Special Edition News Flash: Meet the 2010 Debutantes!

The Class of 2009 is wrapping up our incredible, crazy year, and we’re thrilled to announce that we’ve selected our replacements! These debut authors and their books represent a variety of categories and genres, and most importantly, authors with clear, smart voices that will resonate with the Debutante Ball’s readers.

Without further ado, here they are! Our fourth class… the 2010 Debs!

Joelle Anthony, RESTORING HARMONY
(YA, Putnam, May 2010)
The year is 2041, and Molly McClure was only six when the Collapse of ’31 happened, ending life as the world’s population knew it. When she is forced to leave the comfort of her small B.C. island to travel down to Oregon, Molly discovers how hard the Collapse has been on the rest of the world. What starts out as a quick trip to the U.S. to convince her grandfather to return to Canada and be the island’s doctor, becomes a rescue mission. How much will she have to compromise to succeed in getting back home?

Alicia Bessette, ALL COME HOME
(book club fiction, Dutton, August 2010)
Rose-Ellen Roy talks to her dog in the voice of a pirate. That’s her widow style. Since her husband Nick died during a post-Katrina volunteer mission in New Orleans, she still feels raw and undone. Then she meets Ingrid, a lonely but lively nine-year-old with a penchant for experimental baking. Together they embark on winning a celebrity chef’s international dessert contest—with help from EJ, a muffin-baker battling his own grief over Nick’s death; and Trudy, a 70-something chainsaw artist. Set in a quirky New England town, “All Come Home” is a tale of heartbreak, hope, and—most of all—home.

Maria Garcia-Kalb, 101 WAYS TO TORTURE YOUR HUSBAND
(chick-lit humor, Adams Media, January 2010)
“101 Ways to Torture Your Husband” is a devilish manual for every wife who dreams of making her husband pay for his naughty wrongdoings. Even if you don’t execute any of the hilarious scenarios, 101 Ways to Torture Your Husband is guaranteed to lighten your mood and put a smile on your face – at least until your man comes home demanding dinner!

Sarah Pekkanen, THE OPPOSITE OF ME
(women’s fiction, Atria Books, March 2010)
Twenty-nine year old Lindsey Rose has always lived in the shadow of her gorgeous fraternal twin sister, Alex. Determined to get noticed, Lindsey is on the cusp of an enviable promotion, after 80 plus hour work weeks, migraines, and profound loneliness. Then Lindsey’s carefully-constructed life implodes. Humiliated and desperate, she flees Manhattan and retreats to her parents’ Maryland home, where her sister is nearby, planning her lavish wedding. Lindsey struggles to
maintain her identity as the smart, responsible twin, but things get more complicated when a long-held family secret is unleashed that forces both sisters to reconsider who they are and who they are meant to be.

Emily Winslow, THE WHOLE WORLD
(literary/mystery, Bantam Dell, May 2010)
“The Whole World” is set at Cambridge University in England. Nick, a popular graduate student, goes missing. Those left behind fatally misunderstand what happened and, more importantly, what’s about to happen. It’s narrated by five characters, including two American undergraduates crushing on Nick’s accent and sweet bookishness.

The new Debs will take over blogging the week beginning August 31. Please join them as they carry the Debutante Ball into its fourth year on the web!

ALSO — the Debutante Ball now has a Twitter feed, where each day’s post, as well as Deb news highlights, are announced. Please click here to follow us!

Thanks, and here’s to another wonderful year!

The 2009 Debutantes
Tiffany Baker, Kristina Riggle, Eve Brown-Waite, Meredith Cole, and Katie Alender