Arlington Heights Author A.J. Cattapan Wins Two Awards for Debut Novel
Arlington Heights, IL-Arlington Heights author A.J. Cattapan has recently won two awards for her debut young adult novel Angelhood. On October 8, the Jenkins Group announced that Angelhood has won the top prize, a gold medal, in the category Young Adult Fiction-Religion/Spirituality for the annual Moonbeam Children's Book Awards. The prize will officially be awarded at a ceremony in Traverse City, Michigan, on Saturday, November 14.
The Moonbeam Children's Book Awards are intended to bring increased recognition to exemplary children's books and their creators, and to support childhood literacy and life-long reading. The Awards recognize and reward the best of these books and bring them to the attention of parents, booksellers, librarians - and to children themselves.
In addition to this award, Angelhood also received an honorable mention in the 2015 Readers' Favorite Book Awards for the category Young Adult Fiction-Social Issues. This award came with a five-star rating from their reviewers. Hilary Hawkes of Readers' Favorite says, "Angelhood by AJ Cattapan is a well-written and thought-provoking story . . . This is a carefully plotted, intriguing, and imaginative story with strong, believable characters. The suspense builds, leaving the reader wanting to know that goodness will triumph over darkness."
Cattapan's novel tackles the tough topic of teen suicide while offering hope to those in despair. With a theme similar to that of the classic movie It's a Wonderful Life, Angelhood is the story of a seventeen-year-old guardian angel named Nanette who, after her own tragic death, must find a way to keep a high school freshman from taking her own life. Unfortunately, Nanette is not only missing her wings, she has no tangible body or voice with reach to communicate with her charge.
Angelhood has been an Amazon bestseller and is available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook.