Happy book birthday to OPEN SECRETS by Jennifer Manuel, out today from James Lorimer & Company.
The #MeToo movement has revealed the prevalence of sexual assault in society, especially as committed by powerful men. But it is an issue that also affects the lives of teen girls. This book tells the story of seventeen-year-old Ana Santos, who has ambitions to make it big in music and signs a contract with the owner of a music café without knowing there are sexual strings attached. It looks at the darker side of the music industry, including sexual harassment, lyrics that degrade and demean women and social media trolling as backlash for speaking up, all while presenting a strong, realistic main character who overcomes her feelings of shame to find a voice for herself and her music.
Jennifer Manuel was the 2017 winner of the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize for her literary novel THE HEAVINESS OF THINGS THAT FLOAT and was named A Writer to Watch by the CBC in 2016. Her second literary novel THE MORNING BELL BRINGS THE BROKEN HEARTED is forthcoming with Douglas & McIntyre in Fall 2021. Jennifer has been a college, elementary and high-school teacher, plays goalie on a men’s hockey team and also plays drums and produces music. Jennifer is also author of Dressed to Play and Head to Head in the Lorimer Sports Stories series. Jennifer lives in Duncan, British Columbia. Jennifer is represented by Carolyn Forde.