This cover is original art by Mali Fischer

Synopsis

A missing book is about to write the story of her life — before she even gets one.

Recent high school grad Anya doesn’t just want to write the great American novel — She wants to publish it, too. So she has faked her way into a summer internship at a major New York City publishing house thousands of miles from home in order to pursue her dream career at an accelerated pace. But her shaky, clandestine plan — which includes camping out in the office and surviving on leftovers from the pantry refrigerator — is completely upended when she loses track of a coveted manuscript by one of the biggest authors in the world. Off she has to race into the late night streets of New York City to track down the manuscript — to save her internship and preserve her cover story, not to mention her best-laid career plan — before the sun rises and her boss is back in the office.

Come along on the madcap quest in this standalone YA novella filled with secret door venues, abandoned subway stations, concealed backrooms and crash pads, mysterious missed connections on old school rotary phones, electric alleyway kisses, and revelatory poetry hiding in plain sight.

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Review

I didn’t realize this was a novella when I started, but it is not to be overlooked. I enjoyed the storyline of a high school graduate that somehow scores an internship with a publishing house in NYC and what she goes through keeping her true identity a secret. But she does this for good reason, because she is a poet and wants to be published someday, or perhaps even work in a publishing house.

I’m not sure if the expectations are accurate or not for this industry but I found the story amusing and fast-paced.

I am normally not a poetry kind of person, but the poetry within the book was outstanding. It really brought together Anya’s hopes, dreams, and desires.

Oh, and I had figured out where the manuscript was and was surprised no one thought to look there first.

I give this novella 4 paws up.

About the Author

Jeffrey Yamaguchi is the author of 52 Projects, Working for the Man, Anya Chases Down the End, and Body of Water. His stories, poems, and photographs have been published in Okay Donkey, Kissing Dynamite, Back Patio Press, X-R-A-Y Literary Magazine, Vamp Cat Magazine, Nightingale & Sparrow, and Black Bough Poetry, among other literary journals. His short films include Unsettled, which premiered at Atticus Review, and Body of Water. Jeffrey has held leadership roles at major publishing houses, including Penguin Random House, Harpercollins, and Abrams Books, and has taught publishing courses at NYU and Mediabistro. He is currently working to build a new publishing venture at Blackstone Audio, and serves on the Digital Committee at Poets & Writers.

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