Book launch: “The Last Special Thing” by Alyssa Burns

2010 Coronado High School grad Alyssa Burns will celebrate the release of her debut novel, The Last Special Thing (releases April 1) at a book launch party at the Coronado Tasting Room from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on March 30. The entire community is invited.

The Last Special Thing is a young adult fiction novel that tackles drug exploration, a topic she approached with caution. It’s a book that she wished she had read while younger, because it explores how quickly people can find themselves in unexpected situations. It aims to teach young readers to navigate these things without condescension.

“You don’t open to page one and someone’s doing heroin,” she said. “There’s a step stool to how these things escalate, and that structure came naturally to this story.”

Burns was intentional about refusing both glamorization of drugs and oversimplified scare tactics.

“How we talk about drug use is: ‘Don’t do drugs because you’re going to get addicted and die,’” she said. “Maybe you’re not going to get addicted and die, but you’re also not going to have a good time. You’re going to make decisions you wouldn’t have made otherwise.”

The core message of the book is embedded in its title.

“You don’t need drugs, you don’t need a guy, you don’t need a thrill to be special,” Burns said. “You already are.”

Readers can preorder a signed copy of The Last Special Thing on Alyssa Burns’ website. To read more of Burns’ writing for The Coronado Times, click here.

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