Hello, Future Me by Kim Ventrella
Hi, Kim Ventrella! Thank you for returning to Watch. Connect. Read. to share Mónica de Rivas’ colorful and fun cover illustration for Hello, Future Me. Please tell us (as much as you would like without spoiling anything) about the significance of the items featured on the cover.
Kim: Thanks so much, Mr. Schu! I’m so excited to be here to share this totally awesome cover!
Okay, cover secrets…where to begin? First off, you probably noticed an abundance of glitter. That is not an accident! June uses a lot of glitter in the story, first to make a ‘Welcome Home’ sign for Mom, and then to set up a romantic lunch date for her parents, in hopes of stopping the divorce.
The items in the background come from the mysterious Shop of Last Resort. In the book, I describe it like this: It was “like a magic shop and a fantasy unicorn tea party had gotten into a fight, and they’d both won.” The shop is super pink and frilly, complete with tinkling chandeliers, furry walls and a train chugging away overhead. But it’s also full of broken objects that claim to have magical properties. Like an alarm clock that goes off any time your dog needs to poop, glasses that make you laugh uncontrollably or a unicorn statue that claims to heal minor cuts and bruises. You can also find June’s magical laptop in the background, the one that allows her to chat with her past and future selves, and Gomo the Garden Gnome—I’ll let you read the book to find out more about him :P
One other fun note, June lives in the quirky, fictional town of Tanglewood Crossing, home to more bigfoot sightings than anywhere else in the world. June is a HUGE bigfoot fan, hence the tiny bigfoot on her shirt and her bracelet—actually, there’s a fun story about where she gets the bracelet, but you’ll have to read the book for that tidbit.
Thank you for sharing those terrific cover secrets.
Please finish the following sentence starters:
Did you know June is a SUPER planner? It’s true. Every year, she makes a vision board of her goals, and she works hard to achieve all of them. Her secret weapons? Lists, and more lists, and elaborate secret missions that usually involve her best friend Calvin. Her latest mission? To stop her parents’ divorce. And when her ordinary plans fail, miserably, she turns to the new magic shop in town for help. This despite the fact that her future self has just warned her via IM that meddling with magic is a TOTALLY TERRIBLE idea.
I hope Hello, Future Me makes readers laugh, and think, and possibly cry, though not as much as June’s dad. I LOVE the character of June’s Dad, btw. He’s this former biker with a million tattoos who looks all rough and tough but literally cries at everything. Even dog food commercials. Poor guy.
School librarians are superstars! If I could design a ‘Thank You’ sign for all of the school librarians in the world, it would have ALL THE GLITTER! And rainbows! Possibly unicorns!
Mr. Schu, you should have asked me if HELLO, FUTURE ME includes an adorable and totally secret love story. It does, but—shhh!—don’t tell!
Okay, cover secrets…where to begin? First off, you probably noticed an abundance of glitter. That is not an accident! June uses a lot of glitter in the story, first to make a ‘Welcome Home’ sign for Mom, and then to set up a romantic lunch date for her parents, in hopes of stopping the divorce.
The items in the background come from the mysterious Shop of Last Resort. In the book, I describe it like this: It was “like a magic shop and a fantasy unicorn tea party had gotten into a fight, and they’d both won.” The shop is super pink and frilly, complete with tinkling chandeliers, furry walls and a train chugging away overhead. But it’s also full of broken objects that claim to have magical properties. Like an alarm clock that goes off any time your dog needs to poop, glasses that make you laugh uncontrollably or a unicorn statue that claims to heal minor cuts and bruises. You can also find June’s magical laptop in the background, the one that allows her to chat with her past and future selves, and Gomo the Garden Gnome—I’ll let you read the book to find out more about him :P
One other fun note, June lives in the quirky, fictional town of Tanglewood Crossing, home to more bigfoot sightings than anywhere else in the world. June is a HUGE bigfoot fan, hence the tiny bigfoot on her shirt and her bracelet—actually, there’s a fun story about where she gets the bracelet, but you’ll have to read the book for that tidbit.
Thank you for sharing those terrific cover secrets.
As you know, you’re only allowed 280 characters per tweet. Please booktalk Hello, Future Me Twitter style.
Kim: A mysterious new shop w/ a super creepy owner (check). A magical laptop that allows 11-yr-old June to chat w/ her past and future selves (check). But will a little magic be enough to help matchmaker June stop her parents' divorce?
A++, Kim!
Kim: A mysterious new shop w/ a super creepy owner (check). A magical laptop that allows 11-yr-old June to chat w/ her past and future selves (check). But will a little magic be enough to help matchmaker June stop her parents' divorce?
A++, Kim!
Please finish the following sentence starters:
Did you know June is a SUPER planner? It’s true. Every year, she makes a vision board of her goals, and she works hard to achieve all of them. Her secret weapons? Lists, and more lists, and elaborate secret missions that usually involve her best friend Calvin. Her latest mission? To stop her parents’ divorce. And when her ordinary plans fail, miserably, she turns to the new magic shop in town for help. This despite the fact that her future self has just warned her via IM that meddling with magic is a TOTALLY TERRIBLE idea.
I hope Hello, Future Me makes readers laugh, and think, and possibly cry, though not as much as June’s dad. I LOVE the character of June’s Dad, btw. He’s this former biker with a million tattoos who looks all rough and tough but literally cries at everything. Even dog food commercials. Poor guy.
School librarians are superstars! If I could design a ‘Thank You’ sign for all of the school librarians in the world, it would have ALL THE GLITTER! And rainbows! Possibly unicorns!
Mr. Schu, you should have asked me if HELLO, FUTURE ME includes an adorable and totally secret love story. It does, but—shhh!—don’t tell!
Look for Hello, Future Me on August 4, 2020.
KIM VENTRELLA is the author of the middle grade novels Hello, Future Me, Bone Hollow and Skeleton Tree, and she is a contributor to the anthology, Don’t Turn Out the Lights: A Tribute to Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Her works explore difficult topics with big doses of humor, whimsy and hope. Kim has held a variety of interesting jobs, including children’s librarian, scare actor, Peace Corps volunteer and French instructor, but her favorite job title is author. She lives in Oklahoma City with her dog and co-writer, Hera. Find out more at https://kimventrella.com/ or follow Kim on Twitter and Instagram.
KIM VENTRELLA is the author of the middle grade novels Hello, Future Me, Bone Hollow and Skeleton Tree, and she is a contributor to the anthology, Don’t Turn Out the Lights: A Tribute to Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Her works explore difficult topics with big doses of humor, whimsy and hope. Kim has held a variety of interesting jobs, including children’s librarian, scare actor, Peace Corps volunteer and French instructor, but her favorite job title is author. She lives in Oklahoma City with her dog and co-writer, Hera. Find out more at https://kimventrella.com/ or follow Kim on Twitter and Instagram.
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