Waiting on Wednesday: Hello?

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm waiting on: Hello? by Liza Wiemer
From her agent's website:

Late one night, in a moment of deep grief, Tricia places a call to her deceased grandmother’s old phone number. She expects the click of a dial tone, a disconnect notice, an empty void, but she is thrown when another teen–too, up late and desperate–answers. It’s Emerson, and though the two are perfect strangers, Tricia senses a connection that runs deeper beyond the cross of telephone wires. 

Emerson expects to hear the voice of Angie, his overeager girlfriend, but is transfixed by Tricia’s tenderness and heartache. The two make a pact, thus setting the events of HELLO? in motion. HELLO? is the story of five small town Wisconsin teens who live on the shores of Lake Michigan: Tricia, who has lost her family, and trying to find her way; her over-protective boyfriend Brian, a potter; the perfectionist Emerson; the insecure and unpredictable Angie; and her impressionable best friend Brenda, an aspiring actress and screenwriter. 

Told from all five viewpoints: narration (Tricia), narration (Emerson), free verse poetry (Angie), screenplay format (Brenda), narration and drawings (Brian), HELLO? offers a textured account of five lives, and weaves together the stories of these teens into a compelling narrative of serendipity, fortune, and a whole that is much greater than the sum of its parts.

In the interest of full disclosure, Liza is a friend of mine. We met at a book signing probably three years ago when this blog was in its infancy and I had no idea what I was doing or that a book blogging community even existed. Liza didn't care, though. She was immediately warm and welcoming, following me on Twitter within ten minutes and engaging me in a conversation about what I knew about the YA world from a librarian's point of view. She's been gracious enough to invite me to her Novel Luncheon the past 2 years, we hung out at ALA last summer, have gotten lunch, and she's been holding my hand through my own writing journey, cheering me on every step of the way. I'm so excited for this book of her's finally being published - She's a completely deserving person, and I'd want to read this book even if this woman hasn't fed me the world's most amazing risotto :) Hello? is currently slated to come out in 2015 from Spencer Hill Contemporary. Congratulations, Liza!

Liza Wiemer's Author Website
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Liza Wiemer's Book Blog