Thank yous are in order, some long overdue:
Thanks to Kelly over at Big A little a and Jen Robinson at Jen Robinson’s Book Page for putting Hugging the Rock on their lists of top books for 2006. I’m honored to be listed with so many other wonderful books.
I don’t know if I posted a recent interview over at I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Little Willow over at Slayground and more recently, this interview with Vision Magazine
Some recent reviews for Hugging the Rock by loopiesnood http://loopiesnood.livejournal.com/1002.html and
booksbynight http://booksbynight.livejournal.com/5721.html . Oh and Bookshelves of Doom reviewed it here:
Thanks to kidlit_kim for posting this review to YA Books Central and in the September issue, this review from School Library Journal:
Gr 5-8-Presented in brief, free-verse poems, this is a poignant character study of a dysfunctional family. In the opening sequence, Rachel watches her mother get ready to “run away from home,” packing up the car with everything that is important to her, except her daughter. When Mom is gone, neither Rachel nor her father can cope. Rachel shuts down and ignores schoolwork and friends, questioning why her mother left and blaming herself. Dad does not initially provide much comfort, closing himself off, too. As in Kate DiCamillo’s Because of Winn-Dixie (Candlewick, 2000), father and daughter gradually grow closer together out of necessity and begin to pull together as a family. Rachel must accept the painful truth that her mother, who suffers from bipolar disorder, never really wanted to settle down or have children. Her father, who in the past had left most of the parenting to her mother, begins to play an active role in Rachel’s life and reveals his softer side, ultimately becoming more involved and affectionate. Written in straightforward language, the text clearly reveals Rachel’s emotions, describing moments both painful and reassuring. This novel will be therapeutic to children dealing with the loss of a parent or a mental illness.-Debbie Whitbeck, West Ottawa Public Schools, Holland, MI Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Thank you to everyone who is supporting Hugging the Rock. It’s a real warm, fuzzy feeling when people read your book and then like it enough to tell someone else about. Blog posts, reviews, bookslists – they all add up. So if you have read Hugging the Rock and liked it enough to reccomend it to even just one person, you have made a difference and I’m grateful.
glad it is going so well for you Susan! you deserve it!
Those are *wonderful* reviews, Susan! Congratulations! Your book definitely deserves it! 😀
Thanks so much. I just hate the waiting for reviews part of things.
You’re very welcome. It was a joy to read.
Hi, Susan!
I just requested your book from Baker & Taylor… and it was backordered!
That’s sort of a nice surprise, actually, if they couldn’t quite keep up with the demand that they’d expected…
Thanks both good and bad I guess. Hope they ordered a lot more. I just had a friend check and Ingram still has stock at least.
Thanks for requesting the book. I hope you like it, when you get the chance to read it.