Author Talk with Tom Leveen

Author Interview!

​Tom Leveen (Author of Party, Zero, and manicpixiedreamgirl)

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When I asked what he was like in high school, Tom Leveen (author of Party and Zero​) responded:
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"I'd say most of the similarities are hidden to me, because I tend to be highly conscious of how I've changed since high school. A lot of it, I miss. For example, I used to be much more fearless then, and a little bit of that can go a long way. But I also used to be a lot less empathetic. Partly that was age, but mostly it was just being selfish. Not proud of that. There's plenty of ways I wish I'd done things differently back then than I would do now.
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I'd say my habits and hobbies are largely the same, though, yeah. Writing and doing theatre stuff stayed the same, of course. There are hobbies I would do if my friends and I had more time to do them."
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When asked in what ways he was similar to the main character in his next book manicpixiedreamgirl, he says:

"As for Tyler, I'd say we're pretty similar, except that I think he's a better person than I was back then. For all his mistakes and shortcomings, I think he's genuinely a good person, and I really wonder sometimes if I ever was. (Some people tell me I was, but one way I'm still the same: I tend to only believe the negative press!)"
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I read and reviewed the ARC of his new book manicpixiedreamgirl and my reaction was definitely not negative! Read it here!

Manicpixiedreamgirl by Tom Leveen (Book Review)

Title: manicpixiedreamgirl by Tom Leveen
Publisher: Random House
Release Date: April 23, 2013
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Drama
Medium: Paperback ARC from Random House Publishers

Manicpixiedreamgirl was an absolute joy to read. It was so much more than expected. What I expected, was a lovey-dovey teen novel like any other romance/drama novel you pick up in a bookstore. What I read instead, was an in depth story of unrequited love, tangled with lies, mistrust, passion, friendship, and not real love. You have a boy who thinks he's in love with this broken girl at first sight, yet is too confused on his feelings to decide whether or not to break up with his possibly too-caring girlfriend. Enter friendship and misread feelings when the girl turns out to be the one thing he told himself she'd never be. He saw what she really was, but told himself it could never be true. Until her got close to her. Real close to her. And everything began to make sense. But with these mistakes and lies came honesty and trust.

The writing and characters in this book were breathtaking. Tom Leveen is (once again) fantastic. His writing is wholesome and natural, and very easy to understand. The writing was flowing, dramatic, and very addicting. His characters were relatable and the plot could very easily be the tale of someone's life. This is what made it so hard to let go of. This book swept me away. A great book with perfectly imperfect characters that tug at your sense of reality. A very good book. Five stars. (5/25/13)