Dead Ends by Erin Lange - Blog Tour!

Summary from Goodreads

Dane Washington and Billy D. couldn't be more different. Dane is clever and popular, but he's also a violent rebel. Billy D. has Down's syndrome, plays by the rules and hangs out with teachers in his lunch break.

But Dane and Billy have more in common than they think - both their fathers are missing.

They're going to have to suck up their differences and get on with helping each other. There are answers to be found.

Powerful, funny, moving - the ultimate coming-of-age novel.

Hardcover, 370 pages

Expected publication: February 6th 2014 by Faber and Faber

(You can check out my glowing 5* review of Dead Ends here)

About the author

Erin Lange writes facts by day and fiction by night. As a TV news producer, she is inspired by real-world issues and uses her writing to explore how those issues impact teenagers. She grew up in the cornfields of northern Illinois, along the Mississippi River, but now lives in the sunshine in Arizona.

Twitter: @erinjadelange

Erin Lange writes facts by day and fiction by night. As a TV news producer, she is inspired by real-world issues and uses her writing to explore how those issues impact teenagers. She grew up in the cornfields of northern Illinois, along the Mississippi River, but now lives in the sunshine of Arizona. - See more at: http://www.faber.co.uk/catalog/author/erin-lange#sthash.vx8GJ4bc.dpuf

Erin Lange writes facts by day and fiction by night. As a TV news producer, she is inspired by real-world issues and uses her writing to explore how those issues impact teenagers. She grew up in the cornfields of northern Illinois, along the Mississippi River, but now lives in the sunshine of Arizona. - See more at: http://www.faber.co.uk/catalog/author/erin-lange#sthash.vx8GJ4bc.dpuf

Erin Lange writes facts by day and fiction by night. As a TV news producer, she is inspired by real-world issues and uses her writing to explore how those issues impact teenagers. She grew up in the cornfields of northern Illinois, along the Mississippi River, but now lives in the sunshine of Arizona. - See more at: http://www.faber.co.uk/catalog/author/erin-lange#sthash.vx8GJ4bc.dpuf

Erin Lange writes facts by day and fiction by night. As a TV news producer, she is inspired by real-world issues and uses her writing to explore how those issues impact teenagers. She grew up in the cornfields of northern Illinois, along the Mississippi River, but now lives in the sunshine of Arizona. - See more at: http://www.faber.co.uk/catalog/author/erin-lange#sthash.vx8GJ4bc.dpuf

Erin Lange writes facts by day and fiction by night. As a TV news producer, she is inspired by real-world issues and uses her writing to explore how those issues impact teenagers. She grew up in the cornfields of northern Illinois, along the Mississippi River, but now lives in the sunshine of Arizona. - See more at: http://www.faber.co.uk/catalog/author/erin-lange#sthash.vx8GJ4bc.dpuf

 
Guest Post

As I type this, my new book, Dead Ends, is hitting store shelves in the UK for the first time. I spent countless hours combing through book stores as a kid and a teen, so there are no words to describe the awesomeness of adding a story to those shelves.

Today, I’m sharing some of my favorite reads from my own childhood.

The book that sparked my lifelong love of reading was Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White. It was the first time I can remember getting so sucked into a book that I forgot to play or eat or take a bath. I couldn’t stop turning the pages! I don’t remember hold old I was, but I was young enough that my mom didn’t believe I had read the book and actually quizzed me on it, to make me prove it.

I’m pretty sure that’s when my parents started taking me to book stores… where I discovered the Baby-sitters Club and Sweet Valley High. Later, as a teen, I went through a paranormal period with books like The Vampire Diaries. (I think a lot of teenagers who are fans of that series or the TV show are surprised to learn it was first published back when I was a kid!) And I was a huge fan of anything by Christopher Pike or R.L. Stine.

Those were my escapist books. But my very favorite childhood books were the ones I could relate to – the ones where I could press my own life into the pages and nod along, saying, “Yes. Yes! Me too. I’ve been there!”

These books include Judy Blume’s Blubber and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, as well as The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton. They’re the kind of books that do more than entertain. They stay with you and help shape the person you’re going to grow up to be.

And that is pure magic.