Saturday, May 07, 2016

What is Melanie Conklin reading?

Featured at Writers Read: Melanie Conklin, author of Counting Thyme.

Her entry begins:
I had to check my reading log to keep myself honest about what I’ve been reading! I read all over the spectrum: picture books, middle grade, YA, adult fiction, nonfiction. I like contemporary stories like the ones I write, but I’m also a huge fan of fantasy and science fiction.

I just finished reading The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood. It’s a YA with time travel and romance, and I loved it. This book was smarter than me, and it didn’t connect the dots perfectly. Some readers might find that unsettling, but I like being a little bewildered when I read. I like it when an author challenges me. It makes me sit up a little...[read on]
About Counting Thyme, from the publisher:
Newbery-winning Rules meets Counting by 7s in this affecting story of a girl’s devotion to her brother and what it means to be home

When eleven-year-old Thyme Owens’ little brother, Val, is accepted into a new cancer drug trial, it’s just the second chance that he needs. But it also means the Owens family has to move to New York, thousands of miles away from Thyme’s best friend and everything she knows and loves. The island of Manhattan doesn’t exactly inspire new beginnings, but Thyme tries to embrace the change for what it is: temporary.

After Val’s treatment shows real promise and Mr. Owens accepts a full-time position in the city, Thyme has to face the frightening possibility that the move to New York is permanent. Thyme loves her brother, and knows the trial could save his life—she’d give anything for him to be well—but she still wants to go home, although the guilt of not wanting to stay is agonizing. She finds herself even more mixed up when her heart feels the tug of new friends, a first crush, and even a crotchety neighbor and his sweet whistling bird. All Thyme can do is count the minutes, the hours, and days, and hope time can bring both a miracle for Val and a way back home.

With equal parts heart and humor, Melanie Conklin’s debut is a courageous and charming story of love and family—and what it means to be counted.
Visit Melanie Conklin's website, Twitter perch, and watch the Counting Thyme book trailer.

The Page 69 Test: Counting Thyme.

Writers Read: Melanie Conklin.

--Marshal Zeringue