A Soft Place to Land: Book Talk with Janae Marks

119 Whalley Ave,New Haven CT 06511

23 October, 2021

Description

Book talk with Janae Marks about her new middle grades release, A Soft Place to Land People Get Ready is so excited to host an in-person meet-the-author, book talk and signing with Janae Marks, featuring her new middle grades novel, A Soft Place to Land. Having loved From the Desk of Zoe Washington so much, we have been waiting eagerly for this new release! We love it so much and recommend it highly. It's such a sweet, engaging, realistic, and at times suspenseful story about finding refuge in hard times and also making one’s way through complex relationships with friends and family. This afternoon event will include a brief reading by the author as well as an opporunity for participants to ask questions of Janae and have their books signed by her. Thank you for registering in advance and coming prepared to wear a mask at all times while indoors! ABOUT A SOFT PLACE TO LAND Joy Taylor has always believed home is the house she lived in her entire life. But then her dad lost his job, and suddenly, home becomes a tiny apartment with thin walls, shared bedrooms, and a place for tense arguments between Mom and Dad. Hardest of all, Joy doesn’t have her music to escape through anymore. Without enough funds, her dreams of becoming a great pianist—and one day, a film score composer—have been put on hold. A friendly new neighbor her age lets Joy in on the complex’s best-kept secret: the Hideout, a cozy refuge that only the kids know about. And it’s in this little hideaway that Joy starts exchanging secret messages with another kid in the building who also seems to be struggling, until—abruptly, they stop writing back. What if they’re in trouble? Joy is determined to find out who this mystery writer is, fast, but between trying to raise funds for her music lessons, keeping on a brave face for her little sister, and worrying about her parents’ marriage, Joy isn’t sure how to keep her own head above water. --- "Squeezes your heart in such a special way." —Lisa Moore Ramée, author of A Good Kind of Trouble and Something to Say “Readers will find hope in Joy’s courage, ingenuity, and fierce dedication to her friends.” —Kate Messner, author of Breakout and Chirp “A timely story about connection, loss and the spaces we need to understand one and brave the other.” —Paula Chase, author of Dough Boys and So Done ABOUT JANAE MARKS ​​Janae Marks is an author of middle grade novels. Her debut From the Desk of Zoe Washington is an indie bestseller and was named a Best Book of the Year by Parents Magazine, Book Riot, Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, Chicago Public Library and the Boston Globe. Her second novel A Soft Place to Land releases in Fall 2021. She has an MFA in Writing for Children from The New School, and lives in Connecticut with her husband, daughter and miniature schnauzer named Cookie. Janae is part of the Renegades of Middle Grade and is a co-founder of Middle Ground Book Fest.