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K. Ancrum

Goodreads Author

Born

in Chicago, The United States

Website

http://kancrum.com/

Genre

Young Adult, Thriller, Gay and Lesbian

Member Since

August 2010

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/kaylapocalypse

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K. Ancrum grew up in Chicago Illinois. She attended Dominican University to study Fashion Merchandising, but was lured into getting an English degree after spending too many nights experimenting with hard literary criticism and hanging out with unsavory types, like poetry students. Currently, she moonlights as a legal assistant and goblin who skulks about writing in the corner of Starbucks."

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Hello you groovy literary Goddess; you Queen of alt YA ships! Your refreshing use of little-seen poly, D/S, and bi relationships makes me happy. It’s rare to find such complexity in the YA field— alternative lifestyles and characters are only ever winked at. I crave depth and f*cking REALNESS, and you delivered with characters crackling darkly. Can we expect more alternative relationships in future works? Thanks!

K. Ancrum Absolutely definitely. In THE WEIGHT OF THE STARS coming out this March, you get to see Jack/Rina/August's poly family, the MCs are lesbians, and the…moreAbsolutely definitely. In THE WEIGHT OF THE STARS coming out this March, you get to see Jack/Rina/August's poly family, the MCs are lesbians, and the MC's younger brother is a 16 year old bisexual, single, teen father.

I grew up seeing a lot of alternative relationships and family/romantic life situations and I think that they're validating and realistic--regardless of the fact that they aren't entirely common in YA. In fact, I think irl teens (especially teens growing up in big cities) blur a lot of interesting lines and try a lot of interesting things--simply because they're at a learning period in their lives and the stakes are a bit lower in regards to social risk.

I value being able to write about stuff like this and showcase the tapestry of what existed around me as a teen, as opposed to what is conventional to expect teens to act like. Also, I do read ALL my reviews and I'm happy to report that I think a majority of my teen readers were able to recognize aspects of themselves and their friends in my characters in important ways.

There is this aspect of my work that is super deliberate that people (mostly adults) keep commenting on which is the parts where my teens say really "adult lesson-y" things. The reason why I do that--especially while handling alt-relationships-- is because there is value in teens reading other teens explicitly saying things like "Stop trying and find real help." or "My family is unusual, but my parents are all good parents and I love them."

I believe that there is a choice we are given--when writing inflammatory topics--to either: force the characters to do what we think is ideal rather than realistic in order to show teens how to handle difficult problems. Or to have them do what is realistic based on their circumstances, be punished for it in whatever way, and be taught by those around them how to learn from the experience. THE WICKER KING is the second kind of book.

So, as long as I'll be writing alternative lifestyle stories, I'll also be supplementing it with thoughtful considerate "adulty" analysis that my young readers need in order to process understanding why they exist and how they flourish when given the opportunity to. (less)

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K. Ancrum’s books

Average rating: 4.01 · 2,690 ratings · 996 reviews · 3 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Wicker King 4.04 avg rating — 2,394 ratings — published 2017 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Legend of the Golden Raven: A Novella of The Wicker King 3.74 avg rating — 272 ratings — published 2017 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Weight of the Stars 4.19 avg rating — 31 ratings — expected publication 2019 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

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Series by K. Ancrum

The Wicker King (2 books)
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K. Ancrum (Goodreads Author)

