I am happy to announce – very far in advance – the June EDIWTB book club pick: The Local News by Miriam Gershow. I wrote about The Local News in February, and I was excited when I was approached by TLC Book Tours to participate in a blog book tour for it this summer.
First, a little bit about the book. From Amazon:
Bright, precocious but socially awkward Lydia Pasternak reports on the aftermath of her older brother's disappearance in Gershow's accomplished debut. Danny was everything Lydia wasn't: at ease with their parents, popular in school, physically imposing, beloved by the opposite sex. Danny went from being Lydia's playmate in their youth to her tormentor in high school, so his disappearance leaves Lydia with some very mixed feelings, one of which is relief. As time goes on and the weekend search parties prove more and more fruitless, Lydia struggles with the fact that her geeky best friend, David, has feelings for her; she also obsesses over the private investigator hired by the family and allows herself to be sucked into the social world Danny once dominated. Lydias perspective gives this Lovely Bones–esque story line an unflinching quality as she details the emotional damage that reverberates even through her 10-year high school reunion. Gershows psychologically acute grasp of the mundane, ugly details that accompany tragedy, combined with an understanding of the tragicomedy of high school, make for a stark and merciless narrative, leavened by Lydia's wry insights.
I've been wanting to read this book ever since I learned about it.
So here's the deal. I have 12 copies of The Local News to give away to EDIWTB reader who want to participate in the online book club, which will take place here on Monday June 15th. So I will do a giveaway for the 12 copies. If you are interested in participating, please leave me a comment here with your email address. I will do a random drawing a week from today – Thursday May 1. If you want to participate but you don't get one of the 12 copies, then I hope you will buy a copy or find it at your local library and support Miriam Gershow and her first book!
Click here to read an exceprt from the book, and visit Miriam Gershow's website. And please enter the giveaway if you want to participate!