WCYA Grads Cordelia Jensen and Laurie Morrison Dedicate EVERY SHINY THING to VCFA

Every Shiny Thing by ’12 classmates Cordelia Jensen and Laurie Morrison is receiving promising reviews in its first few weeks after publication.  Here’s what readers are saying:

“Thoughtful readers will find a lot to like here—sadness, suspense, even humor. They may even pause to consider their own privilege.”

(School Library Journal)

“Each character is well defined . . . Readers will hope for a better life for both girls. This middle grade novel will find a ready audience in most libraries.”

(VOYA Magazine)

“Sierra’s narrative, in poetry, captures her spare, cautious, and constrained life. Lauren’s prose is rich and descriptive, much like her own experiences. Together, the contrasting narratives tell a touching story about friendship, loyalty, and resilience that will have lots of appeal.”

(Booklist)

“Two authors combine their efforts to relate the intertwined tales of a pair of young teens in trouble…  Many of the complications of human behavior are on display here, some of them painful to navigate.”

(Kirkus Reviews)

We were honored to learn that the book was dedicated to VCFA!

Laurie Morrison taught middle school English for ten years and is the author of two middle grade novels: Every Shiny Thing (Abrams, 2018, co-authored with Cordelia Jensen) and Up for Air (Abrams, 2019). She collaborates with other authors to run Middle Grade at Heart, an online book club and newsletter. Laurie holds a BA from Haverford College, an MA from The University of Arizona, and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts.  She lives with her family in Philadelphia.  Visit lauriemorrisonwrites.com for more. 

Cordelia Jensen graduated with a MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts in 2012. Cordelia has three verse novels: Skyscraping(Philomel/Penguin) out now and two forthcoming books, The Way the Light Bends (Philomel/Penguin) and Every Shiny Thing(Amulet/Abrams), which she co-authored with VCFA classmate Laurie Morrison. Skyscraping was named an American Library Association’s 2016 Best Book for Young Adults. Cordelia teaches Writing for Children at Bryn Mawr College. She is a Writer in Residence at The Big Blue Marble Bookstore in Philadelphia where she runs a kids’ literary journal called the Mt. Airy Musers. Cordelia is represented by Sara Crowe of Harvey Klinger, Inc. Visit cordeliajensen.com for more.