Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians, and happy Monday to all of my wonderful readers! As you may have seen me announce on Twitter last Thursday, this week is going to be a very fun and exciting one here on Pop! Goes The Reader as I’ll be hosting a week of cover reveals! Today, I’m so pleased to kick things off by hosting the exclusive cover reveal for Darcy Miller and her forthcoming sophomore publication and middle grade adventure, Margot and Mateo Save The World! I was fortunate enough to have been able to host Darcy’s previous cover reveal for her debut novel, Roll, and I’m endlessly excited that I get to welcome her back to the blog today! Coming to a bookstore and library near you July 3rd 2018 from HarperCollins, Margot and Mateo Save The World tells the story of sixth graders Margot Blumenthal and Mateo Flores, who suddenly find the weight of the world on their shoulders when they’re forced to juggle a looming geometry quiz, dress rehearsal for the school play, and an alien slug invasion! All in a day’s work, right? The cover of Margot and Mateo Save The World was designed by Katie Fitch with accompanying art by Aaron Blecha.
A few weeks before I started writing Margot and Mateo Save The World, my husband, Ben, and I had lunch together at a sushi restaurant. We ended up being seated next to a young girl and her mother. The girl, who was about nine years old, had blue-streaked hair, gold flash tattoos, and was ordering eel for lunch. I was completely in awe of her. This girl had more confidence in her little finger than I did in my entire body. And, suddenly, I knew who my next book was going to be about.
Like the girl from the sushi restaurant, Margot, the main character of Margot and Mateo, is utterly fearless. She’s strong, and curious, and brave, and determined. She can execute a near-perfect headlock, make an omelet in the traditional French style, and recite the alphabet backward. She’s the girl I wish I could have been when I was her age, and I’m so excited for readers to meet her and Mateo.
I’m also thrilled to finally be able to share the cover of Margot and Mateo with everyone! Aaron Blecha, the artist, did an incredible job of capturing Margot and Mateo, right down to the blue streaks in Margot’s hair and the vintage Ferrari sunglasses perched on Mateo’s head. I honestly could not love this cover more; everything about it is just so awesome and eye-catching and exciting. I’m pretty sure it’s the coolest cover in the world!
About Darcy Miller
Darcy Miller is the author of Roll. She lives in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, with her two children and librarian husband. Their cat, Jeffreys, deserves his own sentence. Their kitten, Stompy, does not.
Title Margot and Mateo Save The World
Author Darcy Miller
Pages 224 Pages
Intended Target Audience Middle Grade
To Be Published July 3rd 2018 by HarperCollins
Find It On Goodreads ● Amazon.com ● Chapters ● The Book Depository
What would you do if one morning you discovered slug-like aliens had invaded your town and were infecting the townspeople one by one?
A) Suit up and take out the aliens myself, of course!
B) Tell the nearest adult right away.
C) Who has time for alien invasions? I have a geometry quiz to cram for!Well, it doesn’t matter what you’d do, because this story isn’t about you. It’s about Margot Blumenthal and Mateo Flores, two 6th graders who — on the same day they’re supposed to make their stage debut in the school play — stumble upon a huge, massive, earth-shattering plot to take over the world.
Margot and Mateo have a choice to make: should they take their geometry quiz? Go to dress rehearsal? Or should they try as hard as they can, with the help of a visiting scientist, to…gulp…save the world?
Darcy Miller’s second novel is an exciting and incredibly funny tale that contains: action, adventure, an unlikely friendship, alien slime, and salt. Lots of salt.
