Roomies: My Story + A Giveaway

I'm really excited today to do something a little different on the blog and share a personal experience. Personal posts are fairly few and far between for me since I tend to get caught up in all the bookish fun and ramble on about books and authors relentlessly, but the fantastic people at Little, Brown have asked people to share their roommate stories in order to help celebrate the release of Roomies by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando, and I just had to participate. Below my very first roommate experience you'll find details on the authors' tour as well as the details on how to win a copy of Roomies for yourself, so be sure and take a look!

And now, I shall tell you all about my very first day of freshman year.

FRESHMAN YEAR: DAY ONE

For as long as I can remember, I've had a rather impressive obsession with movies. I love watching them of course, but even more than that, I love getting the behind the scenes scoop on the actors, the sets, the filming, all of it. I love learning little pieces of trivia; ones that turn me into that person who goes "Did you know..." when a movie trailer pops up on tv, and then proceeds to rattle off inane details that no one but me cares much about. As a result of this longtime love and fascination with Hollywood movie magic, when it came time to apply to colleges I looked for ones that had strong film programs. I knew I wanted to go to a smaller school rather than one of the big LA film schools though, and after a rather exhaustive search I wound up at Ithaca College in upstate New York, all set to begin my journey to movie-making awesomeness with a Bachelor's Degree in Film and Photography.

Like almost everyone, after orientation I received my roommate assignment in the mail. I had the fleeting hope that I'd magically wind up in a single and not have to worry about sharing the tiniest space imaginable with a total stranger, but that hope was brutally dashed when my assignment letter showed up. I would love to tell you my roommate's name, but I honestly can't remember. That seems strange I'm sure, but you'll find out why my memory isn't entirely at fault shortly. We went through all the standard pre-moving in together rituals, exchanging emails to get to know one another better and discussing what each of us would bring to make our cinderblock cell dorm room feel homey. There were probably under 10 emails exchanged–the very basics covered–as we figured we'd get to know one another absurdly well soon enough.

Move in day arrives and I'm the first one to our room, so my parents and I go about getting my bed made, setting up my computer, unpacking clothes, etc., and all the while I'm waiting nervously to meet the person I'm going to be living with for the next year. By the time we finished, she still hadn't arrived, and since my parents were staying overnight (it was a 10 hour drive from southern Ohio to Ithaca, so my parents were spending the night in a local hotel) we decided to explore the town a little and grab dinner. They dropped me off later that night and I rode up the elevator wondering if this girl and I would end up being friends, or if we would be the type of roommates who barely tolerated each other. I so hoped for the former.

She was finally there when I got back and had begun unpacking her stuff. We chatted as she worked, and she seemed nice enough if a little quiet, so I was beginning to feel pretty good about the situation. I figured the next day we would wander the campus together and figure out where everything was before classes started, and just generally bond. As you do. Alas though, it was not to be. I woke up in the morning to the sounds of muffled crying. I rolled over to look at my roommate, but her bed was empty and I didn't see her anywhere else in the room. It's important to note that our room was tiny. I could stand in the middle of the floor with my arms outstretched and touch both of our itty bitty twin beds, so it seemed odd that I was unable to pinpoint her location at first glance.

I heard hiccupping again and had to do a double take when my eyes scanned past her closet (our closets had no doors, they were just set back into the wall on either side of the main door) because I still couldn't see her even though the crying was coming from that direction. I finally went over for a closer look, and sure enough, there's my roommate, buried under the clothes in her closet sobbing for all she's worth. This was a perplexing situation, I tell you. I didn't know her, but obviously wanted to provide some sort of comfort given her level of distress. The closer I crept to her however, the louder she got and the more she retreated under her bundle of clothes, so I just sort of hovered silently in the vicinity like a champ. She finally asked me to leave the room and give her some space, so I headed to breakfast by my lonesome. Super. When I got back, she was packing. Her parents had spent the night as well and she had called them as soon as I left, so they came, packed her up, and within the hour she was gone. Goodbye, roommate.

I was eventually assigned another roommate a month later and she managed to spend the night in a room with me without breaking down into tears, which I counted as a victory for all parties involved. I declared myself a most excellent roommate at that point and went on with the rest of my year ;-)

If you have any fun roommate stories, I'd love to hear them in the comments. And be sure to check out the NOVL site today as the folks at Little, Brown will be sharing their own roommate stories:)

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ROOMIES

The countdown to college has begun.

When Elizabeth receives her freshman-year roommate assignment at the beginning of summer, she shoots off an email to coordinate the basics: TV, microwave, mini-fridge. She can't wait to escape her New Jersey beach town, and her mom, and start life over in California.

The first note to Lauren in San Francisco comes as a surprise; she had requested a single. But if Lauren's learned anything from being the oldest of six, it's that you can't always get what you want, especially when what you want is privacy.

Soon the girls are emailing back and forth, sharing secrets even though they've never met. With family relationships and childhood friendships strained by change, it suddenly seems that the only people Elizabeth and Lauren can rely on are the complicated new boys in their lives...and each other.

With humor and heart, Sara Zarr, National Book Award finalist for Story of a Girl, and Tara Altebrando, acclaimed author of The Pursuit of Happiness, join forces for a novel about that time after high school, when everything feels like it's ending just as it's beginning.

Amazon • B&N • Goodreads

COME MEET SARA AND TARA!

• January 12, 2014 – New York, NY: McNally Jackson
• January 15, 2014 – Salt Lake City, UT: The King's English
• January 16, 2014 – Provo, UT: Provo Library
• February 4, 2014 – San Francisco, CA: Books Inc, Opera Plaza
• February 5, 2015 – Petaluma, CA: Copperfield's Books

• • • • • • • • • •

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the Little, Brown team I have one copy of Roomies up for grabs today! To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to US addresses only.

The countdown to college has begun.

When Elizabeth receives her freshman-year roommate assignment at the beginning of summer, she shoots off an email to coordinate the basics: TV, microwave, mini-fridge. She can't wait to escape her New Jersey beach town, and her mom, and start life over in California.

The first note to Lauren in San Francisco comes as a surprise; she had requested a single. But if Lauren's learned anything from being the oldest of six, it's that you can't always get what you want, especially when what you want is privacy.

Soon the girls are emailing back and forth, sharing secrets even though they've never met. With family relationships and childhood friendships strained by change, it suddenly seems that the only people Elizabeth and Lauren can rely on are the complicated new boys in their lives...and each other.

With humor and heart, Sara Zarr, National Book Award finalist for Story of a Girl, and Tara Altebrando, acclaimed author of The Pursuit of Happiness, join forces for a novel about that time after high school, when everything feels like it's ending just as it's beginning.

- See more at: http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/sara-zarr/roomies/9780316217491/#desc

a Rafflecopter giveaway