<![CDATA[Monica Hesse - Occasional News]]>

<![CDATA[Monica Hesse - Occasional News]]>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 05:02:34 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[Advance praise for They Went Left]]>Mon, 09 Mar 2020 20:48:41 GMThttps://www.monicahesse.com/occasional-news/advance-praise-for-they-went-leftJust in case you were on the fence about pre-ordering...

★ “A heartbreaking and heartwarming story of survival, loss, and renewal … Hesse’s meticulous research of this moment in history creates an overwhelming sense of time and place. She intertwines historical fact with masterful storytelling that allows readers to embrace the characters and relate to them without forgetting the heaviness of the time period. Highly recommended as a first purchase for both public and school libraries. Sure to please a variety of readers; those interested in historical fiction, romance, and mystery will not be able to put this book down.” – SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, starred review

★ “This [novel] shows [Hesse’s] gift at coming at an oft-told story from a new angle, as well as her compelling language, characterization, and ability to fill a story with realistic details and tension.” –PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, starred review

★ “Hesse again proves to be a master of verisimilitude, bringing the realities of existence in the immediate postwar period to visceral life through painstaking detail. Her beautifully realized, highly empathetic characters come to life, too, in the pages of this superbly crafted novel … Like real life, there is heartbreaking sadness here but also hope that life, finally, will be whole and fine, A to Z.” – BOOKLIST, starred review

★ “This is an excellent book… and should be considered a must-purchase.” – SCHOOL LIBRARY CONNECTION, starred review

“These are stories that need to be told and Hesse does so with thoughtfulness and sympathy. They Went Left is a much-needed addition to post-World War II historical fiction and as a young adult book it is the perfect gift for the Polish American teen in your life.” – THE POLISH AMERICAN JOURNAL

“A compelling story of love, loss and hope, written from a new angle … Hesse tackles the physical and mental trauma of war, offering young adult readers an atmospheric history lesson, equal parts harrowing and hopeful. They Went Left is an exploration of memory and survival, wherein a poignant puzzle unfolds, exploring the bonds of family, religion, and, above all else, hope in the wake of unspeakable loss – a reminder that a new beginning is always possible.” – PAPERBACK PARIS

]]><![CDATA[Getting all the publicity done at once.]]>Mon, 19 Jun 2017 02:16:35 GMThttps://www.monicahesse.com/occasional-news/tour-dates-for-american-fireWhy should you buy a copy of American Fire? Good golly, why not? Look at the nice reviews that people a lot smarter than me have given it:

“The propulsive pleasure of American Fire rests in author Monica Hesse's decision not to force a thing. The book has the brisk diligence of big-city journalism (Hesse writes for the Washington Post) and the languid chattiness of the small town where she lived while researching it. . . . Hesse gathers the pieces but leaves connections to the reader. When they snap together, the feeling is a bit like gazing upon a blaze you've just lit.
—Karl Vick, TIME

“Hesse enters the compelling narrative with restraint in probing, essayistic analyses. She tells the story of the fires and of the Eastern Shore and the people she got to know there with an earned familiarity that, at the same time, speaks of the unknowability of a vast, rapidly changing nation.”
— Annie Bostrom, Booklist, starred review

“Mesmerizing. . . . Hesse recounts the fires and their investigation and the subsequent trials with cinematic immediacy.”
—Jonathan Miles, Garden & Gun

One of Entertainment Weekly’s Summer’s 20 Must-Read Books

“Washington Post reporter Hesse leads readers on an extended tour of a bizarre five-month crime spree in rural Accomack County, Va.: a series of over 80 arsons, of predominantly abandoned buildings, committed by a local couple. . . . A page-turning story of love gone off the rails.”
—Publishers Weekly

“A captivating narrative about arson, persistent law enforcers, an unlikely romantic relationship, and a courtroom drama. . . . Throughout, the author offers a nuanced portrait of a way of life unknown to most who have never resided on or visited the Eastern Shore. A true-crime saga that works in every respect.”
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“American Fire is a wonderful book of page-turning, true crime reportage, exquisitely reported with both humanity and humor. Books like this remind us, in an uncertain time, of what journalism is supposed to look like.”
—Nick Reding, author of Methland

“America in decline, a love gone berserk, and fire…lots and lots of it. If you pick up this book and open it to the first page, I double-dog dare you to put it down.”
—Dennis Covington, author of Salvation on Sand Mountain

“A rare combination of reportorial know-how and literary flair, AMERICAN FIRE is a page-turner. Crimes and chaos, detectives and firefighters, headlines and red herrings, and it all boils down to a Gothic love story gone wrong. You need time to investigate a story like this, following the police leads all the way to the hidden-in-plain-sight, off-kilter individuals generating the mayhem; you need space to tell a story like this, fact-based and evocative. People who think they don’t like nonfiction will devour this book. People who love nonfiction will love it, too.” —Melissa Fay Greene, author of Praying for Sheetrock and The Underdogs

]]><![CDATA[On un-gaying a main character.]]>Mon, 02 May 2016 15:46:13 GMThttps://www.monicahesse.com/occasional-news/on-un-gaying-a-main-character

Now that "Girl in the Blue Coat" has been out for a few weeks, I'm getting wonderful, fascinating, smart emails from readers all over the world. A young Dutch girl in Amsterdam wanted to trade pancake recipes. A drama teacher in Illinois had ideas for how to make the book into a play. I've also gotten emails from people who didn't like this plot point, or that that character, and those emails are great to get too. World's no fun if we all like the same things about the same books.

