Alexandria Rose Rizik: 21 Questions
6PM (9PM ET) THURSDAY, AUGUST 5
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Local award-winning filmmaker and YA author Alexandria Rose Rizik presents her new novel, 21 Questions, a coming of age romance between a studious surfer girl and the new bad boy at school. Alexandria will be joined in conversation with New York Times bestselling author, Simone Elkeles.
ABOUT THE BOOK
In Laguna Beach, California, sixteen-year-old Kendra Dimes is preparing for the 2010 USA Surfing Prime West. She'll be competing this year in honor of her brother, who was a surfer too, but who died from a drug overdose. Kendra has suffered anxiety attacks ever since her brother's death, and surfing is what's been helping her heal.
Brock Parker is the new bad boy at school; he deals drugs to the high school clientele for his parents, who work for a Mexican drug lord. Though Brock and Kendra come from two different worlds, sparks fly when they meet at the homecoming dance--their attraction is magnetic. When they start a game of 21 Questions one night, they begin to learn more about each other--and, surprisingly, about themselves too. But some questions aren't answered with the whole truth; after all, Brock can't tell Kendra what his parents do for a living.
As Kendra and Brock experience all of life's most exciting firsts, they prove that even when life throws you the perfect storm, you can make it through and come out stronger than before. 21 Questions is a coming-of-age journey packed with passion and heartbreak, risk and romance.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ALEXANDRIA RIZIK is an award-winning filmmaker and the author of two books, the poetry collection Words Written in the Dark and the children's book Chocolate Milk. She was born and raised in Scottsdale, Arizona, where she was brought up by a large Armenian family. She received her bachelor of arts in English literature from Arizona State University. Alexandria's love for writing began when she was a young child: her aunt bought her a journal and told her to write her a story, and the rest is history. Her favorite part about writing is being able to write the happily ever after that doesn't always happen in real life. Besides writing, Alexandria loves yoga, wine, and family time. She lives in Scottsdale, AZ.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR
SIMONE ELKELES is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Perfect Chemistry series, Leaving Paradise series, and How to Ruin series. All three books in the Perfect Chemistry series have been YALSA Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers, and the Illinois Association of Teachers of English named Simone the 2008 Author of the Year. Find her at www.simoneelkeles.com.