Cleavage: Breakaway Fiction for Real Girls has been selected by Resource Links as Best of the Year 2008. It was also nominated for a Cybils Book Award, the children’s and young adult bloggers’ literary awards. A review in the School Library Journal called Cleavage edgy, charming, funny, and sweet. It’s “an aptly named collection of stories about body image and mothers and daughters coming together and growing apart. A fresh, honest, and entertaining anthology.”
Writers between the ages of 12 and 19 are invited to join me for a free writing workshop at the Toronto Public Library Brookbanks Branch (210 Brookbanks Drive) on January 31, 2009, from 1 to 3 pm. Come play with words, find inspiration for new stories, and polish your prose for submission to the 2009 Young Voices magazine, the library’s magazine for teen writing and art. The contest closes April 4, 2009, with contributors notified in June and the annual magazine released next October.
Cleavage: Breakaway Fiction for Real Girls, which includes my short story “Profanity,” received a highly-recommended rating from Canadian Review of Materials. The review, posted December 5th, says “the stories are very strong, with sympathetic girl protagonists, colourful purposeful mothers, realistic family situations and the gleaming knife of raw emotion. Highly Recommended.” You can read the full review here.
A ‘n’ E Vibe posted a great new review of Cleavage here. Monika Wierzbicki writes “When we get very lucky we come across a book that expands our minds, enlightens us, and miraculously is still entertaining enough to make us want read it again.” Cleavage is “written in a wonderfully direct and often hilariously offbeat way that will make you want to keep reading.” You can read more about Cleavage here.
A full crowd gathered at the Canadian Children’s Book Centre last night to celebrate the launch of Cleavage: Breakaway Fiction for Real Girls. We enjoyed mocktails and cool snacks before settling in for readings from five of the contributors to the book. Thanks to all for the enthusiastic response.