Why I'm kind of obsessed with Julie Halpern!

I really like this cover! It reminds me of my dirndl that I bought in Austria.

Have you read anything by Julie Halpern? I have! I first read her book Into the Wild Nerd Yonder last December and I think I read it within 4 hours. I could. not. put. it. down. It was that good. I even wrote her a fan letter saying how awesome I thought she was. It was very fangirlish but I was really excited about her book and then I found out that she was a librarian and it made me squeel with glee. Seriously. There was actual squeeling going on. AND THEN she wrote me back, and it was awesome and I felt very much like I felt when I meet famous people, even though I didn't really meet her.



Anyways! Since December I've been following her blog and commenting on it sometimes and found out that not only does she like The Monkees (!!!), she also interned on The Adventures of Pete and Pete which you all should know is a very awesome show that I own the DVDs of because it's part of my childhood and I cling to my childhood like Linus to his blanket. Seriously. A few months ago her new book came out, Don't Stop Now, and she held a contest where she was giving away a signed copy of her book. I entered it and I WON!!! I love winning stuff. It's fun :)

Look! It's me! With my book! It's even signed too!

Anyways I finished Don't Stop Now in a night. It was great. It's about two friends who take an unexpected and unplanned road trip quest. It made me yearn for those days right after high school where I felt invincible. It made me want to go on a road trip at least, I've never been on one with friends. I mean, I've been places with my family and I've been places by myself but I've never gone with a boyfriend or my best friend... hmm I'll have to change that soon. I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but I really enjoyed the relationship between the two main characters. I think that most young people can relate to wading that murky water between friends and maybe something more. Heck, I still wade that water. But I like the ribbon of confidence that is woven throughout the book, the message, "don't stop now". In my mind, it's kind of like "just do it" or "just go for it", which I think a lot of people don't really do. We think too much. I think too much about things and then you lose the moment. I don't want to lose moments anymore. Anyways, you should check out Julie Halpern's books. They are funny and witty and she has a real knack for depicting realistic teenage characters. :)