Author Gitty Daneshvari will be discussing her phobias and more in Centereach
SCHOOL OF FEAR (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, September 2009, $15.99)
Best Bargain Books
217 Centereach Mall
Admission: free
631-737-7777
www.bestbargainbooks.com
www.hachettebookgroup.com
Author Gitty Daneshvari considers herself an alumnus of the School of Fear. Born in Los Angeles and currently living in New York City, Daneshvari is a third-generation phobic who has written the charming middle-grade novel SCHOOL OF FEAR. Run by a crazy old beauty pageant veteran named Mrs. Wellington, the supremely secretive School of Fear has a new class for the summer: Garrison Feldman, a star athlete who is afraid of water; Madeleine Masterson, who travels everywhere with insect repellent to keep bugs, spiders, and other creepy crawlies out of her hair; Theodore Bartholomew, who is terrified that something bad might happen to a member of his family so he has to check in with them constantly; and Lulu Punchalower, who is deeply claustrophobic. But when classes begin, the last thing on the agenda seems to be the students’ individual fears as wackiness ensues. Daneshvari, who has also written the adult novel THE MAKEDOWN, tells the very funny, insightful story with a cinematic edge that is enhanced by black-and-white illustrations by Carrie Gifford. (The playful book design is by FOT – friend of twi-ny – David Caplan.) Each chapter begins with the definition of yet another phobia, including nomatophobia, mnemophobia, geliophobia, didaskaleinophobia, logizomechanophobia, hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, and phobophobia, so readers will have fun identifiying their own fears. Daneshvari herself doesn’t hold anything back when discussing her personal phobias; at a recent panel at Books of Wonder, she openly talked about her own fears and encouraged others to do the same. So don’t be afraid to bring your fears to the Centereach Mall on November 10 at 7:00, when Daneshvari will be reading from and signing copies of SCHOOL OF FEAR and sharing some very cool details about her life.