Raising Women
An Interactive Novel
by Shannon Waite
This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
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Pub Date Oct 11 2024 | Archive Date Oct 14 2024
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Description
Girls are taxes.
Women are city limits.
You are on the precipice of womanhood and have become obsessed with an ex-convict, Roman. She introduces you to the dangerous and honest side of life that no one else has been able to. As she unapologetically places you in scandalous situations, you begin making self-destructive decisions. Depending on which decisions you choose, you may taste Roman’s blood, get branded with a searing screwdriver, or date a married man– all while each choice challenges what it means to be a woman, real, or both.
In this interactive novel, readers have twenty-four possible pathways with four unique endings to explore the wild that is growing up girl.
Raising Women is undeniably candid in how it mirrors the hoops girls jump through to bargain their place in society. Waite illuminates the desperate craving they have for belonging in a culture that is quick to cast them as pawns on a chessboard.
A Note From the Publisher
** Additionally, it's important to note that while the book in its entirety is the length of a novel, what you read will be shorter because of the interactive novel's nature. You are welcome to read multiple pathways, but you are encouraged to leave a review even if you only read one pathway.
Advance Praise
"Raising Women is a book that knows you. It knows all your secrets. It knows all the thoughts you've had. It knows what choices you've made, as well as the choices you'd change if you could go back and be a teenage girl again. It also knows that sometimes, a little self-discovery is the scariest thing of all."
— REBECCA JONES-HOWE, author of Vile Men and Ending in Ashes
"Less a journey and more a plummet through a mad funhouse of personal discovery, risky behaviors, and strange bedfellows, to a place where the reader overturns narrative stones and returns time and again for those left unturned, and the questionable choices become their own with every turn of the page."
—JASON M. FYLAN, author of "Engines, O-Rings, and Astronauts" in Burnt Tongues
"Raising Women offers insight on how to acknowledge the human being and their experience, shattering any judgements of what a “real” woman should be, look and think like."
—LIANNA ALBRIZIO, Reedsy Discovery
"Waite builds a story with consistencies through each path."
— COURTNEE TURNER HOYLE, Readers' Favorite (5-star review)
Marketing Plan
Sign at the Brighton Public Library local author showcase
Appear on podcasts like Stories and Stanza, Phase 4, and others
Promote ARCS to reviewers, retailers, and bookstagrammers
Offer preorders of the signed book and other marketing materials like stickers and Polaroids
Advertise Raising Women downloadables: cootie catcher, paper doll, and mix/playlist
Promote on social media
Advertise free book club materials
Contact bookstores
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9798991016414 |
| PRICE | $5.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 192 |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Samantha C, Reviewer
I am obsessed. This was such a unique and refreshing adventure. I went through three different ways and each one had my mind in shambles. I truly never knew what would happen. I wish we got more characters development but I can imagine that would be borderline impossible with this format.
Jeannette J, Reviewer
Full Disclosure: I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of Raising Women by Shannon Waite from the author via NetGalley. This book should be available to the public starting October 11, 2024.
When I read the description for Raising Women by Shannon Waite, I knew I needed to read it. It is described as an interactive novel about growing into womanhood. I LOVE LOVE LOVE a choose-your-own-adventure book, game, movie, whatever so this was a no-brainer. I've also made it into womanhood successfully by many definitions, so how bad could I get it wrong? Hint: I got it really wrong. The good news is I could go back and try again. Reading it on Kindle made it fairly easy to jump to the right section. Going back was less easy. This is not a sweet coming-of-age book. You are a teenage girl, but you have to deal with very adult situations and sometimes uncomfortable situations. Keep that in mind if you decide to gift this book! I still had a lot of fun ruining my life.
Teddy b, Reviewer
Raising Women by Shannon Waite is an interactive novel about being a teenager and growing up into adulthood. I’ve never read an interactive novel, and I’m happily surprised by how much I loved it !A unnamed teenager is faced with some really hard and adult problems, and you choose how she will continue the story.
First of all, I tried saying no to all the decisions, no she doesn’t want to do this, and no she shouldn’t do this. I was thinking with my adult brain. The fun thing is, you can go back, and change your decisions and you’ll have an different story !
Thank you to the author and Netgalley for the ARC.
Raising Women will be published on the 11th of October !
Reviewer 1114905
Ok this was a fun book. I loved the interactiveness, I’ve never read a book like this before. You feel for the main character that she wants to belong and just have friends - although Roman really isn’t the best option. I actually knew someone similar to Roman when I was in high school so I get her lure. The writing is pretty jumpy but made me just think of a high schoolers brain or Roman’s drug brain. The different options were fun and I found they just all circled around to each vs it being new which is the reason for the 4 stars.
Maia H, Reviewer
Raw, relatable, and terrifyingly real.
I was expecting a Choose Your Own Adventure type of story, filled with tropes and cliches. I have never been more glad to be wrong. The narrative is so true to the experience of growing up as a teenage girl in the Midwest that I found myself entirely transported back to that time of my life. I’m now heavily doubting all the times I’ve shunned the use of second-person narrative because this was incredible!
Randie D, Reviewer
When I saw that this book was an interactive novel I was so intrigued, but the synopsis definitely sold me. This story follows you (my first ever second person narrative book) and Roman, an older ex-convict that you can’t help but being enamored by. I don’t want to give away too much of any of the plots, but I read through two different outcomes of this story and felt totally different emotions for both. I felt a sort of sadness but understanding at the end of my first read, and was unsettled by my second.
The novel is an unapologetic deep dive into the complexities of girlhood and womanhood, all while giving you the power to shape the story’s outcome. The narrative does a fantastic job of capturing the confusion, rebellion, and desire for belonging that defines coming of age, especially as a young woman. Every choice you make feels weighty, with 24 different paths and 4 endings, giving the novel a sense of replayability that I didn’t expect in traditional fiction.
This book was truly unique, and it made me relive many of the thoughts I had as a teenager—wanting so desperately to fit in and earn others’ approval, even if it meant making some questionable decisions. I recommend going into it knowing as little as possible and just letting your instincts guide you through. I’m excited to revisit it and explore a completely different outcome, as it’s definitely the kind of book you can return to and experience a whole new story each time!
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