Live Through This by Mindi Scott – Guest Post & Giveaway
I freaking love Mindi Scott and her debut book, Freefall, was AMAZING. But Live Through This blew the roof off it. I can’t even express how stunning and honest and heartbreaking it is and I’m absolutely honored to have Liesa Abrams, Executive Editor at Simon Pulse, on my blog today!
Amazon | Goodreads | Author Website From the outside, Coley Sterling’s life seems pretty normal . . . whatever that means. It’s not perfect—her best friend is seriously mad at her and her dance team captains keep giving her a hard time—but Coley’s adorable, sweet crush Reece helps distract her. Plus, she has a great family to fall back on—with a mom and stepdad who would stop at nothing to keep her siblings and her happy.
Author Twitter | My ReviewBut Coley has a lot of secrets. She won’t admit—not even to herself—that her almost-perfect life is her own carefully-crafted façade. That for years she’s been burying the shame and guilt over a relationship that crossed the line. Now that Coley has the chance at her first real boyfriend, a decade’s worth of lies are on the verge of unraveling.
In this unforgettable powerhouse of a novel, Mindi Scott offers an absorbing, layered glimpse into the life of an everygirl living a nightmare that no one would suspect. – Goodreads
Liesa Abrams, Executive Editor at Simon Pulse
I’ve never written a blog post about a book I’ve edited before—but I’ve never had an editing experience like the one I had with Mindi Scott on Live Through This.
Ask any of my authors, and they will tell you—I am not shy when it comes to giving editorial notes. Getting inside the lifeblood of a manuscript and working with an author to help shape and form the story is one of the most satisfying feelings in the world to me.
But this was new territory.
I knew that the events of the book involving Coley’s sexual abuse from someone close to her weren’t literal truths from Mindi’s teen years—but I also knew that some of the experiences were rooted, sadly, in some very real events in her life. Which meant that every note I gave Mindi about how the characters act and react touched on exposed nerves of someone who was hurt in this same way.
At the crux of our editorial process, I was pushing Mindi on one key scene toward the end of the story. I don’t want to say too many specifics (spoilers!). But what amazed me was the moment I realized that she wasn’t resisting the feedback I’d given her on the level of author; instead, Mindi had trouble knowing that readers could see and believe something to be true that was so obvious to me. For Mindi, it’s a constant, lifelong challenge in her own life to overcome that sense of culpability for something that was not her fault.
When we had the breakthrough (and Mindi nailed the scene!), I felt so many emotions at once at having been a part of the making of this book. I understood more deeply than ever how important it is for this story to be out in the world.
Watching Mindi find the courage to walk through the emotional minefield of her own struggles with guilt and shame in order to depict Coley’s was downright awe-inspiring. It was, truly, the bravest thing I have ever seen an author do. And then I saw how she drew from her own knowledge of the feelings and reactions and moments and built them into a piece of fiction that stands on its own as a compelling story encompassing so much more than just a girl who has suffered abuse.
I’m incredibly lucky that I never went through anything like what Coley (or Mindi) did. Thankfully, most people who read Live Through This won’t have, either. But I don’t know a teen girl who hasn’t gotten somewhat lost in the conflicting messages we receive about girls and sexuality –a teen girl who hasn’t felt guilty because sex was pleasurable, or guilty because it wasn’t.
Mindi accomplishes so many amazing feats with this book—an achingly realistic portrayal of a splintered friendship; a layered story of abuse that doesn’t shy away from shades of gray; a budding romance with such sweetness and appeal that somehow we’re swept up in the relationship even in context of the horror unfolding in another corner of Coley’s life. Mindi took all of these elements and—without compromising an iota on depth or intensity—she made the book compulsively readable.
Live Through This is a stunning accomplishment, and the best way we can honor that is to make sure this book finds the readers who need it.
