Mitali Perkins's Blog, page 2
July 14, 2023
Goodreads Giveaway for HOPE IN THE VALLEY!
July 11, 2023
Happy Publication Day, Younger Me!
Release day for
Hope in the Valley
! Here I am at the cusp of 13, the same age as my protagonist PandIta. We moved to a Bay Area suburb, very fresh-off-the-boat, and I started seventh grade in the middle of the school year. Not an easy time of life, so I wrote a lot of poetry. I was able to weave a few of those poems into this novel. Happy publication day, younger Mitali. We got here together, you and I.
So grateful on publication day for team Hope , including my brilliant editor Grace Kendall, agent extraordinaire Laura Rennert, and the amazing team at Macmillan FSG,
July 6, 2023
Encouraging pre-publication responses for HOPE IN THE VALLEY!
In their starred review of my forthcoming novel Hope in the Valley (July 11), BookPage made my day with this quote:
Also, my first kid reader — a 13-year-old boy — loved the novel!
“‘I only got one hour of sleep,’ Asher confessed the next morning. ‘I finished the book.’ No endorsement could possibly equal that of a kid who stayed up all night reading. Such is the magic of a story well-told.”
June 30, 2023
A Hero is Coming to my Book Launch Party!
In my novel Hope in the Valley, you’ll meet a character who is loosely based on one of my heroes, Paul Ichiuji, the father of my friend Alyson Tonomura. I asked Alyson for permission to use her Dad’s real name in the story as a way to honor his memory. I’m so delighted that Alyson and her mother, Sumi Ichiuji (also one of my heroes), will be joining me for my launch at Books Inc. Palo Alto on July 11 at 7 o’clock. Mrs. Ichiuji will share about how a good neighbor fought for the safety of her family’s land during their internment, a period of California’s history that my protagonist Pandita discovers as she delves into the checkered past of her Silicon Valley town.
https://www.booksinc.net/event/mitali-perkins-books-inc-palo-alto
June 15, 2023
Third Starry Review for HOPE IN THE VALLEY: The Horn Book!
★ HOPE IN THE VALLEYAuthor: Mitali Perkins
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Pages: 160
Price (Hardcover): $16.99
Publication Date: 07/11/2023
ISBN (Hardcover): 9780374388515
Horn Book Magazine - July/August
"... The story is set in the summer of 1980 in Silicon Valley, California, before the tech boom. It is a place on the cusp, much like the story’s protagonist, who finds herself compelled by memories of her past; the complex and fascinating history she uncovers; and possibilities for the future of her town, her family, and herself ..."
June 9, 2023
You're Invited to a Book Event for HOPE IN THE VALLEY!
I'm excited to invite you to celebrate the launch of my first middle-grade novel in years,
HOPE IN THE VALLEY
. The book has received stars from Publisher's Weekly, Kirkus, and The Horn Book ("so far," as my editor at Macmillan likes to add with great hope) and releases July 11, 2023.⭐ "Grief, memories, and the difficulty of letting go permeate this powerful story about family, friendship, and finding your voice . . . deeply compelling . . . A riveting, courage-filled story." ~ Kirkus Reviews, starred review
⭐ "Employing Pandu’s lilting voice and quiet bravery, Perkins crafts an introspective novel about moving on from loss and finding the courage to fight for what one believes in." ~ Publishers Weekly, starred review
I went to college in Silicon Valley during the time when orchards (the place used to be called the Valley of Heart’s Delight thanks to their magnificent blooms) were torn down and replaced with commercial office buildings, housing developments, and mini-malls, so I set HOPE IN THE VALLEY in that era. I created characters who express a range of opinions around a property for sale in their town — should they preserve it for history’s sake, let the market determine what happens, or employ it for the sake of diversity and equity now and in the future? In the fictional town of Sunny Creek, as in small towns and cities across the United States, people care deeply about the flourishing of their communities. They disagree, however, about the means to get there.
In this novel, as in most of my others, I try to give my young readers dignity and space to think for themselves when it comes to the pursuit of justice and goodness. I believe they're capable of navigating nuance; they might even be better at it than we are because they are less rigid and still in formation. Essentially, my novel explores this broad question: how might we honor good from history while not letting the past impede a more just future? But it's also about a shy, old-fashioned seventh-grader who writes poetry and doesn't want to grow up--basically, Pandita is me. I wrote the poems that are included when I was twelve. It also features a first crush at drama camp, classic books, and The Sound of Music, because what would life be without the Von Trapp family?
Here are the events; I'd love to see you there. Please mark your calendars and invite friends!
July 11, 2023, 7 p.m. | South Bay Area Launch Party | Books Inc. Palo Alto | Town and Country Village, 855 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, California
July 26, 2023, 3 p.m. | East Bay Area Launch Party | Rakestraw Books | 3 Railroad Avenue, Danville, California
August 27, 2023, 2 p.m. | Massachusetts signing and conversation with author and editor Roger Sutton | Newtonville Books | 10 Langley Road, Newton, Massachusetts
October 8, 2023, 4 p.m. | Colorado signing and conversation with author Claudia Mills | Boulder Bookstore | 1107 Pearl Street, Boulder, Colorado
If you can't make any of these events, feel free to order a copy by calling any of the bookstores above and I'll personalize it for you when I'm there. I hope you like the novel!
May 31, 2023
Starry Review for HOPE IN THE VALLEY in Publishers Weekly!
Yippee! My novel HOPE IN THE VALLEY garnered a second starry review, this time in Publishers Weekly.
Though the novel is set in the 1980s, issues surrounding housing inequity and financial precarity deeply resonate with present-day challenges. Employing Pandu’s lilting voice and quiet bravery, Perkins crafts an introspective novel about moving on from loss and finding the courage to fight for what one believes in.
April 11, 2023
Starry Review from Kirkus for HOPE IN THE VALLEY -- and it's a JLG Gold Standard Selection!
.jpg)
You try to breathe and believe in your work as you wait for trade reviews about a forthcoming book. This week, I got two pieces of good news from my editor at Macmillan, Grace Kendall. First, HOPE IN THE VALLEY , my middle-grade novel coming July 11th, got a starred review from Kirkus!
⭐ "Grief, memories, and the difficulty of letting go permeate this powerful story about family, friendship, and finding your voice . . . deeply compelling . . . A riveting, courage-filled story." — Kirkus Reviews
And second, the novel is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection! I am so delighted and encouraged. May Pandita find her way into the hearts and minds of many young readers.
December 2, 2022
Let's watch RICKSHAW GIRL on AppleTV, Amazon, Hoopla, Vudu, or Kanopy!
Good news! Starting 12/8/22, RICKSHAW GIRL will be available to stream via Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Vudu, Hoopla, or Kanopy! Here I am opening a special mail delivery from producer Eric J. Adams, producer with a request for my friends who might be watching it — send a photo or tag me (@authormitaliperkins on Facebook, @mitaliperkins on Instagram and Twitter) in a photo, reel, or story of you and your companions watching it, please? I'd love to make a collage of your beautiful, supportive faces. (Note: the book is for ages 6+, but the movie is recommended for ages 10+.)
November 9, 2022
Rickshaw Girl the Movie Wins Big in Brussels!
Congratulations to Rickshaw Girl director Amitabh Reza Chowdhury, producer Sleeperwave Films, lead actor Novera Rahman, and the rest of the cast and crew!
