POISON Blog Tour

We interrupt NASA month with a very important post--a blog tour stop in honor of Bridget Zinn's debut, POISON.

As many of you know, Bridget very sadly passed away before the publication of her first novel. Which is tragic for many reasons--not only did the world lose this beautiful and caring person, but we also lost the chance to have more delightful novels like POISON.

While I didn't have the chance to know Bridget personally, I did know her story. She tells the story of her path to publication here. We both got our book deals at around the same time, and I remember reading of her deal and thinking how wonderful the book sounded. POISON is a funny fantasy--something the world needs more of--and by all accounts, Bridget was equally funny and charming.

Around the same time Bridget got the very good news of her book deal, she also got the very bad news of cancer. And while she fought hard, she sadly lost the battle against the disease before the release of her novel, in May of 2011.

And that's why it's so important for us, the ones that remain, to spread the word about POISON. Because it's not just a novel about a kick-butt teen girl fighting to save her kingdom with the aid of potions and a piglet, alongside a very funny and charming young man (who's named for Fred Weasley). This novel is Bridget's dream. A book is hugely personal thing to release into the world, and publication is the very real and visceral product of that dream. Bridget's not around any more to celebrate--but we are, and we can lift her dream as high as we can.

POISON is a treat of a novel--it has a clever plot, funny, whip-smart characters, and a charming voice. It's exactly the sort of book I would have treasured as a teen. Here's the full synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Kyra, a highly-skilled potions master, is the only one who knows her kingdom is on the verge of destruction—which means she’s the only one who can save it. Faced with no other choice, Kyra decides to do what she does best: poison the kingdom’s future ruler, who also happens to be her former best friend.

But, for the first time ever, her poisoned dart . . . misses.

Now a fugitive instead of a hero, Kyra is caught in a game of hide-and-seek with the king’s army and her potioner ex-boyfriend, Hal. At least she’s not alone. She’s armed with her vital potions, a too-cute pig, and Fred, the charming adventurer she can’t stop thinking about. Kyra is determined to get herself a second chance (at murder), but will she be able to find and defeat the princess before Hal and the army find her?

Kyra is not your typical murderer, and she’s certainly no damsel-in-distress—she’s the lovable and quick-witted hero of this romantic novel that has all the right ingredients to make teen girls swoon.

"'Can she save the kingdom with a piglet?' reads the cover tagline of Poison, the YA debut from the late Bridget Zinn. Ridiculous? Yes. Still, there's something refreshing about its silliness amidst the interchangeable do-or-die taglines that seem to have become a staple for YA books these days." 

—Entertainment Weekly's Shelf Life

You can find this book in retailers nationwide, online, and anywhere else books are sold. I really encourage you to check it out--I recently finished, and I can guarantee there will be laughs, gasps of surprise, and pure joy while reading. And after you've read it--or before--help spread the word about this novel and author!

This post is a part of the month-long blog tour celebration in honor of Bridget Zinn's POISON, organized by Inara Scott. You can find out more about the tour here, or you can check out the rest of today's stops by clicking the links below. 

• Becca “I’m Lost in Books”
• Brook Gideon “Dead Gideons”
• Natalie J. Damschroder, for Everybody Needs a Little Romance
• Damaris “Good Choice Reading”