AWARDS
- WINNER 2017 CONNECTICUT BOOK AWARD YOUNG READERS CATEGORY: Recognizes the best titles of 2017 written by Connecticut Authors.
- INTERNATIONAL LITERACY ASSOCIATION YOUNG ADULT HONOR 2017: The ILA named Karen as one of the prestigious “…newly published authors who show extraordinary promise.”
- THE WEIGHT OF ZERO Named to the prestigious ABA Indies Introduce list! Indies Introduce, “…Do what indies do best—find and showcase undiscovered authors and compelling books. Two panels of booksellers chose the Indies Introduce titles—10 adult and 10 children’s—as the best of the Summer/Fall 2016 debuts.”
- Seventeen Magazine, September 2016 Issue: Featured in “What’s Hot This Month.”
- A New York Public Library 50 Best Books for Teens 2016
- An Apple Best Book of October 2016
- A 2016 Cybils Finalist in Young Adult Fiction
- An Epic Reads Shimmy Awards Semi-Finalist in the Mental Health Matters category
- Selected to the YA Buzz Book List by Shelf Awareness Pro that “…features upcoming young adult and middle grade titles that booksellers around the United States are most looking forward to.”
- Chosen as one of BARNES and NOBLE’s 11 of Our Most Anticipated Debuts of the Second Half of 2016
- Winner of 2014 SCBWI Work-in-Progress Grant in the Contemporary YA category
- Finalist in the 2015 Tassey-Walden Awards Contest
- Winner of the the Serendipity Literary Agency 2013 YA First Page/Novel Discovery Contest.
REVIEWS
- Kirkus Reviews: “Catherine’s acerbically witty narrative voice is razor sharp and often raw, and the confessional tone of her present-tense narration makes clear how overwhelming her pain is…An honest, informative, and ultimately optimistic novel about living with mental illness.”
- “…I spent the last half of the book in grateful tears, filled with a deep recognition that gave me hope for life and love for Catherine. I cannot express enough what this book meant to me. Read it. It’ll change you.” —Flannery Fitch, Bookshop Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA)
- “You might think that a story about having bipolar disorder would be depressing. But this story will lift you up, open your eyes, and make even your darkest ‘Zero’ moments seem manageable. Everyone should read this book. It will help you face those bad times, and it will help you appreciate the good times…” — Clarissa Murphy, Brookline Booksmith (Brookline, MA)
- “…A real story that needs to be told about bipolar disorder and how it affects someone who is afflicted by this, The Weight of Zero also concentrates on the value of good doctoring, strong support from family and friends, and the will to continue living.” –Kathy Taber, Kids Ink Children’s Bookstore (Indianapolis, IN)