Dented Cans By: Heather Walsh *Book Excerpt & E-Book Giveaway*

Goodreads Description

A family secret is revealed during an ill-fated—yet hilarious—trip to Disney World.

Sixteen-year-old Hannah Sampson knows her family is not what you would call normal. Her father compulsively buys dented cans and has a particular fondness for cans without labels, which are extremely discounted because their contents are a mystery. Her mother takes countless pictures of her family and then glues them down into the pages of her scrapbooks, but does not allow anyone to look at them. Ryan, Hannah’s mischievous fourteen-year-old brother, is headed straight for the remedial track at the local community college, if he’s lucky. Ben, her eight-year-old brother, is a walking sound effects machine, who prefers to communicate with noises rather than words. While Hannah is focused on escaping her working-class Connecticut suburb, she also finds herself being tugged back home as she worries about her brother Ben.

Hannah’s parents inflict one last family vacation on the Sampson children, a trip that goes comically wrong almost from the get-go. Hannah is forced to confront her family’s past in Disney World, of all places, when an emotional argument prompts her parents to disclose a secret they have been keeping from the children for sixteen years. Ultimately, she must decide whether to leave her hometown and not look back, or to focus on helping her family.

Check Out This Book Excerpt

(Here is a brief sample, during the trip to Disney World. This is in

the voice of Hannah, the narrator of the novel)

We did a few more rides, and then we went to the World Showcase, the

section of EPCOT that consisted of pavilions “showcasing” various

countries. In reality just a bunch of overpriced restaurants and gaudy

gift shops “hawking” ethnic food and trinkets. Before we were allowed

to eat lunch, we had to locate a restroom so we could rid our hands of

the thousands of germs that only Dad had the ability to detect. Then

we spread out across two benches in Italy right next to Alfredo’s

Restaurant, where people who actually purchased their food went to

eat. It was a good thing we’d brought our own peanut butter and jelly

sandwiches. That and chicken fingers would have probably been a hard

ethnic cuisine to place. Maybe the Nutritionally Defunct Pavilion?

Mom began passing out the sandwiches. I felt as if I shouldn’t eat

mine, knowing the hard work that went into making it.

“This World Showcase is so boring,” Ryan said.

“This World Showcase is so stereotyped,” I said. “Who knew the only

thing Italians do is listen to ‘O Solo Mio’ while they eat spaghetti

and meatballs? And if you’re German, you obviously dance the polka.

Half of it isn’t even true.”

“Yeah, I didn’t know that Mexicans just hit piñatas all day. And you

can buy your own to whack for just 19.99,” Ryan said.

“Hannah, stop questioning everything. Just try to enjoy it,” Dad said.

Stop questioning everything. I think Dad was just quoting Socrates

there. Didn’t he say that? My fellow Greeks, stop questioning

everything. Just enjoy. Enjoy EPCOT.

“OK, I won’t point out that Africa, the second largest continent on

the planet, isn’t even represented here,” I said.

“We’ve heard enough of your opinion on the matter. Can you please just

let your younger brother enjoy this?” Dad said.

Sure. I could keep the truth to myself. Socrates and I were kindred

spirits. Perhaps Dad had some hemlock for me to drink?

“Did you bring any canned peaches for dessert?” Ryan said.

I laughed.

“OK, very funny,” Dad said.

About The Author

(From Goodreads)

Heather Walsh grew up in North Haven, CT, fantastically close to Pepe's pizza.

She received a B.A. in English at Mary Washington College, which has been renamed to, drum roll please... the University of Mary Washington. This was after a failed attempt to name it Washington & Monroe University, because there aren't enough schools honoring dead Virginian men already. Heather graduated Phi Betta Kappa and summa cum laude, which sounds kind of fancy but really means she took easy classes.
She taught high school English in Brooklyn for one year, where she loved the students but not the system. She then joined corporate America and worked there for too many years as an IT trainer, project manager, business analyst, and SQL dabbler (select * from Dented_Cans).

Her favorite writer is Alice Munro, her favorite movie is The Godfather Parts I & II (tied for first), and her favorite TV show is The Wire. She has lived in some pretty neat places, including Brooklyn (kind of before it was hipster-cool to do so), Manhattan, and San Francisco. The unfortunate result of living in these locations is that she has become an obnoxious foodie.
She currently lives in Brookline, MA with her husband, Mike DeLucia, and their two children.

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Giveaway Details & Rules

- This is an International Giveaway!

- Ends March 14th!

- There Will Be 1 E-Book Copy Given Away. Winner picked by Rafflecopter!

- I will be Checking the Entries Regularly, so if there is Cheating, those Entries Will be Disqualified! 

- As you submit Entries, be sure to use an Email that you use Daily, as that is how I will contact you, if you Win.

- You will have 48 hours to Respond, or I will have to Choose a New Winner! Check Your Spam Folders, just in case it goes in there.

- And Good Luck! :)

*Come back to this post, when the Giveaway is over, to see who won. I usually do Tweet as well*

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