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The countdown to college has begun.
When Elizabeth receives her freshman-year roommate assignment at the beginning of summer, she shoots off an email to coordinate the basics: TV, microwave, mini-fridge. She can't wait to escape her New Jersey beach town, and her mom, and start life over in California.
That first message comes as a surprise to Lauren in San Francisco; she had requested a single. But if Lauren's learned anything from being the oldest of six, it's that you can't always get what you want, especially when what you want is privacy.
Soon the girls are e-mailing back and forth, sharing secrets even though they've never met. With childhood friendships and family relationships strained by change, it suddenly seems that the only people Elizabeth and Lauren can rely on are the complicated new boys in their lives...and each other.
With humor and heart, Sara Zarr, National Book Award finalist for Story of a Girl, and Tara Altebrando, acclaimed author of The Pursuit of Happiness, join forces for a novel about that time after high school when everything feels like it's ending just as it's beginning.
"The authors give the story big doses of humor, sensitivity, and sweetness, along with a complex and realistic cast; EB and Lauren's stories amount to two great novels in one." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"With authentic and distinct voices relayed through a combination of emails and first-person narratives, the authors create a modern and meaningful epistolary novel....A resonant story perfect for any teenager going to college -- or simply struggling to make peace with herself and her world." ―The Bulletin (starred review)
"The main characters' back stories are engaging, and the large supporting cast of friends and family members are well-developed and integral to the girls' growth....The novel's deeply embedded theme of transition will have tremendous appeal for any teenager coping with change." ―Kirkus Reviews
"Authentic and drama filled." ―Booklist
"An honest and pitch-perfect story that's filled to the brim with our most overwhelming emotions: fear, hope, and love." ―Stephanie Perkins, author of Anna and the French Kiss
"This winning novel charms from the start. Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando perfectly capture the summer after high school graduation in all its glorious excitement and uncertainty. Required reading for the college bound!" ―Megan McCafferty, New York Times bestselling author of Jessica Darling's It List
This information about Roomies was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Jeffrey Overstreet
Sara Zarr is the acclaimed author of five novels for young adults, most recently The Lucy Variations. Her sixth, a collaborative novel with Tara Altebrando, came out December 2013. She's a National Book Award finalist and two-time Utah Book Award winner. Her books have been variously named to annual best books lists of the American Library Association, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, the Guardian, the International Reading Association, the New York Public Library and Los Angeles Public Library, and have been translated into many languages. In 2010, she served as a judge for the National Book Award.
She has written essays and creative nonfiction for Image, Hunger Mountain online, and Response as well as for several anthologies, and has been a regular contributor ...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Sara Zarr's Website
Name Pronunciation
Sara Zarr: Sarah Zarr (rhymes with car)
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