What is Jennifer Brown reading?

This weekend's featured contributor at Writers Read: Jennifer Brown, author of Thousand Words.

Her entry begins:

I’m trying to read 100 books this year, just as a little personal challenge, and my year has been off to a great start. I’ve read quite a few really wonderful books.

I am currently reading Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. I don’t know why it took me so long to discover the Stargirl books, but I am so glad I did. I read Stargirl earlier this year and fell in love with the funky, carefree Stargirl character and the beautiful life lessons she gives. At the same time, my heart broke for her a little bit, as the people around her stop appreciating her originality and seek to turn her into everyone else. While I’m only a few pages into the second book, already I’m loving hearing Stargirl’s voice itself, a pure and warm invitation into her thoughts, which are...[read on]

About Thousand Words, from the publisher:

Ashleigh's boyfriend, Kaleb, is about to leave for college, and Ashleigh is worried that he'll forget about her while he's away. So at a legendary end-of-summer pool party, Ashleigh's friends suggest she text him a picture of herself -- sans swimsuit -- to take with him. Before she can talk herself out of it, Ashleigh strides off to the bathroom, snaps a photo in the full-length mirror, and hits "send."

But when Kaleb and Ashleigh go through a bad breakup, Kaleb takes revenge by forwarding the text to his baseball team. Soon the photo has gone viral, attracting the attention of the school board, the local police, and the media. As her friends and family try to distance themselves from the scandal, Ashleigh feels completely alone -- until she meets Mack while serving her court-ordered community service. Not only does Mack offer a fresh chance at friendship, but he's the one person in town who received the text of Ashleigh's photo -- and didn't look.

Acclaimed author Jennifer Brown brings readers a gripping novel about honesty and betrayal, redemption and friendship, attraction and integrity, as Ashleigh finds that while a picture may be worth a thousand words . . . it doesn't always tell the whole story.

Learn more about the book and author at Jennifer Brown's website.

Writers Read: Jennifer Brown (October 2009).

Read: Coffee with a Canine: Jennifer Brown & Ursula and Aragorn.

Writers Read: Jennifer Brown.

--Marshal Zeringue