medicine. She possesses a singleminded passion for the art of physick\, even though\, in 1590\, the male-dominated establishment is reluctant to accept a woman doctor. So when her father disappears on a mysterious journey\, Gabriella's own status in the Venetian medical society is threatened. Her father has left clues--beautiful\, thoughtful\, sometimes torrid\, and often enigmatic letters from his travels as he researches his vast encyclopedia\, The Book of Diseases.
After ten years of missing his kindness\, insight\, and guidance\, Gabriella decides to set off on a quest to find him--a daunting journey that will take her through great university cities\, centers of medicine\, and remote villages across Europe. Despite setbacks\, wary strangers\, and the menaces of the road\, the young doctor bravely follows the clues to her lost father\, all while taking notes on maladies and treating the ill to supplement her own work.
Gorgeous and brilliantly written\, and filled with details about science\, medicine\, food\, and madness\, THE BOOK OF MADNESS AND CURES is an unforgettable debut.
END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20130519T215503Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120428T030000Z DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20120428T030000Z UID:http://www.ggpbooks.com/event/debut-author-night-sere-prince-halverson-amy-franklin-willis-and-melanie-thorne URL;VALUE=URI:http://www.ggpbooks.com/event/debut-author-night-sere-prince-halverson-amy-franklin-willis-and-melanie-thorne SUMMARY:DEBUT AUTHOR NIGHT WITH SERE PRINCE HALVERSON\, AMY FRANKLIN-WILLIS\, AND MELANIE THORNE DESCRIPTION:Come celebrate with Sere Prince Halverson\, author of The Underside of Joy\, Amy Franklin-Willis\, author of The Lost Saints of Tennesee\, and Melanie Thorne\, author of Hand Me Down\, as they read from their debut novels on Friday\, April 27th at 7\:00 p.m.
SERE PRINCE HALVERSON
Set against the backdrop of Redwood forests and shimmering vineyards\, Seré Prince Halverson's compelling debut tells the story of two women\, bound by an unspeakable loss\, who each claims to be the mother of the same two children.
To Ella Beene\, happiness means living in the northern California river town of Elbow with her husband\, Joe\, and his two young children. Yet one summer day Joe breaks his own rule-never turn your back on the ocean-and a sleeper wave strikes him down\, drowning not only the man but his many secrets.
For three years\, Ella has been the only mother the kids have known and has believed that their biological mother\, Paige\, abandoned them. But when Paige shows up at the funeral\, intent on reclaiming the children\, Ella soon realizes there may be more to Paige and Joe's story. "\;Ella's the best thing that's happened to this family\,"\; say her close-knit Italian-American in-laws\, for generations the proprietors of a local market. But their devotion quickly falters when the custody fight between mother and stepmother urgently and powerfully collides with Ella's quest for truth.
The Underside of Joy is not a fairy-tale version of stepmotherhood pitting good Ella against evil Paige\, but an exploration of the complex relationship of two mothers. Their conflict uncovers a map of scars-both physical and emotional-to the families' deeply buried tragedies\, including Italian internment camps during World War II and postpartum psychosis.
Weaving a rich fictional tapestry abundantly alive with the glorious natural beauty of the novel's setting\, Halverson is a captivating guide through the flora and fauna of human emotion-grief and anger\, shame and forgiveness\, happiness and its shadow complement . . . the underside of joy.
AMY FRANKLIN WILLIS
With enormous heart and dazzling agility\, Amy Franklin-Willis expertly mines the fault lines in one Southern working-class family. Driven by the soulful voices of forty-two-year-old Ezekiel Cooper and his mother\, Lillian\, The Lost Saints of Tennessee journeys from the 1940s to 1980s as it follows Zeke’s evolution from anointed son\, to honorable sibling\, to unhinged middle-aged man.
After Zeke loses his twin brother in a mysterious drowning and his wife to divorce\, only ghosts remain in his hometown of Clayton\, Tennessee. Zeke makes the decision to leave town in a final attempt to escape his pain\, throwing his two treasured possessions—a copy of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and his dead brother’s ancient dog—into his truck\, and heads east. He leaves behind two young daughters and his estranged mother\, who reveals her own conflicting view of the Cooper family story in a vulnerable but spirited voice stricken by guilt over old sins and clinging to the hope that her family isn’t beyond repair.
When Zeke finds refuge with cousins in Virginia horse country\, divine acts in the form of severe weather\, illness\, and a new romance collide\, leading Zeke to a crossroads where he must decide the fate of his family.
MELANIE THORNE
A tough\, tender\, debut novel\, in the tradition of Dorothy Allison and Janet Fitch\, Hand Me Down is the unforgettable story of a girl who travels between California and Utah in search of her true family\, having never been loved best of all.
Fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Reid has spent her life protecting her sister\, Jaime\, from their parents' cruel mistakes. Their father\, who'd rather work the system than a job\, pours every dollar into his many vices\, denying his daughters the shoes and clothing they need. Their mother\, once a loving parent\, is going through a post-post-adolescent rebellious streak and finds love with a dangerous ex-con. When she chooses starting a new family over raising her first-born girls\, Elizabeth and Jaime are separated and forced to rely on the begrudging kindness of increasingly distant relatives.
A string of broken promises that begins with Liz's mother swearing\, "\;I would never hurt you\, Liz. You're family\,"\; propels her between guest beds in two states searching for a safe home. All the while\, Liz is burdened by her stake in a bleak pact with a deceitful adult\: to tell the truth about the darkest of her circumstances will cost her the ability to shelter Jaime. As Liz spirals into the abyss of fear and shame that haunts her sleepless nights\, can she break free from her bonds in time to fight for her life?
Thorne writes with a command of language that is at once affecting and enticing. Her debut is the kind of voice-driven reading experience fiction lovers crave.
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