TWO NEW CHILDREN’S SERIES COMING FROM WIL THIS SUMMER

NEW YORK, NY: West 44 Books is very pleased to announce that it will release two exciting new chapter-book series from bestselling author Wil Mara this summer!

IZZY JEEN THE BIG-MOUTH QUEEN

Isabella Jean Marino—or ‘Izzy Jeen the Big-Mouth Queen,’ as she is known among her classmates—has issues. Mostly, she is at the age where she’s just trying to get a grip, usually with little to no success. All her life, she’s let her emotions run wild, driving her friends, family, and pretty much everyone else to the edge of their patience. But there’s a new factor in the equation now—a budding sense that perhaps there’s a better way to handle things. Each story in this laugh-out-loud series brings Izzy face to face with a new challenge familiar to all kids her age. From there—and usually with a little help from those closest to her (and know that her heart, at least, is always in the right place)—Izzy has to decide which part of her nature will lead to the best solution…or, at the very least, the one that will keep her from totally losing it.

THE KID FROM PLANET 27

Logan Lewis seems like an ordinary American kid in every way. He lives with his parents in a nice neighborhood. He tries his best in school. He rides his bike, plays video games, and watches TV. He also has a best friend, the street-smart Abby Parker, who lives next door. And Abby is the only person who knows Logan’s biggest secret—that he and his family are not from Earth. In fact, they’re from Kepri, the 27th planet from the sun. Their leaders have determined that the people of Earth are going to discover their world pretty soon. So they’ve sent Keprians here to study us. In the stories that follow, Logan encounters human behavior in all its many colors as he tries to figure out what makes us tick. And even with Abby’s help, he quickly realizes that understanding Earthlings both young and old is a lot more complicated than he ever imagined.

West 44 is also unveiling today the covers for the first story in each series. Further details will be announced soon!

The Izzy Jeen and Planet 27 books are intended for a 2nd thru 4th-grade reading level. As with Wil’s popular ‘Twisted’ series, they will be readily enjoyed by enthusiastic readers—but particular attention has also been given to the requirements of reluctants, hi-los, and other challenged students.

Wil Mara is the author of more than 275 books, both fiction and nonfiction, for children and adults. His work for children includes more than 150 other educational titles for the school libraries. He has also ghostwritten five of the popular ‘Boxcar Children’ mysteries. His 2013 novel ‘Frame 232’ reached the # 1 spot in its category on Amazon. The hit 2014 feature film ‘Draft Day,’ starring Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner, was based on his 2006 novel ‘The Draft.’ More recently, he released the new supernatural series known as ‘Twisted’, which has proven tremendously popular with midde-grade readers. And he was recently given the Literary Lion Award of New Jersey from the United States Library of Congress.

For more information on West 44—

http://west44books.com/

For contact, please use general@wilmara.com. All emails are answered within 24 hours.

WIL TO PRESENT AT THE NJASL SPRING MEETING IN MARCH

Wil is going to be presenting at this year’s spring meeting of the New Jersey Association of School Librarians, which takes place in Hightstown, NJ, on Saturday, March 7th. His talk will provide an overview of his ongoing ‘Myth of the Reluctant Reader’ lecture series. The latest installment, ‘Part IV: Root Causes,’ was unveiled at the NJASL Fall Conference last December. For attendees who aren’t yet familiar with the ‘Myth…’ series, this will be a good chance to become acquainted, so please stop by. Copies of Wil’s new middle-grade series ‘Twisted’ will also be available.

More details about the spring meeting can be found here—

https://www.njasl.org/SpringMtg

About NJASL—

https://www.njasl.org/

For contact, please use general@wilmara.com. All emails are answered within 24 hours.

‘HOUSE OF A MILLION ROOMS’ RECEIVES GOLD STANDARD AWARD

Last year, the Junior Library Guild chose the second book in Wil’s new ‘Twisted’ series, ‘House of a Million Rooms,’ as one of their Main Selection titles. We are now very pleased to announce it has also received their prestigious Gold Standard Award.

