Tuesday, September 16, 2014

FERAL Blog Tour: Bookstore Memories with Holly Schindler


 Today I am hosting Holly Schindler as part of the FERAL Blog Tour. FERAL, a YA psychological thriller was published August 26, 2014 by Harper Teen. For my stop on the tour, I've asked Holly to share her favorite bookstore memory. 

Welcome Holly!!!



What is your favorite bookstore memory (either as a reader or an author)?

Like many areas through the country, my hometown of Springfield, Missouri was hit fairly hard by the recession.  Our supply of indie bookstores was already dwindling, and the recession did a good job of closing the last few remaining indie doors.  Today, my hometown’s main source of physical book-buying is a Barnes and Noble (and venues with smaller bookshelves like Walmart or Target).  I’d say that primarily, when a Springfieldian now wants to browse bookshelves to discover a new author, they head to one of our libraries.

I have to admit, one of my earliest (and fondest) book-buying memories happened…in a grocery-store.  I used to get a new Little Golden Book every week, when I went grocery shopping with my mom.  (When I outgrew picture books and we sold them off at a garage sale, we had a MOUNTAIN of Little Goldens on display on a picnic table.)  

But the bookstore I loved (and now miss) the most was a little place tucked into a strip mall…I have a hard time remembering the exact name of it, but do know it was in the Fremont Shopping Center in Springfield (so we’ll call the store the Fremont).  The feel of the Fremont was just incredible.  It had giant heavy doors complete with carved lion heads.  And it had multiple levels inside, and ladders to help booksellers reach the highest shelves.  It truly was like the quaint bookstores that occasionally show up in movies—think The Shop Around the Corner in YOU’VE GOT MAIL.  

I remember finding so many of my early chapter-book loves there—books by Judy Blume or Beverly Cleary.  I remember buying some of my first classics there, too: ALICE IN WONDERLAND, for example.  (I’m also fairly certain the LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE set I received for Christmas came from that store).
 
I remember the Fremont so fondly: the peaceful atmosphere, the perfume of new books, the assurance that something new and delicious was on the shelves just waiting for me to finally discover it.  Later on, I became a literature major—and I still dearly love to read the classics.  Often, I think that, to a great extent, my love of literature was born in that favorite childhood bookstore, as I wandered the aisles and tugged colorful spines from the shelves…
 


 FERAL
by Holly Schindler
Published by Harper Teen
August 26, 2014
  432 Pages

 
 Purchase Links
Amazon / Barnes & Noble / IndieBound
 
 
 About FERAL

The Lovely Bones meets Black Swan in this haunting psychological thriller with twists and turns that will make you question everything you think you know.

It’s too late for you. You’re dead. Those words continue to haunt Claire Cain months after she barely survived a brutal beating in Chicago. So when her father is offered a job in another state, Claire is hopeful that getting out will offer her a way to start anew.

But when she arrives in Peculiar, Missouri, Claire feels an overwhelming sense of danger, and her fears are confirmed when she discovers the body of a popular high school student in the icy woods behind the school, surrounded by the town’s feral cats. While everyone is quick to say it was an accident, Claire knows there’s more to it, and vows to learn the truth about what happened.

But the closer she gets to uncovering the mystery, the closer she also gets to realizing a frightening reality about herself and the damage she truly sustained in that Chicago alley….

Holly Schindler’s gripping story is filled with heart-stopping twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the very last page.
 
Holly Schindler Bio:

Holly Schindler is the author of the critically acclaimed A BLUE SO DARK (Booklist starred review, ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year silver medal recipient, IPPY Awards gold medal recipient) as well as PLAYING HURT (both YAs). 

Her debut MG, THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY, also released in ’14, and became a favorite of teachers and librarians, who used the book as a read-aloud.  Kirkus Reviews called THE JUNCTION “...a heartwarming and uplifting story...[that] shines...with vibrant themes of community, self-empowerment and artistic vision delivered with a satisfying verve.” 

FERAL is Schindler’s third YA and first psychological thriller.  Publishers Weekly gave FERAL a starred review, stating, “Opening with back-to-back scenes of exquisitely imagined yet very real horror, Schindler’s third YA novel hearkens to the uncompromising demands of her debut, A BLUE SO DARK…This time, the focus is on women’s voices and the consequences they suffer for speaking…This is a story about reclaiming and healing, a process that is scary, imperfect, and carries no guarantees.”

Schindler encourages readers to get in touch.  Booksellers, teen librarians, and teachers can also contact her directly regarding Skype visits.  


Find Holly online:


FERAL Trailer:
Link:

GIVEAWAY

1 comment:

  1. Psychological thriller is my favorite genre and I'm looking forward to having my spine tingled by Ms. Schindler's newest release!

    ReplyDelete

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