Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore in Redondo Beach hosted Marie Lu’s launch party for her amazing YA dystopian, LEGEND. It was a fantastic turnout, even with the dangerously high winds in parts of Los Angeles. When I heard the news in the morning warning us to stay indoors if you could, I thought how I was not going to miss seeing Marie and her launch.
I was also thrilled to see how large and beautiful this indie bookstore is. When’s the last time you saw a new bookstore with all fresh, shiny covers? I’d forgotten how special that is. They focus on Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Suspense, and Horror, as well as books about writing and they also have a wonderful YA selection. I picked a copy of the gorgeous HUGO.
But back to the star of the night — Marie was incredibly gracious to everyone, not rushing her line, taking the time to personalize the books (she’s especially good about that) and making everyone feel special. Author rockstar Kami Garcia was in attendance, kindly lending her support, as well as many of Marie’s friends. This venue also allowed food (some bookstores will not), so there was a festive atmosphere. Marie spoke about her influences and took questions from the audience.
I don’t have any time to read right now, while I go over final pass pages, listen to possible narrators for the North American audiobook, and consider the actress for the trailer that my publisher will make (and that was just today!). So I’m glad I read LEGEND before I got this busy, because I can’t recommend it more highly to anyone who is a fan of YA dystopians like THE HUNGER GAMES. The writing is so clean and lean, and the pace perfectly crisp. When I read it, I was saying yes, this is what I want from this kind of story. I loved it and I’ll bet you will too.
Marie Lu – Books
(Note the red streak in my hair? Read LEGEND to figure out what that means)
