HELLO? by Liza Wiemer
One HELLO can change a life. One HELLO can save a life.
HELLO? is a remarkable novel about the power of friendship and family, loss and love, heartbreak and healing, and the courage it takes to face your fears – the courage it takes to find hope. HELLO? is a truely unique story. And not just in the story line itself, but also in the way it was physically written. HELLO? is told from all five viewpoints: narration (Tricia), narration (Emerson), free verse poetry (Angie), screenplay format (Brenda), narration and drawings (Brian). I was originally turned off by this (mostly the poetry part), but it actually made each character truly unique and gave them their own place. Normally when books have multiple characters, you have two main ones with a few chapters of secondary characters, but reading from the different viewpoints in this matter made them the main character of their own book.
I came across this book by accident… or maybe it was by a simple Hello? I was going to a book signing event for Jennifer Armountrout to get my LUX books signed. With Jennifer was local author Liza Wiemer – I bought both of their new books. Together they talked about their new books and the life of being an author. I remember Liza talking about how many revisions she had to go through and the struggles she had transitioning from non-fiction to YA fiction. I was sucked in, not only by her stories but by her great energy and awkwardness that just makes her an amazing person to be around. By the time the panel was over, I switched from being excited about getting my LUX books signed to being excited to meet Liza. And the ackwardsomeness (awkward +awesome) didn’t stop there… if you have a signed copy you know what I mean! I left that event more excited to start reading HELLO? then I was Jennifer’s new book The Problem With Forever…. and as I’m writing this I realize that I still haven’t read it.
If you are looking for a refreshing story, HELLO? is your next read. I guarantee you wont find anything else like it. After the first chapter – that first connecting phone call – I was hooked! I couldn’t wait to find out if Tricia and Emerson would meet and how it would all connect. And the best part of all, the connections were NOT predictable. I was actually surprised by the end.
Synopsis
One HELLO can change a life. One HELLO can save a life.
Tricia: A girl struggling to find her way after her beloved grandma’s death.
Emerson: A guy who lives his life to fulfill promises, real and hypothetical.
Angie: A girl with secrets she can only express through poetry.
Brenda: An actress and screenplay writer afraid to confront her past.
Brian: A potter who sets aside his life for Tricia, to the detriment of both.
Linked and transformed by one phone call, Hello? weaves together these five Wisconsin teens’ stories into a compelling narrative of friendship and family, loss and love, heartbreak and healing, serendipity, and ultimately hope.
About Liza
Liza married the guy who literally swept her off her feet at a Spyro Gyra concert. Their love story can be found on her “About” page. Besides being a die-hard Green Bay Packers fan, she is a readaholic, a romantic, and a lover of nature, crazy socks, and rooftops.
Unique “job” experiences: Liza spent a summer selling popcorn in a Koepsell’s popcorn wagon while listening to awesome music on the Summerfest grounds in Milwaukee. She also knows her way around a fender and a quarter panel and under the hood of a car. She spent a few years driving to accident scenes, scrapyards, hospitals, auto repair shops as a claims adjuster for an insurance company.
Hello? is her debut YA novel. She also has had two adult non-fiction books published, as well as stories and articles in various publications. A graduate of UW-Madison with a degree in Education, Liza is also the mother of two young adult sons.
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