Jennifer Niven Reveals Sneak Peeks, Thanks Fans on Upcoming Book, HOLDING UP THE UNIVERSE

Best-selling author, Jennifer Niven, is set to release her her book, HOLDING UP THE UNIVERSE, in October 2016. In a letter, she shares how much it means to her to have support from her fans. Read it below:

Dear Reader,

You are wanted. You are necessary. You are loved.

This is the message I have been writing to readers of All the Bright Places since the book's release in January of 2015. Since then, I've been contacted by thousands of teens who feel misunderstood or alone. During one particular day in the fall of last year, I wrote that message 141 times.

Holding Up the Universe is about seeing and being seen. Like All the Bright Places, this new novel is a personal story. It comes from my own loss and fear and pain, and it comes from real people who are dear to me. It comes from my twelve- and thirteen-year-old self, who struggled with her weight and the bullying that came with it. From the loss of my dad, which happened only months after the loss of my boyfriend, when I shut down completely and couldn't leave the house because the world was too scary. From having to go back out into that world again and figure out my place in it. And most recently, it comes from the loss of my mom, who was my sun, and from trying not to worry-every day-that I will die unexpectedly, without warning, the way she did.

Additionally, the book comes from my sixteen-year-old cousin, who has had to learn to recognize the people in his life, not by faces, but by the important things like "how nice they are and how many freckles they have."

But the story really began with that reader interaction. I wrote this book for Christine in the United States, for Jayvee in the Philippines, for Steysha in Ukraine, for Paolo in Brazil, for Steph in the UK, for Shubham in India, and for all the others like them. These vibrant, smart, giant-hearted teens who need and deserve to be seen, and who need to know they are wanted. They are necessary. They are loved.

Love,

Jennifer xx

Read more on exclusive sneak peeks from Mashable here.

About the book: Everyone thinks they know Libby Strout, the girl once dubbed "America's Fattest Teen." But no one's taken the time to look past her weight to get to know who she really is. Following her mom's death, she's been picking up the pieces in the privacy of her home, dealing with her heartbroken father and her own grief. Now, Libby's ready: for high school, for new friends, for love, and for EVERY POSSIBILITY LIFE HAS TO OFFER. In that moment, I know the part I want to play here at MVB High. I want to be the girl who can do anything.

Everyone thinks they know Jack Masselin, too. Yes, he's got swagger, but he's also mastered the impossible art of giving people what they want, of fitting in. What no one knows is that Jack has a newly acquired secret: he can't recognize faces. Even his own brothers are strangers to him. He's the guy who can re-engineer and rebuild anything in new and bad-ass ways, but he can't understand what's going on with the inner workings of his brain. So he tells himself to play it cool: Be charming. Be hilarious. Don't get too close to anyone.

Until he meets Libby. When the two get tangled up in a cruel high school game-which lands them in group counseling and community service-Libby and Jack are both pissed, and then surprised. Because the more time they spend together, the less alone they feel. . . . Because sometimes when you meet someone, it changes the world, theirs and yours.

Jennifer Niven delivers another poignant, exhilarating love story about finding that person who sees you for who you are-and seeing them right back.

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