By Becca...
Mindi Scott lives near Seattle, Washington, USA with her drummer husband in a house with a non-sound-proof basement. Freefall, her first novel, was published by Simon Pulse in 2010. Her second novel, Live Through This, was published (also by Simon Pulse) in 2012. She contributed a chapter to Violent Ends, a collaborative novel written by 17 young adult authors (out in 2015), and co-wrote, along with Michelle Andreani, the 2016 novel The Way Back to You. She is represented by Jim McCarthy of Dystel & Goderich.
Today, I welcome Michelle Adnreani & Mindi Scott, authors of THE WAY BACK TO YOU, on the Irish Banana's The Way Back To You Blog Tour! Thank you so much Hannah, Michelle & Mindi! This was such a fun post to collaborate on, and I'm excited to persuade EVERYONE to read this epic book! Check out Mindi & Michelle's guest post below, and then stick around for an awesome giveaway!
THE WAY BACK TO YOU
By Michelle Andreani & Mindi Scott
Hardcover: 384 pages
Published by Katherine Tegen Books (May 3, 2016)
Language: English
Six months ago, Ashlyn Montiel died in a bike accident.
Her best friend Cloudy is keeping it together, at least on the outside. Cloudy’s insides are a different story: tangled, confused, heartbroken.
Kyle is falling apart, and everyone can tell. Ashlyn was his girlfriend, and when she died, a part of him went with her. Maybe the only part he cares about anymore.
As the two people who loved Ashlyn best, Cloudy and Kyle should be able to lean on each other. But after a terrible mistake last year, they're barely speaking. So when Cloudy discovers that Ashlyn’s organs were donated after her death and the Montiel family has been in touch with three of the recipients, she does something a little bit crazy and a lot of out character: she steals the letters and convinces Kyle to go on a winter break road trip with her, from Oregon to California to Arizona to Nevada. Maybe if they see the recipients—the people whose lives were saved by Ashlyn’s death—the world will open up again. Or maybe it will be a huge mistake.
With hundreds of miles in front of them, a stowaway kitten, and a list of people who are alive because of Ashlyn, Cloudy and Kyle just may find their way to back to her...and to each other.
Michelle Andreani is the co-author of THE WAY BACK TO YOU (my debut novel!) with Mindi Scott, forthcoming from Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins. Also an occasional scatterbrain, milkshake devotee, and liker of love stories.
There's a big emphasis on organ
donating in The Way Back to You. What are your thoughts on becoming an organ
donor? What advice would you give to a teen trying to make the decision to
check that little box or not for the first time?
According to the American Transplant Foundation, 22
people die every day while waiting for a transplant, and one donor can save up
to eight lives.
We didn't know these numbers when we were teens. We
didn't know a great deal about organ donation at all. In fact, when we both
registered as donors while getting our driver's licenses in years past, we were
mostly just thinking, Well, why not?
We loved the idea that we could potentially save lives by
having made this decision, and that was the extent of our consideration for a
long time.
While researching for The Way Back to You, we
learned a lot about organ donation—not only the biological mechanics of it, but
the emotional ramifications as well. It's so much more than a few hours in an
operating room. There's grief and loss and life and healing and moving forward.
For teens, this is an intensely personal decision, and
one they may wish to discuss with their parents/guardians. There is also
information online to help understand how it all works and decide whether
checking that box is choice you'd like to make.
Here are just a few of the informative sites we visited
while writing this story:
Tour Schedule:
Week 1:
Week 2:
5/10: Literary Lover - Review
5/12: In Wonderland - Review
Giveaway:
3 Finished Copies of THE WAY BACK TO YOU (US Only)
Are you excited for THE WAY BACK TO YOU? Have you already read it? What did you think? I'm halfway through, and really enjoying it so far!! Let's discuss!
Sounds like a great read, and a wonderful way to get people thinking about organ donation. :)
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