Hey, guys!
Today I'm introducing you to the sweetest lady. Jessie Hilb is the author of the newly released Calculus of Change. Calculus of Change is Jessie's debut novel that is being released through HMH Teen/Clarion Books. This book came out on February 27 and it's a sweet contemporary novel that revolves around strong friendships and self-love. Through her experience in social work, Jessie wrote this novel to empower her readers through relatable characters and themes. I haven't read her book yet, but I cannot wait to read it. This is one of my most anticipated ARCs that I'm to receive in the next few weeks.
Page Count: 336
Published on: February 27, 2018
Published by: Clarion Books/HMH
Genre(s): Contemporary, YA, Romance
Age Rating: YA
Where To Find It: Goodreads // Amazon // Book Depository
Goodreads synopsis:
A poignant and empowering teen novel of grief, unrequited love, and finding comfort in one's own skin.
Aden isn't looking for love in her senior year. She's much more focused on things like getting a solo gig at Ike's and keeping her brother from illegal herbal recreation. But when Tate walks into Calculus class wearing a yarmulke and a grin, Aden's heart is gone in an instant.
The two are swept up in a tantalizingly warm friendship, complete with long drives with epic soundtracks and deep talks about life, love, and spirituality. With Tate, Aden feels closer to her mom and her mom's faith than she has since her mother died years ago. Everyone else even Aden's brother and her best friend can see their connection, but does Tate?
Navigating uncertain romance and the crises of those she loves, Aden must decide how she chooses to see herself and how to honor her mom s memory."
Aden isn't looking for love in her senior year. She's much more focused on things like getting a solo gig at Ike's and keeping her brother from illegal herbal recreation. But when Tate walks into Calculus class wearing a yarmulke and a grin, Aden's heart is gone in an instant.
The two are swept up in a tantalizingly warm friendship, complete with long drives with epic soundtracks and deep talks about life, love, and spirituality. With Tate, Aden feels closer to her mom and her mom's faith than she has since her mother died years ago. Everyone else even Aden's brother and her best friend can see their connection, but does Tate?
Navigating uncertain romance and the crises of those she loves, Aden must decide how she chooses to see herself and how to honor her mom s memory."
~~~
Here's what Jessie had to say!
Interview with Jessie Hilb:
J: My mom gave me my first journal when I was five years old and told me that I could write my private thoughts inside. It feels like I've been writing ever since. I can't remember a time in my life when I haven't written. I do a lot of heart living and a whole lot of feeling, and writing is an amazing, cathartic, and totally necessary outlet for all of that internal energy.
O: What inspired The Calculus of Change?
J: I was inspired to write The Calculus of Change based on this deep, beautiful friendship I had in high school and college. Of course, the book is entirely fiction, but the feelings in the book and the soul of the book is real. I had never read a book with that type of confusing, unrequited love and I wanted to write about the hard-won and radical self-love that came out of it.
Your book deals with so many important topics, such as self-love. Why do you think it is important to share the importance of self-love with your readers?
J: I am so passionate about radical self-love. Love radiates and transforms. Love is everything! I feel that when we approach ourselves with deep compassion (and it's a practice, not an arrival) we are able to give so much more to the world; we're able to show up and be present in radical, transformative ways. Teens (and all of us) are bombarded with messaging from our culture about how to be better, do better, get better. I'm all about self-growth, but I think it starts with loving and accepting who and where we are right in this very moment because the truth is that we are all so perfect in our human-ness right now.
O: Your book also involves important friendships. Why do you think solid friendships are important in young adult literature? Do you believe that solid friendships can flourish into healthy relationships?
J: One of the most important relationships in the novel is the one Aden has with her best friend, Marissa. I am so passionate about female friendships.I love when those of us who identify in some way as women love each other and support each other and lift each other up through life's challenges. I find the female friendships I've been fortunate enough to have since high school and the ones I've made beyond have been my deepest, most nourishing relationships. And I love portraying the complexity and love in those relationships in my writing.
O: Do you think that influential parental relationships positively shape young adult literature or should it?
J: The parent relationships in TCOC are really important- the one she has with her living father and the one she carries on with her deceased mother. Of course, our parents shape us as human beings and we carry a lot of generational energy with us as we turn into adults. As a contemporary YA fiction author, I have no agenda in portraying these relationships, just a desire to reflect some truth through the parent-child relationship.
O: What is your writing style and how did the process of writing go for you? I'm an aspiring author myself and I've found it quite challenging to write every day. (In fact, my schedule has hardly allowed me to write much at all this past year!)
J: My writing style has been described as "lyrical," and one blogger recently described it as "verse," which I absolutely LOVE because I am also a poet. I don't think very much about style when I'm writing. I do read a lot of poetry and a lot of young adult fiction, and sometimes the rhythm of what I read gets into my bones in the best way and my style shifts. My intention in writing is to get deep down into the heart of things. And sometimes that looks like poetry or fragmented sentences or unapologetically breaking grammar rules.
Oh, the writing life!! Of course, I think it's important to write regularly and it certainly makes sense to have a regular writing "practice." That said, I wrote TCOC through two pregnancies, two postpartum, toddlers, and all the rest of this crazy human existence. What's most important is that in your heart, you identify as a writer, that you believe in yourself, and that of course, you LOVE yourself--that means being compassionate with yourself around times when you just can't get to your writing, being compassionate with the writing that you actually do, and loving yourself enough to write what's in your heart/head/soul..
Thank you so much for hosting me on your blog!!
Jessie
Jessie
I will be reading this book as soon as I can! I'm waiting for my copy in the mail! If you'd like to see me unbox it, head on over to my Instagram and keep an eye on my stories! I do all of my unboxings and hauling and other bookish receiving on there!
Happy reading!
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