Hey everyone! I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the blog tour for P.S. I MISS YOU by Jen Petro-Roy
I have an excerptto share with you today! And make sure to enter the giveaway below!
Haven't heard of P.S. I MISS YOU? Check it out!
In this epistolary middle-grade debut novel, a girl who's questioning her sexual orientation writes letters to her sister, who was sent away from their strict Catholic home after becoming pregnant.
Eleven-year-old Evie is heartbroken when her strict Catholic parents send her pregnant sister away to stay with a distant great-aunt. All Evie wants is for her older sister to come back. But when her parents forbid her to even speak to Cilla, she starts sending letters. Evie writes letters about her family, torn apart and hurting. She writes about her life, empty without Cilla. And she writes about the new girl in school, June, who becomes her friend, and then maybe more than a friend.
As she becomes better friends with June, Evie begins to question her sexual orientation. She can only imagine what might happen if her parents found out who she really is. She could really use some advice from Cilla. But Cilla isn't writing back.
Now on to the excerpt!
T H U R S D A Y , J U N E 2 8 T H
Dear Cilla,
Today the town pool was closed. Something about chlorine issues. When Katie and Maggie and I got there at nine, the water looked green. Not leprechaun green or grass green, but more like limeade green. Limeade green with a tint of yellow, which made me think that some little kids had probably peed in there.
So even if there hadn’t been a big CLOSeD sign on the fence, there was no way we were putting a toe in that water. (Especially Katie, who’d painted her toes sparkly purple. She was ridiculously proud of them and kept looking at her toes as we walked to the pool. She almost walked into a StOp sign. Maggie and I laughed so hard that we lost our balance and almost fell into the sign, too.)
We decided to go to the park instead. I haven’t been there in years. Remember how Mom and Dad always used to take us there after church when the weather was nice? First we’d have Mass, then we’d go to the doughnut social in the church hall. And then if we were really well behaved (which basically meant that you didn’t sing at the top of your lungs and I didn’t whine about how I was hungry the whole time), Mom and Dad would let us go to the park after.
You’d bring your tennis racket and hit the ball with Dad (until he convinced you to stop and throw a Frisbee around instead) and I’d go on the playground while Mom sat on the bench and watched me.
Then you’d get sick of Dad and we’d go down the twin slides at the same time, over and over again. You always reached the bottom first.
You always did everything first.
At least Mom and Dad never brought us to the park on the really hot days. That was today. It was ninety degrees by breakfast. The weather guy on TV called it a “scorcher” and said you could fry an egg on the sidewalk. Which, yeah, maybe you could do, but who would seriously want to eat that egg? Mmmm, I just love gravel omelets.
The pool would have been way better, but at least we put our blanket in the shade. Katie ran home (and came back cov- ered in sweat) to get one. She also brought a cooler full of waters, watermelon, chocolate brownies, and Jolly Ranchers (which started to melt in about five seconds). Then Katie and Maggie stripped down to their bathing suits and started talk- ing about Joey Witter, who was playing catch with Vivek Patel on the other side of the park.
They’ve decided that Joey is their newest crush and I’ve been pretending to agree with them, even though he’s al- ways mean to me. He made fun of me all last year because I got 100% on every spelling quiz. I know you said that means he likes me, but I think you’re wrong. I think he’s just mean. He talks to the lunch ladies more than he talks to me.
Swooning about Joey was really boring. Boring and hot. But even though I was sweating, I still wanted to go on the playground. It was in the sun, but there were still kids all over it, screeching and sliding and throwing sand. I didn’t say any- thing to Maggie and Katie, though, because we’re in seventh grade now. (Okay, almost in seventh grade.) We’re too old for the playground.
That’s what I’m supposed to think. But I really wanted to go on the tire swing, even though it was so hot, it would prob- ably burn lines into my butt.
When I looked over, there was another girl on the tire swing already—and she looked around our age! She had dark skin and dark curly hair pulled back in a bright green head- band. She was swinging slowly, and since she was the only one on the swing, it was tilting to one side. She grabbed on to a chain with one hand and held a book in the other.
Then Maggie poked me in the shoulder and asked me something about the Fourth of July celebration next week. I didn’t really hear what she said, because I was too busy try- ing to see what the girl was reading. Even though seeing the title from our blanket would be pretty much impossible, since the tire swing was all the way across the park.
So Maggie poked me again. Then Katie poked me, too, which totally tickled. Which meant we of course ended up in a tickle fight like we were six years old.
When I looked up again, the girl was gone.
I don’t know why I remembered all that—maybe because it made me remember us on the playground, before every- thing changed. Maybe because it made me want to go back there.
Maybe because I was a little jealous of that girl, how she looked like she had nothing to worry about at all.
I bet she never had a sister get sent away.
Love,
Evie
P. S . I miss you.
Dear Cilla,
Today the town pool was closed. Something about chlorine issues. When Katie and Maggie and I got there at nine, the water looked green. Not leprechaun green or grass green, but more like limeade green. Limeade green with a tint of yellow, which made me think that some little kids had probably peed in there.
