This week’s other featured books, “All Who Belong May Enter,” by Nicholas Ward and “Humanity’s Grace,” by Dede Montgomery, can be found by scrolling down below this pot, or by clicking the author’s name on our Authors page.
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THE BOOK: The Apology Box
PUBLISHED IN: December 2021
THE AUTHOR: Naomi Ulsted
THE EDITOR: Cynthia Huijgens
THE PUBLISHER: Idle Time Press
SUMMARY: When sixteen-year-old Tessa’s small mountain community is ravaged by a forest fire people come together to heal, except Tessa. Because she set the blaze. The story follows Tessa as she tries to pull a new life from the ashes of a big mistake. When the judge hands out a sentence of massive fines, community service and 227 apology letters – one for every person whose life she’s ruined – Tessa wishes she’d been sent to prison, that life behind bars might be better than the one she’s forced to live. Choked by shame and resentment, and shunned by her friends and neighbors, the only person she can lash out at is herself. An unlikely friendship, a painful discovery, and a box full of apology letters may be the only chance Tessa has at redemption.
THE BACK STORY: This story was inspired by the real-life Eagle Creek Fire in the Mount Hood National Forest of Oregon in 2017. The author was the director of a residential campus for at-risk youth at the base of Mount Hood during this time, and the campus was evacuated for three weeks. The fire was set by a fifteen-year-old boy. Although the main character is not biographical at all, Ulsted wanted to delve into the story of how a young person moves on after a devastating decision.
WHY THIS TITLE: The title comes from the main character’s court sentence of having to write a letter of apology to each person she’s hurt. She saves each letter in a box and gives herself the time it will take to fill up the box to figure out how and if she belongs in this world.
WHY SOMEONE WOULD WANT TO READ IT: The story brings a light to some dark topics, focusing on themes of guilt and depression, but also shows a hopeful path forward through connection and friendship – even when that friendship comes from some unlikely places.
REVIEW COMMENTS:
The Apology Box is a poignant young adult novel about redemption, community, and moving forward after life-altering mistakes. – Foreword Reviews
Naomi Ulsted’s The Apology Box is a complex contemporary fiction novel that overflows with the raw intensity of the human spirit. . . . In our world where culpability is easily pushed on others, The Apology Box is a must-read novel that is modern, compelling and painfully relevant. – Indies Today
This young adult novel is captivating, frustrating, and oh so real. – Kate Ristau (author of the Shadow Girl and Clockbreakers series)
The Apology Box is written with great empathy and cinematic immediacy. It is also a vivid, authentic environmental allegory concerned with finding our way back, healing and regeneration. Naomi Ulsted has created a protagonist almost classical in the way she must answer for one moment of abandon, and the care with which Tessa is written is faultless and uncanny. This is a wonderful book – James Reich, author of The Song My Enemies Sing
AUTHOR PROFILE: Naomi writes memoir in addition to young adult fiction. The Apology Box is her debut novel. Her personal essays have been published in Mud Season Review, Salon, Full Grown People, and The New Guard, among others. Her memoir, Finding Home, is forthcoming in 2023 through SheWrites Press. She was the 2018 recipient of an Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship. She’s a member of Willamette Writers and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association.
In her non-writing life, Naomi works with under-privileged teens. She worked for years with the Job Corps program and now heads up a non-profit offering community mental health services and a residential treatment program for boys.
She lives on the southern coast of Oregon with her husband, two boys, and two cats. Naomi’s website is www.naomiulsted.com.
AUTHOR COMMENTS: I was thrilled to get this book out into the world. I think it’s important that we shine a light on these topics and flawed characters like Tessa. Please note this book does address themes of depression and contains elements of self-harm.
SAMPLE CHAPTER: The first chapter of the book can be seen on the author’s website at https://naomiulsted.com/the-apology-box-sample-chapter/
LOCAL OUTLETS: Books by the Bay, North Bend, OR
WHERE ELSE TO BUY IT: Amazon, Barnes and Noble online, Bookshop.org
PRICE: $12.99
CONTACT THE AUTHOR: www.naomiulsted.com
Snowflakes in a Blizzard 