This event will take place at Mt. Airy Nexus, 520 Carpenter Lane, just across the street and a bit down the block from Big Blue Marble

Big Blue Marble welcomes (home) author Karol Silverstein to celebrate her YA novel Cursed - funny and searing novel about becoming a teen just as your body is slammed with a chronic, debilitating illness. And yes, dealing with this does involve a lot of cursing!

Karol Silverstein grew up in Northwest Philadelphia. In 1990 she moved to Los Angeles to attend The American Film Institute. She worked in film and TV production briefly before turning to writing full time.

A debut novel for fans of The Fault in Our Stars that thoughtfully and humorously depicts teen Ricky Bloom's struggles with a recent chronic illness diagnosis.

As if her parents' divorce and sister's departure for college weren't bad enough, fourteen-year-old Ricky Bloom has just been diagnosed with a life-changing chronic illness. Her days consist of cursing everyone out, skipping school--which has become a nightmare--daydreaming about her crush, Julio, and trying to keep her parents from realizing just how bad things are. But she can't keep her ruse up forever.

Ricky's afraid, angry, alone, and one suspension away from repeating ninth grade when she realizes: she can't be held back. She'll do whatever it takes to move forward--even if it means changing the person she's become. Lured out of her funk by a quirky classmate, Oliver, who's been there too, Ricky's porcupine exterior begins to shed some spines. Maybe asking for help isn't the worst thing in the world. Maybe accepting circumstances doesn't mean giving up.