Teen Books

Happy Pub Day to Don Zolidis and Kayla Cagan!

It’s a big double pub day today– congrats to Don Zolidis on his debut novel, THE SEVEN TORMENTS OF AMY AND CRAIG, and to Kayla Cagan on her follow to Piper Perish, ART BOSS!

Seven Torments Cover
“Appealingly realistic… Outrageously funny… Full of humor and heart, this refreshingly unromantic romance is highly recommended for most collections.”―School Library Journal
Janesville, Wisconsin (cold in the sense that there is no God)
1994
The worst thing that’s ever happened to Craig is also the best: Amy. Amy and Craig never should’ve gotten together. Craig is an awkward, Dungeons & Dragons-playing geek, and Amy is the beautiful, fiercely intelligent student-body president of their high school.
Yet somehow they did, until Amy dumped him. Then got back together with him. Then dumped him again. Then got back together with him again. Over and over and over.
Unfolding during their senior year, Amy and Craig’s exhilarating, tumultuous relationship is a kaleidoscope of joy, pain, and laughter as an uncertain future-and adult responsibility-loom on the horizon.
Craig fights for his dream of escaping Janesville and finding his place at a quirky college, while Amy’s quest to uncover her true self sometimes involves being Craig’s girlfriend, and sometimes doesn’t.
Seven heartbreaks. Seven joys. Told nonsequentially, acclaimed playwright Don Zolidis’s debut novel is a brutally funny, bittersweet taste of the utterly unique and utterly universal experience of first love. (Disney-Hyperion)
“There may not be another book published … that is more perfect for artistic ART BOSS cover[readers] who love stability yet crave adventure.” —Teen Vogue

Debut author Kayla Cagan breathes new life into fiction in this dynamic, authentic book. Warhol-obsessed Piper will have readers asking big questions along with her. What is love? What is friendship? What is family? What should I wear?

Piper Perish inhales air and exhales art. The sooner she and her best friends can get out of Houston and get to New York City, the better. Art school has been Piper’s dream forever, and now that senior year is halfway over, she’s never felt more ready. But in the final months before graduation, things are weird with her friends and stressful with three different guys, and Piper’s sister’s tyranny thwarts every attempt at happiness for the Perish family. Piper’s art just might be enough to get her out. But is she brave enough to seize that power when it means giving up so much? (Chronicle Books)

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Tommy Wallach’s WE ALL LOOKED UP Optioned for Film

So in other *really really really* exciting news, Tommy Wallach‘s debut y.a. WE ALL LOOKED UP (Simon & Schuster, 2015 [so soon kids, so soon…]) has been optioned by Paramount Insurge! The announcement went up on Deadline Hollywood last week. You can see it here.

If’n you don’t know, WALU follows the lives of four teens several months before a meteor (read: Giant Kill Rock) will pass through earth’s orbit with a 66.6% chance of striking and annihilating all life on the planet.

It’s also that book with no title on the cover…

(!!!)

Adrian Garcia at Resolution was my co-agent on the deal. Adrian shopped the manuscript all over town and drummed up phenomenal interest. In the end, the book was scooped up by Davis Entertainment, the production company behind Chronicle, Eragon, Blacklist and a whole mess of other films and television shows.

You know what? Tommy does a much better job breaking down this process than I could. You can read all about it in his aptly titled “On My Novel Being Optioned For Film”.

You can also add WE ALL LOOKED UP on Goodreads or pre-order it on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or Indiebound. Which you should do.