IN SIGHT OF STARS Cover Reveal, courtesy of the Nerdy Book Club

Many of you know my love for the Nerdy Book Club, not just the incredible co-founders, but the teachers, librarians, educators and authors who keep Nerdy book love and book awareness circulating every day through their blogs, posts, tweets, #nErDCamps (look for one popping up near you!) and other Nerdy endeavors.

I wish I had more time today -- I don't!! -- to write a long post about WHY I love the Nerdy Book Club (it wouldn't be the first time) or how, without them, and particularly without Paul W. Hankins, Donalyn Miller, Cindy Minnich and Colby Sharp, I might not have ever had a second book on the horizon, let alone my fourth, because, ultimately, sales matter.

Suffice it to say, THE PULL OF GRAVITY was a quiet little title that Paul Hankins refused to keep quiet on, and for that, I am forever grateful.

I am also the proud recipient of THREE Nerdy Book Club Awards for YA Fiction, and a Crane Award from Mr. Hankins and Room #407, and fight to believe with all my heart that these have been bestowed on me, not only because the NBC loves me as a human (But, I do feel that love and appreciate it!), but also because they truly love -- and get -- my often quiet, always literary books.

At any rate, a HUGE thank you for the Nerdy Book Club sharing the excitement of my IN SIGHT OF STARS cover reveal. And thank you to my extraordinary editor, Vicki Lame, who entertains (and weathers!) my very strong aesthetic for color and tiny details.

Enjoy:

https://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2017/06/02/cover-reveal-of-in-sight-of-stars-by-gae-polisner/


p.s. It's #wearorange for #gunsense day today, and, man-oh-man (and woman!) we need some. So, if you're headed out into the world today or tonight, don orange, even if *someone* has ruined that color for many of us! ;)

Friday Feedback: Will this be Your Summer to Be Brave?

Come on in. The water is fine. 

It took me nearly 35 years to be brave.

To put myself truly out there in the world and try new things, believing I was capable of them.

Not that I was living under a rock or anything.

I mean, I had gone to law school, had a decent part-time career while I was raising my two little boys.

But write?

Be a writer?

That was a pipe dream, something I had tucked away long ago for more practical, attainable things.

So when the writing bug started to gnaw at my toes under the covers at night as I started to finally fall asleep, I made excuses, blamed others, thought, maybe in a few years because who has the time to do that NOW?

Oh, they were real excuses, grounded in fact:

First I was working full-time in big NYC law firms, then part-time (as many hours as I could muster the ability to focus primarily from home) while I  had one still-colicky toddler who refused to sleep, and another baby ready to pop from my belly.

I don't have the hours in a day.

My husband doesn't encourage me enough.

I need to be exercising. 

I should be cleaning the house. . .


Sound familiar?

Besides, WHAT DO *I* HAVE TO SAY?!?

I don't remember exactly what it was that got me from that thinking to sitting at my computer every night from the moment the dishes were done and my toddler had finally fallen asleep until the wee hours of the mornings to write my first manuscript. A manuscript that took me five years to write.

All I do know is that it was a proverbial light bulb going off: I just woke up one morning, looked at the laundry list of excuses and suddenly knew they were just that. Viable ones, maybe. But, excuses nonetheless.

And I knew that the difference between people who do and people who don't was always going to be that those who do don't find the time, they MAKE it.

That first manuscript, THE JETTY, a piece of contemporary women's fiction, garnered some decent praise when I finally put it out there -- e.g. became a Top Semifinalist in the first ever Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest and even ultimately got me agented after two years of that unique hell that is agent-query rejection.

That manuscript, THE JETTY, now sits in a "drawer."

Unable to sell it, but now agented and encouraged, I wrote a second manuscript that my agent loved better, but that one, too, has never (not yet?) sold.


It was my third manuscript, THE PULL OF GRAVITY (a Bank Street Best of 2012, and, of course, a Nerdy Book Club* best, 2011. . . ) that sold to the legendary and extraordinary editor Frances Foster, at fsg.

And, after that, THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO (to the wonderful Elise Howard at Algonquin YR).

And news some of you might not know because we haven't announced the formal details yet. . .

but my third novel just sold and I'm uber excited about that!!!

For me, writing and selling good stories continues to be a, well, let's just call it a "less-than-simple endeavor." There are days (weeks, okay possibly months and years) when I fear that I will never write another sellable story again.

But this I have learned. This I KNOW: I sure never will if I don't keep trying, if I don't put myself out there to be brave.

