- 1 book published in hardcover: 14 Hollow Road
- 1 book printed in paperback: The Distance to Home
- 2 new middle grade WIPs revised
- 1 book blurbed (my first time being asked! I was so thrilled! It’s coming out in 2018.)
- several picture books drafted (none exactly “finished”)
- 207 books* read (208 if I can somehow manage to finish Masha Gessen’s monstrous 500-page The Future Is History today)
- . . . including 46 books by marginalized voices
- Favorite books read in 2017 that were published before 2017: Belle Prater’s Boy by Ruth White, I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, Sure Signs of Crazy by Karen Harrington, All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor, In The Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson, The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry
- Favorite books read in 2017 that will be published in 2018: Love, Penelope by Joanne Rocklin, The Science of Breakable Things by Tae Keller, P.S. I Miss You by Jen Petro-Roy, Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World by Ashley Herring Blake
Ten Favorite Books Published in 2017:
- The Burning Girl by Claire Messud
- The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
- The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez
- Clayton Byrd Goes Underground by Rita Williams-Garcia
- Well, That Was Awkward by Rachel Vail
- Cilla Lee-Jenkins: Future Author Extraordinaire by Susan Tan
- Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett
- The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice & Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
- Being Fishkill by Ruth Lehrer
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
5 reading and writing goals for 2018:
- Read more books from marginalized voices
- Start a fun side project (maybe something where no one dies or is imperiled, Jenn!)
- Read more adult books, graphic novels, and MG/YA that wasn’t published in the current year
- Write by hand more
- Finish at least one picture book draft
5 things I’m looking forward to in 2018:
- Visiting more schools in-person and virtually
- Book festivals!
- Sharing some exciting news in April (a dream come true!)
- Running more than 5 consecutive miles for the first time since the 2016 NYC Marathon
- Bearcats in the Final Four and the Red Sox in the World Series (a girl can dream)
