Leila Sales – författare

A fire drill. No, not an exercise in which occupants of a building practice leaving the building safely. A drill which safely emits a bit of fire, the approximate shape and size of a drill bit. A Michelin(R) tire signed by a chef at a Michelin(R) restaurant. Convince a campus tour that they are on a rollercoaster, featuring various themed thrills, an upside down portion (with dads' consent), and a group photo available for download at the end of the ride. Fattest cat. Points per pound. --from the 2018 University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt List The University of Chicago's annual Scavenger Hunt (or "Scav") is one of the most storied college traditions in America. Every year, teams of hundreds of competitors scramble over four days to complete roughly 350 challenges. The tasks range from moments of silliness to 1,000-mile road trips, and they call on participants to fully embrace the absurd. For students it is a rite of passage, and for the surrounding community it is a chance to glimpse the lighter side of a notoriously serious university.We Made Uranium! shares the stories behind Scav, told by participants and judges from the hunt's more than thirty-year history. The twenty-two essays range from the shockingly successful (a genuine, if minuscule, nuclear reaction created in a dorm room--just the second time there's been a nuclear pile on campus) to the endearing failures (it's hard to build a carwash for a train), and all the chicken hypnotisms and permanent tattoos in between. Taken together, they show how a scavenger hunt once meant for blowing off steam before finals has grown into one of the most outrageous annual traditions at any university.At the heart of these stories are chaos, camaraderie, and competitiveness, a fitting Bizarro World parallel to the real rigors of undergraduate life at a top university. The tales told here are absurd, uplifting, hilarious, and thought-provoking--and they are all one hundred percent true.

The higher you aim, the farther you fall…. It’s Violet’s junior year at the Westfield School. She thought she’d be focusing on getting straight As, editing the lit mag, and figuring out how to talk to boys without choking on her own saliva. Instead, she’s just trying to hold it together in the face of cutthroat academics, her crush’s new girlfriend, and the sense that things are going irreversibly wrong with her best friend, Katie. When Katie starts making choices that Violet can’t even begin to fathom, Violet has no idea how to set things right between them. Westfield girls are trained for success—but how can Violet keep her junior year from being one huge epic failure?

A sweet and clever novel about the woes of (boy) history repeating itself, from the author of Mostly Good Girls.All Chelsea wants to do this summer is hang out with her best friend, hone her talents as an ice cream connoisseur, and finally get over Ezra, the boy who broke her heart. But when Chelsea shows up for her summer job at Essex Historical Colonial Village (yes, really), it turns out Ezra’s working there too. Which makes moving on and forgetting Ezra a lot more complicated…even when Chelsea starts falling for someone new.     Maybe Chelsea should have known better than to think that a historical reenactment village could help her escape her past. But with Ezra all too present, and her new crush seeming all too off-limits, all Chelsea knows is that she’s got a lot to figure out about love. Because those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it….

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales is an irresistible novel about hope, heartbreak and the power of music to bring people together.All her life, Elise Dembowski has been an outsider. Starting a new school, she dreams of fitting in at last – but when her best attempts at popularity fail, she almost gives up. In a cry for help, she self-harms, and when news of that gets around school, things get even worse for Elise.But then she stumbles upon a secret warehouse party. There, at night, Elise can be a different person, making real friends, falling in love for the first time, and finding her true passion – DJing.But when her real and secret lives collide, she has to make a decision once and for all: just who is the real Elise?'This book spoke to me on so many levels. I wish I’d had it as a teen' – Marissa Meyer, author of Heartless

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales is an irresistible novel about hope, heartbreak and the power of music to bring people together.All her life, Elise Dembowski has been an outsider. Starting a new school, she dreams of fitting in at last – but when her best attempts at popularity fail, she almost gives up. In a cry for help, she self-harms, and when news of that gets around school, things get even worse for Elise.But then she stumbles upon a secret warehouse party. There, at night, Elise can be a different person, making real friends, falling in love for the first time, and finding her true passion – DJing.But when her real and secret lives collide, she has to make a decision once and for all: just who is the real Elise?'This book spoke to me on so many levels. I wish I’d had it as a teen' – Marissa Meyer, author of Heartless