That is, in fact, the spirit behind Friday Feedback. Why I started the feature a few years ago. Long before you heard of me, before Teacher's Write was a deliriously wonderful part of my summers.

From 59 Reasons to Write by Kate Messner, with contributions from
your friendly Teachers Write authors! 

Because I know that so much of what we do, we do in solitude, and getting feedback -- and encouragement -- is such an important part of the process.

The concept of Friday Feedback is simple: Brave is as brave does.

So we, the published authors, open ourselves up to the same constructive feedback we hope to give you. Because, yep, we still have doubts and fears, not to mention benefit from the eyes of objective readers who can help us to see both the flaws and the gems.

Please be clear that the feedback you receive here can be less than imperfect. Often the excerpts are from rough (ROUGH!) first drafts, and either way, it is nearly impossible to assess a piece of story out of context from just a brief few paragraphs. As such, the feedback offered must be taken as intended, with a grain of salt, as merely suggestive or "food for thought."

Having said that, over the years many have found it not only helpful and encouraging, but even exhilarating, so on we go!

Now.

Today.

YOU and me, together. Being brave.


Before we start, PLEASE READ ALL THE RULES (apologies, for the sudden highlighting. Blogger does that to me when I cut and paste): 


At the end of each week's Friday Feedback blog post, my guest author or I will post a brief excerpt from a Work in Progress (WIP) and ask you for three specific pieces of feedback in the comments:

1. What works for you and why? 

2. What doesn't work for you if anything, and why not?

3. If it's a beginning, does it hook you? If it's not a beginning, does it compel you to keep reading?


******Now, take a moment to read the order of those three questions again. *****


Notice the order!!!

If you are a teacher I beg of you, never grade or assess a student's writing without FIRST sharing something that works. Something the student has done well, or "right" before you correct them or offer constructive criticism as to what they've done "wrong." 

And, yes, there is always something right. There are always gems to be found.

Hopefully over the course of this summer you'll see how much more open we all are to constructive criticism when we're first offered a bit of honest praise. . .

4. Once you have done that, you're invited to post your own BRIEF excerpt in the comments and we -- my guest authors and I, and even other Friday Feedbackers -- will offer you the same limited information in the comments.

5. By BRIEF, I mean brief. Regardless of how short or long OUR shared excerpts are, YOURS must be limited to between THREE and FIVE PARAGRAPHS and NO MORE. Five if they're short, three if they are long (if your paragraphs contain a lot of single-line dialogue, then do feel free to adjust this rule accordingly). 

Please note that this Rule #5 is for our protection and yours. Ours because there can be 30 or more excerpts shared in a given day, and that's a whole lot of reading and feedbacking for my guest authors and me to give, and yours because I don't want there to be enough up there that, if someone "lifted" your words from my blog, you'd feel a significant piece of your story was plagiarized or stolen. We are on the the Wild West internets here, after all.

Once in while, in addition to the three pieces of feedback given above, I will do one of my patented "SUPER SPEED FLASH EDITS" on your excerpt if it lends itself to one, in which I will quickly eliminate unnecessary words that might bog the piece or pace down, change tenses, or combine sentences, etc., namely small fixes that can have big impact while not messing with your substantive word choices or own unique voice. 

I do these when I hope they might serve to illustrate a concept that may help your -- and other campers'  -- writing to pop and shine even more. If you don't want me to do a SSFE on your writing for any reason, speak up in a note or email to me, or forever hold your peace.

Oh, and last but not least, even though it is called Friday Feedback, I know many of you have summer jobs and commitments, and so you are welcome to post an excerpt through SATURDAY, and at least *I* (I can't guarantee my guest author) will give you feedback through the weekend. Please do NOT post past Saturday night, as by then I will already be preparing the post for the following week. 


So, without further ado, here we go with ME in the hot seat. This excerpt is the opening of a YA ms I'm working on called (so far) THE SMALLEST SLICE.

What works? What doesn't? Does it hook you at all?

1. Late.

Jojo Bhatt is late.

She enters the cool shadows of the steps to the subway, her heavy backpack slung over her shoulder. There’s not much in the backpack to make it so heavy. No textbooks or homework or anything.

Jojo doesn't need those things today. Despite how it looks, she won’t be going to school, or back home later for that matter.

