A Book Tour: Pretty Amy by Lisa Burstein (Interview)

Pretty Amy 

Lisa Burstein

Release Date: 5/15/2012

Format: eBook

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

Age Group: Young Adult

INTERVIEW 

1. Describe Pretty Amy in three words. 

Funny, Real, Bittersweet

2. How much input did you have in Pretty Amy's cover? 

A lot actually, but the cover I originally wanted wasn't the one I got. I requested a cover with a girl in a prom dress from the neck down. I wanted it to be "Amy's mug shot" with the title of the book and my name, on her mug shot sign. That cover was made, but so was the one that was chosen and I liked that one a lot better. That was all my publisher Liz Pelletier and my editor Stacy Cantor Abrams. From what I hear they went through a lot of "Amy's". I think the one they picked is perfect!

3. Can you tell us more about the Pretty Amy project?  Will the stories be shared? and if so, where can we see them? 

Basically I wanted to provide a safe place where teens who had read PRETTY AMY could share their feelings about the book and how they feel it relates to their lives and their experiences. I am asking them to tell me how they've felt like Amy. How they got over it. How they are getting over it. How they are embracing it. I am inviting them to tell anything they've been too afraid to tell before. I will be creating a blog to showcase the stories, teens can decide whether they want to be anonymous and or have their names listed. I am hoping it will let teen girls know they are not alone. That a lot of people feel what they feel: the desire to belong, to fit in, to have people who understand them.

4. Which is your most favorite fairy-tale character/story? and why? 

I refer to this fairytale in PRETTY AMY, in regards to how Amy sees the differences between herself and her friends, like human versions of the three bears, so I guess I would say, Goldilocks. I like how Goldilocks isn't afraid to admit that she doesn't know what she wants.

5. What are you working on now/next? 

A companion novel to PRETTY AMY, titled DEAR CASSIE about the aftermath of the girls’ arrest and its effect told through diary entries of Amy’s best friend Cassie. It should be out next spring.

Thank you so much for stopping by, Lisa!!!

SUMMARY

"Amy is fine living in the shadows of beautiful Lila and uber-cool Cassie, because at least she’s somewhat beautiful and uber-cool by association. But when their dates stand them up for prom, and the girls take matters into their own hands—earning them a night in jail outfitted in satin, stilettos, and Spanx—Amy discovers even a prom spent in handcuffs might be better than the humiliating “rehabilitation techniques” now filling up her summer. Worse, with Lila and Cassie parentally banned, Amy feels like she has nothing—like she is nothing. 

Navigating unlikely alliances with her new coworker, two very different boys, and possibly even her parents, Amy struggles to decide if it’s worth being a best friend when it makes you a public enemy. Bringing readers along on an often hilarious and heartwarming journey, Amy finds that maybe getting a life only happens once you think your life is over."


You can find my review for Pretty Amy HERE!!!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lisa Burstein is a tea seller by day and a writer by night. She received her MFA in Fiction from the Inland Northwest Center for Writers at Eastern Washington University and is glad to finally have it be worth more than the paper it was printed on. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her very patient husband, a neurotic dog and two cats. Pretty Amy is her first novel. She never went to her senior prom.

Official Website, Blog, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter

A Promo/Blog Tour for: 

http://www.entangledpublishing.com/