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The Hanging Girl
by Eileen Cook
Skye Thorn has given tarot card readings for years, and now her psychic visions are helping the police find the town’s missing golden girl. It’s no challenge—her readings have always been faked, but this time she has some insider knowledge. The kidnapping was supposed to be easy—no one would get hurt and she’d get the money she needs to start a new life. But a seemingly harmless prank has turned dark, and Skye realizes the people she’s involved with are willing to kill to get what they want and she must discover their true identity before it’s too late.
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• Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery/Thriller
• Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
• Add the book on Goodreads!
• Purchase: Amazon - B&N - TBD - IndieBound
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by Eileen Cook
MEET THE CHARACTERS OF THE HANGING GIRL
Skye’s mom makes a lot of mistakes, but there is no doubt in my mind that she has a fierce love for her daughter.
“The bodies of your mistakes never stay
buried.” The Hanging Girl
Skye is the main
character of The Hanging Girl. Her real name is Candi, but she hates that name
so much that she goes by her middle name whenever possible. Skye’s mom had her
when she was only fifteen and the two of them live on the wrong side of town in
a run-down apartment.
In a small town you
can never get away from your past mistakes. People are all too happy to remind
you of what you’ve done wrong over the years.
When Skye was young
she made up a story about her dad. She told everyone in her school that the
reason her dad was never around was because he was in the military and serving
overseas. She made him into a regular camo wearing, flag waving, American hero. She liked that story better
than the truth- that her dad was never interested in her. Unfortunately for Skye, the truth came out in
a very public way. Since then she can’t wait to get out of that town- and this
past experience impacts the choices she makes now- and how far she’ll go to get
what she wants.
“Regret, unlike satisfaction, isn’t
hard to get.” The Hanging Girl
Paige is the official
Queen Bee of the school. She’s pretty, but also trouble. She has a habit of
playing on the wild side-which drives her dad, the town judge, crazy. Paige and
her dad have a very complicated relationship. Paige both wants his approval, but
also wishes he wouldn’t be so judgmental. She feels that he doesn’t really know
her at all. She desperately wants him to see her- the real her. Paige doesn’t
want to be compared to her “perfect” sister, or anyone else. She wants her
family to admit that in their home appearances matter more than reality.
When Paige is
abducted, everyone is looking for her- the police, her friends, and most of
all, her family. The real question is how she’ll get back home.
“Most people aren’t the kind of people
they hope they are.” The Hanging Girl
Skye’s mom isn’t a
main character, but she has a huge impact on Skye. She’s the kind of person who always imagines
that something wonderful is just around the corner. She’s believes in magic,
auras, psychic ability, various religions (depends on her mood) and get rich
quick schemes. Skye believes that her mom falls for all of this stuff because
she wants to believe that she’s special- not just a girl who got knocked up at
fifteen and is now a single mom working at the Stop and Shop as a cashier.
Skye’s mom makes a lot of mistakes, but there is no doubt in my mind that she has a fierce love for her daughter.
Eileen Cook grew up in a small town in Michigan, but would go on to live in Boston and Belgium before settling in Vancouver, Canada with her husband and two very naughty dogs.
In second grade Eileen’s teacher wrote on a homework assignment “I am sure someday you will be an author” which is a tribute to the psychic abilities of elementary school teachers, as well as Eileen penchant for making things up. While she would go on to fill endless notebooks with really bad poetry, short stories, and the occasional start to a novel, she would first go on to pursue a career as a counsellor working with individuals with catastrophic injuries and illness.
Eileen quickly discovered that the challenge of working with real people is that they have real problems and she returned to writing where she could make her characters do what she wanted. Her first novel was published in 2008. Entertainment Weekly called her novel WITH MALICE a “seriously creepy thriller” which pretty much made her entire year.
When not planning murder and mayhem on the computer, Eileen enjoys reading, knitting, yelling at her dogs to stop digging holes and watching hockey (which she is required to do as a new Canadian.)
Eileen is a popular speaker at conferences both in the US and in Canada, provides writing/editorial coaching, and is a mentor/instructor for the Simon Fraser University The Writer’s Studio.
Eileen lives in Vancouver with her husband and two very naughty dogs and no longer wishes to be anyone or anywhere else.
In second grade Eileen’s teacher wrote on a homework assignment “I am sure someday you will be an author” which is a tribute to the psychic abilities of elementary school teachers, as well as Eileen penchant for making things up. While she would go on to fill endless notebooks with really bad poetry, short stories, and the occasional start to a novel, she would first go on to pursue a career as a counsellor working with individuals with catastrophic injuries and illness.
Eileen quickly discovered that the challenge of working with real people is that they have real problems and she returned to writing where she could make her characters do what she wanted. Her first novel was published in 2008. Entertainment Weekly called her novel WITH MALICE a “seriously creepy thriller” which pretty much made her entire year.
When not planning murder and mayhem on the computer, Eileen enjoys reading, knitting, yelling at her dogs to stop digging holes and watching hockey (which she is required to do as a new Canadian.)
Eileen is a popular speaker at conferences both in the US and in Canada, provides writing/editorial coaching, and is a mentor/instructor for the Simon Fraser University The Writer’s Studio.
Eileen lives in Vancouver with her husband and two very naughty dogs and no longer wishes to be anyone or anywhere else.
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Big thanks to Eileen Cook for her guest post today!
Readers, continue on for giveaway details~ ^_^
Thanks so much for stopping by! ♥ Happy Reading!
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