YA Fresh

What's Fresh with Jenny O'Connell's Local Girls & Rich Boys


There are two kinds of people on the island -- those who leave at summer's end...and those who are left behind.

Hello Jenny, great to chat with you again! Please tell us about your latest novels.

Jenny: LOCAL GIRLS and RICH BOYS are the first books in my new Island Summer series, published by MTV Books. They come out June 24 and take place on Martha's Vineyard, one of my most favorite places in the world. Even though the stories share an island, each book has a different main character and story line.

What was the most difficult part of writing this novel?

Jenny: Making sure I got it right! I talked with some girls I know who live on the island, did a ton of research when I was there last summer, was even callinga bait shop last fall to get information on the best fishing spots so it all made sense. Even though the stories are fiction I wanted to be as accurate as possible about life on the island.

Could you share what type of promotion you or your publisher are doing for your novel?

Jenny: Right now there's a contest going on to win an Island Summer t-shirt - it's totally cute and perfect for the beach. Best of all, winning is so easy! There's already been one winner and I plan on giving away a shirt a week through July. Go to jennyoconnell.blogspot.com to enter.

Please list one similarity and one difference between yourself and your main character.

Jenny: Like Kendra in LOCAL GIRLS, my best friends mean the world to me. I couldn't survive without them. Like Winnie in RICH BOYS, I always feel like it's my responsibility to fix what's wrong - even if some times that's just not possible - because I hate it when people I care about are unhappy.

Thank you again for sharing, could you please tell us one of your favorite lines from the book?

Jenny: That is SO hard!! And not just because it's been so long since I wrote them. Actually, I love the descriptions of the Vineyard, the streets and homes, the way the sunlight creates shadows in the trees. I had so much fun trying to describe what I love so much about the island.

Honestly, I can't choose just one line. I love Kendra and Winnie and Henry and Jay so much, and they're all different. Readers will just have to pick a favorite line for themselves.
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Jennifer’s debut novel, Bachelorette #1, was called a "poolside page turner" by Cosmopolitan magazine, declared "Chick Lit at its most fun," by the Denver Post, and selected as a "Hot Book pick" by US Weekly. Since then, Jennifer has written three more novels, including Dress Rehearsal, Off The Record, and Insider Dating. In addition to conceiving and editing the collection of essays for Everything I Needed to Know About Being A Girl I Learned From Judy Blume, Jennifer’s first non-fiction book, The Divorced Girls' Society, co-written with Smith alum Vicki King, came out in October 2007.

Jennifer also writes for teens as Jenny O’Connell for MTV books. Her novels include Plan B and The Book Of Luke. The first two books in her new Martha’s Vineyard Summer Series will be published in Summer 2008. She received her B.A. from Smith College and her M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. Visit her website, www.jennyoconnell.com.