Published by Simon and Schuster
Welcome to Day #1 of The Summer of Broken Things Blog Tour!
To celebrate the release of The Summer of Broken Things on April 10th, blogs across the web are featuring exclusive content from Margaret Peterson Haddix and 10 chances to win a copy of the book!
Research
I went to a beautiful place to take ugly, weird pictures.
That’s one way to describe the research trip I took to Spain to prepare for writing my book, THE SUMMER OF BROKEN THINGS. I did actually take plenty of lovely pictures, too—it’s kind of hard not to, in the midst of so much incredible scenery. But there’s a huge difference between my photographic goals when I’m doing research and when I’m traveling simply for pleasure.
For example, I don’t think I’ve ever taken a picture of manhole covers on a vacation. But I did on my research trip. I kept walking over top of metal disks embedded in the streets labeled, “Bomberos,” which seemed a little ominous until I checked the translation. Bomberos are just firefighters, and seeing that word emblazoned everywhere was no different than walking past fire hydrants on an American street. It should have made me feel safe, not worried.
I thought one of the characters in my book might have similar anxiety, misunderstanding the word as being related to bombs, and so I took a picture of one of the manhole covers in case I decided I needed to describe it exactly in my book. (I didn’t.)
That was a serendipitous thing, but many of the other bizarre pictures I took were planned. I walked around both grocery stores and small corner stores snapping pictures of the foods lining the shelves; in the amazingly beautiful Retiro Park in Madrid, I took pictures of the signs advertising ice cream choices just in case my characters indulged, and I needed to describe their precise choices in character-developing ways. (I also never ended up having to do that, but looking at the pictures reminds me now: Magnum brand ice cream bars are the best.) I took pictures of a store whose name translates as “Museum of Ham”; I cracked myself up photographing signs advertising “Fartons” (basically, doughnut-like sweets that are evidently a specialty of Valencia) and a brand of bread called “Bimbo.”
Because I knew I wanted to have a plot element where the characters have trouble operating Spanish appliances, I took a picture of the settings on the washing machine in the Airbnb apartment my daughter and I rented in Madrid. (Having previous experience myself with struggling with washing machine directions in Spanish, German, Danish, and Portuguese, I wanted proof that those instructions aren’t always easily translated.)
I even took pictures of the signs in an ancient cathedral telling people not to flush their toilet paper.
Some of those odd pictures truly helped with the book, reminding me of details that my mind’s eye quickly let go over the course of the next year of writing and revising. Other pictures were just a moment’s whimsy, based on a thought, “Well, that could end up in the book,” which never panned out. In my head, the trip that Avery and Kayla took in THE SUMMER OF BROKEN THINGS quickly became distinct from mine, and it was almost as though their fictional experiences replaced some of the real memories in my mind. But looking through the pictures now—now that the book has been transformed from something that existed only in my head and on my computer to a physical object available for anyone to read—I find that the pictures make the research trip more immediate in my memory, more so even than some more recent vacations.
Maybe I should start taking pictures of manhole covers, grocery store shelves, washing machines, and toilet signs when I’m on vacation, too. Even in beautiful places.
*****
Blog Tour Schedule:
April 16th — BookhoundsYA
April 17th — The Book Rat
April 18th — Book Briefs
April 19th — Parajunkee
April 20th — A Dream Within a DreamApril 23rd — Crossroad Reviews
April 24th — I Am a Reader
April 25th — Page Turners
April 26th — Once Upon a Twilight
April 27th — Tales of the Ravenous Reader
April 17th — The Book Rat
April 18th — Book Briefs
April 19th — Parajunkee
April 20th — A Dream Within a DreamApril 23rd — Crossroad Reviews
April 24th — I Am a Reader
April 25th — Page Turners
April 26th — Once Upon a Twilight
April 27th — Tales of the Ravenous Reader
Buy: Amazon | Indiebound
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From New York Times bestselling author Margaret Peterson Haddix comes a haunting novel about friendship and what it really means to be a family in the face of lies and betrayal.
Fourteen-year-old Avery Armisted is athletic, rich, and pretty. Sixteen-year-old Kayla Butts is known as “butt-girl” at school. The two girls were friends as little kids, but that’s ancient history now. So it’s a huge surprise when Avery’s father offers to bring Kayla along on a summer trip to Spain. Avery is horrified that her father thinks he can choose her friends—and make her miss soccer camp. Kayla struggles just to imagine leaving the confines of her small town.
But in Spain, the two uncover a secret their families had hidden from both of them their entire lives. Maybe the girls can put aside their differences and work through it together. Or maybe the lies and betrayal will only push them—and their families—farther apart.
Margaret Peterson Haddix weaves together two completely separate lives in this engaging novel that explores what it really means to be a family—and what to do when it’s all falling apart.
About the Author: Margaret Peterson Haddix is the author of many critically and popularlyChildren of Exile series, The Missing series, the Under Their Skin series, and the Shadow Children series. A graduate of Miami University (of Ohio), she worked for several years as a reporter for The Indianapolis News. She also taught at the Danville (Illinois) Area Community College. She lives with her family in Columbus, Ohio.
acclaimed YA and middle grade novels, including the
GIVEAWAY
- One (1) winner will receive a finished copy of The Summer of Broken Things
- US only
Giveaway Ends 4.30.18 and open to all who can legally enter.
Open to anyone with a US mailing address
Must be over 18 or have your parents permission to enter.
An email will be sent and you have 24 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen.
The Winner will be announced within 24 hours at the end of the giveaway.
Giveaway is organized by Bookhounds and sponsored by the Publisher
Please add BookHounds@Hotmail to your address book. You can also email to verify if you have won.
It has no affiliation with Facebook, Twitter or any other entity.
Not responsible for lost or misdirected prizes.
Open to anyone with a US mailing address
Must be over 18 or have your parents permission to enter.
An email will be sent and you have 24 hours to reply or a new winner will be chosen.
The Winner will be announced within 24 hours at the end of the giveaway.
Giveaway is organized by Bookhounds and sponsored by the Publisher
Please add BookHounds@Hotmail to your address book. You can also email to verify if you have won.
It has no affiliation with Facebook, Twitter or any other entity.
Not responsible for lost or misdirected prizes.
Yes, I’ve read her books and love her style.
No, I haven’t read anything yet.
No, not yet.
I have taken pictures of manhole covers! There are some very unique ones when you look. We read some of her Missing books.