Monday, September 15, 2014

"Six Feet Over It"

Jennifer Longo holds an M.F.A. in Writing for Theater from Humboldt State University. She credits her lifelong flair for drama to parents who did things like buy the town graveyard and put their kids to work in it-because how hilarious would that be? Turns out, pretty hilarious. Longo lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband and daughter.

She applied the Page 69 Test to Six Feet Over It, her debut novel, and reported the following:
This must be some whacky party game the kids are playing at slumber parties that freaks everyone out because it is so accurate! Page 69 of Six Feet Over It completely encapsulates Leigh’s (the main character) conflict in a nutshell!

A girl called Elanor, who wants to be Leigh’s friend, is giving Leigh the inside scoop about an apparent romance blossoming between Elanor’s brother, and Leigh’s sister. All the while Elanor is talking Leigh’s in her head thinking This girl is so nice I wish I could be friends with her but then I am toxic and if she was friends with me she would probably die, and I am so happy for my sister but also I am so jealous why can’t I have fun and have a boyfriend and now I feel terrible for being jealous I am circling the drain here seriously, this Elanor person is so nice I want a friend so badly what the cripes is going on….

That’s not a quote, that’s all badly paraphrased but you get it…Wow! I am going to read page 69 of every book I pick up in the store from now on, and if I think it’s compelling I’ll buy it. Delightful! Thank you so much, and remember – badly paraphrased. The actual prose in Six Feet Over It is so much better than that. I swear. Kirkus gave it a star, I’m not kidding.
Learn more about the book and author at Jennifer Longo's website.

--Marshal Zeringue