Last week I had the great pleasure of attending my first OLA (Ontario Library Association) Super Conference. It took me about two hours to get the lay of the land and figure out what all those line ups lead to. Free books!! Author signings! When I was talking with the students about my plans for the PA Day there request was that I try to meet Susin Nielsen. Well mission complete!!Although my moment with Susin was brief given the long line of others waiting to also meet her it was awesome! First, I was given a copy of her yet to be released We Are All Made of Molecules and second she gave me a shirt advertising the same book. Awesome!!
We Are All Made of Molecules is scheduled to be published May 2015 but I had the great pleasure of already finishing reading it. This is the story of Stewart and Ashley. Stewart is in grade 9 although he's younger and smaller than his classmates because he's gifted and skipped a grade. Ashley is also in grade 9 and not near as bright as Stewart, but she's quite a few rungs higher on the popularity ladder; actually she's at the top.
When Stewart's dad and Ashley's mom decide to take their dating to the next level and move in together both kids have a hard time adjusting. The story is quite funny overall but does a great job of dealing with quite a few teenage issues such as bullying, social media use, alcohol, puberty and more. I was quite impressed how Nielsen covers so many issues and still manages to make this book appeal to both boys and girls.
Susin Nielsen is a Canadian author that is a favourite in my YA library section. Her previous novels Dear George Clooney, Please Marry my Mom, The Reluctant Journal of Henry P. Larsen and Word Nerd were previously nominated for the Red Maple award as part of the Forest of Reading. I suspect We Are All Made of Molecules will be on the 2016 nomination list. When it's released I will proudly wear my We Are All Made of Molecules shirt. I think they will be in great demand. I love the connection to the story.