Blog Tour: Beware That Girl by Teresa Toten + Interview

Welcome to our blog stop tour for BEWARE THAT GIRL for Teresa Toten. 

This blog tour is hosted by Random House Children's Books.

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Beware That Girl
Author: Teresa Toten
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Thriller
Release Date: May 31st 2016
Review Source: Delacorte Press

For fans of We Were Liars, The Girl on the Train, and Gone Girl, this powerful psychological thriller with multiple mysteries is set against the backdrop of the megawealthy elite of New York City. Toten delves into the mesmerizing yet dysfunctional world of those who manipulate but seem ever so charming. With its gripping pace and Hitchcockian twists, Beware That Girl will keep readers guessing until the very last line.

The Haves. The Have-Nots. Kate O’Brian appears to be a Have-Not. Her whole life has been a series of setbacks she’s had to snake her way out of—some more sinister than others. But she’s determined to change that. She’s book smart. She’s street-smart. Oh, and she’s also a masterful liar.

As the scholarship student at the Waverly School in NYC, Kate has her work cut out for her: her plan is to climb the social ladder and land a spot at Yale. She’s already found her “people” among the senior class “it” girls—specifically in the cosseted, mega-wealthy yet deeply damaged Olivia Sumner. As for Olivia, she considers Kate the best friend she’s always needed, the sister she never had.

When the handsome and whip-smart Mark Redkin joins the Waverly administration, he immediately charms his way into the faculty’s and students’ lives—becoming especially close to Olivia, a fact she’s intent on keeping to herself. It becomes increasingly obvious that Redkin poses a threat to Kate, too, in a way she can’t reveal—and can’t afford to ignore. How close can Kate and Olivia get to Mark without having to share their dark pasts?

Interview

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your book?

Beware That Girl is my 11th book and it is very, very different from anything I’ve written before. Apparently I like to take risks and live in a state of high anxiety because no matter how complex the story line is, I don’t plot or outline any of my novels. It’s a blank page with a blinking curser that greets me every morning and I have no idea what I’m going to write until I write it. I’m completely dependent on my characters doing the heavy lifting and pushing their own plot. I usually have an opening scene that’s been rattling in my head for a couple of years (like the hospital scene in Beware That Girl) and then I discover what the story is page by page.

Without spoilers, were there any scenes you had to cut that you wished you could have kept?

Ha! Unlike like all of my writer friends and all the writers I admire—If I could, I’d write a novel in point form! Almost twenty years later, the most consistent editorial comments I get are some variation of: “Teresa, you’re going to have to flesh this out more.” I would LOVE to have enough material to cut, hone and mourn when it had to go.

What’s the most interesting/exciting thing you’ve done in the name of research?

It’s a tie. For my last book The Unlikely Hero of Room 13b I spoke to and sat in quite few different group therapy sessions for anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorders. The young people I met in those sessions will stay with me forever. For Beware That Girl in my hunt for the perfect Upper East Side penthouse for my character Olivia to live in, I spoke to about half a dozen pretty fabulous doormen. Now I’m sure that with the tenants and anyone who goes into their buildings they’re the souls of discretion. But for a YA writer –WOW- did they have stories!! Those stories are going to live in me forever too.

What's your ideal environment for writing?

Since I don’t outline etc. my first draft is a messy, slow and torturous thing. It has to be at home in my little study on the second floor. Alone. I wander all around the house trying potential dialogue out loud and reciting narrative bits with the dog at my heels. I spend almost as much time wandering and reciting as I do writing so a laptop on the plane is just not possible for me.

Do you have any exciting upcoming projects you can tell us about?

I’m in that messy, slow tortuous part with my next novel. So far, it too is coming out pretty dark, a little twisted and kind of disturbing.

To which Hogwarts House do you belong?

Hmmmn . . .you know, I always pegged myself as a Ravenclaw kind of girl, but given what I’ve been writing the past few years, I’m wondering if I’m not Slytherin after all . . 

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My earliest and most fervent ambition was to grow up and take my rightful place among the other mermaids. When cruel and insensitive adults crushed that dream by insisting that mermaids did not exist, I settled on the more mature aspiration of becoming an intergalactic astronaut. Then I realized that math would likely be involved. So, in the end, I went to Trinity College at the University of Toronto where I got a BA and then an MA in Political Economy taking great care not to take a single English or Creative Writing class. The only thing I knew for sure was that I was never ever going to be a writer. That would be silly, fanciful and well, unrealistic. And then I started to write...

Book Review: The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B by Teresa Toten

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The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B
Author: Teresa Toten
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Released: March 10, 2015
Review Source: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Deep, understated, and wise, this engaging YA novel, winner of the Governor General’s Award in Canada, is about more than the tough issue of teens dealing with obsessive-compulsive order. It also has romance, and a whodunit element that will keep readers guessing. Perfect for readers who love Eleanor & Park!

Adam Spencer Ross is almost fifteen, and he’s got his hands full confronting the problems that come with having divorced parents and new stepsiblings. Add to that his obsessive-compulsive disorder and it’s just about impossible for him to imagine ever falling in love. Adam’s life changes, however, the instant he meets Robyn Plummer: he is hopelessly, desperately drawn to her. But is it possible to have a normal relationship when your life is anything but?

Filled with moments of deep emotion and unexpected humor, The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B explores the complexities of living with OCD and offers the prospect of hope, happiness, and healing.

I just love it when books like this fall in my lap! The storyline was spot on...the characters were outstanding...and the writing was superb. Teresa Toten has hit it out of the park with this one and I'm so glad that I get to share it with you!! I was blown away from page one and I couldn't put it down. The main reason I keep reading a book is because of the writing. If it isn't there, I'm done before I even started. This book was amazing and caught my attention from the very first page.

When I first started reading this book I felt like I was reading The Fault in our Stars, which is a good thing, because it's about a group of kids who have severe cases of OCD who meet in a support group to talk about it. I mean, like severe cases. Like I can't go on with my day until I've brushed my hair exactly thirty-five times or turned on and off the lights in the bathroom exactly twenty times. Adam is the main character in the book and it opens in his support group where he meets Robyn, the love of his life, or so what he wants. This love feeling is new to him and he's not quite sure how to handle it. He has major OCD and anxiety and I love how you see everything through his eyes even though it's written in third person.

The characters were so spot on. Adam and Robyn were my favorite of course, but I loved all of the quirky kids in the support group. The superhero theme runs through the book because they all choose superhero names to call each other. It's kind of cute because they choose heros that relate to them. I also like how they start to come out of their shells and start to help each other out instead of just sitting there. I remember counting my steps when I was younger or not stepping on cracks, but that's nothing compared to what these kids have to face on a daily basis. The research that Toten had to do and keep it going through the book probably took forever, but it paid off for her in the end.

I also loved the book because it had a family. Yes, there are books out there that have family in them, but lately it's like the parents are distant or not even there. I loved the relationship he had with his little brother "Sweetie." It made me giggle sometimes and I caught myself smiling during the scenes that they were in together. I can totally relate to his mother as well. She has major anxiety like Adam and is a hoarder. My mother-in-law is a hoarder and I didn't quite understand her until I read this book. A lot of the things that I saw in the mom, I see in her. I was emotional during the family parts to say the least.

Overall, I LOVED this book and can't wait for you guys to read it too. I know that I will be reading everything else that this writer has written. She is a fabulous writer and I can't get enough of her! I look forward to hearing what you guys think about it!!