Gitty Daneshvari: Suggestions, not advices

Gitty Daneshvari, Author of The Makedown and School of Fear

I am not one for giving advice (mostly because I tend not to follow it no matter how sound) so instead I am sending you a list of three suggestions as you prepare to enter college.

1. Don’t eat your roommate’s food, even if they tell you it’s ok. Eventually this will really annoy them. Plus, this will lead to them eating your food, which will of course inevitably irritate you. Play it safe and keep separate pantries.

2. Don’t buy papers online. While I never did this, a roommate of mine did, and the results were wholeheartedly disappointing. She bought a paper by a person who was actually MORE intellectually challenged than she was and received a C-. There are also dire consequences both morally and educationally to doing this, but you already know that.

3. Don’t sign up for a credit card when you don’t have a job. There were always booths near my college bookstore each Fall where eager faced people tried to explain the importance of building credit at a young age. Trust me it can wait until you have a job.

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I love Gitty's hilarious adult novel The Makedown that I highly recommend! You can read the review of it here! You can win her latest tween novel, School of Fear, today!

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Giveaway Item(s): 1 copy of School of Fear

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Guest Blog: Gitty Daneshvari

I love Gitty's adult debut, The Makedown, which is absolutely comical! It is something that everyone can read and get a good laugh from! (You can see my review of it if you click the tag below).

Instead of a character post, this one is through Gitty's own personal experience (still funny nonetheless!). Her middle grade debut, School of Fear, will be out on September 1st, 2009 from Little Brown for Young Readers. Click here to learn more about it from Amazon! (Don't you love the cover?)

Scroll down to win either The Makedown and School of Fear!

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Most people would agree that children can be seriously odd. And while parents may not actually admit their children are weird, that doesn’t stop them from furrowing a brow at their kids’ classmates. This is after all a group that routinely disrobes in public, eats food without washing their hands, and ends friendships over a fruit roll up trade gone awry. They even ostracize peers over an imaginary disease known as “coodies,” all the while considering basic hygiene such as brushing their teeth, work.

I’ve always been moderately self-aware so my status as enfant bizarre certainly wasn’t a surprise. However, as I began writing School of Fear I realized just how insanely weird a child I had been. My Middle Grade novel following four phobic kids prompted me to dig into the past and relive details far more embarrassing than I remembered. Once on a family vacation to San Francisco I asked the front desk to let me sleep in the lobby as a means of avoiding the elevator. The request was denied by a stern concierge. I instantly became hysterical and insisted my mother allow me to sleep in the car alone. As I was only eleven years old, this request was also denied. In the end I was dragged into the elevator while hysterically crying and proclaiming to all who would listen that my mother was trying to kill me. Oh, she really must look back on those days with fondness…

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Prize(s): A signed copy of The Makedown OR a signed copy of School of Fear
# of Winners: 2
Eligibility: North America/Europe

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Author Interview: Gitty Daneshvari

So if anyone read my review for The Makedown last month (or maybe right now), you know that I absolutely adore this down-right hilarious novel! And today I give you an interview with the one and only, Gitty Daneshvari! I am ecstatic to know that it might become a film! Especially after I mentioned how I would love to see a live version of it in my review! My wish may come true! So would you like to learn more about the book or the author? Check Gitty out at: www.gittydaneshvari.com.

What inspired you to write The Makedown?

I was sitting in a restaurant in LA when I saw Tobey Maguire, in between Spidermans, looking less than movie star fabulous. I joked to my friend that his girlfriend had “uglied” him up so now one would flirt with him. Obviously, he was far from ugly, but you get the point. And from this lunch, the idea of The Makedown was born!

How long did it take you to write the novel? And were there a lot of rewrites along the way?

It took me about two years with all the rewrites involved. I definitely did a lot of drafts with my editor as this was my first book and I had a tendency for going off track a bit!!

Is there going to be a sequel?

As of right now there isn’t a sequel in the works, although two production companies in Los Angeles are working on making it into a film. Fingers crossed!

What are your current projects?

I am currently working on the second book in my YA series SCHOOL OF FEAR which follows four kids with phobias as they are sent to an off the grid school to overcome their fears. The first book is being published by Little Brown this September 2009. Warner Bros has the film rights, so again fingers crossed that they actually make a film!

What’s your favourite comfort food? Have you ever gone all out with consumption like Anna?

I love food!! I have definitely spent a couple nights indulging in grilled cheese sandwiches while feeling low or a bit sad. My favorite place for grilled cheese sandwiches in LA is Swingers. I like to get them with avocado, extra pickles, French fries and a side of ranch dressing. I am also a huge fan of nachos or any Mexican food really.

Lastly, give us an interesting fact about yourself that not many people know of!

I once poured a bottle of water over my head while on a flight because I was overheating from anxiety about flying…it was rather embarrassing, but also very funny, well at least after I calmed down.

The Makedown by Gitty Daneshvari

Title: The Makedown
Author: Gitty Daneshvari
Age Group: Adults
# of Pages: 324
My Rating: 5/5

Once a fatty is always a fatty.

From Ohio, Anna Norton used to be an overweight and nerdy girl who was constantly shoving junk food down her throat. She knew she was fat but struggled through the insults and stares for over a decade anyways. She even created a log called Hello Fatty where she recorded down all of her thoughts.

Now, Anna is fed up with her pathetic life. First thing she decides to do is pack up and go to New York so she can start over. Reality slaps her across the face once more when the employees at a company she tries to apply for make fun of her behind her back. She quits before she is hired in tears. Blubbering, she runs to an employment center and begs for a job. Even though she has a degree in molecular biology, she is willing to take on anything as long as no one will call her fat. This lands her on a catering job with a beautiful woman named Janice. Janice, who is a former fatty, understands Anna completely. Therefore, Janice drills Anna like it is boot camp, making her eat healthy and run around the block for ingredients. She even went as far as calling up all of Anna's favourite restaurants and tells them to stop delivering her food orders.

Seven months later, Anna have changed completely from head to toe. She is still insecure but now she feels like a normal person. At a club Janice has dragged her to, she caught sight of a very attractive man. He is so handsome that she could not peel her eyes away from him. But of course, she will never see him again. Or she thinks.

While catering at a party, Anna finds the same man there! Apparently he is the son of her clients. His name is Ben and has been with several beautiful girlfriends before. Not long he becomes Anna's boyfriend! It's a dream come true!

But then seeing Ben catches the eyes of every women who passes him starts to pain Anna. So she devises a plan to make him less attractive. But what will be the results of the Makedown?

If I am able to, I would shove The Makedown in the faces of film producers and be, "Make a movie of this... Now!" Gitty Daneshvari gave her characters a great voice and enjoyable plot line for her debut novel. After reading it, you will be motivated to change your life for the better! Did I mention that it's downright hilarious also? It is more of a comedy novel than a romantic comedy one but heck, I wouldn't care less for the lovey-dovey part! (But it does play a role in it.)

The beginning was certainly a hooker. I loved the way Anna spoke and how random her family was. I would love to meet Anna's mother, she is simply awesome in the randomness category. There was a point in the book where I got slightly annoyed by Anna's personality but it did not last long when everything else in the novel compensates for it. Anna grew and learned for the best through her mistakes. I wish the epilogue would be elaborated some more but I think it wrapped up pretty well. Read it, you won't regret it.

Review copy provided by Hachette Book Group.