Blog Tour + Meet the Characters ft. THE EDGE OF ANYTHING by Nora Shalaway Carpenter

The Edge of Anything
by Nora Shalaway Carpenter
Date Published: March 24, 2020; Running Press Teen
Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction, Mental Health

About the book:

Len is a loner teen photographer haunted by a past that’s stagnated her work and left her terrified she’s losing her mind. Sage is a high school volleyball star desperate to find a way around her sudden medical disqualification. Both girls need college scholarships. After a chance encounter, the two develop an unlikely friendship that enables them to begin facing their inner demons.

But both Len and Sage are keeping secrets that, left hidden, could cost them everything, maybe even their lives.

Set in the North Carolina mountains, this dynamic #ownvoices novel explores grief, mental health, and the transformative power of friendship.

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MEET THE MAIN CHARACTERS OF The Edge of Anything
- by Nora Shalaway Carpenter

Len Madder: Len is a sixteen-year high school junior at Southview High School in Asheville, NC. She loves photography, and her greatest dream is to win the Melford Photography Scholarship, which would give her a full ride to any college in North Carolina with a photography program. Her family scrapes by from paycheck to paycheck and she would be the first in her family to attend college if she’s able to go. She is desperate to go to college, but due to her family’s massive debt, a scholarship might be the only way she can get there. She’s 5’6” with blond hair that comes just past her shoulders. She’s always been on the shy side, but until four month ago she was happy and upbeat. Now Len wears sweatshirts, jeans, thigh-high boots, and knit gloves every day despite the weather and her creative work has stagnated. She’s having trouble with her memory and privately, she’s terrified she’s losing her mind.

Sage Zendaski: Sage is a senior all-star volleyball player for Southview High School, recruited by the top Division I volleyball schools in the United States. Volleyball is her passion and lifeblood, and she is determined to lead her team to the North Carolina state championship title, a victory that her school has never claimed. Her ultimate dream is to go professional after college and perhaps one day play in the Olympics. She’s 5’11, muscular, and has long dark hair that goes halfway down her back. She loves to read and has a fondness for Star Wars.

Kayla Davis: Sage’s best friend and volleyball co-caption, Kayla is also recruited by top Division I schools. Kayla is six feet tall, blonde, and even stronger than Sage. She’s in study hall with Len, and informs Sage that Len is super weird.

Nonni: Len’s grandmother, whom Len calls Nonni, used to be Len’s closest confident. Now she lives in a nursing facility and is suffering from late stage dementia. Most of the family’s limited resources go to her care.

Fauna and Diane Madder: Len’s older sister, Fauna, lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her wife, Diane. Together they own and operate a small café.

Ian Zendaski: Sage’s sophomore brother is the star kicker on the Southview High School football team. He cares deeply about his sister, even though they give each other a hard time.

Len’s parents: Len’s mom works for a local foodbank and spends most of her free time helping with Nonni, her mother. She, like her mom, loves older music, particularly the Beatles. Len’s dad is a local artist struggling to sell his work. He’s a huge fan of meditation and the power of positive thinking. He also studies and practices Reiki.

Sage’s parents: Sage’s mom is a successful business executive. Her dad is a federal public defender. Their family is upper middle class and they own a beautiful, large home. Both of them are very involved in their kids’ lives. Sage and her dad have a particular connection through sports.

THE EDGE OF ANYTHING tells the dual narrative of Len, an outcast teen photographer who believes she's slowly losing her mind, and Sage, a popular volleyball star with a devastating secret, and the unexpected friendship that saves them both.

Order link: https://www.noracarpenterwrites.com/the-edge-of-anything.html

Author links: Website Goodreads Twitter Instagram

Nora Shalaway Carpenter holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Before she wrote books, she served as associate editor of Wonderful West Virginia magazine and has been a Certified Yoga Teacher since 2012. Originally from rural West Virginia, she currently lives in Asheville, North Carolina with her husband, three young children, and one not-so-young dog.

Learn more at www.noracarpenterwrites.com or follow her on Instagram @noracarpenterwrites and Twitter @norawritesbooks.

Win a hardcopy of THE EDGE OF ANYTHING by Nora Shalaway Carpenter, a character art postcard by kelsey Lecky of K. A. K. Lecky illustration, a bookmark and a pop- open card from Thoughtfulls (US Only)