This morning, I got an email from a children's librarian. She had read the book. She liked the book. She wanted to be able to recommend it to her fifth graders. But in order to do that, she felt there were two necessary changes that would need to happen for the next edition. First, she didn't like that I had Hanneke, my main character, flirt with a German soldier to get past his checkpoint. And second [And SPOILER ALERT for those of you who care about such things]:

"Regarding Hanneke finding out that her friend was a homosexual should be omitted in order to make this book readable for 5th grade. By omitting these passages, it would not hurt the flow of the story at all. It would be a wonderful book for 5th grade, [but] the adult theme of mentioning homosexual attraction is not necessary to the story line.

I thought a lot about how to respond to this email. I wanted to validate and be respectful of her feelings, even while I was essentially saying I thought her feelings were wrong. Eventually I came up with this:

"Dear Ms. _____

Thank you so much for writing to me -- it means the world to hear from librarians, who are truly my heroes. And I'm so glad you enjoyed "Girl in the Blue Coat." I love hearing from readers what worked and didn't work for them in the book, and I respect the knowledge and perspective that someone in your position brings to her reading experience.

While I think it would be great if younger, mature kids like your students read my book, I did write it specifically with high schoolers (and older readers) in mind. I realize that might make a scene in which my main character flirts with a German soldier as part of her resistance work a little too mature for fifth graders. I respectfully disagree, however, with your opinion that another character disclosing he is gay makes the the book inappropriate for younger readers. His relationship is not explicit or sexual in any way, it is loving and committed. It takes up a very small part of the plot (as you note, a single page), but it is a large part of who the character is, and removing it would not be fair to him. Gay people exist. They always have. And now that same sex marriage is legal in all of the United States, and it's nothing to see LGBT celebrities out with their partners or spouses, I don't think that homosexuality is something fifth graders need to be shielded from. If their parents or educators believe otherwise, I absolutely support their right to parent and teach as they see fit. But my character is gay, and so he'll stay that way in all editions of the book.

Sincerely,

Monica"

]]><![CDATA[Around the world in 80 book covers]]>Sun, 17 Apr 2016 22:22:58 GMThttps://www.monicahesse.com/occasional-news/around-the-world-in-80-book-coversOr, you know, three or four.

I thought that the U.S. cover of "Girl in the Blue Coat" was a work of art, and couldn't have imagined loving anything else as much. But as the book is starting to come out in countries around the world, it's fascinating to see how visual sensibilities are different around the world.

The Netherlands

Selling the book in Holland was really meaningful. It's where "Girl in the Blue Coat" is set, so getting a local stamp of approval made me feel like my research chops were up to snuff. In The Netherlands, the book is called "Ik zal je Vinden," which translates to "I Will Find You."

I totally get why my Dutch publisher, Karakter, chose this design. The architecture is a really typical Amsterdam streetscape, especially along the Herengracht, the canal where my main character, Hanneke, spends a lot of time bicycling for her job.

The girl in this image looks nothing like Hanneke does in my mind. But she looks a lot like Mirjam, another character, so in my mind that's who I pretend she is.

Italy

Look familiar? The Italian cover is nearly the Dutch cover, but reversed, and with tones that are a little more red than gray. This makes sense; the Italian cover is "La Ragazza con la Bicicletta Rossa," which translates into "The Girl on the Red Bicycle."

If you look closely, you can see the other difference between the Dutch and Italian covers: under the street lamp, Hanneke's titular red bicycle. I'm glad that made it onto the cover. There are an estimated 800,000 bicycles in Amsterdam, which is more bicycles than people.

United Kingdom

In the U.K., the title is almost the same as in the United States; they just get a "the" at the beginning. The Girl in the Blue Coat.

What I love about this color is how small the two figures are: one small girl facing off against one small soldier, against a vast city landscape and an even vaster country. That's how I think of the the characters in the book: tiny actors who are caught in an immense war machine, in which ordinary actions have unfathomable consequences.

This cover reminds me a little bit of Elizabeth Wein's Code Name Verity, which is such a beautiful book, in every imaginable way.

]]><![CDATA[All the Good News at Once]]>Wed, 06 Apr 2016 02:52:43 GMThttps://www.monicahesse.com/occasional-news/all-the-good-news-at-onceToday is publication day for Girl in the Blue Coat. I've been a seriously lucky duck with this book, with a genius editor and genius publicist, and the luck has continued in the reviews and news so far.

