Blog Tour: The Sound of Letting Go by Stasia Ward Kehoe + GIVEAWAY!

I have the pleasure of being a part of THE SOUND OF LETTING GO blog tour (on publication day!) by Stasia Ward Kehoe.  This lyrical novel told in verse, blew me away.  The beauty of Stasia's writing seeps from page to page, eloquently telling the story of what it means to really listen to what it is that you want, and how to let go of the things you don't.  Today Stasia has stopped by to share some of her thoughts on writing, and how all those thoughts culminate on publication day.  Please welcome her!

Thanks so much to Ginger for hosting me here at GReads on the day my second novel, THE SOUND OF LETTING GO, hits bookshelves.

Pub day is a strange day. Yes, you celebrate the culmination of years of hard work on your story. But you also lament because the novel is no longer yours alone. From concept to submission, from writing to revision, from design to marketing to release, you have lived and breathed your book, agonizing over every choice from character names to cover fonts. Now, there’s nothing you can change.

The publication of a book is not unlike the experience of sending a child off to college, which I did this August. I put my eldest onto an airplane and watched him soar out in the world. Now, he must find his own path and I can only hope that the choices I made in raising him help him discover places that are beautiful and fulfilling and populated with people who care about him.

As I write this post, trying not to get readers too down but wanting to be honest about this weird, emotional thing called a writing life, it dawns on me that my novel is about this concept, too.

THE SOUND OF LETTING GO is about the things we create, with all their imperfections and uncertainties.

In the novel, Daisy is a teen trumpet prodigy, trying to figure out the role music will play in her life. Her parents, Ted and Alice, have “created” her as well as her brother, Steven, an autistic boy whose sounds come mostly via acts of frustration and violence. Her parents are both amazed and terrified at the prospect of watching these two children grow. Daisy’s childhood love, Dave, is struggling to recreate connections lost when his family was divided by divorce. Her bandmate, Irish exchange student Cal, bears the weight of being responsible for the possible destruction of his own family’s dreams.

Love and friendship, talent and ambition, hope and despair…the ways we hold onto or let go of all of these things is at the core of my novel. It can be awesome, or painful, or bittersweet or, sometimes, beautiful.

I believe that these feelings, like the ones I have today, knowing that THE SOUND OF LETTING GO is out in the world without my loving hand any longer at its proverbial back, speak to the essence of what makes us human, what makes us individual.

So, today, I will push away the bitter and embrace the sweet. I will celebrate the work I have done and try not to be too frightened of tomorrow. I will look at my favorite page of the novel—the dedication page—on which I let go of this book with words of love for my best creations, my four sons, and for the wonderful man who helps me live this dream and, more importantly, is their dad.

Want to hear the sound track to which I listened when I wrote this post? It’s here: http://thesoundoflettinggopubdayblues.blogspot.com/

About the Book:  For sixteen years, Daisy has been good. A good daughter, helping out with her autistic younger brother uncomplainingly. A good friend, even when her best friend makes her feel like a third wheel. When her parents announce they’re sending her brother to an institution—without consulting her—Daisy’s furious, and decides the best way to be a good sister is to start being bad. She quits jazz band and orchestra, slacks in school, and falls for bad-boy Dave.

But one person won’t let Daisy forget who she used to be: Irish exchange student and brilliant musician Cal. Does she want the bad boy or the prodigy? Should she side with her parents or protect her brother? How can she know when to hold on and when—and how—to let go?

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | IndieBound 

About the Author:  Stasia Ward Kehoe grew up dancing and performing on stages from New Hampshire to Washington, DC. She now writes books for young adults and choreographs the occasional musical.

Since it is pub day, Stasia Ward Kehoe is hiding in her house listening to show tunes and trying unsuccessfully to stay off the internet. So, you can be pretty sure she’ll reply if you tweet her @swkehoe!

Website | Goodreads Author Page | Twitter

ENTER TO WIN…a signed first edition of THE SOUND OF LETTING GO, one of four different TsoLG Swag Packs, or a pair of author-designed custom Keds sneakers (size 8)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Sound of Letting Go by Stasia Ward Kehoe

The Sound of Letting Go by Stasia Ward Kehoe
Published: February 6, 2014 by Viking Children's
Source: Review copy from the publisher - thank you!

For sixteen years, Daisy has been good. A good daughter, helping out with her autistic younger brother uncomplainingly. A good friend, even when her best friend makes her feel like a third wheel. When her parents announce they’re sending her brother to an institution—without consulting her—Daisy’s furious, and decides the best way to be a good sister is to start being bad. She quits jazz band and orchestra, slacks in school, and falls for bad-boy Dave.

But one person won’t let Daisy forget who she used to be: Irish exchange student and brilliant musician Cal. Does she want the bad boy or the prodigy? Should she side with her parents or protect her brother? How can she know when to hold on and when—and how—to let go? [goodreads]

There's a quiet beauty that slowly emerges through the storytelling of Stasia Ward Kehoe.  It's the kind that will grab your heart, without you even knowing it, tugging it deep and then deeper inside.  For someone who is not experienced with novels in verse, I was a bit hesitant if I'd really connect with this writing style.  Oh what a pleasant and brilliant surprise this reading experience quickly became for me.  Not once did I feel a disconnect, or felt that the story was skimming just across the surface.  The flow of this novel was spot-on and held me captive til the very end.