About Liesa Abrams
Liesa Abrams is Executive Editor at Simon Pulse, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, where she edits primarily teen fiction as well as select middle grade properties. Her projects include Brandon Mull’s #1 New York Times bestselling Beyonders series, as well as the blockbuster bestselling Dork Diaries series. She has a special affinity for fantasy and action/adventure such as Lisa McMann’s The Unwanteds series, James Riley’s Half Upon a Time series and the debutKeeper of the Lost Cities from Shannon Messenger. As a comics geek, she particularly enjoys working on books that bring in some comics elements such as Alan Silberberg’s Sid Fleischman Award winning Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze. Among her teen novels at Simon & Schuster are Mindi Scott’s powerful Live Through This and perennial bestseller Christopher Pike’s thriller Witch World. Before coming to Simon & Schuster, Liesa worked with a wide range of YA authors including Scott Westerfeld, Maureen Johnson, and R.A. Nelson.
Follow Liesa Abrams on Twitter.
Giveaway of Live Through This
Live Through This by Mindi Scott is one of those books that is going to stay with me for a very long time. And I want it to stay with you too! So I’m giving away a finished copy of Live Through This.
Rules
US/Can only
13 years or older
Winner has 48 hours to respond to my e-mail
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Three cheers for Liesa and for Mindi – Looking forward to reading this!
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Just wanted to say thank you for this blog post, and for the delicacy with which you handled this issue. Definitely piqued my interest for the book :-)
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I’m so excited to get my hands on this book. The cover is so haunting!!
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Wow–what a great post! I can’t wait to read this book. :)
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Wow, everything I’ve read about this book makes me want to read it more.
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Liesa, you are such a strong, careful, and compassionate editor — Mindi and her stories are in the best hands.
Looking forward to reading this!
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honestly, i haven’t read anything by mindi yet. but man, does it sound like something that i’d absolutely ADORE. thanks for the giveaway, madam!
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Can’t wait to read it!
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Wow, this is wonderful. I love getting this little view into your editing process, as well as Mindi’s writing process. This sounds so incredibly powerful, and I am so eager to read it.
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This seriously sounds like such a powerful, moving book. I think it’s wonderful how Liesa and Mindi worked together to make it the best it can be, despite any emotional moments that might have occurred. Thank you for sharing Liesa!
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Looking forward to reading this book. Thank you for the opportunity to win.
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Thanks for the giveaway. I really want to read this book. Sounds very good.
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I’ve read so many gushes about this book! I will certainly read it! :) and reading from the editor’s perspective sure is refreshing. Writing a book is a long and challenging and back and forth process. And I will read Liesa’s article again after reading the book so I can understand what she means more.
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I can’t wait to read this. The cover is stunning.
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Thanks for the awesome giveaway!! I can’t wait to read Live Through This!!
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Live Through This sounds like on powerful book! I can’t wait to read this, and thank you very much for the chance to win a copy!! <3
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This is so beautifully written! As a teen girl myself, this was very, very touching. I cannot wait to read this book.
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I love what Liesa said about the book finding that right person. I think that is so important for issue or tough stuff books. I think that’s why they have the power to move people so well.
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I can only imagine how difficult it must have been to work on this book, both for the editor & the author. I don’t usually read “issue books”, but this is one I’m really looking forward to. Thanks for the chance to win!
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Thanks for the great post!! I cannot wait to read this!!
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I’m not the biggest fan of realistic fiction, but this looks really good. I’m incredibly happy that someone is writing about the issues that teenage girls have to go through, and that it seems like no one cares about.
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Wow, it sounds like a gut-wrenching editorial process. I can’t wait to read this book, and knowing what Mindi had to go through makes me all the more excited to see the product of the breakthroughs she and Liesa had.
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Can’t wait to read this book!
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Its cover it’s so beautiful *.* And its synopsis… it’s so intriguing.
Kisses.
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Tara, thank you so much for sharing Liesa’s guest post. I very much appreciate you being a part of the Live Through This blog tour! :-)
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God this sounds heartbreaking! Thanks for the giveaway; I can’t wait to read it!
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wow, just the description makes me want to find out the secret.
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I LOVE the cover. Hope to win :)
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This book sounds like it’ll be an amazing read for me! Thanks for giving us a chance to win it!
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I’ve heard great things and would love to read – congrats, all!
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