YA Fresh

What's Fresh with Jenny O'Connell's The Book of Luke!

Hello Jenny, thanks for agreeing to chat! Please tell us about your latest novel, THE BOOK OF LUKE.

Jenny: THE BOOK OF LUKE comes out this week (April 3rd, 2007) and it's published by MTV Books. Here's a blurb:

Emily Abbott has always been considered the Girl Most Likely to be Nice--but lately being nice hasn't done her any good. Her parents have decided to move the family from Chicago back to their hometown of Boston in the middle of Emily's senior year. Only Emily's first real boyfriend, Sean, is in Chicago, and so is her only shot at class valedictorian and early admission to the Ivy League. What's a nice girl to do?

When Sean dumps Emily on moving day and her father decides to stay behind in Chicago "to tie up loose ends," Emily decides that what a nice girl needs to do is to stop being nice. When she rejoins her best friends in Boston, Josie and Lucy, Emily discovers she's not the only one who's been on the receiving end of some glaring Guy Don'ts. And when the girls have to come up with something to put in the senior class time capsule, they know exactly what to do. They'll create a not-so-nice reference guide for future generations of guys--an instruction guide that teaches them the right way to treat girls.

But when her friends draft Emily to test out their tips on Luke Preston--the hottest, most popular guy in school, who just broke up with Josie by email--Emily soon finds that Luke is the trickiest of test subjects . . . and that even a nice girl like Emily has a few things to learn about love.

Sounds great! I know I loved PLAN B, so I'm excited to read TBOL, too. Could you share a bit about the main character of THE BOOK OF LUKE and what makes her unique?

Jenny: Emily Abbott is the daughter of an etiquette guru who writes books and syndicated newspaper columns about how to do everything right. She grew up believing that everything can be viewed in black and white, right and wrong, and has to learn the hard way that there are a lot of gray areas.

How did the idea for this novel come about?

Jenny: It's a contemporary take on Moliere's comedy "The Misanthrope", a play about a man who is quick to criticize the faults of others, but who remains blind to his own.

What do you hope readers will gain from reading this novel?

Jenny: I just hope they find some parts funny, some parts true to life, and ultimately, when they get to the end, I'd like them to feel like it was worth the time they took to read it.

I'm sure they'll feel each of those and more, Jenny. Thanks so much for sharing. Would you like to close with a novel you highly recommend and why?

Jenny: I absolutely love WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN'T KNOW by Sonya Sones. The entire story is told in free verse poems and it's amazing. It's one of my favorite teen books.

Jenny O'Connell is the author of PLAN B and THE BOOK OF LUKE. Her days as a high school senior may be long behind her, but Jenny did receive her B.A. from Smith College and her M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. She has also written six books for adults under her grown-up name, Jennifer O'Connell. Visit her website, www.jennyoconnell.com.

(Read the YA Fresh review here!)