Jojo descends the steps calmly, catching her muted reflection in the plexiglass frame of a poster for some new Broadway show. It is her father’s brown skin and black hair that blur by. No single trace of her mother. She moves faster so as not to catch the blur in the next panel – this for a new luxury condominium uptown somewhere. As she reaches the second flight of stairs, she hears a train roar in, the squeal of slowing brakes, the bing of the bell, the hydraulic hiss of the doors sliding open.

Normally, she would run for it, but today she can be late. Today, she simply doesn’t care.

When Jojo reaches the bottom and the entrance to the platform, the worker in the token booth, an older man with a shock of gray-white hair, turns and looks at her. She holds up her metrocard and scurries past, her heart starting up a little though she knows she has nothing to worry about. At school, she’d have a problem, wouldn’t get past the security guard or the metal detectors. But there are no bag checks or scanners here.

***

Happy summer 2015 all you shiny TW campers! So glad to have you here. . .

- gae


* if you teach kids reading or share books with kids and are not a member of the Nerdy Book Club, you are plain silly.

Happy New Year! A few good bookish things, a lot of revising and some vagueness and waiting.

lying in confetti... what else does one do on January 1?

Hey!

Happy 2015.

Been so busy, hard to find my way here.

Mostly busy revising my manuscript called THE MEMORY OF THINGS.

I have my reasons and some self-imposed deadlines... we shall soon see if they amount to anything. . .


In the meantime, I have a ton of goals for the New Year, some you'll find HERE  if you want... others, well, I'll let you know how I do.

You? Any new goals for 2015?

There's a "thing" that goes around in the amazing teacher/educator circles I'm now lucky to run in called OLW (maybe it's not just limited to them?) which stands for One Little Word. You're supposed to pick a word to be the focus of your year: some choose grace, or writing or inspiration or some other magical word. Those are all good, but I'm actually thinking of choosing the word "focus" for my focus... for the very same reason I'm here. The revising got hard, and I went, "ooh, blog! Different easier shiny thing!" I need to stop getting distracted by the shiny things. . .

Speaking of shiny things: a few lovely year-end notes for THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO: It won a Nerdy Book Club Award HERE (did you click there?)

This means a lot to me. The NBC members are VORACIOUS readers. I've never met a group as a whole who cover more Children's Lit reading in one year. So to make their list... well it's a very good thing. Oh, and FYI, I'm a two-time recipient, SEE, HERE, so I think with a third I should at least get a tiara and a sash. . .win a new car. . . (*spits so as not to jinx anything. . .*)

THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO also appeared on a few other wonderful Year-End favorites lists that I know of:

http://hollymueller.blogspot.com/2015/01/favorite-books-of-year-2014.html

http://www.foodiebibliophile.com/2014/12/my-14-favroite-books-of-2014.html

http://thereisabookforthat.com/2014/12/30/favourites-of-2014/

Those are always wonderful to see!

And, last but not least,

you all know how I feel about my involvement with Teachers Write! and the extraordinary Kate Messner, right?!?



Well Kate's book, 59 REASONS TO WRITE, Mini-Lessons, Prompts, and Inspiration for Teachers, based on the TW! program, in which I am a contributor (see?!):

Comes out this month on the 13th, from Stenhouse.

Kate's lovely acknowledgment. . .

I have a whole section on my Friday Feedback portion of the program, as well as appear in several of the "The Best of Q & A" sections. It's very cool and exciting to be included in a book that may be used to help inspire teachers around the country!!

Tiny snippet sneak peek.

If you know teachers who teach writing, teachers who want to write themselves, please share this beautiful new resource with them.

So that's it. I have a bunch of appearance-y things coming up. Will update the sidebar with those this week! In the meantime, I'm off to focus again. Hopefully some fun new book news may appear in the coming weeks... cross your fingers for me.

Happy New Year!

xox gae

The Pull of Gravity Goes to School(s) #7 - Oh, the 5th grade!

Listening 5th graders

It's been a while since I've done one of these school recap posts -- not because I don't love each and every visit because I DO!!! --  just because they're a lot of work between gathering the info and photos from the teachers and putting it all together.

(if you want to see prior TPOG Goes to School(s) Posts, the links are down below.)

But, I had to make an exception because I went back to the fifth grade in Monticello, IL, last week and, boy, was it fun!

Granted, 10 - 11 year olds are just on the young side cusp of being the target reading audience for The Pull of Gravity (ages 12+), and so these kids hadn't read it yet, but their amazing teacher, and Nerdy Book Club member, Katherine Sokolowski had just started a fiction writing unit with them, and asked me if I would "come in via Skype" and talk to them about my writing process. Her recap of our visit is HERE.

wonder how they choose who gets that comfy chair?

