Blog Tour: Everything’s Not Fine by Sarah Carlson (Guest Post + Giveaway!)

Item: Everything's Not Fine
Author: Kaity

Posted May 18, 2020 by Kaity in Book Tours, Giveaways, Guest Post / 0 Comments

Happy Monday and welcome to my stop on the Everything’s Not Fine blog tour!! I am so excited to be a part of this tour, and I’m even more excited for you to discover Sarah’s favorite quotes and moments from her book! Plus, follow the rest of the tour and enter to win a print copy of Everything’s Not Fine!

Everything's Not Fine by Sarah Carlson
Published on May 26, 2020 by Turner
Genres: YA, Contemporary
Pages: 304
Add to Goodreads

Seventeen-year-old Rose Hemmersbach aspires to break out of small town Sparta, Wisconsin and achieve her artistic dreams at Belwyn School for the Arts after she graduates. Painting is Rose’s escape from her annoying younger siblings and her family’s one rule: ignore the elephant in the room, because talking about it makes it real. That is, until the day Rose finds her mother dying on the kitchen floor of a heroin overdose. Kneeling beside her, Rose pleads with the universe to find a heartbeat. She does – but when her mother is taken to the hospital, the troubles are just beginning. Rose and her dad are left to pick up the pieces. Now all that matters are her siblings. Rose doesn’t have room to do her schoolwork, let alone pick up a paintbrush. Until Rose is forced to do the homecoming mural with Rafa, a new senior at Sparta High. Rose and Rafa don’t have an ounce of school spirit between them, but Rose discovers her brain still has room to paint. As Rose fights to hold everything together, and her dreams of the future start to slip from her grasp, she must face the question of what happens when – if – her mom comes home again. And if, deep down, if Rose even wants her to.

**Do you have a favorite quote, scene, or moment from Everything’s Not Fine?**

I think my favorite quote from the book is, “maybe I really am a little bit priceless.” It’s actually from my favorite scene as well. This quote is from the main character, seventeen-year-old Rose Hemmersbach.

At the beginning of the book, Rose finds her mom dying from a heroin overdose. As she kneels beside her, trying to find a pulse, she pleads with the universe for Mom to live. Mom does, but in the aftermath, Rose’s dreams of art school start to slip through her fingers as she struggles to help pick of the pieces of her family’s shattered world. Rose’s life is consumed by her efforts to protect her younger siblings; she can’t see five seconds ahead, let alone think about school or her future.

As she struggles in school, the school counselor tells her that she needs to focus on what she can control, and her own future, because she’s priceless. Rose doesn’t believe the counselor; she’s so wrapped up in trying to keep a roof over her family’s head, she can’t see it. She can’t even pick up a paintbrush until the art teacher forces her to do the senior homecoming mural with the aloof new kid, Rafa.

Rose and Rafa discover they’re both making sacrifices to help their families through tough times, and they both feeling utterly alone. As Rafa starts sharing some of his burden with Rose, she learns to trust him with her family’s ugly secrets.

At the insistence of her family, who want her to be a kid for once, Rose goes to homecoming with Rafa to learn the fate of their mural.

At homecoming, with her family’s encouragement and Rafa by her side, for just that moment Rose starts to believe that maybe she really is a little bit priceless.

As the story progresses, Rose begins to realize that everyone is priceless, even annoying younger siblings. Even Mom.

Sarah J. Carlson writes contemporary YA that delves into complex, real world problems. Professionally, she is a school psychologist who works primarily with a diverse, mostly low income population. Her professional focus is around supporting the success of children with behavioral and mental health needs and helping to promote resilience in children who have been exposed to trauma or toxic stress. Sarah lives outside Madison, Wisconsin with her husband, two young children, and two energetic terriers.