Friday, October 10, 2014

What is Amy Reed reading?

Featured at Writers Read: Amy Reed, author of Damaged.

Her entry begins:
What I’m reading right now is George Saunders’ award-winning collection of short stories, Tenth of December. Actually, I should say it’s what I’m not reading right now. The book has been sitting on my bedside table for a couple of weeks, and I’ve only been picking it up once every few days. Part of this is because I have a toddler and my reading time is limited. When I read short stories, I prefer to read them in one sitting, and that is nearly impossible these days. However, much of my reluctance in picking up the book is because, frankly, I have a hard time with short stories, even when...[read on]
About Damaged, from the publisher:
Two teens must come to terms with their friend’s death—and her afterlife—in this gritty and realistic novel from the author of Beautiful, Clean, Crazy, and Over You.

When Kinsey’s best friend Camille dies in a car accident while she was behind the wheel, she shuts down completely, deciding that numbness is far better than mourning. She wants to be left alone during the last few weeks of high school, but Camille’s mysterious boyfriend Hunter, who was also in the car that night, has a different idea.

Despite all of Kinsey’s efforts, she can’t shake Camille, who begins haunting her in dreams. Sleep deprived and on the verge of losing it, she agrees to run away with Hunter to San Francisco. As the pair tries to escape both the ghost of Camille and their own deep fears, Kinsey questions how real her perception of her friendship with Camille was, and whether her former friend’s ghost is actually now haunting her. Hunter, meanwhile, falls into a spiral of alcoholism, anger, and self-loathing.

Ultimately, Kinsey and Hunter must come to terms with what they’ve lost and accept that they can’t outrun pain.
Learn more about the book and author at Amy Reed's website, Facebook page, and Twitter perch.

Writers Read: Amy Reed (October 2009).

Writers Read: Amy Reed (August 2011).

Writers Read: Amy Reed (July 2012).

Writers Read: Amy Reed.

--Marshal Zeringue