• We talked about how crappy first drafts are (can you say, VOMIT?!) even for published authors.

• We talked about plotting versus flying by the seat of your pants.

• And we talked lots and lots about where ideas come from. 

• Most importantly, we talked about rejection, and how, whether you experience it in your writing, or art, or dancing or sports, rejection should motivate you to work harder BUT it shouldn't stop you from doing what you love. That part of succeeding with one's art, is finding the person who is looking for the way YOU do what you do. 

For the past two years, I've done most my Skype and in-person visits with high schoolers and some middle schools, and I love them all! But, especially having two teenagers of my own, I'd forgotten the wonderful, fresh-faced enthusiasm 5th graders.  Hands were popping up everywhere.

working on their story soup

When we were done, I left them with a five-minute writing exercise to make a story soup from these  few common elements, to be decided on by the class: two characters in common, two objects in common, and a setting in common. Here's what they picked:

Characters: girl about their age, dog that’s a runt

Objects: old chair, dust broom

Setting: Abandoned hotel

They shared their awesome story soups with me when they were done! 

Libby was 14 years old, she was homeschooled. She had a dog that she had found on the street – it was the runt of the pack. Her best friend was in fifth grade. Her name was Clara. The dog’s name was Ruffles. They lived in an abandoned hotel. All they had was a dust broom, an old chair, and berries.

- Ellie

Once there was an 11-year-old girl named Emma. She lived in an old house with her parents. All she had was old chairs and a dust broom. Her parents had more. In fact, they were rich but didn’t give anything to her, except a little runt of a puppy. Its name was Jojo. Their house was really old and was connected to an old abandoned hotel.

-Rye

An 11-year-old girl and her runt dog were homeless; they came upon a hotel that was no charge. They walked in and an old flying chair with a broom as his wife were hovering at the entrance. They said, “Didn’t you see the sign out front? It said ABANDONDED.”

“Well, so are we,” said the girl and she left. When it became night they snuck around the back and went in. The broom and chair heard their footsteps and went looking for people, the girl and dog dragged a board over and picked it up.

-Riley

A girl named Suzy (11 years old) adopted a runt dog without her parents knowing. But she doesn’t have a home for it, so she’ll have to use the abandoned hotel by her house. First, she dusted the dog off with a duster.

- Kyle

Maggie was an 11-year-old girl who lived in a small apartment. One day she walked by an abandoned hotel when she heard a scream.

Maggie hid behind a dumpster… she peeked her head out and saw a man covered in blood. Maggie covered her mouth. When the man got in his car and drove away, Maggie ran into the hotel to find a woman on the ground covered in blood right next to an old chair with a broom and a runt of a dog.

Mackenzie

Claire was an eleven-year-old girl and she was carrying a runt dog – his name was monster and they where walking a saw an abandoned hotel. She wondered, Could I make money by selling dogs?

Danielle

I walked through the dirt road, my feet covered in mud. By the time I got inside, my brother had already covered the floor in mud, and my dad’s ancient chair as well.

“Mark!” Abby said.

“Yes,” Mark said.

“Go get that broom and clean up the mud!” Abby said.

“Fine.”

- Kalyn

As a boy was walking down the street he passed an eleven-year-old girl on a skateboard. Then he got to the hotel. To most, it looked like a regular abandoned hotel.

Jack

Gabriella called for Boo-Boo, her dog. They were playing hide and seek. Yes, dogs can play hide and seek. Gabriella couldn’t find Boo-Boo, so she called for him.

“Boo-Boo,” Gabriella called, “Come out! I can’t find you anywhere.” Then she heard the barks of Boo-Boo. He sounded as if he were in trouble. She ran into what looked to be a creepy abandoned hotel. She kept calling for Boo-Boo. She pulled out her flashlight, but as soon as she did, she wished she hadn’t. She saw this chair that had arms. They were holding a dust broom. Every time the chair moved, it creaked. So it must have been old. She started to see the walls move forward.

-Maddie

“Come here,” said Madison to her runt of a dog. Madison was sitting on an old chair. Her dog gave her a dust broom to clean up the abandoned hotel. The dog was very smart – he could sweep a floor just like Madison. But Madison was not so good at sweeping – she would drop the broom every five seconds. People think that she’s a good sweeper, but really it is her dog. People ask her to sweep stuff but she always brings her dog so she can look like she swept up.

