June Author Talk:
Grant Overstake
The Real Education of TJ Crowley
Winner:
2019 J. Donald & Bertha Coffin Memorial Book Award
Winner:
2019 "It Looks Like a Million" Design Award
Grant Overstake
The Real Education of TJ Crowley
Winner:
2019 J. Donald & Bertha Coffin Memorial Book Award
Winner:
2019 "It Looks Like a Million" Design Award
Recording Available for Viewing by Members - Click Here
Come get answers from the guy who knows about indie publishing! Grant will be answering questions about writing, book production, and marketing! He'll be talking about successes, as well as pitfalls to avoid.
Join us live on Tuesday, June 22, to get the most from this excellent program!
Learn more at www.grantoverstake.com
"The historical moment portrayed in this YA novel makes it a compelling book for our time. This read takes us back to 1968 and the divisions of the country around the Viet Nam war, racial conflict, and civil rights. Wichita becomes a character in its own right as the segregated city begins bussing of black students to white schools, riots and a tense police force result in curfews, and the Fair Housing Law forces integration. Against this background, TJ Crowley begins 7th grade. When his father abandons the family and his older brother enlists in the army, his alcoholic mother spins out of control.
"The short chapters and quick pace of the story involve the reader effortlessly in TJ’s life. Descriptions of his best friend’s experiments with growing his hair, tie dyed clothing, and drugs are a realistic backdrop. The upheaval of TJ’s home when a black family moves in next door and his mother invites friends from her past to handle the problem make junior high that much more complicated. TJ’s point of view is perfectly reflected in his drive to make it onto sports teams, his crush on the new girl next door, and his adolescent concern with finding his locker. As TJ learns to question things he’s never questioned before, the reader sees a piece of Kansas history that shows not just how things have changed but how many things haven’t changed. Grant Overstake has given us a book that reads easily while not being easy to forget at all."
Kim Rutter, Judge
"The short chapters and quick pace of the story involve the reader effortlessly in TJ’s life. Descriptions of his best friend’s experiments with growing his hair, tie dyed clothing, and drugs are a realistic backdrop. The upheaval of TJ’s home when a black family moves in next door and his mother invites friends from her past to handle the problem make junior high that much more complicated. TJ’s point of view is perfectly reflected in his drive to make it onto sports teams, his crush on the new girl next door, and his adolescent concern with finding his locker. As TJ learns to question things he’s never questioned before, the reader sees a piece of Kansas history that shows not just how things have changed but how many things haven’t changed. Grant Overstake has given us a book that reads easily while not being easy to forget at all."
Kim Rutter, Judge
Grant Overstake, Author
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