Our guest today: Shannon Greenland
Why we love her: Her writing is fun and stress-free, just the way we like our summer reading!
Her latest: The Summer My Life Began
The scoop on it: When seventeen-year-old Em gets to spend a month at her aunt's island resort, it's a dream come true—and exactly the break Em needed from her strict family and their high expectations of her.
But when Em uncovers a long-buried secret about her family, everything changes. And suddenly, Em finds herself making some big choices about her future—choices she never dreamed she'd have the chance to make . . .
Our thoughts: We had a great time reading this one- and since it's YA, you can share it with your teen too!
Giveaway: FIVE copies! Leave a comment and we'll choose a winner after Sunday July 15th after 3pm PST. Good luck!
Fun Fact: Shannon has also written a fun YA series called The Specialists.
Where you can read more about Shannon: her website, Facebook, or Twitter.
CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...SHANNON GREENLAND'S 5 THINGS I'D TELL THE TEEN ME
1. Travel! I spent two years between high school and college seeing the world. I helped bathe orphans in Mexico, saw the wall come down in Germany, rode a bike in snowy Denmark, slept in too many airports to count, sang on a stage in Poland… and so much more. Since then I’ve sailed to the Bahamas, climbed a light house in Bermuda, hiked the Na Pali coast in Hawaii, canoed in Venezuela, zip lined a forest… and so much more. Travel! It’ll open your mind and soul to this incredible earth we live on.
2. Be open to change. When your heart and gut tell you to take a less comforting choice, consider listening. 9 times out of 10 your heart and gut are right.
3. Learn a language. Be it Spanish, French, Farsi, or whatever, dig in and learn it. Be willing to travel to a country that speaks your chosen 2nd language and do total immersion. Be willing to take more classes than are required for a high school diploma. Knowing a second language is an irreplaceable skill.
4. It’s okay to break up with a boyfriend. What it’s not okay to do is choose boys over friends. Boys will come and go, but friendship is the foundation to a solid life full of laughter, love, longevity, and surprises.
5. Choose independence. You will be so proud of yourself for working hard, making your own money, and achieving your own success. It’s okay to rely on someone but be ready to stand on your own feet. You will be a better, more fulfilled person because of it.
Thanks Shannon! xoxo, L&L