-Landyn

An 11-year-old girl walked past an abandoned hotel with her runt dog named Duds. They looked in a window of the hotel. She saw a floating old chair. She was so freaked out. She walked closer to the hotel. She wondered if someone was in there, but it’s an abandoned hotel, no one would want to go in.

-Lauren

Today was show and tell, so Mindy decided to bring her dog to school. Her school was in an abandoned hotel. She got to school and everybody started sneezing. She was wondering what was going on. For show and tell you sit in an old chair. At the end of class, she has to clean up all of the dog hair with a dust broom.

-Nick

I was there in a hotel. My name is Ella. When I was five, the hotel burned down. Everything inside was demolished but the building still stands. Only a few things were left: a bed, food to last forever, a chair, and a dust broom. The hotel is “mine” and me and my pet dog get the warmest room. (As well as all the others.) My whole family and then some died in that fire.

-Maya

I’m an eleven-year-old girl. I was walking my runt of a dog when I passed an abandoned hotel. I went inside. There was an old chair and a dust broom. That’s what I saw first. I walked around for a while and found a pool. It got creepy, so I started towards the door.
-Macy

Claire was walking her dog named Maggie outside, and then while she was walking, she saw an abandoned hotel.

“We should check it out!” said Claire.

The place was dark and spooky, with broken glass, ripped up furniture, and dirty floors. She was walking around when she heard a small moan. She turned around to see what it was, but didn’t see anything.

-Henry

Once there was a girl named Gemma and the coolest runt dog ever named Josh. They lived in an old hotel. The girl slept on an old chair and the dog slept on dust broom bristles. They lived the life – a pool, an arcade

-Josh

An eleven-year-old girl named Sam had on shorts, a tattered t-shirt, and a dog leash was in her hand. At the end of the leash is a dog. His name is Sparkle. He has dirty fur and smells. They walked in an abandoned hotel. “This place is creepy, Sparkle,” Sam said. “Woof,” said Sparkle. She saw an old chair

-Mason

As Julie went into the abandoned hotel with the runt dog, she found a dust broom that flew past her and impaled it’s self into the wall. It came from up the stairs. ON top of the stairs was a chair with a body in it. The body looked as if it were there for a while.

-Aiden

Once there was a girl named Clarisse and her dog named Bowser. They were walking along the street when they found an abandoned hotel. They decided to go take a look at it so they went through a broken window. When they got there they checked all of the rooms, but one was open.

-Spencer

An eleven-year-old girl named Misao sits in an old chair named Mr. Chair in an abandoned hotel. Misao looks out the window and sees a dog-named Maggie that rides a dust broom. So she gets on top of Mr. Chair and stairs at a duck. Misao said, “I am going to name you Mr. Duck.” Mr. Duck was an ordinary duck, but had two feathers.

-Adam

Susie and Luis both loved pretending. Susie and Luis got dressed up to pretend they were detectives. They went to an abandoned hotel and went in.

They pretended there was a murderer. The suspects were an old chair named Mr. Chair and a dust broom named Phil. They searched and searched and finally saw what happened. Mr. Chair used the dust broom to hit the man. They put them behind bars (in the elevator) and went home.

-Jacob

Today I was watching my sister; she was playing with our runt dog, Bob. Then we saw the abandoned hotel. That place gives me the creeps. Susan came over, she’s my five year old sister, and said, “Can we make a club at that place?” Sally said yes. I said all right. We went home but right before Bob was gone, we saw his footprints going to the hotel. We were scared. Just then Mike, my little brother, said, “Mom wants us home.” We said ok but first we have to find Bob in the abandoned hotel. Mike said he’d find our other brother

-Amanda

And, last but not least, this kiddo who decided to use his own “soup ingredients." Okay by me. J 

It all started when Daniel was walking to the train museum with his best friend, Stephen. They saw a bluebird. So they just stopped, looked, and kept going. But what did they know about that Bluebird? It was evil! The bluebird followed. When Daniel and Stephen got there, they saw Ed who is the Library owner. Ed ran away as soon as he saw Daniel, Stephen, and the Bluebird!

-Tyler

working on their story soup!

Thanks Mrs. Sokolowski's class for sharing an awesome morning with me!!! 

