Happy Sunday and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for FOREVERLAND by Nicole C. Kear! You guys, I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH!!! I’m so excited today to share my review and an interview with Nicole, plus a chance for you win a print copy of the book!
I received this book for free from Turn the Page Tours in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Foreverland by Nicole C. Kear Published on April 21, 2020 by Imprint
Genres: Contemporary, Middle Grade
Pages: 256
Format: Paperback
Source: Turn the Page Tours
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Author Links: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram
Margaret is tired of everything always changing. Middle school has gone from bad to worse. Her best friend is becoming a stranger. And her family—well, it's not even a family anymore.
So Margaret is running away to Foreverland, her favorite amusement park. Hiding out there is trickier than she expects--until she meets Jaime, a thrill-seeking, fast-thinking runaway who teaches Margaret how to stay one step ahead of the captain of security.
At first, this after-hours, all-access pass to the park is a dream come true: sleepovers in the Haunted House, nonstop junk food, and an unlimited ticket to ride. But as the runaways learn each other’s secrets, they must face the reasons they left their normal lives behind. With the Captain closing in and Jaime's future on the line, can Margaret finally take control?
What would you do if you spent the day with Margaret? Where would you go to eat, hang out, relax, etc.?
If I spent the day with Margaret, our adventures would definitely unfold in Foreverland.
She’d make me ride the Grand Carousel a dozen times, because it’s her favorite, and then she’d take me on the Wheel of Magic, Foreverland’s Ferris Wheel — though definitely not on a rocking car, which terrifies her. Margaret would give me a tour of the Haunted House, which she knows inside and out thanks to the fact that she had an after-hours, secret sleepover there. And through it all, we’d write acrostic poems, since she’s absolutely hooked on writing those. I bet we’d cross paths with Jaime, who’d make sure we rode the best, and biggest roller coasters, even if Margaret was a little hesitant.
If Margaret were to hang out with characters from other books, who would they be and why?
Margaret loves classic stories – really, she loves anything vintage and retro, and that includes the unforgettable book, The Wizard of Oz. In Foreverland, Margaret tells Jaime about how she was obsessed with the Wizard of Oz when she was little – she watched it so many times, she developed a phobia of tornados. So, I bet she’d choose to hang out with Dorothy and the Oz crew. Like Dorothy, Margaret begins her story by running away from home, and just like Dorothy, Margaret meets incredible, larger-than-life friends who accompany her on her journey of self-discovery. I think they’d have plenty to talk about.
Would you rather be a superhero or a supervillain? And what would your powers and name be?
Writing villains is the most fun, but I’d rather be a superhero. I’d have the power of flight, because, well, how unbelievably cool would that be? And I’d have telekinesis, which I’ve always wanted, ever since I read The Girl with the Silver Eyes. I doubt I’d use it for anything other than bringing snacks over to the couch at night when I’m watching Netflix, but, still, I think it’d be worth it. I’d also like the ability to teleport. I’ve relied on the NYC subway for many decades and I would love to ditch my Metrocard.
If you buried a time capsule with three items inside, what three items would you choose and why?
I guess it depends whether the capsule is for me to discover later, or for posterity. Since I don’t think I’d have much to contribute to posterity, I’d probably make it a for-me capsule and as such, I’d include my journal from the year 2020-2021. Of course, first I’d have to write the journal, which I haven’t been doing, since with all the chaos of the world, there’s been no time. Besides my imaginary journal, I’d toss in the “List of Things I Wish Were Real” my daughter wrote a few months ago, which is probably my favorite written document of all time and includes stuff like “hamster mansions,” “tricolor time machines,” and “a cure for Covid.” And lastly, I’d include a video of the first time my oldest daughter and I met our puppy a few months ago, so I would remember that even amidst all the stress and tragedy of this year, there was joy.
What was your favorite bit of research you ended up not using?
I conducted so much research about amusement parks, which is, I’ve decided, the most fun thing, ever, to research. There was a list of “little known secrets about Disneyland” which I didn’t use that was a lot of fun to read. Here’s something I learned: in the middle of the Matterhorn ride in Disneyland, there is a tiny little basketball court used by park staff to unwind. Can you imagine? Nestled deep within the mountain ride, people playing basketball? I love that!
What is your favorite quote, scene, or moment from Foreverland?
My favorite quote is this one:
“The dark is like a key that unlocks the door to your worst imaginings.”
I’ve always felt that way about the dark, ever since I was a kid. My favorite scene is definitely the big fight scene at the end, on the abandoned pirate ship ride – my big, climactic homage to Peter Pan!
Because Margaret loves doing acrostics so much, I’ve decided to make my review into one!
(and can I just say- this was WAY more difficult than I thought it would be! Major props to Nicole for writing so many good ones in the book!)
acrostic
Foreverland feels like going
On an adventure back in time, to that exact moment when
Relationships started to change
Everyone and everything around you. Foreverland features
Vanishing friends and
Eating hot dogs and
Roller Coasters and
Laughter
And reading it feels like going home.
Nicole Kear wrote a WONDERFUL book, so be sure you
Don’t miss it!
This cover is PERFECT for the book! Right away you can see that it’s a middle grade book, which is great. I really like that Jaime and Margaret and the amusement park are so bright and colorful! I would DEFINITELY have picked this up as a kid!
10/10 stars!
- From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks
- Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
- The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead
coming soon!
About Nicole C. Kear
Nicole C. Kear is the author of the memoir Now I See You (St. Martin’s Press), chosen as a Must-Read by People, Amazon, Martha Stewart Living, Parade, Redbook, and Marie Claire UK among others. Her books for children include the middle grade novel Foreverland, the chapter series The Fix-It Friends, and the middle grade series The Startup Squad, co-written with Brian Weisfeld (all published by Macmillan Kids’ Imprint). Her essays appear in the New York Times, Good Housekeeping, New York, Psychology Today, Parents, as well as Salon, the Huffington Post and xoJane. She teaches non-fiction writing at Columbia University and the NYU School of Professional Studies.
A native of New York, she received a BA from Yale, a MA from Columbia, and a red nose from the San Francisco School of Circus Arts. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, three children and two teddy bear hamsters.
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What do you think about Foreverland? Have you added it to your #tbr yet? Let me know in the comments and have a splendiferous day!
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