I Drove 3-1/2 Hours Straight For THIS!

9/8/2016

Girl Mans Up Book Launch

So, yesterday, on Wednesday, September 7th, one of my good writing buddies from the GTA, Marie-Eve Girard was having a book launch and I said I'd be there. So, I made that happen. SNAP! I left work early, jumped in the car and raced there like my ass was on fire (well, I will admit I was speeding and I cut off half an hour by using the 407 - LOVE that highway).

Sometimes, you just have to ignore the fact that it will take you almost four hours, driving in the car to get to an event. Important events like this are worth it, even though I had already received an advanced reader copy (and read it... and ab-so-freaking-lutely loved it) I still wanted a REAL copy of her book. It was a hard cover, so I was pretty excited.

I. Had. To. Have. It!

I'm so happy that I went. I had to run through a torrential downpour to get inside the Ajax Library and because I didn't think I was wet enough, I leaned against the bathroom sink to wipe the mascara pooling under my eyes and felt immediate dampness. My shirt decided to suck up ALL the dormant water lying on the counter. NICE! Not. My hair was flat and lost all its curl and wave. I could have doubled for a drowned rat in the next Rataouille movie.

Anyway, I waited in a long line to get my personal copy of "Girl Mans Up" signed by not only the author, M-E Girard, but also by the real-life Pen (see photo to the right of the cute and adorable Mel signing my copy). I might be selling this on Kijiji in a few years for about a bazillion dollars, so start saving your cash, people. Wait. Who am I kidding... I'm never selling this. It's mine and I'm sliding it into the M-E Girard section on my bookshelf. I have faith that there will be many more YA (Young Adult) books going on this shelf with her name across the front cover.

M-E Girard is freaking funny. If you ever get a chance to meet her in person, you should totally do it. She had the full house roaring with laughter by avoiding the "What are you working on right now?" discussion. I also witnessed the microphone attack her when she was trying to stay calm and answer questions from the audience. The question and answer period is always my favourite part... of course, I had nothing to ask in front of sixty or seventy people. I'm thankful for the quick hotline to M-E's inbox, so if I do have a question, she will answer it for me. She's pretty awesome like that.

Her reading from her debut novel, Girl Mans Up was awesome, and now I want to read the novel all over again. Her personality comes through on the pages, as well as the characteristics of the real life Pen. Loved this book! I'm absolutely positive you will too!

If you are looking for a book with a kickass protagonist, struggling with her own identity, her confusing relationships with friends and family, her agonizing over her normal and weird thoughts while riding the roller coaster known as life, then pick this book up and get reading it. The ending is sooooo... never mind, I can't tell you about that. Basically, Pen wants to be who she wants to be and you will need to stick it out until the end of the novel to find out whether other people accept this or not. I feel for Pen. I had so many emotions bubbling at the surface while I read this book. I really loved Pen. Best fictitious character I've read since Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor and Park.

To buy the book, go to a bookstore near you... EVERYONE has it!

To read more about M-E Girard, visit her website HERE.