{Guest Post + Blog Tour} Author Jessica Verdi: The Summer I Wasn't Me

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about Jessica Verdi's book The Summer I Wasn't Me.  She has been gracious (a.k.a. a-mah-zing) enough to do a guest post!  Thank you so much, Jessica!

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Thank you so much for having me on your blog, Sarah! Music plays a huge part in my writing process, so I was hoping I could talk a little bit about that here.

I got the idea for The Summer I Wasn’t Me one day while listening to Lady Gaga’s “Hair”—in particular the acoustic version she performed on the Howard Stern Show. Check it out here:

It’s such a gorgeous song, and the chorus goes, “I just want to be myself and I want you to love me for who I am… I just want to be free, I just want to be me, and I want lots of friends that invite me to their parties. Don’t want to change, I don’t want to be ashamed.” And I started thinking about all the kids who aren’t loved for who they are, and it made me so sad. And that’s when I knew I had to tell Lexi’s story. I wanted to write about that girl. I wanted to write for that girl.

Music often inspires me when I’m writing or thinking up concepts for new books. Most books I write have playlists that I listen to while I’m writing or songs that I listen to just to get me in the right kind of mood for the scene I’m about to dive into. I truly believe there’s nothing quite like music to inspire you—no matter if you need inspiration for writing, cleaning your house, running a marathon, having a difficult conversation, or anything else.

I also make playlists for my books (and my friends’ books) when the book is finished. Here’s my current playlist for The Summer I Wasn’t Me:

1. “Hair” by Lady Gaga

2. “Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want” by The Smiths

3. “Unless I’m Led” by Mates of State

4. “Closer” by Tegan and Sara

5. “Cruel Summer” by Bananarama

6. “World Spins Madly On” by The Weepies

7. “We Will Become Silhouettes” by The Postal Service (Lexi’s dad’s favorite song)

8. “Bravado” by Lorde

9. “Brave” by Sara Bareilles

10. “Everyone is Gay” by A Great Big World

11. “She Keeps Me Warm” by Mary Lambert

Pull up those songs on Spotify, and have a listen before or after reading The Summer I Wasn’t Me—I hope they do the same for you as they do for me, and make you feel all the feels! :)

The Summer I Wasn't Me

I read this book in one sitting.  Granted, I read it in the backseat of a car heading 4 hours back home from PLA in Indianapolis...there wasn't anywhere else for me to go.  But!  This made the time go by much faster, and pretty enjoyably minus a brief bout of car queasiness.  

The Summer I Wasn't Me is a YA novel by Jessica Verdi.  Lexi's father has recently passed away, her mother isn't coping well, and she's just found out Lexi likes girls.  To rescue her unraveling family, Lexi agrees to go to New Horizons-a camp that promises to transform her; to make her like boys.  She wants to do this, she wants to start over.  However, her summer at New Horizons brings surprises, both good and bad.  

I love the movie But I'm a Cheerleader.  I think it was the first LGBTQ movie I saw that was, while satirical, poignant enough to leave a lasting impression.  Actually, I still have the song Glass Vase, Cello Case in my iTunes "Favorites" playlist.  This book was similar- but so much more gut-wrenching, heart-breaking.  I think I connected with the characters more.  Lexi is pretty awesome, and The Great Gatsby is one of her favorite books.  The symbolism in the books comes into play quite a bit throughout The Summer I Wasn't Me.

What's kind of a kicker, too, is Lexi's perspective is one who has grown up in the church.  At one point she brings up the sermons and how it was "getting harder and harder to listen to everyone talking about me like God didn't love me quite as much as he did them.  They didn't know they were talking about me, of course, but that didn't make it hurt any less."  

It's so...crazy, but then you realize that there are camps like this.  I tried to find a memoir from someone who had been through a similar experience, but to no avail.  

This book brings up tough issues like religion, family, choices in general, abuse, but specifically from the perspective of LGBTQ teens.  Definitely a conversation-starter on many levels.  

Bonus!  Author Jessica Verdi will be guest posting in a couple of weeks- stay tuned!




The Summer I Wasn't Me is published by Sourcebooks Fire. Review Copy graciously provided by the publisher.
Released: 04.01.2014