Guys, guess what.
On Sunday April 23rd, one of my wishes came true. I got to meet Jeff Zentner! Seriously though, I just recently mentioned in a Top 10 Tuesday post that he was one of the top authors on my to-meet list. When I heard he was coming to Toronto, I was beyond excited. When I found out he was coming to the city of Brampton, Ontario A.K.A. my hometown, I was even more excited! This is one of those events that I never dreamed would happen and I still can’t believe that it did!
On top of having the opportunity to meet Jeff Zentner, two other lovely authors joined the panel! Susin Nielsen; author of We Are All Made of Molecules & Optimists Die First as well as Danielle Younge-Ullman; author of Everything Beautiful Is Not Ruined. The three of these authors put together made up one of the most hilarious author discussions I have ever been a part of.
We got to hear each one of them read a little blurb from their newest books. I had already read Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner and Optimists Die First by Susin Nielsen, but it was amazing to hear the stories being told by their authors. I haven’t read Everything Beautiful Is Not Ruined just yet, but I absolutely cannot wait to pick it up!
After each author read from their books, we got to go up and meet each one of them and let me tell you, this was one of the best moments of my book blogging career so far. Want to know what made this particular event so special? Both Jeff Zentner & Susin Nielsen knew who I was before I even had the chance to introduce myself. I had recently reviewed both of their novels and I had been tweeting about the event for a little while. So, thank you twitter for making my face known and thank you to these awesome authors for caring about their readers as I wasn’t the only blogger who was recognized!
Overall, this was one of the best events I have been able to attend so far and it was just the cherry on top that it was in my hometown! Here’s to more amazing author signings in the future!
More About The Books
Optimists Die First by Susin Nielsen
Sixteen-year-old Petula De Wilde is anything but wild. A family tragedy has made her shut herself off from the world. Once a crafting fiend with a happy life, Petula now sees danger in everything, from airplanes to ground beef. The worst part of her week is her comically lame mandatory art therapy class. She has nothing in common with this small band of teenage misfits, except that they all carry their own burden of guilt. When Jacob joins their ranks, he seems so normal and confident. Petula wants nothing to do with him, or his prosthetic arm. But when they’re forced to collaborate on a unique school project, she slowly opens up, and he inspires her to face her fears. Until a hidden truth threatens to derail everything.
Everything Beautiful Is Not Ruined by Danielle Younge-Ullman
Then: Ingrid traveled all over Europe with her opera star mother, Margot-Sophia. Life was beautiful and bright, and every day soared with music. Now: Ingrid is on a summertime wilderness survival trek for at-risk teens: addicts, runaways, and her. She’s fighting to survive crushing humiliations, physical challenges that push her to her limits, and mind games that threaten to break her. Then: When the curtain fell on Margot-Sophia’s singing career, they buried the past and settled into a small, painfully normal life. But Ingrid longed to let the music soar again. She wanted it so much that, for a while, nothing else mattered. Now: Ingrid is never going to make it through this summer if she can’t figure out why she’s here . . . and why the music really stopped.
Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner
One day Carver Briggs had it all—three best friends, a supportive family, and a reputation as a talented writer at his high school, Nashville Academy for the Arts. The next day he lost it all when he sent a simple text to his friend Mars, right before Mars, Eli, and Blake were killed in a car crash. Now Carver can’t stop blaming himself for the accident, and he’s not the only one. Eli’s twin sister is trying to freeze him out of school with her death-ray stare. And Mars’s father, a powerful judge, is pressuring the district attorney to open a criminal investigation into Carver’s actions. Luckily, Carver has some unexpected allies: Eli’s girlfriend, the only person to stand by him at school; Dr. Mendez, his new therapist; and Blake’s grandmother, who asks Carver to spend a Goodbye Day with her to share their memories and say a proper goodbye to his friend. Soon the other families are asking for a Goodbye Day with Carver, but he’s unsure of their motives. Will they all be able to make peace with their losses, or will these Goodbye Days bring Carver one step closer to a complete breakdown or—even worse—prison?
Fun Tweets
Here are a few fun tweets from everyone who was able to attend!
That about wraps up my experience in meeting three wonderful authors! If you have made it this far, thank you for sticking around and listening to me gush! Who are some of the best authors you have met? Who do you hope to meet in the future?
Thank you for reading!
Big City Bookworm 
Wow that would have been amazing! I really need to pay more attention to authors coming to this area – seriously lol!!
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