GIRL UNMOORED

GIRL UNMOORED

Apron Bramhall has come unmoored but she's about to be saved by Jesus. Not that Jesus, the actor who plays him in Jesus Christ Superstar. Apron is desperate to avoid the look-alike Mike, who's suddenly everywhere, until she's stuck in church with him one day. Then something happens. Apron's broken teenage heart blinks on for the first time since she's been adrift. Mike and his boyfriend, Chad, offer her a summer job in their flower store and Apron's world seems to calm. But when she uncovers Chad's secret, stormy seas return. Apron starts to see things the adults around her fail to, like what love really means and who is paying too much for it. Apron has come unmoored but she'll need to take the helm if she's to get herself and those she loves to safe harbor. From Publishers Weekly Middle school is purgatory for Apron Bramhall. Her mother is dead. Her best friend Rennie has fallen under the spell of the local Queen Bee. Margie (aka "M"), the Brazilian nurse who cared for her late parent, has literally moved in on her depressed Latin professor father, all the while trying to dispose of Apron's beloved pet guinea pig. It's a classic case of things can't get worse, but they do quickly in this fast-paced bildungsroman set in 1980s coastal Maine. When Dad announces his plans to marry the devious M--a prospect that excites no one--the 7th-grader has to grow up quickly. But the ruckus she inadvertently causes at their hastily arranged church wedding propels her literally headlong into the lives of Mike and Chad, a gay couple who run a local flower shop and are coming to terms with their own struggles. The bittersweet story of their friendship and the young adolescent's gradual understanding and acceptance of their doomed relationship is infused with love and punctuated with wry good humor. The rapid fire dialogue helps along an ambitious first novel... Apron may be adrift, but Hummer's debut is on track. (Mar.) Reviewed on: 02/20/2012 Review Maine Literary Awards, Winner YA Fiction Moonbeam Book Award 2012, YA Mature Issues Indie Excellence Awards 2012, Winner Cross-Genre Fiction Next Generation Indie Awards 2012, Winner YA Fiction Paris Book Festival Award 2012, Winner YA Fiction San Francisco Book Festival Award 2012, Winner Teen Fiction International Book Awards 2012, Finalist Best New Book Next Generation Indie Awards 2012, Finalist Chick-Lit Fiction International Book Awards 2012, Finalist YA Fiction Reader Views Kids Award Winner, Best Teen/YA Book of the Year, 2012 Reader Views Winner, Best Teen/YA Fiction 2012 Foreword Book of The Year Finalist, YA Fiction 2012 "Girl Unmoored by Jennifer Gooch Hummer may be the undiscovered young-adult novel of the summer" -- Entertainment Weekly "I have very rarely encountered a debut novel that would have touched me so deeply... I simply can not recommend this book highly enough-" -- The Seattle Post "Girl Unmoored helps moor us all." -- The Portland Press Herald "Poignant, candid, and heartbreakingly unique, Girl Unmoored is the best debut novel I've read in 2012." -- Reader Girls "I think you should just trust me when I say read it. Put down whatever mish-mash you're reading and find this book." -- Anthology of a Girl "Girl Unmoored is on its way to becoming a classic coming-of-age." -- The Divining Wand "Holy Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, Batman! There is a new coming of age novel on the scene and it's awesome!" -- Well Read Wife "Read this book. You will feel human and alive." -- Write Meg "A haunting debut. It frankly took my breath away." -- Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You "A masterful debut- a must-read!" -- Elise Allen, New York Times bestselling co-author of Populazzi "Girl Unmoored breaks through the wall around your heart, giving it room to expand." -- Susan Henderson, bestselling author of Up from the Blue "A quirky coming-of-age tale that will break your heart one minute and have you laughing out loud the next." -- Beth Hoffman, New York Times bestselling author of Saving CeeCee Honeycutt "Fierce, funny, deeply eloquent, and unerringly honest. What a dazzling novel!" -- Gwendolen Gross, bestselling author of The Orphan Sister Jennifer Gooch Hummer Jennifer Gooch Hummer is the best-selling author of Veridian Sterling Fakes It (Lake Union) and the award-winning author and screenwriter for her debut novel, Girl Unmoored. She is also the author of Operation Tenley, a Kirkus Best Book of 2017. Raised in Boston, Jennifer graduated from Kenyon College with a B.A. in English and moved to Los Angeles where she read scripts for major talent agencies and production companies. Jennifer currently lives in Southern California with her whistling husband, three daughters, and two slightly neurotic dogs.