From Leila Sales, the author of This Song Will Save Your Life, comes a compelling and relatable story about the hazards of falling for someone you haven't met yet.Seventeen-year-old Arden Huntley is recklessly loyal. Taking care of her loved ones is what gives Arden purpose: it makes her feel like she matters. But she's tired of being loyal to people who don't appreciate her - including her needy best friend and her absent mum. Arden stumbles upon a blog called 'Tonight the Streets Are Ours', the musings of a young New York City writer named Peter, and it feels like she's finally found a kindred spirit. When Peter is dumped by the girlfriend he blogs about, Arden decides to take a road trip to see him.During one crazy night in NYC filled with parties, dancing and music - the type of night when anything can happen, and nearly everything does - Arden discovers that Peter isn't exactly who she thought he was. And maybe she isn't exactly who she thought she was either.

From Leila Sales, the author of This Song Will Save Your Life, comes a compelling and relatable story about the hazards of falling for someone you haven't met yet.Seventeen-year-old Arden Huntley is recklessly loyal. Taking care of her loved ones is what gives Arden purpose: it makes her feel like she matters. But she's tired of being loyal to people who don't appreciate her - including her needy best friend and her absent mum. Arden stumbles upon a blog called 'Tonight the Streets Are Ours', the musings of a young New York City writer named Peter, and it feels like she's finally found a kindred spirit. When Peter is dumped by the girlfriend he blogs about, Arden decides to take a road trip to see him.During one crazy night in NYC filled with parties, dancing and music - the type of night when anything can happen, and nearly everything does - Arden discovers that Peter isn't exactly who she thought he was. And maybe she isn't exactly who she thought she was either.

Before we go any further, I want you to understand this: I am not a good person.We all want to be seen. We all want to be heard. But what happens when we’re seen and heard saying or doing the wrong things?When Winter Halperin – former spelling bee champion, aspiring writer, and daughter of a parenting expert –gets caught saying the wrong thing online, her life explodes. All across the world, people know what she’s done, and none of them will forgive her.With her friends gone, her future plans cut short, and her identity in shambles, Winter is just trying to pick up the pieces without hurting anyone else. She knows she messed up, but does that mean it’s okay for people to send her hate mail and death threats? Did she deserve to lose all that she’s lost? And is “I’m sorry” ever good enough?If You Don't Have Anything Nice To Say is the thought provoking novel from multi award winning author, Leila Sales

Before we go any further, I want you to understand this: I am not a good person.We all want to be seen. We all want to be heard. But what happens when we’re seen and heard saying or doing the wrong things?When Winter Halperin – former spelling bee champion, aspiring writer, and daughter of a parenting expert –gets caught saying the wrong thing online, her life explodes. All across the world, people know what she’s done, and none of them will forgive her.With her friends gone, her future plans cut short, and her identity in shambles, Winter is just trying to pick up the pieces without hurting anyone else. She knows she messed up, but does that mean it’s okay for people to send her hate mail and death threats? Did she deserve to lose all that she’s lost? And is “I’m sorry” ever good enough?If You Don't Have Anything Nice To Say is the thought provoking novel from multi award winning author, Leila Sales

Emmy Gold—the frontwoman of an indie-sleaze breakout band who’s since gone solo—is back on tour with her former collaborator and first love, Bishop Ward. She's always trusted she can write a hit song, and now she’s finding out if she can rewrite her past.Deja View, an iconic early-aughts indie trio that released one perfect album two decades ago, broke up at the peak of their stardom, thanks to an unexpected schism between Emmy, the lead singer, and Bishop, the bassist she yearned after for years. Since then, Emmy has gone on to a successful career as a singer-songwriter, one who never revisits her younger days—until a reunion tour to support their drummer’s medical bills forces her to reckon with who she and Bishop once were, and who they have since become.