BookPeople Presents: Susan Metallo - Hearts on the Table

Format:

• This event is free and open to the public.
• Location: The 2nd floor of BookPeople.
• Run time: 45-60 minute discussion, followed by a signing line.

Signing Guidelines:

• To get a book signed, a copy of the event book or an item of equal value must be purchased from BookPeople.
• The author will be personalizing copies of the book.
• For high volume events, post-talk signing lines can become very long. Signing line placement is determined on a first-come, first-served basis.

General Info:

• Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis and is not guaranteed.
• If you have any accessibility concerns, please contact [email protected]

• If you have any other questions, please visit our Eventbrite FAQ. If your question isn't covered in the FAQ, feel free to email us at [email protected].
• BookPeople reserves the right to cancel or postpone this event if necessary.
• There will not be a live stream or recording available.
• All event guidelines are subject to change.

About the book:

As World War I rages, a seventeen-year-old English feminist with a penchant for thrashing men at cards finds herself stranded on an enemy-controlled island and tangled in the last mess she’d ever expect: love.

Violet is used to winning—with her mathematical mind, no one stands a chance of beating her at cards, or much of anything else. So, when her wrathful father threatens to marry her and her trans twin brother Seb to the highest bidders, she’s certain they can escape England, even with a war on. But before they reach safety in Italy, a U-boat sinks their ship, and Violet washes up on a small island, on the wrong side of enemy lines, desperate to find her missing twin.

To earn passage to the mainland, where she hopes Seb has landed, Violet disguises herself as a man and accepts a job delivering love poetry for melancholy pacifist Teo, the island’s irritating golden boy. The object of his affection, fair Olivia, is less than enchanted, but she is intrigued by the handsome delivery boy—Violet in disguise. While Violet struggles to sidestep Olivia’s attentions, she’s vexed by her own inconvenient but undeniable attraction to Teo.

Add a mysterious newcomer, who converts the love triangle into a square, and Olivia’s autistic sister, who’s concocting a devilish revenge against the island’s biggest bully, and odds are things will only get messier.

Fortunately, playing the odds is Violet’s specialty.

In a twisty transformation of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, populated with queer, trans, and neurodivergent characters, Violet’s bold prose alternates with verse chapters from the perspective of autistic musical prodigy Faustina. Susan Metallo’s whip-smart writing and the fresh wartime setting make for a witty, elegant, and high-stakes exploration of love, loss, friendship, and identity.

About the author:

Susan Metallo is a queer and neurodivergent young adult author. Her debut novel, Reasons to Hate Me, was one of Publishers Weekly’s Best YA Books of the Year, a Children’s Book Council “Teacher Favorite,” a “Rise: a Feminist Book Project” selection, an Indie Next Kids title, and an Indies Introduce Kids selection. In addition to these accolades, Susan’s work has received honors and awards from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, the Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association, the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association, the Tallahassee Writers Association, and Book Pipeline. Formerly the Regional Advisor of SCBWI New Mexico, Susan recently relocated to Virginia, where she lives with her husband, her children, and an 80-lb bulldog who fervently believes she will fit on your lap. Find Susan online at susanmetallo.com.

By purchasing a book from BookPeople, you are not only supporting a local, independent business – you’re showing publishers that they should continue sending authors to BookPeople.

Thank you for supporting Susan Metallo and your local independent bookstore!