Waiting on Wednesday: Ask Me How I Got Here by Christine Heppermann

Ask Me How I Got Here by Christine Heppermann
(Website, Twitter, Goodreads)Published by HarperCollins on May 3rd 2016
Genres: Friendship, Girls & Women, Pregnancy, Social Issues, Young Adult
Pages: 240

Addie has always known what she was running toward. In cross-country, in life, in love. Until she and her boyfriend—her sensitive, good-guy boyfriend—are careless one night and she ends up pregnant. Addie makes the difficult choice to have an abortion. And after that—even though she knows it was the right decision for her—nothing is the same anymore. She doesn’t want anyone besides her parents and her boyfriend to know what happened; she doesn’t want to run cross-country; she can’t bring herself to be excited about anything. Until she reconnects with Juliana, a former teammate who’s going through her own dark places. Once again, Christine Heppermann writes with an unflinching honesty and a deep sensitivity about the complexities of being a teenager, being a woman. Her free-verse poems are moving, provocative, and often full of wry humor and a sharp wit. Like Laurie Halse Anderson and Ellen Hopkins, Christine Heppermann is a voice to turn to for the truth of difficult subjects. Ask Me How I Got Here is a literary exploration of sexuality, religion, and self-discovery.

Admittedly I’m new to free verse poetry, but I’ve loved the books that I’ve read that have featured it and this summary has me hooked! I can’t wait to get this one in my hands!

So…What are you waiting for this week?

About Christine Heppermann

Christine Heppermann writes fiction, poetry, and criticism. Her books include Poisoned Apples: Poems for You, My Pretty (2014), City Chickens (2012), and Backyard Witch (with Ron Koertge, 2015). She currently reviews young adult books for the Chicago Tribune.

Christine grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, where she attended an all-girls Catholic high school. As an undergraduate she studied philosophy and literature at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. She has a masters degree in children’s literature from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts, and an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Christine lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her two daughters, two cats, and one husband.

Website • Twitter • Goodreads

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine – make sure you head over and see what other people are waiting for!