Daisy has a true talent as a musician, and it's been her escape for as long as she can remember.  All the hours she's put in to rehearsing has paid off and she's on the cuspid of a brilliant future ahead.  But what was once her passion is starting to become muddled in the affairs of her life at home.  Daisy's severely autistic younger brother is growing into a teenager, and what used to be a behavior her mother and father could handle on their own, is quickly spiraling into a dangerous situation for the whole family.

My heart went out to Daisy and her parents.  I could not imagine the difficulty in loving a family member who needs so much care and attention.  The amount of stress put on all their lives was carefully portrayed, so much that I could empathize with their situation.  They want what's best for Steven, but is keeping him at home under their care necessarily best?   As Steven's episodes quickly spiral deeper and deeper, it puts an enormous strain on the family dynamics.  Daisy slips into the shadows and begins spiraling out on her own accord.

She grows closer to a boy who is someone the old, disciplined Daisy would never seek solace in.  However, maybe this is what Daisy needs.  After all, Dave knows just the right things to say, and its his actions that pull her mind away from the chaos at home and into a world of what normal teenagers should be worrying about.  In the back of Daisy's mind she knows how far off her planned path she's detouring, but what difference does it make if no one is noticing. 

The Sound of Letting Go is a heartbreaking interpretation of what it means to accept the changes in our lives, and where those changes may bring us.  I fully connected with the brilliant writing style of Stasia Ward Kehoe, so much that I couldn't tear myself away from the story until I knew Daisy would find her way back again.  For those who wish to experience a novel written in verse, I highly recommend beginning with this one.  It's a gorgeous story, full of emotion and the hard decisions we must face in life.  Under all that beauty is a soft melody that effortlessly delivers a story that contemporary YA fans will devour and adore.

*Did you enjoy this review? Then be sure to visit by my blog on Thursday (2/6/14) for an exclusive author interview + giveaway - all part of the blog tour for THE SOUND OF LETTING GO!

Audition Blog Tour: Costumes!

Audition by Stasia Ward Kehoe
Published: October 13, 2011 by Viking/Penguin
Received: ARC from author/publisher

When high school junior Sara wins a coveted scholarship to study ballet, she must sacrifice everything for her new life as a professional dancer-in-training. Living in a strange city with a host family, she's deeply lonely-until she falls into the arms of Remington, a choreographer in his early twenties. At first, she loves being Rem's muse, but as she discovers a surprising passion for writing, she begins to question whether she's chosen the right path. Is Rem using her, or is it the other way around? And is dancing still her dream, or does she need something more? This debut novel in verse is as intense and romantic as it is eloquent.

Debut author Stasia Ward Kehoe has stopped by the blog today to give us her insight on costumes.  Since the novel Audition is centered around dance, I thought it would be interesting to know more about the author's personal experience in the world of performance when it comes to costumes.

Author Stasia Ward Kehoe: With Halloween just around the corner, I thought I'd reflect a bit on costumes here at GReads today. Growing up in dance and theater, costumes were a huge part of my life—for better and worse!

In a production of Through the Looking Glass one year, I was a Rose—petals around the face and all (yeah, see the embarrassing picture?). And, back before we had kids, I used to make elaborate Halloween costumes for my hubs and and myself, such as “The Princess and the Frog” all from felt (slightly less embarrassing picture).

I thought hard about costumes when I wrote Audition. From the dowdy Mama Bear outfit beneath which Sara hides on tour to the ugliness of her Nutcracker Snowflake unitard, I wanted costumes to serve as another way to represent emotion in the story. The green dress in Ally Condie’s MATCHED and Delaney’s red parka in Megan Miranda’s upcoming 2012 debut FRACTURE are two other examples where costumes give great insight into the hearts of characters.

When I do author appearances, my least-favorite thing is choosing an outfit. I often reject some recently-bought outfit that looked to me like something a WRITER WOULD WEAR in favor of favorite slacks…a comfortable top…something to hide the muffin top (like the internal rhyme there, everybody?). I don’t want to wear an author costume that doesn’t feel like me any more than I would inject a plot twist that feels more like a trick or surprise than what would naturally happen.

So, if you’re a writer, what do costumes mean to your story? If you’re a reader, what is your favorite costume scene in a book? And, just for fun, what article of clothing would you say best represents you? Sadly, I’d have to say a black fleece hoodie. You know—writer uniform.

As someone who also grew up in the world of dance, costumes played a huge role in my childhood.  I took ballet, tap, & jazz lessons for over 15 years.  My mother was a seamstress and sewed many recital costumes.  There was always tulle fabric and sequins scattered about.  My favorite costume she ever made had to be a piece we did for a jazz-mamba routine.  The sleeves were were full of ruffles in elaborate colors.  Definitely an eye-catcher from the stage!

Thank you Stasia for taking the time to stop by my blog today & I hope all my followers will pick up a copy of Audition on October 13th!

I receive a small commission from books purchased through the Amazon links provided.