Hugest of thanks to Milly Reid at Quercus for the best way to end a pretty rubbish week, talking about books, and this one in particular, it sounds brilliant!
Out now (actually 1st March but I seem to be living in an alternate timeline to everyone else…days, dates, they are all becoming increasingly muddled! )‘The Unsinkable Greta James’ by Jennifer E Smith is not only the blast of sunshine we need right now, it is available in all good bookshops , in hardcover, e-book and audiobook editions.
About the book…
An indie musician reeling from tragedy reconnects with her estranged father on a week-long cruise in this tale of grief, fame, and love from bestselling author Jennifer E. Smith.
Greta James’s meteoric rise to indie stardom was hard-won. Before she graced magazine covers and sold out venues, she spent her girlhood strumming her guitar in the family garage. Her first fan was her mother, Helen, whose face shone bright in the dusty downtown bars where she got her start–but not everyone encouraged Greta to follow her dreams. While many daydream about a crowd chanting their name, her father, Conrad, saw only a precarious life ahead for his daughter.
Greta has spent her life trying to prove him wrong, but three months after Helen’s sudden death, and weeks before the launch of her high-stakes sophomore album, Greta has an onstage meltdown that goes viral. Attempting to outrun the humiliation and heartbreak, she reluctantly agrees to accompany her father on a week-long Alaskan cruise, the very one that her parents had booked to celebrate their fortieth anniversary.
This could be the James family’s last chance to heal old wounds and will prove to be a voyage of discovery for them, as well as for Ben Wilder, a historian also struggling with a major upheaval in his life. Ben is on board to lecture about Jack London’s The Call of the Wild, the adventure story Greta’s mother adored, and he captures Greta’s attention after her streak of dating hanger-ons. As Greta works to build up her confidence and heal, and Ben confronts his uncertain future, they must rely on one another to make sense of life’s difficult choices. In the end, Greta must make the most challenging decision of all: to listen to the song within her or make peace with those who love her.
Doesn’t that sound like a voyage of self discovery and identity? And on a cruise, where can you go to get away from yourself?
I cannot wait to pick up my copy (apologies to both Milly and Jennifer for being a bit behind with posting!)
About the author…
Jennifer E. Smith is the author of nine books for young adults, including ‘The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight’ and ‘Hello, Goodbye and Everything in between”, both of which were recently adapted for film.
She earned her master’s degree in creative writing from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and her writing has been translated into 33 languages.
She currently lives in Los Angeles.
Links-http://www.jenniferesmith.com/
Twitter @JenESmith @QuercusBooks
Author
bridgeman.lenny@gmail.com