So even if there hadn’t been a big CLOSeD sign on the fence, there was no way we were putting a toe in that water. (Especially Katie, who’d painted her toes sparkly purple. She was ridiculously proud of them and kept looking at her toes as we walked to the pool. She almost walked into a StOp sign. Maggie and I laughed so hard that we lost our balance and almost fell into the sign, too.)
We decided to go to the park instead. I haven’t been there in years. Remember how Mom and Dad always used to take us there after church when the weather was nice? First we’d have Mass, then we’d go to the doughnut social in the church hall. And then if we were really well behaved (which basically meant that you didn’t sing at the top of your lungs and I didn’t whine about how I was hungry the whole time), Mom and Dad would let us go to the park after.
You’d bring your tennis racket and hit the ball with Dad (until he convinced you to stop and throw a Frisbee around instead) and I’d go on the playground while Mom sat on the bench and watched me.
Then you’d get sick of Dad and we’d go down the twin slides at the same time, over and over again. You always reached the bottom first.
You always did everything first.
At least Mom and Dad never brought us to the park on the really hot days. That was today. It was ninety degrees by breakfast. The weather guy on TV called it a “scorcher” and said you could fry an egg on the sidewalk. Which, yeah, maybe you could do, but who would seriously want to eat that egg? Mmmm, I just love gravel omelets.
The pool would have been way better, but at least we put our blanket in the shade. Katie ran home (and came back cov- ered in sweat) to get one. She also brought a cooler full of waters, watermelon, chocolate brownies, and Jolly Ranchers (which started to melt in about five seconds). Then Katie and Maggie stripped down to their bathing suits and started talk- ing about Joey Witter, who was playing catch with Vivek Patel on the other side of the park.
They’ve decided that Joey is their newest crush and I’ve been pretending to agree with them, even though he’s al- ways mean to me. He made fun of me all last year because I got 100% on every spelling quiz. I know you said that means he likes me, but I think you’re wrong. I think he’s just mean. He talks to the lunch ladies more than he talks to me.
Swooning about Joey was really boring. Boring and hot. But even though I was sweating, I still wanted to go on the playground. It was in the sun, but there were still kids all over it, screeching and sliding and throwing sand. I didn’t say any- thing to Maggie and Katie, though, because we’re in seventh grade now. (Okay, almost in seventh grade.) We’re too old for the playground.
That’s what I’m supposed to think. But I really wanted to go on the tire swing, even though it was so hot, it would prob- ably burn lines into my butt.
When I looked over, there was another girl on the tire swing already—and she looked around our age! She had dark skin and dark curly hair pulled back in a bright green head- band. She was swinging slowly, and since she was the only one on the swing, it was tilting to one side. She grabbed on to a chain with one hand and held a book in the other.
Then Maggie poked me in the shoulder and asked me something about the Fourth of July celebration next week. I didn’t really hear what she said, because I was too busy try- ing to see what the girl was reading. Even though seeing the title from our blanket would be pretty much impossible, since the tire swing was all the way across the park.
So Maggie poked me again. Then Katie poked me, too, which totally tickled. Which meant we of course ended up in a tickle fight like we were six years old.
When I looked up again, the girl was gone.
I don’t know why I remembered all that—maybe because it made me remember us on the playground, before every- thing changed. Maybe because it made me want to go back there.
Maybe because I was a little jealous of that girl, how she looked like she had nothing to worry about at all.
I bet she never had a sister get sent away.
Love,
Evie
P. S . I miss you.
About Jen:
Jen Petro- Roy was born, raised, and still lives in Massachusetts, even
though she rejects the idea that snow and cold are ever a good thing. She
started writing in third grade, when her classroom performed a play she had
written. It was about a witch and a kidnapped girl and a brave crew of
adventurers who set out to save the day. As a kid, numerous pictures of Jen
often featured Baby-Sitters Club and Sweet Valley Twins books clutched in her
hand, so it was just a matter of time until she started writing her own books
for children.
In the past, Jen has worked as a teacher and a teen and children’s
librarian. She loves running, board games, trivia, and swimming, and has a mild
obsession with the television show Jeopardy! P.S. I Miss You is her debut
novel.
Giveaway Details:
International
3 winners will receive a finished copy of P.S. I MISS YOU, US Only.
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
2/26/2018- BookHounds YA- Interview
2/27/2018- Here's to Happy
Endings- Review
2/28/2018- YA Books Central- Excerpt
3/1/2018- Bibliobakes- Review
3/2/2018- YA Book Nerd- Review
Week Two:
3/5/2018- Book in the Bag- Review
3/6/2018- For the Love of KidLit- Interview
3/7/2018- Book-Keeping- Review
3/8/2018- Two Chicks on Books- Excerpt
3/9/2018- Savings in Seconds- Review
