The finalists for the 2017 Washington State Book Awards were announced on August 7. 2017 WSBA FINALISTS: BOOKS FOR ADULTS CATEGORIES Fiction The Solace of Monsters by Laurie Blauner, of Seattle (Leapfrog Press) Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang, of Bellevue (Vintage Books; reissued 2016; original publication date 2002) Barkskins by Annie …
If you stopped into your favorite indie bookstore last week and didn’t see all the regular faces, it may have been because folks were in New York City for the annual BookExpo America, a.k.a. BEA. When you see them now, they may look verrrry tired because they’ve been up late every night reading advance readers …
I read Kenmore, Washington author Kirby Larson’s Newbery Honor-winning book Hattie Big Sky when it came out in 2007. The story of 16-year-old Hattie, who moves to Montana by herself to try to prove up on a homestead claim left to her by her bachelor uncle, completely captured my heart, and I hand-sold it to everyone I …
“In this sequel, just out today, readers will be able to follow Hattie Big Sky to San Francisco from Montana, in part two of Kirby Larson’s saga about the teenager who took on a homestead and almost made it work. These novels have appeal to readers teen and up and book clubs, adolescent as well as …
Flannery O’Connor once gave her short stories to a neighbor who read them and said, “Them stories just gone and shown you how some folks would do.” Ten years ago, after hearing a snippet of a story from my grandmother about her step-mother, Hattie, who homesteaded by herself as a young woman in eastern Montana, …
“Larson brings a tumultuous era to life through a teen-aged protagonist whose emotions and angst are the timeless features of adolescence. Piper’s reactions to her father’s decisions, the un-childlike worries that wrack her, and the way she processes the unfolding plight of her neighbors showcase a strong and sophisticated protagonist. Piper’s story adds perspective to …
Kirby Larson is a wonderful Seattle author of numerous children’s and young adult books. She has won awards for such books as Hattie Big Sky, The Two Bobbies, among others. In May she was interviewed by Nancy Pearl for a show on Seattle’s cable channel 21, which is a service of the City of Seattle. …
