October 16, 2019
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Everyone loves a good ghost story, especially in October. Tennessee is full of tales about ghosts, and now it has two more. Mt. Juliet author, Donna G. Driver, has written two young adult ghost-themed novels and will be signing them on October 29th at Justin Potter Library in Smithville from 3:00-6:00pm just in time for Halloween. These are great books for middle school and high school readers to stay up late reading under the covers on autumn nights.
Driver’s newest novel, All the Love You Write, was published this summer by Fire and Ice YA Books. It is a sweet, contemporary romance story about Mark and Bethany, two teens who start a relationship during the final semester of their senior year. Fifty years ago, two other teens from that same high school had a romance tragically ended by the Vietnam War. Now the ghosts of that couple are haunting Mark and Bethany, sometimes helping and sometimes hindering. Who are these ghosts and why do they care about what happens to Mark and Bethany? The answer will touch your heart. It’s a heartfelt story about young love, timeless love, and the power of love letters.
Lost on the Water – A Ghost Story is spookier. It’s about a girl who gets lost in the middle of a lake in a rickety old rowboat that is rumored to be haunted by a boy who drowned thirty-five years ago. It’s a summer adventure story set on Center Hill Lake, with scenes in Smithville, TN. If you’re a fan of coming-of-age stories like the movie Stand By Me, you’ll enjoy this book. Lost on the Water, published in 2018, has been awarded the Silver Medal in the 2018 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards for Best Young Adult Fiction, and ‘Official Selection’ in the 2019 New Apple Summer Book Awards for Best Young Adult Fiction.
When Driver first came up with the concept for Lost on the Water, she had only been living in Tennessee for seven years, having moved from Southern California. She knew a lot about beaches but not much about lakes. So, she thought it would be fun to use her experience and make her main character a young Californian with no knowledge of lakes and put her in the middle of one of the biggest lakes in Tennessee. Driver is excited to be doing a booksigning in the town where the story takes place. She will have fun ghost treats for kids that come to the event.
Both novels are clean reads and are targeted toward readers 11-16 years old. You can learn more about this novel and her other books by visiting www.dgdriver.com. Justin Potter Library, 101 South First St., Smithville, TN 37166. (615) 597-4359.