WHAT I CARRY 1/21/20

“The power of relationship—both those experienced and those denied—is expertly explored throughout this novel with nuance and humanity.” - KIRKUS (Starred) Random House Books 2020

“Dubbed not only a necessary book — [but] a charming, honest, and hopeful one by A Heart in a Body in the World author Deb Caletti, Longo's What I Carry centers on Muiriel, a self-described "foundling" approaching her 18th birthday in the foster-care system. She has become an expert at moving, because she's bounced around to nearly two dozen foster homes. With her emancipation from the system on the horizon, Muiriel just needs to keep herself out of trouble until her birthday. But when her home city of Seattle can't place her anywhere, Muiriel is shipped off to a remote island in the Puget Sound, where she finds people who complicate, and may heal, her personal philosophy against attachments. And she may find a home at last.” - BUSTLE

Up to this pointe

“A stunning love letter to ballet, San Francisco, failed dreams…and Antarctic exploration.” SHELF AWARENESS (Starred) * Random House Books 2016

Harper Scott is a dancer. She and her best friend, Kate, have one goal: becoming professional ballerinas. And Harper won’t let anything—or anyone—get in the way of The Plan, not even the boy she and Kate are both drawn to.

Harper is a Scott. She’s related to Robert Falcon Scott, the explorer who died racing Amundsen and Shackleton to the South Pole. Amundsen won because he had a plan, and Harper has always followed his model. So when Harper’s life takes an unexpected turn, she finagles (read: lies) her way to the icy dark of McMurdo Station . . . in Antarctica. Extreme, but somehow fitting—apparently she has always been in the dark, dancing on ice this whole time. And no one warned her. Not her family, not her best friend, not even the boy who has somehow found a way into her heart. It will take a visit from Shackleton's ghost--the explorer who didn't make it to the South Pole, but who got all of his men out alive--to teach Harper that success isn't always what's important, sometimes it's more important to learn how to fail successfully.

SIX FEET OVER IT

“Equal parts poignant and humorous. Superb.” KIRKUS (Starred) * Random House Books 2014

Home is where the bodies are buried.

Leigh sells graves for her family-owned cemetery because her father is too lazy to look farther than the dinner table when searching for employees. Working the literal graveyard shift, she meets two kinds of customers:

Pre Need: They know what's up. They bought their graves a long time ago, before they needed them.

At Need: They are in shock, mourning a loved ones's unexpected death. Leigh avoids sponging their agony by focusing on things like guessing the headstone choice (mostly granite).

Capable and smart, Leigh should be able to stand up to her family and quit. But her world's been turned upside down by the sudden loss of her best friend, and the appearance of Dario, the kind, persistent grave digger. Surrounded by death, can Leigh move on, if moving on means it's time to get a life?