The Book
Girl Out of Water by Laura Silverman
Release date: May 2, 2017
Anise Sawyer plans to spend every minute of summer with her friends: surfing, chowing down on fish tacos drizzled with wasabi balsamic vinegar, and throwing bonfires that blaze until dawn. But when a serious car wreck leaves her aunt, a single mother of three, with two broken legs, it forces Anise to say goodbye for the first time to Santa Cruz, the waves, her friends, and even a kindling romance, and fly with her dad to Nebraska for the entire summer. Living in Nebraska isn’t easy. Anise spends her days caring for her three younger cousins in the childhood home of her runaway mom, a wild figure who’s been flickering in and out of her life since birth, appearing for weeks at a time and then disappearing again for months, or even years, without a word.
Complicating matters is Lincoln, a one-armed, charismatic skater who pushes Anise to trade her surfboard for a skateboard. As Anise draws closer to Lincoln and takes on the full burden and joy of her cousins, she loses touch with her friends back home – leading her to one terrifying question: will she turn out just like her mom and spend her life leaving behind the ones she loves?
The Author-Laura Silverman
Laura received her MFA in writing for children from the New School. She loves books and dogs—okay, and quite a few people too. She currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia. You can say hello on Twitter at @LJSilverman1.
The Interview
Emma: Anise is an athletic character, as is Lincoln. Why was it important for them to both have a sport to participate in?
Laura: It was their connection! Anise was a surfer from the start, and it made sense she’d gravitate towards a new sport stuck in landlocked Nebraska. Thankfully Lincoln is there to guide her ☺
E: Are you in any way similar to Anise, Lincoln, or another character from Girl Out of Water?
L: I’m probably most similar to Tess – Anise’s best friend. I’m really loyal and honest with my friends (hopefully! I think!). Like Lincoln, I can definitely nerd out about things other people might find boring. And Anise and I are actually pretty different but we both share/shared that fear of losing friendships to distance.
E: One of the best parts of Girl Out of Water is the focus on family - not just parents and children but also cousins and aunts. What are some of your favorite other YA books that have strong focuses on family?
L: *screams Jenny Han’s books from the rooftops* I’m so flattered some early reviews have compared our books because I absolutely love her focus on family.
E: What's been the best part of your debut author experience?
L: EVERYTHING. It’s honestly hard to pick one thing. Signing that contract. Holding my ARC for the first time. Signing ARC copies. Holding the real book for the first time. All of the relationships! Meeting amazing writers and readers and people who work in publishing! And of course – the biggest perk – all the books!
E: What would be the best kind of book swag for Girl Out of Water? (Like, if you had no budget restraints, what would you love to give as a preorder promotion prize?)
L: Ooh! Probably like a two-week trip to California and Nebraska. With tours guided by Anise and Lincoln because they’re real people in this fantasy, right?
E: What's the weirdest writing advice you've ever received?
L: The “only write what you know” advice has always struck me as odd. Am I only supposed to write about girls growing up in Georgia who go to the University of Georgia for college and study English and Advertising and have never gotten on a surfboard?
E: Cake or pie, and what kind?
L: Oreo cheesecake ☺ Also apple pie with vanilla ice cream, though. Also why is dessert so good?
The Giveaway
Great interview! Thank you so much for joining the SST Tour!!! Hope to see you again. Happy reading xoxo
ReplyDeleteThank you for this awesome post! I'm so excited to read this book.
ReplyDelete