Lillie Lainoff Author Talk

Reading, Q&A and book giveaway!

Come to the Connie Morella library for a reading by historical fiction author Lillie Lainoff, followed by a Q&A and giveaway of signed books.

Join us for an author talk from Lillie Lainoff, author of the critically acclaimed One for All. This historical fiction novel was named a Best Book of 2022 by NPR, YALSA 2023 Best Fiction for Young Adults, Booklist Best First Novel for Youth 2022, and Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2022. 

One for All is a gender-bent retelling of The Three Musketeers, in which a girl with a chronic illness trains as a Musketeer and uncovers secrets, sisterhood, and self-love.

Tania de Batz is most herself with a sword in her hand. Everyone in town thinks her near-constant dizziness makes her weak, nothing but “a sick girl”; even her mother is desperate to marry her off for security. But Tania wants to be strong, independent, a fencer like her father—a former Musketeer and her greatest champion.

Then Papa is brutally, mysteriously murdered. His dying wish? For Tania to attend finishing school. But L’Académie des Mariées, Tania realizes, is no finishing school. It’s a secret training ground for a new kind of Musketeer: women who are socialites on the surface, but strap daggers under their skirts, seduce men into giving up dangerous secrets, and protect France from downfall. And they don’t shy away from a swordfight.

With her newfound sisters at her side, Tania feels for the first time like she has a purpose, like she belongs. But then she meets Étienne, her first target in uncovering a potential assassination plot. He’s kind, charming, and breathlessly attractive—and he might have information about what really happened to her father. Torn between duty and dizzying emotion, Tania will have to lean on her friends, listen to her own body, and decide where her loyalties lie…or risk losing everything she’s ever wanted.

This debut novel is a fierce, whirlwind adventure about the depth of found family, the strength that goes beyond the body, and the determination it takes to fight for what you love.

Lillie Lainoff is a fencer, coach, and the founder of Disabled Kidlit Writers. Her short stories are featured in The Los Angeles Review and the YA anthology, These Bodies Ain't Broken, and her non-fiction published in The Washington Post. She received her B.A. from Yale University and her M.A. in Creative Writing Prose Fiction from the University of East Anglia.

Check out One for All here! There will be a limited number of signed copies given away following the event. 

Questions about this program? Contact the branch at 240-777-0970

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Accommodation Requests

People who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing should request English-language captioning or sign-language interpretation at least five days before the library-sponsored program they plan to attend. Contact the Assistant Facilities and Accessibility Program Manager at 240-777-0002 with all other accommodation requests.

cm 1.1 01/03/2023

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