QUINTESSENCE
I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the QUINTESSENCE by Jess Redman Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About the Book:
Title: QUINTESSENCE
Author: Jess Redman
Pub. Date: July 28, 2020
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook
Pages: 384
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org
Three months ago, twelve-year-old Alma moved to the town of Four Points. Her panic attacks started a week later, and they haven’t stopped—even though she told her parents that they did. Every day she feels less and less like herself.
Then Alma meets the ShopKeeper in the town’s junk shop, The Fifth Point. The ShopKeeper gives her a telescope and this message:
Find the Elements.
Grow the Light.
Save the Starling.
That night, Alma watches as a star—a star that looks like a child—falls from the sky and into her backyard. Alma knows what it’s like to be lost and afraid, to long for home, and with the help of some unlikely new friends from the Astronomy Club, she sets out on a quest that will take a little bit of astronomy, a little bit of alchemy, and her whole self.
QUINTESSENCE is a stunning story of friendship, self-discovery, interconnectedness, and the inexplicable elements that make you you.
Book Trailer:
INTERVIEW
1. What is on your nightstand?
Right now, I have SOMETHING TO SAY by Lisa Moore Ramee, an ARC of Heather Kassner’s THE FOREST OF STARS (August 4!), THE BRAVE by James Bird, and I’m listening to Natalie Lloyd’s SILVERSWIFT!
2. What author would you totally fan?
So. Many.
I know they’ve passed away, but I always dreamed of meeting Madeleine L’Engle and Mary Oliver someday.
This past year I got to meet two favorites, Kate DiCamillo and Erin Morgenstern, at book signings. I’m honestly not even sure what I said to each of them, I was so starstruck.
And I’m so thrilled that one of my favorite middle-grade authors, Natalie Lloyd, will be in conversation with me at my virtual launch with Books & Books on Instagram Live on July 28th!
3. What makes you cringe?
Oh, I’m a very picky reader, particularly when it comes to first-person books. For me, I have to connect with the voice in a first-person book almost immediately. I have put down many, many books that other people have LOVED—which is the wonderful thing about literature. What you love, I may hate and vice versa.
4. Do you obsessively plot out each point or just go with the flow?
I’m an in-betweener. I used to be more go with the flow, but now that I’m often writing on a deadline, I can’t be quite as footloose and fancy free. I’ve learned to outline.
I still leave lots of room for the characters and plot to breathe though, and I’m not afraid to change the trajectory of the story. My outline helps me see where I’m heading, but I like to blaze the trails as I go.
5. Is there a word you love to use?
My copy editors would point to “just” and “all.” I always have to chop out a bunch of those—but not all of them because sometimes that’s just how I want the words to sound.
More interesting words that I love and use in my stories—quintessence (even before this book!), luminous, wondrous, wild, and bright.
Thank you so much for letting me stop by! Come see me on Twitter and Instagram at @Jess__Red or swing by my website www.jessredman.com for virtual event info, character quizzes, book trailers, discussion guides, and preorder prizes!
And here’s a parting gift—a picture of my cat Soul Pie who adores my books…jk she couldn’t care less. She does what she wants.
About Jess:
Jess Redman is a therapist and author of books for young readers with FSG/Macmillan. Her first book, THE MIRACULOUS, was a Bank Street Best Children’s Book of 2019, an Amazon Best Book of 2019, and was called “layered, engaging, and emotionally true” in a Kirkus starred review. Her second book, QUINTESSENCE, releases on July 28th. The book was featured in OwlCrate Jr.’s subscription box and was described as “a fanciful adventure with a rich emotional core and a fairy tale” by Publishers Weekly. Her third book, THE ADVENTURE IS NOW, is scheduled for publication in May 2021. Redman currently lives in Florida with her husband, two young children, an old cat named SoulPie, and a fish named Annie.
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Goodreads
Giveaway Details:
3 winners will receive a finished copy of QUINTESSENCE, US Only.
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
| 7/27/2020 | Little Red Reads | Review |
| 7/27/2020 | BookHounds YA | Interview |
| 7/28/2020 | Nerdophiles | Review |
| 7/28/2020 | The Try Everything | Review |
| 7/29/2020 | Hurn Publications | Review |
| 7/29/2020 | Jotted by Jena | Review |
| 7/30/2020 | Rajiv’s Reviews | Review |
| 7/30/2020 | onemused | Review |
| 7/31/2020 | Do You Dog-ear? | Review |
| 7/31/2020 | She Just Loves Books | Review |
Week Two:
| 8/3/2020 | PopTheButterfly | Review |
| 8/3/2020 | TheReadingCornerforAll | Review |
| 8/4/2020 | Here’s to Happy Endings | Review |
| 8/4/2020 | Twirling Book Princess | Excerpt |
| 8/5/2020 | Book-o-Craze | Review |
| 8/5/2020 | Wonder Struck | Review |
| 8/6/2020 | notinjersey | Review |
| 8/6/2020 | Two Chicks on Books | Interview |
| 8/7/2020 | Two Points of Interest | Review |
| 8/7/2020 | Kait Plus Books | Excerpt |
This book will be a joy to read.
Can’t wait to read this book! Thank you for sharing!