{Guest Post+Giveaway} Rosie Loves Jack by Mel Darbon

Item: Rosie Loves Jack
Author: Michelle @ Book Briefs

Posted March 2, 2021 by Michelle @ Book Briefs in excerpt, Giveaways / 3 Comments

Welcome to the Rosie Loves Jack Blog Tour!

To celebrate the release of Rosie Loves Jack by Mel Darbon on March 1st, blogs across the web are featuring original content from Mel, as well as 10 chances to win the hardcover!

Rosie Loves Jack by Mel Darbon
Pages: 352
Published by Peachtree Publishing Company on March 1, 2021

Rosie loves Jack. Jack loves Rosie.

So when they're separated, Rosie will do anything to find the boy who makes the sun shine in her head. Even defy her parents’ orders and run away from home. Even struggle across London and travel to Brighton on her own, though the trains are cancelled and the snow is falling. Even though people might think a girl like Rosie, who has Down syndrome, could never survive on her own.

Introducing a strong and determined protagonist with Down syndrome, debut author Mel Darbon gives readers an underrepresented but much-needed point of view with a voice-driven, heartfelt story of finding your place an often big and intimidating world.

Jack

by Mel Darbon

I always knew when I started to write Rosie Loves Jack that I wanted it to be in sixteen-year-old Rosie’s voice only. I needed my reader to stay with her throughout her journey so that they could really understand her. I wanted them to see the world through the eyes of someone with a developmental disability and realize she is a typical teenager with all the same hopes and desires as the rest of us. She deserved to be seen in a book and her voice needed to be heard, as she had so much to say.

However, when I first started writing the book as part of my MA course at university, my personal tutor suggested that I shouldn’t write a book just in Rosie’s voice, as it would be too hard to sustain. So, taking her advice, I split the novel into a dual narrative and alternated the chapters between Rosie and her boyfriend Jack. Although it wasn’t what I wanted to do initially and I did not ultimately include it in the finished book, it gave me a wonderful insight into Jack and Rosie’s relationship, and it was a very valuable lesson in developing my characters to the full. I loved writing Jack’s side of the story and would very much like to share a piece I developed from his point of view.

In this scene, Jack is being taken by his mother to a specialist Center, where he can learn to deal with his anger management problems. Jack doesn’t want to go because he cannot bear being parted from Rosie. The scene begins outside Jack’s house just before he gets taken by his mother to the care center in Brighton, a hundred miles away.

Rosie Loves Jack by Mel Darbon Excerpt

*****

Blog Tour Schedule:

3/1 – BookhoundsYA

3/2 – Book Briefs

3/3 – Frantic Mommy

3/4 – Randomly Reading

3/5 – A Dream Within a Dream

3/8 – I’m All Booked Up

3/9 – Multicultural Children’s Book Day Blog

3/10 – Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

3/11 – Christy’s Cozy Corners

3/12 – Feed Your Fiction Addiction

“The author stays out of Rosie’s way, successfully depicting her protagonist as a person, not a puppet or a platform. The other characters populating the book are realistic, with a striking range of personality traits. The plot is so engrossing that the book is almost impossible to put down. Yes, Rosie loves Jack, and readers are going to love Rosie.” —Booklist, STARRED REVIEW

Buy | Add on Goodreads

Excerpt | Discussion Guide

About the Author: Mel Darbon spent a large part of her childhood inventing stories to keep her autistic brother happy on car journeys. She won’t mention the time spent with him standing by level crossings waiting for the InterCity 125 to go past, as she wouldn’t want to be labelled a train spotter. Life took her in many different directions working as a theatre designer and freelance artist, as well as teaching young adults with learning disabilities and running creative workshops for teenage mums. She moved to Bath in 2014 with her husband and their dog, Alfie. Rosie Loves Jack is her debut book.

Follow Mel: Twitter | Instagram

To enter, fill out the rafflecopter below to win

1 winner will receive a finished copy of Rosie Loves Jack
Check out the other tour stops for more chances to win!
US/Canada only
Ends 11:59pm ET on 3/21

Note: Book Briefs Contest Policy applies. All of the prizes, terms and conditions of the giveaway should be contained in the rafflecopter below. No Purchase necessary to enter. Void where prohibited by law.

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