• Amazon has named GITBC an Amazon Best Book of April, for which I'm in brilliant company. Look at these titles; I want to read all of them:

• It's a best book of April over at iBooks as well, and they had these amazing things to say about the book:

Hanneke is an exceptionally appealing heroine: strong, intelligent, and imperfect. Her observations about the Nazi occupation and the moral quandaries she and those around her are forced to navigate hit hard and ring true. Journalist Monica Hesse’s YA novel is rich, timeless, and effortlessly beautiful.

• Girl in the Blue Coat received starred reviews from:

Publishers Weekly: "A riveting Holocaust novel."
School Library Journal: "Themes of love, betrayal, heroism, responsibility, and atonement are beautifully intertwined."
Voices of Youth Advocates: "A fascinating look at life in occupied Europe during WWII."
Booklist: "An affecting novel that skillfully combines reality with fiction."

]]><![CDATA[Happy Holidays, or, What to Get an Author for Christmas]]>Sun, 27 Dec 2015 02:05:46 GMThttps://www.monicahesse.com/occasional-news/happy-holidays-or-what-to-get-an-author-for-christmasKirkus posted its review this week of Girl in the Blue Coat. The whole thing is posted here, but this is the best morsel for a fretting fragile-ego'd writer:

"Hesse’s impeccable research meshes almost seamlessly with Hanneke’s present-tense narration, bringing the time and place to life. Rich in content and emotion, this is a first-rate companion to the historical tales of the onderduikers, the hidden Jews of Holland, and a compelling read...Shelve this one beside resistance tales like Elizabeth Wein’s Code Name Verity and read next to a box of tissues."

Santa! Thank you!

]]><![CDATA[Marathon Begins]]>Wed, 04 Nov 2015 15:05:21 GMThttps://www.monicahesse.com/occasional-news/marathon-beginsAfter years of working in newspapers, where you write something today and it appears in print tomorrow, one of the oddest things about writing a book is the supreme luxury of time. I started writing Girl in the Blue Coat in February of 2014. It's being published April of 2016. Today, eight months from its publication date, is the first sign that it will be an actual, physical object in the world: Mashable did a cover reveal and q&a, showcasing the amazing work of Little, Brown's designers, and the supreme nitpickiness of a research nerd like me. Q&A is here.

And the cover is here!

]]><![CDATA[Happy Book Release Day!]]>Fri, 07 Feb 2014 15:01:50 GMThttps://www.monicahesse.com/occasional-news/happy-book-release-day

"Burn" was released today. And behold, the first review!

I really couldn't have asked for a kinder critic. This is my favorite passage -- and fans of YA literature will understand what a vast, gargantuan compliment it is:

"With a lot of books I’ve read recently, I haven’t been able to connect with characters when the book’s in third person, but Lona’s a character I can instantly connect with and follow easily. Fenn, of course, totally beats Jace Wayland any day ;D Forget Jace and Clary or Tobias and Tris. It’s LONA AND FENN."

]]><![CDATA[Who me? It's an honor just to be nominated, really.]]>Thu, 23 Jan 2014 15:35:03 GMThttps://www.monicahesse.com/occasional-news/who-me-its-an-honor-just-to-be-nominated-really

This morning I woke up to an email from the publicist at Hot Key, telling me that "Stray" has been nominated for two Kitschies -- an award for "progressive, entertaining works that contain elements of the speculative or fantastic." And really, how can you not love an award whose mascot is an octopus, whose trophies are tentacles, and whose prizes are bottles of rum (also money)?

The other nominees in my categories (best debut novel and best cover art) are some of my favorite books from the year. I loved "Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore" by Robin Sloan, and every time I turned around, another person was recommending "Ancillary Justice" by Ann Leckie.

In continuing the theme of excellent news week, on Tuesday I got a brand new baby nephew. I visited him at the hospital a few hours after he was born; he is officially the smallest and newest human being I had ever met. The way some people get about teeny-weeny baby clothes, I get about teeny-weeny baby books and have already gone on a spending spree. That kid is going to be chock full of Phantom Tollbooths, Chronicles of Narnia, and bears called Paddington and Corduroy. They're a little too big for him now, at all of two days old, but I figure he'll grow into them.

]]><![CDATA[New Year, New List]]>Thu, 02 Jan 2014 02:19:20 GMThttps://www.monicahesse.com/occasional-news/new-year-new-list

I'm a sucker for lists. To-do lists, To-don't lists. Top 10 lists, top 20 lists. For the past five years, my friend Dan and I have been in charge of The Washington Post's annual Out/In List, which greets the New Year by distilling it into two categories. Every year, I receive more vitriol for my participation in The List than for any other story I write. People love to call it stupid, yet spend hours dissecting it. People love to say that Lists are Out, and that nobody cares what's on The List anyway.

Lists will never be out. Anything that makes temporary order out of the relentless chaos of the world will never be out.

Here's a link to the web version of this year's List. It's silly and serious, and not as smart as we think it is or as dumb as critics think it is.

Happy New Year.

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