Coming August 25: The Assignment
Now Available: HELLO?
One HELLO? can change a life. One HELLO? can save a life.
Tricia: A girl struggling to find her way after her beloved grandma’s death.
Emerson: A guy who lives his life to fulfill promises, real and hypothetical.
Angie: A girl with secrets she can only express through poetry.
Brenda: An actress and screenplay writer afraid to confront her past.
Brian: A potter who sets aside his life for Tricia, to the detriment of both.
Linked and transformed by one phone call, Hello? weaves together these five Wisconsin teens’ stories into a compelling narrative of friendship and family, loss and love, heartbreak and healing, serendipity, and ultimately hope.
Told from all five viewpoints: narration (Tricia), narration (Emerson), free verse poetry (Angie), screenplay format (Brenda), narration and drawings (Brian).
Kindness. Compassion. Chain reaction.
LIZA WIEMER (Pronounced Leeza Weemer)
Liza married the guy who literally swept her off her feet at a Spyro Gyra concert. Their love story can be found on her “About” page. Besides being a die-hard Green Bay Packers fan, she is a readaholic, a romantic, and a lover of nature, crazy socks, and rooftops.
Unique “job” experiences: Liza spent a summer selling popcorn in a Koepsell’s popcorn wagon while listening to awesome music on the Summerfest grounds in Milwaukee. She also knows her way around a fender and a quarter panel and under the hood of a car. She spent a few years driving to accident scenes, scrapyards, hospitals, auto repair shops as a claims adjuster for an insurance company.
Hello? is her debut YA novel. Liza Wiemer’s second YA novel, The Assignment, is being published by Delacorte Press, August 25, 2020. She also has had two adult non-fiction books published, as well as stories and articles in various publications. A graduate of UW-Madison with a degree in Education, Liza is also the mother of two young adult sons.
Find Liza:
Goodreads
Praise for The Assignment and Hello?
Wiemer handles a timely topic with sensitivity and courage, using a multitude of deftly-drawn voices to craft a riveting, important, and thought-provoking read. Unputdownable and unforgettable.
THE ASSIGNMENT grabs the reader from its very first pages and refuses to let go. This fast-paced, compelling story will inspire readers to stick to their principles and fight for what’s right. A timely and necessary read.
THE ASSIGNMENT is riveting, completely realistic, and powerful. Readers won’t be able to resist putting themselves in the students’ shoes and thinking about when and where they themselves would draw the line, or if they would dare confront power at all. I recommend reading it in a single sitting—I did.
"Wise and nuanced." - About THE ASSIGNMENT
"Brave, breath-stealing, and bold." - About THE ASSIGNMENT
THE ASSIGNMENT is a beautiful story, as smart and timely as it is page-turning. It should be essential reading for both teens and adults.
"A beautifully written and uniquely told story about love, loss, learning how to let go and finding hope again." - About HELLO?
"Heart-stopping, real, and a breath of fresh air, Liza Wiemer's debut is the kind of story that captivates and sticks with you long after you turn the last page. Poignant relationships between family and friends will grab your attention while stunning writing and authentic characters will leave you unable to stop reading until the very end. Hello? is an absolute must read." - About HELLO?
"HELLO? is a captivating story about fractured families, authentic friendships, and the way lives connect, impact, and transform each other. This book is so originally crafted and beautifully executed it will stay with you for a long time." - About HELLO?
"Liza Wiemer's words evoke the heart of the Door County, Wisconsin setting and allow the story’s honest portrayal of five teens to resonate far beyond. Through the intertwining formats and perspectives, elements of family, grief, faith, memories, friendship, love, fear, and hope seem destined to combine in a profound way. A remarkable YA debut." - About HELLO?
"In her YA debut, Liza Wiemer has officially launched herself on the map with grace. Hello? is a powerful and brilliantly woven story of love, loss, and human connection that makes you believe in the world again. It owned my heart from the first page to the last. One of the most original books EVER." - About HELLO?
"Heartfelt and honest, Hello? will have you rooting for its characters until the very last page." - About HELLO?
"A sensitive and deeply-drawn portrait of five teenagers whose lives intersect in ways both obvious and surprising. Liza Wiemer's characters are so real they leap off the page." - About HELLO?
"In Hello?, Liza Wiemer beautifully weaves together a moving story told by authentic characters, tackling important subjects that will deeply touch the reader." - About HELLO?
"A triumph of writing and humanity...the characters stayed with me long after I read the book." - About HELLO?
"Liza Wiemer’s Hello? is a poignant tale of friendship, love, loss, and resilience. Told from multiple points of view, the richly drawn characters offer a powerful example of how connected we all truly are. This book will compel readers to consider the existence of destiny. Hello? grabbed me from the first page and pulled me right through to the gorgeous ending." - About HELLO?
"Brave, beautiful, and wholly original, this story about tantalizing connections and heartbreaking relationships will haunt you, fill you with hope, and leave you smiling." - About HELLO?
" - About HELLO?Tendrils of destiny and healing weave together through this fearless exploration...of love, friendship, and family. Deeply moving!" - About HELLO?
"During the 1960's, Carole King released an album entitled Tapestry – a masterful weaving of story and song. A half-century later, author Liza Wiemer has mirrored that blend by wonderfully stringing together several forms of narration, one specific to each of her characters. Hello? is a truly remarkable and memorable story communicated in a superbly envisioned way." - About HELLO?
"A uniquely written story about the beauty of human connections told through incredibly vivid characters. It's one contemporary YA fans shouldn't miss." - About HELLO?
"Through love and friendship, choice and fate, the mundane and the divine, Liza Wiemer expertly weaves together five incredibly relatable teen stories. As the characters struggle to reconcile the past and the present, readers take a journey of both heartbreak and hope. With it's authentic voice and lyrical writing style, Hello? is a strong addition to the genre of contemporary YA. I absolutely loved it!" - About HELLO?