Read This Book: THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z.
Today I’m welcoming Kate Messner to my blog to celebrate the release of her novel, THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. I am deeply envious of Kate because she lives in way, way upstate NY amid tall mountains and, soon, incredibly vibrant fall colors. I guess I’ll just have to live vicariously through THE BRILLIANT FALL…you can pick up your own copy at Indiebound or Amazon.
A bit about the book:
Gianna Zales has a lot on her plate this fall - a father who drives her to school in the family hearse, a mother who’s turned into the junk food police, a little brother who thinks he’s a member of the paparazzi, and a grandmother who leaves false teeth in the refrigerator. Worst of all, she’s left her 7th grade leaf collection to do at the last minute. It’s a monster project, and Gianna will miss cross-country sectionals if she doesn’t meet the deadline. She’ll need the help of her geeky friend, Zig, and some brilliant ideas of her own to pull it off.
Kate answered my three fave questions:
--I think teen books can, and should, be read by grown-ups. Tell my grandma Grace why she should read your book.
THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. is actually a perfect book for grandparents and kids to read together because it explores those amazing intergenerational relationships as well as the challenges families face when grandparents are getting older.
--What would your 16-year-old self say if she read your book?
Hmm...she'd probably relate an awful lot to Gianna (particularly her habit of misplacing things!)
--I am fascinated by writers' inspirations. Tell me about a real-life setting that found its way into your book.
The Robert Frost Interpretive Trail in Ripton, Vermont is the scene for one of my chapters, when Gianna goes walking with her mother and grandmother to collect leaves for her school project. It's a beautiful, beautiful trail with Frost poems posted along the way, in spots that reflect the theme of each poem.
And Montreal's Jean-Talon Market makes an appearance in the book, too. It's one of my favorite places in the city, a busy, bustling sea of people and colors and smells -- and a perfect place for someone who's having memory issues like Nonna's to get confused.
And finally, all about Kate:
Kate Messner grew up in Medina, New York and graduated from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Communication with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. She worked as a television news producer and reporter in Syracuse, NY and then Burlington, VT, before going back to school to get a teaching degree. These days, Kate is a National Board Certified middle school English teacher. She has helped hundreds of kids work on leaf collection projects and likes sugar maples and catalpa leaves the best. Kate lives on Lake Champlain with her husband and kids and loves spending time in the woods.