Why YA? The Best Kept Secret Guest Post by Wendi Nunnery

I'm excited to have Wendi Nunnery visit Strands of Thought. She has a shiny new release, The Best Kept Secret, that she's here to talk about. Take it away, Wendi!


Thank you for having me on the blog today, Kai! I’m so excited to be here and share a few thoughts with you guys on The Best Kept Secret.

The Best Kept Secret, as you know, is a young adult novel, and I’ve received a few odd looks when I tell people this is the kind of book I wrote. Sometimes those who are unfamiliar with young adult novels tend to believe that the subject matter is light and fluffy, or perhaps even immature, because of the target demographic. They don’t seem to understand why I would want to write for this particular genre. At least not at first.

In recent years, young adult books have been making a dramatic shift from vampires and werewolves back to the daily struggles that teenagers face in an attempt to connect more personally with readers. Among the day-to-day issues like school, friendship, and love, authors are tackling really heavy issues, like bullying, sexual assault, death, teen suicide, eating disorders, sexual orientation and gender identity, and self-harm. And I think this is important because it helps people who might not usually read young adult novels remember that teenagers are real people, too. They aren’t one-dimensional. And sometimes they face incredibly difficult problems, just like anyone else.

The Best Kept Secret attempts to approach some of these issues - like bullying, sexual assault, and teen suicide - while still allowing the characters to live within a broad range of experiences where humor and love and friendship are still present. To give you a better idea of what I mean, I’d like to share a little bit about each character.

Emma

Emma is the narrator and protagonist of the novel. She’s a 15-year old sophomore at Cley High School, located in the fictional town of Cley, Georgia. She has a loving family and she was raised a Christian. This informs many of her beliefs, but she is struggling now that her friends are starting to differ in their views on issues like sex and relationships. Emma is strong and kind, but she often feels insecure. And this causes her some problems throughout the book.

Andy

Andy is Emma’s best friend, and he’s also a sophomore. He is 16, though, so he does all the driving. He’s popular, handsome, and very likeable. Andy is different from Emma in that most problems just roll off his back, but he’s loyal to her even when they start to face some big changes in their relationship.

Jesse

Jesse is Andy’s older brother, and he’s an 18-year old senior. Jesse manages Andy’s band and he is incredibly smart. He’s also quiet and unassuming, so people usually like Jesse because they like Andy. Emma and Jesse have never been close, but they begin to build a relationship as Emma starts to question her other friendships. Jesse is my favorite character.

Elsie
Elsie is a junior and she’s Emma’s closest girl friend. She’s very sweet, but Elsie wants to be liked and kind of follows along with everyone else. In the end, though, she proves herself to be much stronger than even she, or the reader, realized.

Georgia

Georgia is what I like to call the “Regina George” of Cley High School. She’s popular and pretty and incredibly snarky. Georgia does what is best, or most entertaining, for Georgia. And she causes a few headaches for Emma along the way.

Deegan

Deegan is the guy every girl wants to be with, but he has some pretty big secrets. He becomes Emma’s love interest early on and because of this relationship, Emma has to answer to herself in ways she had never imagined she would.

Thanks again, Kai, for having me on the blog today! I’m so grateful for the chance to tell you more about The Best Kept Secret and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Author Links/Bio:

Wendi Nunnery is the author of The Mayfield Family Story. She is also a regular contributor to The Huffington Post and The Simply Beloved, a lifestyle website for women of faith. She is a proud alumna of Georgia Southern University and, at any given time, you can find her with a cup of coffee and a book. She lives, loves, and mothers in Atlanta, Georgia. The Best Kept Secret is her first novel.

Find her online:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/wendinunneryauthor
Twitter: @ladynunnery
Instagram: @ladynunnery
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/ladynunnery
Blog: www.wendinunnery.com      

About TBKS:

In high school, everyone has secrets. Even well-brought-up Emma Fraser.

Emmas sophomore year started out all wrong. First, her best friend Andy confessed to losing his virginity leaving Emma all alone in the V-Club. Then the rest of her friends got weird and suddenly Emma finds herself feeling like the people she knows best have become total strangers. And total strangers are becoming friends.

When Deegan Burke, a rich, gorgeous senior, asks Emm
a to be his date for the prom, Emma thinks her luck has begun to change. But rather than being able to bask in this newfound glory, her whole world starts to unravel. And when secrets that once seemed so innocent start to take a very dangerous turn, Emma discovers that true friends are friends no matter whatand some secrets arent worth keeping.

BUY LINKS:

Amazon US:


Amazon UK:


Comments

  1. This looks like an amazing read. It captures the high school experience of fluid friendships.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congrats on the release, Wendi. Love the cover.

    Greetings, Kai:)

    ReplyDelete

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