- gae

http://ghpolisner.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-pull-of-gravity-goes-to-schools-6.html
http://ghpolisner.blogspot.com/2012/06/the-pull-of-gravity-goes-to-schools.html
http://ghpolisner.blogspot.com/2012/05/pull-of-gravity-goes-to-schools-4.html
http://ghpolisner.blogspot.com/2012/04/pull-of-gravity-goes-to-schools-2.html

THE PULL OF GRAVITY - Second Anniversary highlights

So, for those paying attention, I'm celebrating the second anniversary of THE PULL OF GRAVITY in print by highlighting some of my favorite reviews and moments from its first two years
in publication.

Please be reminded that these highlights will not be close to inclusive or complete and are shared in totally random order.

To help celebrate, I will give away one signed ARC of my next YA, THE SUMMER OF LETTING GO, Algonquin Young Readers, spring 2014, to one random commenter from the series. ARC's should be out in the fall!

Thanks to each and every reader who made these past two years an amazing, whirlwind journey of my own.

The Pull of Gravity was the recipient of a first-ever Nerdy Book Club Award in YA.
The Nerdy Book Club is an IBBA Best winner and they are an amazing group of educators and people.
Got Nerdy? If you don't, you really, really should.

(want to become a member of the Nerdy Book Club? You can! Just click and join!)

This adorable and smart! VIDEO REVIEW from Jenny Sawyer of 60 Second Recap that I happened upon one day by pure serendipity. She even grabbed up a pitchfork for it.

http://www.60secondrecap.com/potw/pull-gravity/



And, this girl Amy's review...

p.s. Amy, I have been around forever, just not published, is all. 

and, Bryan's review:

Bryan is an awesome librarian. I got in touch with him after finding this review
and skyped with the kids at his library! It was so much fun. 

and, Kelly Hager's REVIEW.

Or, you know, her TPoG tweets.

Yes, I save the tweets. What of it?? 

xox gae

Friday Feedback: Not for Now, Nerdies & On to Other Things. . .

Friday Feedback was hopping this summer with my participation in Kate Messner's Teachers Write! program.**

Alas, fall is here, and we are all back to our busy school-year lives, so it's time for the feature to go off on a little hibernation. Having said that, if you are itching for some feedback, feel free to stop by any old FF post -- like, say, this one where I profess my Stupid Love for Geoff Herbach -- and I'll be there to help you, even if the post is outdated. :)

Instead, after October, which is another busy month, I plan to bring back my The Pull of Gravity Goes to School(s) feature, which is always a lot of fun for me! I mean, what is better than the opportunity for a YA author to connect directly with YA's?



This is Cindy. She's an awesome teacher.
No kidding!

Speaking of which, this past Tuesday, I spent a day at the Upper Dauphin Area High School in Elizabethville, Pennsylvania. It was tons of fun and exhausting! As always, a full day in a classroom setting makes me marvel anew at how teachers actually do that! Will highlight the visit in the first return to the ... Goes to School(s) feature in November.


In the meantime, teacher extraordinaire, Cindy Minnich, and I do a little recap here on one of my favorite sites, The Nerdy Book Club.  Check it out! Hope you enjoy. :)

Other than that, there will be writing news, hopefully more movie news (!?!), and definitely more book news.

And, probably, some pointless silliness. Hope to see you here.

Happy fall!

- gae

** p.s. the Teachers Write! program was a pretty rousing success. If you want to join us on facebook until next summer, you can do so HERE.

A Very Bloggy Lovefest, with Thanks

So, apparently, this week is BOOK BLOGGER APPRECIATION WEEK.
 
Now, I might live under a rock, but I'm not an unappreciative b*tch, so when I found out it was (thank you, Universe, for making me see that tweet!), I did really want to do something about it.

Quick aside: For those of you who are not uniquely acquainted to the inner workings of the book world, and, maybe especially, the YA book world, bloggers are a huge thing. They can spread the word about a book with more passion and enthusiasm than most other mere mortals. They eat, sleep and breathe books. And they want to share this passion. If you are looking for good books to read, the links below are FANTASTIC places to check for recommendations, especially for your kids.
 
I am grateful for --  and, ahem, appreciative of -- each and every blogger that has taken the time to read and review my book. So, thank you. 
 
But, there are a small handful of bloggers, especially, who have really gone above and beyond reviewing The Pull of Gravity, making it a sort of loving mission (?) to spread the word about it, and, in some cases to literally make people read it *coughs at Kelly* or, at least, put it in others' hands. And, to those, I am especially indebted.
 
These are most BUT NOT ALL of them, partly because my mind is just scattered and feeble these days, and partly because I sometimes inadvertantly compartmentalize people, so if you're a teacher who blogs, I may think of you as the former and have forgotten the latter. At any rate, if you have been left out and shouldn't have been, don't hate me, instead, please send me an email (below) asking me to add you in**.

