Utah author wins national Book of the Year award

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SALT LAKE CITY -- At the annual BookExpo American in New York City last week, "ForeWord Reviews" judges chose Lisa Mangum's "The Hourglass Door" as the 2009 Book of the Year for Young Adult Fiction. To add to the excitement, it is her first book. But not for long.

Mangum -- from Taylorsville, Utah -- calls it the ultimate confidence booster.

"The Hourglass Door"

Abby's senior year of high school is textbook perfect. But when she meets Dante Alexander, a foreign-exchange student from Italy, her life suddenly takes a different turn. He's mysterious, and interesting, and unlike anyone she's ever met before. Abby can't deny the unusual things that seem to happen when Dante is around. Time behaves differently when they are together -- traveling too fast or too slow or sometimes seeming to stop altogether.

"Writing is such a solitary endeavor," she said. "You're all by yourself in one little room, one little computer. And to know that other people out in the world are falling in love with the characters the way that you fell in love with them is really gratifying and really energizing."

Her debut novel -- first in a trilogy -- brings to life Abby, a typical high school senior whose life is interrupted by foreign exchange student Dante and time travel. Fans describe it as a "can't put it down" novel.

Amy Cyr from Sandy said, "I just liked the idea because there's really good chemistry between the two main characters and it's just a really intriguing idea."

Rachel Bird of Tooele sighed "Oh, my gosh... After I got it, the first moment that I had the opportunity to sit down and read it -- it was -- it was amazing."

And book number two, "The Golden Spiral," just came out last month. Fans are every bit as enthusiastic about it as they are the first one.

For young adult readers, Dante, DaVinci and danger combine for more intrigue in this one.

Lizzy Hughes, also from Tooele, said, "'The Golden Spiral' was, in my opinion, even better because you got to see way more of the characters and the story went along and it was amazing. It's in my top five favorite books."

Fans waiting for Lisa Mangum's third book in the trilogy, titled "The Forgotten Locket," will have to hang in there until next spring.

The Jury of Judges for "ForeWord Reviews" is comprised of book editors, reviewers, librarians and booksellers.

E-mail: cmikita@ksl.com