Alice Bliss Blog Tour: Guest Post & Giveaway!

Brief Bio:

Laura Harrington is an award-winning playwright, lyricist, and MIT professor. Her debut novel, ALICE BLISS, was published by Pamela Dorman Books, Viking/Penguin.

"This may be the Our Town of the 21st Century." Anne Roiphe, author of Epilogue, a Memoir
ALICE BLISS is a Richard and Judy Summer Book Club Pick in the UK.
ALICE BLISS is a People Magazine "People Pick" with 4 out of 4 stars.
ALICE BLISS: "The Best Books of the Summer" Entertainment Weekly.
ALICE BLISS has been selected for the Barnes & Noble "Discover Great New Writers" program.
ALICE BLISS: School Library Journal's "Best Books of 2011" in the category “Adult Books for Teens.”
ALICE BLISS Listeners’ Top Book Picks for Books of Summer on NPR’s On Point with Tom Ashbrook.
ALICE BLISS chosen "Book of the Week" by Stylist Magazine in the UK.
A Massachusetts Library Association "Must Read" for 2012
Nominated for the 2012 Alex Award
Foreign rights for ALICE BLISS have been sold in the UK, Italy, and Denmark.

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The Best Items to Include in Military Care Packages
By Laura Harrington

In Alice Bliss, Alice, Ellie, Angie and Gram send a package to Matt in Iraq. They each choose things that have meaning to them and to Matt. Ellie sends drawings, Alice sends a letter she has been working on for days as well as some of her favorite photos, Angie is a little secretive about what she puts in the box, and Gram has done her research and baked Matt’s favorite Harvest Bread which she hopes will survive the trip.

Here are some ideas for successfully sending care packages to soldiers.

I’ve searched the web for suggestions on what soldiers want and need in their care packages from home, and put together the following list. There are many resources online, but with this list I tried to draw together and organize the best of the best suggestions.

All care packages are appreciated and the more personal you can make them, the better. If you’re sending a package to someone you know well, you’ll be able to include things you know that person will enjoy and appreciate. But if you’re sending a package to your best friend’s brother or sister, for instance, ask about what he or she enjoys so that you can choose things that will surprise and delight.

I read over and over again that soldiers love books. You can buy used books at your local library sales and at yard sales for a dollar or less. Well-known titles and mysteries or thrillers are always popular. But think of how meaningful it would be to receive a selection of books labeled: “These are the best books I’ve read this year. I hope you will enjoy them.”

Personal Items:
Deodorant
Body Powder
Foot powder
Socks
Toothbrushes and toothpaste
Inflatable pillow
Sewing kit
Shoelaces for gym shoes
Shoelaces for boots
Boot socks
Hand warmers
Foot warmers
Razors

Food treats/staples/ candy:
Jelly Beans
Rice Krispie treats
Altoids or mints
Beef jerky
Snack mixes
Sunflower seeds
Chewing gum
Nuts
Ziploc bags (for keeping things airtight, watertight, and fresh)
Coffee
Gatorade
Jaw breakers
Cookies or muffins in individual packages
Microwave popcorn
Ramen noodles
Mac and Cheese
Granola bars
Hot cocoa mix
Juice boxes
Soup mix

Games/ recreation:
Playing cards
Dice
Dominoes
Sudoku
Crossword puzzles
Hacky-sack
Word puzzle books
Board games (travel size)
Music CDs
Books, books, books
Newspapers
Magazines

To keep in touch:
Disposable camera
Blue and black pens
Notepads and envelopes
Thumb tacks/ pushpins (to tack up favorite photos from home)

Always needed:
AA batteries
D batteries
Long Distance Phone Cards

Websites to check out for sending packages:

http://www.armywifenetwork.com/?page_id=40 
http://www.anysoldier.com/WhereToSend/ 

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Synopsis via Goodreads
When Alice Bliss learns that her father, Matt, is being deployed to Iraq, she's heartbroken. Alice idolizes her father, loves working beside him in their garden, accompanying him on the occasional roofing job, playing baseball. When he ships out, Alice is faced with finding a way to fill the emptiness he has left behind.

Matt will miss seeing his daughter blossom from a tomboy into a full-blown teenager. Alice will learn to drive, join the track team, go to her first dance, and fall in love, all while trying to be strong for her mother, Angie, and take care of her precocious little sister, Ellie. But the smell of Matt is starting to fade from his blue shirt that Alice wears everyday, and the phone calls are never long enough.

Alice Bliss is a profoundly moving coming-of-age novel about love and its many variations--the support of a small town looking after its own; love between an absent father and his daughter; the complicated love between an adolescent girl and her mother; and an exploration of new love with the boy-next-door. These characters' struggles amidst uncertain times echo our own, lending the novel an immediacy and poignancy that is both relevant and real. At once universal and very personal, Alice Bliss is a transforming story about those who are left at home during wartime, and a teenage girl bravely facing the future.

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Contest Details
Thanks to Liza and the publisher, one lucky winner will get a copy of Alice Bliss. US only.

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