Please know that I am truly grateful to every person who has helped -- and continues to help -- The Pull of Gravity find an audience.
 
So, without further ado, and in NO particular order, I've asked each person to tell me

1. a bit about their site,
2. why they blog. What they get from it, or hope to give, 
3. what drew them so strongly to my book, The Pull of Gravity.
 
Please (please, please!) click on the name of their blog and check each one out when you have a chance! They are all pretty amazing, dedicated and funny people. :)  

Colby fighting with Jen over my book...

Colby Sharp, SHARPREAD:

"A little blog from a dude that digs spreading the love of reading in his fourth grade classroom."

*My blog gives me an opportunity to show my appreciation for the authors and illustrators that make my job as a reader teacher so darn fun.

"I liked TPoG because it didn't suck. It was the bomb. Seriously, all the books that I was forced to read in high school totally sucked. Books like TPoG would have helped me not skip out on four years of reading."

 

Kelly tweeting my book for a change...

Kelly Hager, KELLYVISION:

"My blog is focused almost exclusively on fiction. It goes back and forth between adult/mystery/chick lit and young adult/contemporary/dystopian."

*I love blogging because it helps me promote the books I love. I don't love every book I review but when I do find one, I love that I have a forum to basically shout it from the rooftops. :)*

"I think TPoG was sort of the perfect storm (in a good way). I love stories about friendship and first love and road trips, and it has all of those. But it's also so real and genuine and has characters you can't help but love."

Kelly, somewhere else on the interwebs touting my book...
 

Destiny Philipose, TOTALLY BOOKALICIOUS

"My blog is unique and fun because I am based in the US and Siobhan is in the UK and together we have a lot of fun comparing and reviewing books together. Its great having one of us book worms on each side of the pond. She is my long lost book sister :)"

*I love blogging and reviewing because I LOVE BOOKS. Plain and simple - I want to be able to share with (literally sometimes) the world which books I think are so fantastic. Its also a great way for me to meet new authors and discover books I never would have come across otherwise. And the friends - bloggers, followers, authors - the friendships I have made extend beyond my expectations and are priceless!*

"The Pull of Gravity. This was my favorite read of 2011 and one of my favorites of all time. The characters are real, they are flawed, but they draw you in and you root for them from start to finish. Gae writes in such a way you feel like you *know* the characters, the places, and are actually a part of the story. It is real, charming, funny, and even a bit bittersweet, but definitely a book that will stay with you long after you read the last page."

 

Mindy Janicke, BOOKS COMPLETE ME

 

Never mind. No caption needed... :)

·  

"Books Complete Me is a great group of gals that enjoy reading and want to introduce YOU to the best books out there!"

*Blogging gave me the WORLD! I have read books and met authors that I would have NEVER had the chance if not for blogging. Blogging has turned me into TEAM INDIE 100%. So much talent out there not being recognized enough so I make it a point to spread the word. *

"When you get to the end of a book and it does not end the way you expect it to makes me giddy. This book made me GIDDY!"
 

 

Cari is a fan of making me draw silly
pictures for her love...

Cari Soto, CARI's BOOK BLOG

"Cari's Book Blog is my piece of cyberspace where I share my love of books. I write reviews, share what I'm reading, giveaway books, post book trailers, and interview authors."

 *My blog is my platform for spotlighting amazing books. I love giving undiscovered books a place to shine!*

"I love and miss TPOG! Scoot, Nick and Jaycee felt like real people and as a reader you wanted to make the world a better place for them so they wouldn't hurt."

 


David Etkin, {EAT THE BOOK}
 
"I use my blog with my students to celebrate the world of books--what we've read, what we are reading, what we plan to read--and try to advertise the Next Best Book. In between I post fun stuff for my blog/Twitter friends; share videos, pictures, and write-ups of things going on in my school; and occasionally sprinkle in a serious post."
 
*My blog gives me a voice and a way to CONNECT with other Nerds like me, but also connect with students and parents. It is a showcase.*

"The characters were real and believable--warts and all. Life doesn't always resolve."

I literally happened upon this woman on the NYC subway reading my book!
I asked how she came by it: David Etkin had recommended it to her...

 
 
A teen blogger named Grace who I refer to as "Little Penguin," PEACE, LOVE, TEEN FICTION

"It's a fun place where I can share my thoughts on books and interact with people who love to read as much as I do." 

