Thrilled to share that THE STRANGE WONDERS OF ROOTS - my next middle-grade novel releasing May 28 from Quill Tree / Harper - is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection!
Libraries nourished my love of reading and writing as a kid and continue to be some of my very favorite places to discover, to wander, and to geek out. Visiting school libraries and giving presentations to students has been one of the highlights of my last few years, and now more than ever, I have an enormous amount of respect and appreciation for all that librarians do to connect young people to literature - particularly at a time when librarians are under attack across the country, fighting censorship efforts and defending the freedom to read. It means a lot to me to know that my books find their way into school libraries, in part through organizations like JLG, and I can't wait to visit more libraries to share STRANGE WONDERS with students!
About THE STRANGE WONDERS OF ROOTS
Holly Foster knows that nothing lasts—not hometowns, not schools, and certainly not her dad’s girlfriends. Even visits to her mom and stepdad are fleeting. Caring is dangerous, and it’s safer to keep herself uninvolved. So when she’s sent to spend part of the summer with her uncle Vincent, she knows better than to get attached to anyone or anything in his small Vermont town.
But when she arrives, she’s immediately drawn in by the drama that’s split the town of Arden in two: the local plastic factory is trying to tear down a central tree grove to build a visitor’s center and museum. Holly shocks herself by stepping into the fight to protect the trees, thus taking on one of the most powerful families in the area. But, as she learns more about Arden and its history, she finds that this is one fight that she doesn’t want to back down from.
With a potential new friend by her side, Holly is determined to protect the one place she thinks she could finally belong, the one place where she might actually want to put down roots. But, when the chips are down, will she be able to convince the other townspeople that the trees deserve to stay?
Now Available for Preorder
STRANGE WONDERS is available for preorder wherever books are sold - and I'm partnering with Austin indie bookstore BookPeople to offer signed, personalized copies. You can order one of those here. Just add your personalization request in the Order Comments. (Feel free to ask me to draw something weird. Or a tree! I've been practicing my tree doodles.)