Chronicle Books Releases Beth Kephart's ONE THING STOLEN

PHILADELPHIA, April 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ Chronicle Books has released One Thing Stolen, a new young adult novel that takes as its inspiration both a rare neurodegenerative condition that sparks an outpouring of creative expression and the catastrophic 1966 flooding of the Arno. Set in Florence, Italy, and on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, the book is the nineteenth by award-winning, multi-genre author, Beth Kephart.

Named an Amazon Editor's Pick (April) and a Bustle Top 14 YA Pick (April), One Thing Stolen has earned early critical praise. In its starred review, Booklist wrote, "Fans of Jandy Nelson's dense, unique narratives will lose themselves in Kephart's enigmatic, atmospheric, and beautifully written tale." School Library Journal noted that "Kephart's artful novel attests to the power of love and beauty to thrive even in the most devastating of circumstances." Kirkus wrote: "Disturbing, sometimes unsettling and ultimately offering a sliver of hope, this effort rivetingly captures the destructive effects of mental and physical illness on a likable, sweet-natured teen."

In reflecting on the genesis of the book for Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/beth-kephart/writing-toward-fearefface_b_6678876.html), Kephart has spoken of her own obsession with "The trickery of the mind. The displacement of truth. The reconstitution of character. The disquieting What if?"

In an essay in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Kephart reflected on the power of place and conversation in the shaping of this story in which landscapeosmotic and permeableplays such an essential role. http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20150322_A_walk__a_conversation__a_West_Philly_community.html

And on her own blog, Kephart wrote of the science and hope for this condition. http://beth-kephart.blogspot.com/2015/03/writing-about-mental-health-one-thing.html

Details for the book's blog tour, which begins April 14, can be found here: http://beth-kephart.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-one-thing-stolen-blog-tour.html Kephart will also be reading from the book on May 20 at Children's Book World in Haverford, PA, appearing as the keynote speaker of the Moravian College Writers Conference in early June, and headlining the Arcadia University Creative Writing Summer Weekend beginning June 27.

Kephart is a National Book Award finalist and multiple-awards winner. Her previous book, Going Over (Chronicle Books, 2014), was named a 2014 Booklist Editors' Choice, the Gold Medal Winner/Historical Fiction of the Parents' Choice Awards. A frequent reviewer for the Chicago Tribune and a regular essayist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Kephart teaches memoir at the University of Pennsylvania, an experience she describes in her award-winning Handling the Truth: On the Writing of Memoir.

To learn more, visit the One Thing Stolen page (http://beth-kephart.blogspot.com/p/one-thing-stolen.html) at www.beth-kephart.blogspot.com

Media Inquiries and to request a review copy:
Lara Starr, Chronicle Books, Senior Publicist, Email, 1 415.537.4326

SOURCE Beth Kephart

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