*My blog allows me to interact with people from all around the world who love reading too, which is so great because sometimes I feel like no one I hang out with understands my obsession.*

"I liked TPoG because it was a story that was numerous, fresh, and really had heart to it, which is something I think that a lot of books are missing now."



Yes, those are Pull of Gravity earrings that
my Little Penguin made for me!



Kay McGriff, MRS. McGRIFF'S READING BLOG

"My blog is a place to join a conversation about great books for my eighth grade students, their parents, and anyone else who wants to share their love of reading.  I also give a peek as to what happens in my classroom with hopefully helpful resources for my students." 

*I love being able to interact with other book lovers through my blog.  I love when my students come and and say "I want to read the book you put on your blog" or a parent tells me they print off the book reviews to share with their child.  I've been able to connect with other teachers around the world and hope to connect my students with some of their classes, too. *

 

"You should hear me squeal when a real, live author (like Gae) visits my blog and leaves a comment.  I treasure the appreciation most YA writers (ALL I've ever interacted with) show to teachers and librarians."

 

"I first was drawn to The Pull of Gravity with the book trailer.  I knew I would love a story that had a road trip, quirky characters, Yoda, and Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men.  I was right.  I was even more sold when I read it aloud to one of my classes last year.  When I walked to the front of the classroom with the book in hand, a hush settled over 35 very chatty 8th graders.  They hung on every word and begged for more.  This year, I talked about the book and have a long (and ever growing list) of students who want to read it.  Not only did the book connect with me, but it also connects with my students."

 

That's Jen Vincent, upper right, having a little virtual party
with me and some other participants of Teachers Write! this summer.

 Jen Vincent, TEACH MENTOR TEXTS

"Teach Mentor Texts is a literacy resource for teachers and parents. Kellee Moye and I review books and give ideas for using them as mentor texts for reading and writing. We also share insight into teaching and literacy."

*On Wednesday, Kellee and I talked about how much blogging together at Teach Mentor Texts really does mean to us. We strive to share but by sharing and being part of the blogging community, we have learned so much ourselves. (BBAW - What Book Blogging Means to Us)*

"When I read The Pull of Gravity, I read it for my I-94 book club with Colby Sharp. We read it looking for themes and then discussed these. I had the hardest time understanding and connecting with the main character's dad. We had a hugely heated discussion about this man. It helped me learn about myself and about how I interpret people. It was seriously like therapy for me to read and discuss the book. It's almost as if by not being able to connect with him I ended up learning about myself and him and how it's such a learning experience when we don't connect with a character."

 

Three other bloggers MUST be mentioned:

 

• (The incomparable) Paul Hankins, RAW INK ONLINE and MR. HANKINS IS READING and WRITING IN KENTUCKIANA

Raw Ink is a "Reading and Writing Community hosted by the Juniors of Silver Creek High School that now hosts members from all across America!"

It would take me a year to tell you all the phenomenal things there are to say about Paul Hankins, and explain to you the enormous riches he brings to literature and education. If you are an author especially, please go join Raw Ink Online!

* * *

• Sarah Andersen, of YA LOVE BLOG, a high school English teacher extraordinaire who was the first teacher to rally to pick up The Pull of Gravity into her school's core curriculum. In addition to book reviews, she runs a terrific feature on her blog called Students Want to Know, where her students ask questions of a featured YA author after reading their book, and Books Guys Dig, where you just might find TPoG;

* * *

and, last but so not least,

• Cindy Beth Minnich (and all the other wonderful teachers & librarians at), THE NERDY BOOK CLUB.

  They say: "If you love books, especially those written for children and young adults, then you are an honorary member of The Nerdy Book Club. Like us, you probably always have a book along to read, a title to recommend, and time to talk about works held dear."

I say: There is truly not enough good I can say about Independent Blogger Award Winner of 2012 Nerdy Book Club. When they bestowed their first-ever Nerdy Book Award on my book, they legitimized my book, and, quite simply, blew me away. They're the most smart, wonderful, passionate group of children's and young adult readers, sharers, teachers, and bloggers you will ever find. If you are a teacher or librarian, you need to be a member. If you are a parent who wants to instill a love of reading in your kids and needs a go-to resource, this is your place. 'Nuff said.

 

Me, proudly sporting my Nerdy shirt.
 

** if you're not here and should be (some of you are not because you didn't send me the info!), please send me an email at g.polisner@gmail.com and I will add you in! I plan to repost this each Thursday in September, and will update as I go.