Noah Corey presents 'Clementine H. Hopeful Is Not a Hero'

Third Place Books welcomes teacher and debut author Noah Corey to our Ravenna store for a conversation about his new book : the story of a young outcast who finds that monsters and magic aren't just in his imagination. Should Clementine use his newfound powers to save a world that doesn't care for him, or should he embrace villainy and build a new world, no matter the cost?

This event is free and open to the public. For important updates, RSVP is highly recommended in advance. This event will include a public signing and time for audience Q&A. Sustain our author series by purchasing a copy of the featured books!

This event is free to attend. Registration is recommended in advance.

Please note: While RSVP helps us anticipate attendance, your RSVP may not guarantee a seat. Seating is first-come, first-served, and all events at our Ravenna neighborhood store are free and open to the public. Only standing room may be available for events with high interest.

We are happy to accommodate any accessibility concerns. Please contact us at [email protected] or call our Ravenna store at (206) 525-2347.

Amid magic and monsters, a queer seventh-grader discovers a world where he can be himself but has to decide if he will fight for it…even if it means becoming the villain.
"Clementine’s story is part Peter Pan, part Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, part Coraline, and at the same time wholly unique."
—Kirkus Reviews
Clementine has always felt like the villain of his story. Most of the time, he’s a socially anxious kid who knows it’s not “normal” for a boy to wear pink shoes to school. While he’s there, his teachers won’t call him by the right name (even though Clementine is a boy’s name, if a boy has it), his classmates tease him about his obsessive love for spiders (even though they’re beautiful), and he’s the only one who can see the floating faces that haunt the surrounding woods.
But all that changes when a boy named Beetle breaks through his bedroom window and warns him about monsters. Soon, Clementine is drawn into a world of magic and imagination. Every night in the woods, everything he and his new friends Beetle, Cricket, and Anise spend hours in a play-pretend world that seems to be seeping into reality. Clementine has never had a friend like Beetle—a boy who teaches him to howl at the moon, who dreams of being a hero and says the whole sky is beautiful while looking right at Clementine and not at the sky at all.
But Clementine wants to use the power fueling their adventures to make things better outside the forest—not later, when he’s grown up, but now. And when he discovers the source of the magic, Clementine has to decide: Does he become a hero with Beetle and protect a world that hates him? Or does he finally become the villain, ready to build a new world whatever the cost? In this joyful and uninhibited celebration of imagination, empathy and all things monstrous, debut author Noah Corey tells the story of a queer kid who is exactly and exquisitely himself. This book is a love letter to villains and heroes, and all the ways they make us brave.

Noah Corey (he/him) lives in Washington State with his husband (Markus), his dog (Potatoes), and his three cats (Wirt, Greg, and Beatrice). He feels passionately about outer space, insects, and fictional vampires.

Founded in 1998 in Lake Forest Park, Washington, Third Place Books is dedicated to the creation of a community around books and the ideas inside them. With locations in Lake Forest Park and Seattle's Ravenna and Seward Park neighborhoods, Third Place Books is proud to serve the entire Seattle metro area. Learn more about their event series at thirdplacebooks.com/events.

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