Learning to Swear in America: Blog Tour “Pinspiration” Character Board + Contest

Today, I’m so excited to be hosting a stop on the official blog tour for Learning to Swear in America by Katie Kennedy, an ADORABLE and quirky new contemporary YA story that has quickly become one of my favorites. (Really!) I hope to post a full review soon, but suffice it to say, I LOVE this book. It’s funny, sweet, and thought-provoking all in one, and is unlike any other book I’ve ever read (which is a feat, in and of itself).

For today’s blog tour, I’ve put together a “Pinspiration” character board, focusing on Yuri, the main character. (AND there’s a contest – so be sure to keep reading for all the details.) Before we dive into the character board, here’s a bit more about the book — which includes a little background on who Yuri is:

Brimming with humor and one-of-a-kind characters, this end-of-the world novel will grab hold of Andrew Smith and Rainbow Rowell fans.

An asteroid is hurtling toward Earth. A big, bad one. Yuri, a physicist prodigy from Russia, has been called to NASA as they calculate a plan to avoid disaster. He knows how to stop the asteroid: his research in antimatter will probably win him a Nobel prize–if there’s ever another Nobel prize awarded. But Yuri’s 17, and having a hard time making older, stodgy physicists listen to him. Then he meets Dovie, who lives like a normal teenager, oblivious to the impending doom. Being with her, on the adventures she plans when he’s not at NASA, Yuri catches a glimpse of what it means to save the world and save a life worth living.

Prepare to laugh, cry, cringe, and have your mind burst open with questions of the universe.

For my character “pinspiration” board for Yuri, I focused on a few key things:

NASA, space, and a little Russian Soyuz rocket design thrown in for good measure
- Including images from the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in Pasadena, California, where Yuri goes to work on stopping the asteroid
- The “Dare Mighty Things” image below is even (allegedly, according to the Internet) found on the wall at JPL!
Pictures of some locations mentioned or featured in the book, including Moscow & Moscow State University, Pasadena (CA), and the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit
Pictures of classic American prom, something I could picture Yuri researching before his big prom date with Dovie
Inspirational pictures of Nobel-winning physicists, whom Yuri has admired since his childhood
And a few other images that I felt represented Yuri and his journey throughout the novel

Enjoy!

Have you read Learning to Swear in America? What other images would you add for Yuri?

The folks at Bloomsbury are hosting a great contest throughout the blog tour, with one lucky winner receiving a copy of Learning to Swear in America and some sweet swag: