Newbery Medalist Linda Sue Park to Launch New Middle Grade Novel, "Gracie Under the Waves", at Author's Note

On Monday, October 21st at 6:30 p.m., Author’s Note welcomes Newbery Medalist and #1 New York Times bestselling author Linda Sue Park to celebrate the launch of her newest middle grade release, Gracie Under the Waves. 

The acclaimed author of A Long Walk to Water presents an empowering new story starring a young snorkeling enthusiast who draws inspiration for fighting climate change from interacting with her pesty little brother. Inspired by her own experience, beloved author Linda Sue Park tells the story of a girl learning how to impact a cause she cares about while navigating the ups and downs of a sibling relationship and turning disappointment into opportunity.  

Gracie loves snorkeling so much that she convinces her parents to let her plan a family vacation to Roatán, Honduras, where they can all snorkel together. She even makes a new friend there. Now, if only her irritating little brother would leave her alone, everything would be perfect. Then Gracie hurts her leg, and all her carefully made plans start to come apart. Worse still, she learns the reef itself is in serious danger. Gracie wants to help the reef, but she’s just a kid. How can she make a difference?

The novel has garnered rave reviews. The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books says, “Park writes the irritations and messiness of siblinghood beautifully, and Gracie’s willingness to humbly learn how to expand her zeal for snorkeling into action is a breath of fresh sea air.” Publisher’s Weeky says, "Using high-energy prose and high-stakes plotting, Park delivers a splashy tale ferried by an undercurrent of compromise, climate activism, and earnest love for the natural world." The Washington Post reports that "Newbery medalist Park combines a relatable heroine with accessibly written information about how climate change threatens the ocean." 

Linda Sue Park is the author of many books for young readers, including the 2002 Newbery Medal winner A Single Shard and the NYTimes bestseller A Long Walk to Water. Her most recent titles are Gracie Under the Waves, a contemporary middle-grade novel about a girl who loves snorkeling, illustrated by Maxine Vee, and My Book and Me, a a picture book about the joys of books and reading illustrated by the celebrated Caldecott-Medal artist Chris Raschka.

Linda Sue is the founder and curator of Allida Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. She serves on the advisory boards of We Need Diverse Books and the Rabbit hOle museum project, and created the kiBooka website, www.kibooka.com, to highlight children’s books created by the Korean diaspora. Visit her website at www.lindasuepark.com.

The Monday evening event at Author’s Note is free and open to the public. Pre-ordering copies is recommended. For those unable to attend, signed books can be ordered at authorsnote.com. Please contact Author’s Note for more information at (585) 798-3642 or visit authorsnote.com/events.