New Kids On The Block 2018 with Lindsay Champion

New Kids On The Block is a year-long series on Pop! Goes The Reader meant to welcome and celebrate new voices and debut authors in the literary community.

Are you a debut author whose book is being published in 2018? It’s not too late to sign-up! If you want to participate in New Kids On The Block this year, please don’t hesitate to get in touch! You can send a tweet or DM on Twitter to @Pop_Reader or email me at Jen@PopGoesTheReader.com. I would love to collaborate with you!


About Lindsay Champion

Lindsay Champion is a YA author living in the best place on earth, New York City. She is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she spent most of her time doing high kicks and eating falafel. She served as the Features Editor at Broadway.com, where she somehow managed to interview her celebrity crushes Paul Rudd, Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal without fainting or peeing her pants. She is currently an editorial director for the digital media company PureWow, where she sits in an extremely tall building and eats snacks. Someday, Somewhere is her first novel.

Author Links: WebsiteTwitterInstagramYouTubeGoodreads

I live in New York City, which is less of a place, and more a sparkling orb of energy — it’s a glorious jumble of lights and sounds and smells and people. It’s home to some of the best music, art and theater in the universe, and it’s impossible to walk down the block without feeling inspired. New York City is a major character in my new YA novel, Someday, Somewhere. As Dominique explores the city with Ben, she discovers a new world of music and art she never knew existed. Here are five amazing NYC spots they visit together (and you can check them out, too).

1. Carnegie Hall
I had the coolest opportunity to perform at this legendary concert hall with my high school choir, so I used my memories (and stage fright) of that experience when I was writing the book. I love this building, because it’s like a geode: completely unremarkable from the outside, but when you crack it open, it shines like nothing you’ve ever seen. And unlike a lot of these dusty old theaters in New York, which are, of course, beautiful in their own right, Carnegie Hall is actually really sleek and modern looking on the inside — it’s bright and vibrant and energizing, and the cheap seats all the way up in the balcony really are the best seats in the house for sound.


© Jeff Goldberg/Esto (Source)

2. Lincoln Center
One of my earliest memories of being in New York City is going to see Carousel at Lincoln Center with my parents. In the center of the complex there’s this beautiful stone fountain, and I remember not wanting to leave after the show was over. I wanted to camp out next to that fountain for the rest of the night, just watching people walk in and out of the gorgeous cream-colored buildings all around it. Now, whenever I go to Lincoln Center, I still feel instantly calm when I see that fountain. It’s my happy place.


(Source)

3. Village Vanguard
When I got into NYU and finally moved here, I got to do a lot of the non-touristy stuff for the first time. I went to see jazz at the Village Vanguard (or as cool people call it, just “the Vanguard”) with some friends, and I remember thinking that I became an official New Yorker that night. Just to be steeped in that history (it opened in 1935) and energy and talent. I was officially part of the fabric of the city, simply by sitting and listening to these geniuses play jazz.


(Source)

4. Ben’s Apartment
OK, Ben’s apartment is totally made up, and you definitely can’t visit it. But the Upper East Side is one of my favorite neighborhoods to walk in, because there are so many fancy apartment buildings with green awnings and doormen. I’ve never been able to afford to live in one of those buildings, but I love peeking into the lobbies as I pass, and imagine what it might be like. Sometimes, when I walk, I see the doorman open the door for a kid that looks just like Ben, probably coming home from his violin lesson.


© Jamie Grafton (Source)

5. Gramercy Park
Central Park is awesome and everything, but the city’s most mysterious, elusive park is definitely Gramercy. It’s impeccably manicured and almost always empty — that’s because it’s locked behind gates and you need your own key to get in. There have only been 383 keys made (and of course, Julia Roberts has one, because why wouldn’t she?). On sunny days, I walk the perimeter of the park, hoping I’ll be invited in. So far, it hasn’t happened, but a girl can dream…


© Jeffrey Zeldman (Source)


Created by Lindsay Champion

Title Someday, Somewhere
Author Lindsay Champion
Pages 280 Pages
Intended Target Audience Young Adult
Genre Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Romance
Publication Date April 3rd 2018 by KCP Loft
Find It On GoodreadsAmazon.comChaptersThe Book Depository

Dominique is a high school junior from a gritty neighborhood in Trenton, where she and her mom are barely getting by.

Ben is a musical prodigy from the Upper East Side, a violinist at a top conservatory with obsessive talent and a brilliant future.

When Dom’s class is taken to hear a concert at Carnegie Hall, she expects to be bored out of her mind. But then she sees the boy in the front row playing violin like his life depends on it — and she is transfixed.

Posing as an NYU student, Dom sneaks back to New York City to track down Ben Tristan, a magnetic genius who whisks her into a fantasy world of jazz clubs and opera, infatuation and possibility. Each sees something in the other that promises to complete them.

But as Dom’s web of lies grows, so does Ben’s need to conquer Beethoven’s famous Kreutzer Sonata. Ben’s genius, which captivates Dominique, conceals a secret, and the challenges of Dom’s life may make it difficult for her to help him.

Alternating perspectives and an unreliable narrator create suspense and momentum, romance and heartbreak. Author Lindsay Champion’s deep roots in theater and music are evident on every page – structured like a sonata with hints of West Side Story, her debut novel hits all the right notes.

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Hi! I’m Jen! I’m a thirty-something introvert who loves nothing more than the cozy comfort of home and snuggling my two rescue cats, Pepper and Pancakes. I also enjoy running, jigsaw puzzles, baking and everything Disney. Few things bring me more joy than helping a reader find the right book for them!

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