The JLG is a monthly book club founded in 1929 and is based today in New York City. It’s stated mission is to “…help thousands of K-12 school and public libraries acquire the best new children’s and young adult books.” Past editorial selection committee members have included Eleanor Roosevelt and Carl van Doren, and other featured titles include children’s classics such as ‘Horton Hears a Who!’ by Dr. Seuss and ‘Little House in the Big Woods’ by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

For more information about the Junior Library Guild—

https://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/

For librarians, ‘House of a Million Rooms’ and other ‘Twisted’ titles can be ordered direct from the publisher—

http://www.enslow.com/series/twisted

To order from Amazon—

https://www.amazon.com/House-Million-Rooms-Twisted-Mara/dp/1538383632/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1578394130&sr=8-1

Wil’s main site—

www.wilmara.com

For contact, please use general@wilmara.com. All emails are answered within 24 hours.

THE FIFTH ‘TWISTED’ TITLE, ‘THE GIRL WHO GREW NASTY THINGS’ IS OUT NOW—READ THE FIRST TWO CHAPTERS

The fifth installment in Wil’s new middle-grade supernatural series, ‘The Girl Who Grew Nasty Things,’ has been released. It was on NetGalley’s list of most-requested middle grade titles for more than three months! Here’s the publisher’s summary—

“Maddie Dragonette doesn’t like people. She prefers to be among the rare plants she grows in her greenhouse—which can be made to cause great pain to others. When Maddie doesn’t get a part in the school play, she turns to her beloved plants to seek her revenge. What happens when one young girl’s rage and hatred grow out of control?”

Review quotes from NetGalley and Goodreads—

“A brilliant cautionary tale!” –Mallory H.

“This was a fun and exciting book to read with young children.” –Jacyln D.

“Maddie Dragonette is one mean girl.” –Josephine S.

“If you have kids who love creepy stories, this is the one for them.” –Laurie E.

“It was just as expected: a twisted tale of discovery. Well done!” –Jaime F.

“It shows what rage, jealousy and resentment can do to you when you make them your top priority.” –Faiza N.

“Wil Mara has done a great job of bringing the character to life and setting her into a story that does not have a happy ending….” –Denice L.

The ‘Twisted’ stories have been rapidly growing in popularity among school and public librarians, due in part to the series’ appeal among reluctant readers. The second book in the group, ‘House of a Million Rooms’, was a featured pick of the Junior Library Guild less than two weeks after its publication. And in the wake of the success of the series, Wil was recently honored with the 2019 Literary Lion Award.

To read the first two chapters of ‘The Girl Who Grew Nasty Things’ now, click here—

http://www.wilmara.com/downloads/girlnastych1-2.pdf

To order from Amazon—

https://www.amazon.com/Girl-Grew-Nasty-Things-Twisted/dp/1538383616/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=wil+mara+girl+nasty&qid=1577973051&sr=8-1

To order any of the ‘Twisted’ books direct from the publisher—

http://www.enslow.com/series/twisted

Wil’s main site—

www.wilmara.com

For contact, please use general@wilmara.com. All emails are answered within 24 hours.

FIRST TWO CHAPTERS OF THE FOURTH ‘TWISTED’ BOOK—‘WHERE DID MY FAMILY GO?’—AVAILABLE NOW

The fourth book in Wil’s new middle-grade series, ‘Twisted’, releases on Tuesday, October 1st. It’s called ‘Where Did My Family Go?’ and is every bit as creepy as the first three, per the publisher’s description—

“Michael Cooper wakes one morning to a horrifying reality…his family isn’t the same as when he went to sleep the night before. For that matter, neither is anything else. What’s worse, everyone thinks he’s lost his mind and that everything’s just fine.”

The first two chapters can be read here—

http://www.wilmara.com/downloads/wherefamilyfirsttwochapters.pdf

To order—

http://www.enslow.com/series/twisted

On Amazon—

https://www.amazon.com/Where-Did-My-Family-Twisted/dp/1538383608/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=wil+mara+where+family&qid=1569332908&sr=8-1

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