Title: JUST A NORMAL TUESDAY
Author: Kim Turrisi
Pub. Date: May 2, 2017
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Pages: 256
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Find it: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads
It’s just a normal Tuesday for sixteen-year-old Kai, until suddenly it’s anything but. She’s received a letter from her beloved older sister, Jen, a letter that begins, My very bestest sister, Kai, if you are reading this, I am already gone. From that moment on, Kai’s life will never be the same, as she is forced to deal with the shock and horror of losing Jen to suicide.
Consumed with grief, Kai looks for answers, lashes out at people who love her and eventually turns to excessive drinking and drugs, all with disastrous results and no relief from her suffering. Struggling with their own sorrow, Kai’s parents realize she needs more help than they can give, and they enroll her in the Tree House, a “grief camp” for children. Though reluctant to go, once she’s there, Kai finally finds others who truly understand her loss. No longer alone, she’s able to begin dealing with her pain. And to see light at the end of the dark tunnel.
Kim Turrisi’s beautiful, wrenching young-adult novel sheds a much-needed light on the subjects of mental illness and suicide. Using the unique idea of a grief camp, Turrisi lays out a process for healing and moving forward for readers who have been touched by loss. But this book’s appeal reaches beyond that. With combined elements of tragedy and romance, compellingly told in Kai’s authentic voice, this ultimately hopeful story will be an unputdownable read for any teen.
About Kim:
A graduate of Florida State University, Kim Turrisi began her career in film and television. After a year of on-set production (getting coffee, wrangling actors and taking lunch orders) Kim segued to the development side of the business. First working as a development executive at Columbia-Tri-Star and eventually shepherding many projects in family entertainment for Disney, Viacom and Hallmark.
Kim created and wrote an online web series for which she won a Daytime Emmy. She wrote for ABC Family’s webisode series, PRETTY DIRTY SECRETS, an internet companion piece to smash hit PRETTY LITTLE LIARS.
While she’s always been a voracious reader and writer, she never thought about writing for teens until she immersed herself in the children’s publishing world as the Director of Special Projects for the Society of Book writers and Illustrators. There, reading children’s literature is a big part of her job.
Her debut Young Adult novel JUST A NORMAL TUESDAY is loosely based on the author’s own experience, the debut YA novel follows 16-year-old Kai as she struggles through the emotional aftermath of her sister’s suicide. Kai spends a month at grief camp, discovering a roadmap to piecing her broken heart back together.
One of Kim’s favorite parts of the writing process is to create playlists for her characters that she listens to when she writes. When she revises her manuscripts, she’s generally in mismatched plaid and her desk is riddled with junk food. She collects Chuck Taylor’s, Van’s, and has a killer sock collection.
Born in Hawaii, she credits her love of travel to her life as an Air Force brat moving every two years. When she isn’t writing or reading, she can be found obsessing over her dogs, Riley and Rocco.
Represented by Tricia Lawrence at EMLA
Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @kimmyt22
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads
PLEASE WELCOME KIM (and her wonderful dogs!)
- What is on your nightstand?
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas
Forward by Abby Wambach
When Nobody is Watching by Carli Lloyd
The Five Minute Journal Every writer should have this.
And a slew of YA ARC’s that I can’t wait to dig into.
Oh, I and shiny copy of my book. J
- What author would you totally fan?
Angie Thomas
- What makes you cringe?
Bullying and hate speech.
- Do you obsessively plot out each point or just go with the flow?
I’m obsessive about going with the flow. I fight myself whenever I start an outline. I always know my beginning and end. I struggle with the middle. Most of the time, I truly go with the flow as far as dialogue goes. When I develop my characters, my really writer crazy kicks in. I obsess about all of the details. I need to know what music they listen to, what they eat. All the little things.
- Is there a word you love to use?
Not really but I love writing my dogs and my friends dogs into my books.
Giveaway Details:
3 winners will receive a signed finished copy of JUST A NORMAL TUESDAY & swag including a bookmark, magnet, & temporary tattoo, US Only.
1 winner will receive JUST A NORMAL TUESDAY swag including a bookmark, magnet, & temporary tattoo, US Only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
4/24/2017- BookHounds YA– Interview
4/25/2017- The Candid Cover– Review
4/26/2017- Wandering Bark Books– Guest Post
4/27/2017- Angel Reads– Review
4/28/2017- A Gingerly Review– Excerpt
Week Two:
5/1/2017- Here’s to Happy Endings– Review
5/2/2017- Margie’s Must Reads– Guest Post
5/3/2017- The Bookworm Central– Review
5/4/2017- Literary Meanderings – Interview
5/5/2017- Just Commonly– Review
This book will bring out so much emotion as I read it. I am excited to find a book like this that deals with suicide and how someone deals with it and hopefully heals though there will always be a hole that can’t be filled. On a lighter note–I love the dog photos! My golden retriever is 12 and such a great companion.
I received an ARC of this one and loved it. The story was heartfelt. Loved how their relationships intertwined.
The book sounds wonderful, and I’m looking forward to reading it.
This sounds like a great book. 🙂
Congrats, Kimmy!
I Have been trying to follow you everywhere as soon as I read the blurb for this book. It sounds so great and I can relate a lot. I’d really LOVE to read it. Thanks for sharing it with us and for the giveaway.
Sounds like a good book. Thank You for the chance to win a copy.