THE TAKE-OVER FRIEND by Carol Dines - Spotlight & Giveaway

 

Judith Katz, author of The Escape Artist and Running Fiercely Toward A High Thin Sound calls THE TAKE-OVER FRIEND, "A really good story about the very complex world of trying to find out who you really are."

In THE TAKE-OVER FRIEND(FitzroyBooks) by Carol Dines, it's the the second day of ninth grade. Introverted Frances meets Sonja, a wildly funny newcomer from France, and the girls form a fast friendship. 


Frances adores Sonja's worldliness, and Sonja adores Frances's family, especially her older brother, Will. Frances and Sonja immediately declare themselves "The Poets" and rally their homeroom to enter the homecoming parade with a poetry-mobile built from Frances's father's old band bus. 


Family crises begin to escalate and tensions come to a head when Sonja temporarily moves in with Frances's family - forcing each friend to decide how close is too close. Alternatingly funny and poignant, The Take-Over Friend is a smart page-turner that focuses on the importance of finding your own voice in relationships.



Carol Dines’s new young adult novel, The Take-Over Friend, is a finalist for the Achevan Prize. Her recent adult fiction, a collection of stories, This Distance We Call Love, won the Eric Hoffer Book Prize, 2022.


In addition, her recent stories have been published in Ploughshares, Salamander, Narrative, Colorado Review, and Nimrod International. She has also published two novels for young adults, Best Friends Tell the Best Lies (Delacorte), The Queen’s Soprano (Harcourt) and a collection of short stories for young adults, Talk to Me (Delacorte.) Her poems and stories have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including Somebody’s Speaking My Language (Women’s Voices Press), Voices of the Land (Milkweed), and Love and Lust: An Anthology, (Taylor and O’Neill’s Open To Interpretation, 2014). She is a recipient of the Judy Blume award as well as a recipient of Minnesota and Wisconsin State Artist Fellowships.


Dines received a BA from Stanford University and an MA in English from Colorado State University. She has taught writing to all ages at universities, colleges, and public schools in Colorado, Florida, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.


She lives in Minneapolis with her husband, Jack Zipes, and their standard poodle.



Thanks to Fitzroy Books, we have one book to giveaway. Just tell us your favorite friendship. We'll announce a winner soon. Good luck.


GIVEAWAY: USA only



Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 4, 2022 at 10:04 AM

    Would love to read this! Thanks for the chance!

    ReplyDelete
  2. PhyllisOctober 4, 2022 at 10:12 AM

    My favorite friendship---that's a tough one! So many to choose from. I'm going to go with one of my very best friends, Val, whose birthday is today. And then there's Andee, whose birthday is tomorrow and has been my BFF since 8th grade! Thanks for the chance.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousOctober 4, 2022 at 10:58 AM

    My long-time friend, Donna, is a very special person. She’s going through some health problems now and lives in another state so I can’t see her, though I think of her every day. The women in my book club are newer friends (19 years) and I love each one of them.

    ReplyDelete
  4. travelerOctober 4, 2022 at 12:59 PM

    My favorite friendship was a girl who lived next door to me many years ago. We both moved away but continue to contact each other and remember special celebrations. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Annmarie Weeks October 4, 2022 at 5:56 PM

    My favorite friendship is with my friend J! We've been friends since I was in 8th grade (and she in 7th). We were neighbors. We now live many states away, are married to great guys and have raised 6 children among us, but still get together once or twice a year. And my hubby & I actually just had lunch with her adult daughter when we were traveling the other day!

    ReplyDelete
  6. bn100October 7, 2022 at 9:06 PM

    from school
    bn100candg at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  7. JoOctober 8, 2022 at 11:06 AM

    My BFF from kindergarten on johart7@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Nancy POctober 26, 2022 at 8:44 PM

    My friendships with the men in my life. They're very fulfilling.

    ReplyDelete

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