4.01 avg rating — 2,657 ratings

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K.’s Recent Updates

K. Ancrum is now friends with Jellybean
Feb 12, 2019 03:58PM · like
K. Ancrum and 9 other people liked Kristi Housman Confessions of a YA Reader's review of The Weight of the Stars: "First, I need to mention that my arc didn't transfer perfectly to my kindle. There were some formatting issues here and there, but I was able to read it anyway. I didn't see them right away. I was still able to follow with the misplaced sentenc..." Read more of this review »
Feb 07, 2019 03:20PM · see review
K. Ancrum and 3 other people liked shri (sunandchai)'s review of The Weight of the Stars: "✨ *Full review posted HERE on my blog.* ✨ First of all, I’d like to thank K. Ancrum for being so generous enough to send me an e-ARC. I absolute ADORED her other work, The Wicker King, and The Weight of the Stars was one of my most anticipated rel..." Read more of this review »
Feb 05, 2019 10:46PM · see review
K. Ancrum and 13 other people liked Laura's review of The Weight of the Stars: "This was amazing. This was better than I thought it would be. I'm crying RTC soon "
Feb 04, 2019 07:03AM · see review
K. Ancrum wants to read The Last 8 (The Last 8, #1) by Laura Pohl (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 04, 2019 06:51AM · like
K. Ancrum is now following Sara Faring Author of The Tenth Girl
Jan 22, 2019 11:55AM · like
K. Ancrum wants to read The Tenth Girl by Sara Faring (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 22, 2019 11:54AM · like
K. Ancrum wants to read Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 15, 2019 05:45AM · like
K. Ancrum voted on a poll I was looking through my 2019 releases shelf and noticed how many totally awesome covers there are on books coming out this year. Which 2019 YA book cover is your favorite? She voted for: Hot Dog Girl
Jan 15, 2019 05:44AM · like · take the poll
K. Ancrum made a comment on Khristina Chess’s review of The Wicker King " Hi! Just wanted to let you know that I answered your question in the Dragons and Tea book club! "
Jan 14, 2019 02:07PM · see review

More of K.'s books…

Quotes by K. Ancrum

“I never said I didn’t feel the same,” Jack said harshly. “Just because I don’t see the kingdom doesn’t mean it doesn’t still exist,” Jack said furiously. “As long as one of us remembers it, it still counts. We decide the end of the game, not them. Not anyone else. You’re so stupid, August. You’re so stupid and I love you so much.”
― K. Ancrum, The Wicker King

18 likes

“If you drop the weight you are carrying, it is okay. You can build yourself back up out of the pieces.”
― K. Ancrum, The Wicker King

tags: advice, author-s-note, build, carrying, drop, okay, pieces, the-wicker-king, weight, yourself

10 likes

“And suddenly, with a jolt of horror, he realised that he couldn't live without it anymore. It was as much a part of him as anything now. He couldn't run from it any more than anyone could run out of their own skin. It would just keep coming back, over and over, curling up out of him, growling like hunger.
He would crave the burn until he was dead.
August curled up against the wall and put his head in his arms.
He gripped the lighter so tightly that his knuckles went white.”
― K. Ancrum, The Wicker King

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K.’s Quotes

“Once heaven is done with grandma, we'd like her back, thanks.”
― Mitch Albom, For One More Day

tags: heaven, lost-loved-one

24 likes

“That's how it is on this bitch of an earth.”
― Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot

tags: life

134 likes

“She had the swagger of a girl. She blushed like a boy. She had a girl’s toughness. She has a boy’s gentleness. She was as meaty as a girl. She was as graceful as a boy. She was as brave and handsome and rough as a girl. She was as pretty and delicate and dainty as a boy. She turned boys' heads like a girl. She turned girls' heads like a boy. She made love like a boy. She made love like a girl. She was so boyish it was girlish, so girlish it was boyish, she made me want to rove the world writing our names on every tree. I had simply never found someone so right. Sometimes this shocked me so much that I was unable to speak.”
― Ali Smith, Girl Meets Boy

46 likes

“CUSTOMER: OK, so you want this book?
THEIR DAUGHTER: Yes!
CUSTOMER: Peter Pan?
THEIR DAUGHTER: Yes, please. Because he can fly.
CUSTOMER: Yes, he can - he's very good at flying.
THEIR DAUGHTER: Why can't I fly, daddy?
CUSTOMER: Because of evolution, sweetheart.”
― Jen Campbell, Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops

84 likes