Worldwide Crush: A Novel

by Kristin Nilsen

Overview

Rory Calhoun is a teen popstar with perfect teeth and messy hair who’s inspiring first crushes all over the globe. Millie Jackson is just one of the millions of fans who love him—but that doesn't mean her heart doesn't break for him every single day in this laugh-out-loud coming-of-age story.

How many of Rory’s fans collect “data” about him in a special notebook hidden in their underwear drawer? Or have faked a fascination with whale migration for a chance to visit his hometown? Millie may not be Rory’s only fan at Susan B. Anthony Middle School, but she's convinced she's the biggest—and the best.

Rory’s new song “Worldwide Crush” is climbing the charts, and his lyrics are clear: he’s looking for love—and he’s looking in the audience. Meaning Millie’s secret fantasies of running in the surf and eating waffles with him may not be crazy after all . . . she could be that girl! But first she has to get to his concert—his completely sold-out concert in a city nowhere near her home for which she does not have tickets or a ride. She just has to figure out how.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684631933
Publisher:	SparkPress
Publication date:	07/11/2023
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	975,779
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	9 - 13 Years

About the Author

Kristin Nilsen is a bookseller, a youth services librarian, and the author of Worldwide Crush, a finalist in the Humor/Comedy category of the 2024 Next Generation Indie Book Awards. She is also a self-proclaimed “pro crushologist” and cohost of the popular Pop Culture Preservation Society podcast, celebrating the cultural nuggets of the Gen X childhood (and often sharing stories of awkward, preteen heartthrobs of yore). Kristin lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her Gen X husband, her Gen Z son, and their rock-and-roll goldendoodle, Axl Rose Nilsen.

Editorial Reviews

04/17/2023

Former children’s librarian Nilsen charms in her literary debut, a first-rate middle-grade tale which showcases the deeply felt moments of tweens and teens in the emotional throes of a celebrity crush. Thirteen-year-old Millie Jackson, like half the world’s tweens and teens, crushes hard on fifteen-year-old Justin Bieber-esque pop star Rory Calhoun. When her idol plans a concert stop in Minneapolis (a stone’s throw from Walnut Grove Estates, where Millie lives on Laura Lane) Millie is beside herself with joy. But after Rory has to unexpectedly cancel his Minneapolis concert, Millie is crushed. Her plan B? Convince her parents to vacation in Bodega Bay, California—Rory’s hometown—under the guise of a new passion for gray whales and their migration. Surprisingly, they agree — and what happens next is every young girl’s fantasy.

Nilsen perfectly captures the angst and emotions of a teenager in the throes of her first celebrity crush—the doodling of “Millie Calhoun” on folders, the emoji-laden texts, the highest highs and lowest lows.Nilsen also includes a first-rate cast of supporting characters, especially Millie’s outrageous grandmother Cheryl, who steals every scene she’s in; Millie’s uber-understanding mother Carrie, and Millie’s sassy bestie Shauna. Even more importantly, Nilsen brings subtle but powerful attention to anxiety attacks as a health concern rather than a “crazy” thing, with Rory, refreshingly, thoroughly understanding and supportive of his mother’s struggles.

While the story is geared to middle-graders, their mothers will also enjoy reading and remembering their own teen-crush days, a resonant feeling for women of all ages. Even more fun, Nilsen sprinkles in past teen idols’ names throughout (such as Leaf Garrett, here a popular middle school teen rather than Leif the Seventies singer) and confesses her own celebrity crush was Shaun Cassidy — which will send mothers back into their first celebrity crushes.

Takeaway: Tweens—and their mothers—will relish this story of the giddiness and angst of first love.

Great for fans of: Helena Hunting’s Meet Cute, Sariah Wilson’s #Starstruck; Zoey Dean’s How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls.

Production grades Cover: A Design and typography: A Illustrations: N/A Editing: A Marketing copy: A

BookLife Reviews

A delightful, nostalgic tribute to innocent fandom.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“This is a sweet depiction of teenage fandom. . . . less a book about getting to a show than it is a story of a teenager coming to realize how much she is loved, even when her behavior seems selfish.”
—Foreword Reviews, 5 stars

“Brimming with hope, humor, and possibility, best friends and annoying hangers-on, ridiculous teachers and more ridiculous family members, indignities, sorrows, despair, and triumph, Nilsen builds a story that feels so real, I could almost feel the flutter of butterflies doing backflips in my own stomach. A sharply-drawn and big-hearted story. I loved every single page.”
—Kelly Barnhill, Newbery Medal–winning author of The Girl Who Drank the Moon

“With Worldwide Crush, Kristin Nilsen establishes herself as a vibrant new voice in coming-of-age fiction. This funny, big-hearted novel explores family, friendship, and the intoxicating power of first crushes with sometimes cringeworthy accuracy. Readers still in the throes of tweendom will be as charmed by Millie’s emotional journey as those who attended middle school long ago. A winning pick for all generations!”
—Megan McCafferty, New York Times best-selling author of Best Frenemies Forever and the Jessica Darling series

“Kristin Nilsen nails the angst of falling for a teen heartthrob in Worldwide Crush. The countless laugh-out-loud moments were reminiscent of my own crush on Shaun Cassidy. Tween readers will love this debut. Highly recommend!”
—Cindy Callaghan, author of My Big Heart-Shaped Fail

“Bursting with humor and feverish popstar fandom, Worldwide Crush is a joyous and heart-warming read that chronicles the big emotions of a middle school girl as she navigates her foray into teenagehood, diehard crushes, and a discovery of her sense of worth and self. A delightfully relatable, unapologetically authentic story, complete with laughs and nostalgia, that will resonate with middle school girls everywhere!”
—Payal Doshi, author of Rea and the Blood of the Nectar

From the Publisher

2023-04-04
A seventh grader fixates on a Bieber-esque heartthrob in this middle-grade novel.

Millicent “Millie” Jackson loves 15-year-old Rory Calhoun with all her 12-year-old heart. So what if she’s never met him and millions of others feel the same way? Rory’s beautiful honey-blond hair, freckles, and golden voice have captivated Millie, and when Rory announces he’s going on tour, Millie knows she has a shot at finding love. When she’s not navigating the halls of Susan B. Anthony Middle School near Minneapolis and enduring dinners with her family—including sassy Grandma Cheryl and precocious 5-year-old brother Billy—Millie pens earnest letters to him, her very own “worldwide crush,” and fixates on Bodega Bay, California, Rory’s sleepy beach hometown. When Millie’s mother is able to procure concert tickets, the show is canceled at the last minute due to a family emergency involving Rory’s beloved mother, much to the heartbreak of Millie and Rory’s legions of fans. Will Millie ever cross paths with Rory Calhoun? Nilsen was inspired to write the novel based on her own childhood crushes—Shaun Cassidy, Davy Jones, and the Bee Gees—and after witnessing the more recent pop-star phenomenon of Justin Bieber. The author’s prose style is perfect for middle-grade readers—fast-paced and natural, with the accuracy of the high highs and low lows that come with the emotions of a seventh grader experiencing her very first crush. Millie’s narrative voice is as bubbly and sweet as Rory Calhoun’s song lyrics. She’s a typical tween girl who’s embarrassed by her family but loves them anyway and is consumed by a distant love that feels as real as the romantic relationships she’ll eventually have as an adult. Even Rory, who makes an appearance later in the book, feels like a real teenager, albeit one who’s experiencing global stardom.

A delightful, nostalgic tribute to innocent fandom.

Kirkus Reviews