{Guest Post+Giveaway} The Forgotten Memories of Vera Glass by Anna Priemaza

Welcome to The Forgotten Memories of Vera Glass by Anna Priemaza Blog Tour!

To celebrate the release of The Forgotten Memories of Vera Glass by Anna Priemaza on November 16th, blogs across the web are featuring exclusive guest posts from Anna, as well as 5 chances to win a copy of The Forgotten Memories of Vera Glass!

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Curly Hair
by Anna Priemaza

When I received the first draft of the cover for THE FORGOTTEN MEMORIES OF VERA GLASS, my first thought was, “Ooh, this is gorgeous.”

My second thought was, “Oh, no no no, this won’t do! This isn’t right!”

Because the cover, designed by Maggie Edkins, truly was (and is) beautiful. But also, Vera’s hair was straight. And Vera’s hair is not straight.

Vera describes her own hair as “all frizz and curls”, and having those frizzy curls portrayed on the cover–like they are in the final version–was so important to me. Since a picture speaks a thousand words, here’s a picture of me as a young teen to explain why:

As a kid, my hair was straight. When I went through puberty, my hair went curly–except I had no idea that’s what it had done. I still treated it as straight hair–brushing it, shampooing it–which means in my early teens it was an enormous ball of frizz, always.

In high school, where being unique was a respected commodity, I grew to really love and own my big hair. But mainstream media clearly did not love my hair.

I remember so clearly my experience of watching The Princess Diairies for the first time. In it, a dorky and awkward Anne Hathaway discovers that she is actually the Princess of Genovia. I watched it when I was about fifteen years old, sitting on the floor at a party, surrounded by a bunch of my friends. Anne Hathaway starts off with glasses and a big, frizzy mess of curls, and I remember sitting there in awe, thinking, “Wow. She looks just like me.” (I might not be wearing glasses in the above picture, but if you look closely, you can see the red spot from the pad of my glasses on the side of my nose.)

And then… Anne Hathaway gets a make-over to make her more princess-like. To make her more beautiful. They poke and prod at her, do a bunch of hard work, and then draw the mirror away for the reveal. A reveal that punched me in the gut.

Anne’s frizzy hair was gone, replaced by sleek, untextured straightness. Her glasses were gone. As the characters around her oohed and aahed, the message I received was clear: New, straight-haired Anne was beautiful. Old Anne and I were not.

Whenever I think of the stabbing pain of that moment, I wish I could go back in time and tell my fifteen-year-old self how beautiful and unique and amazing both she and her hair were. Of course, I can’t do that, but there’s one thing I can do: Ensure Vera’s beautiful, frizzy curls are highlighted on her cover for girls just like me.

(Me and my big, frizzy, adult mess of curls.)

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Buy | Add on Goodreads | Excerpt

“The narrative concepts are novel, and the characters are easy to feel empathy for… A clever head trip.”
– Kirkus Reviews

A mind-bending YA novel about a world where everyone has a bit of magic in them—but some magic is being used to change the world in unspeakable ways.

Vera has a nagging feeling that she’s forgetting something. Not her keys or her homework—something bigger. Or someone. When she discovers her best friend Riven is experiencing the same strange feeling, they set out on a mission to uncover what’s going on. Everyone in Vera’s world has a special ability—a little bit of magic that helps them through the day. Perhaps someone’s ability is interfering with their memory? Or is something altering their very reality? Vera and Riven intend to fix it and get back whatever or whomever they’ve lost. But how do you find the truth when you can’t even remember what you’re looking for in the first place? The Forgotten Memories of Vera Glass is a cleverly constructed, heartbreaking, and compelling contemporary YA novel with a slight fantasy twist about memory, love, grief, and the invisible bonds that tie us to each other.

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Anna Priemaza is the author of Fan the Fame and Kat and Meg Conquer the World. This is her first piece of speculative fiction. She lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

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Blog Tour Schedule:

November 17th – Bookhounds
November 18th – Book Briefs
November 19th – Pragmatic Mom

November 22nd – A Dream Within a Dream
November 23rd – Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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To enter, fill out the rafflecopter below to win

• One (1) winner will receive a hardcover of The Forgotten Memories of Vera Glass by Anna Priemaza
• US/Can only
• Ends 12/1 at 11:59pm ET
• Check out the other stops on the tour for more chances to win!

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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