Young girl finds early publishing success

Turns out grumpy sells.

At least that's the case with “The Grumpy Girl's Guide to Good Manners,” a book written by Texas teenager Rachel Aboukhair and published by a Sarasota company. The book, an antithesis of the sex sells formula that dominates teen pop culture, has been a top recommended book on Amazon for a month.

In fact, pre-sales of the book are so big that the publisher, New Chapter Publisher, is already contemplating a second run. The first print was at least 10,000 books, says Ivana Lucic with New Chapter. The book will be released Feb. 14.

“It has been a big surprise,” Lucic tells Coffee Talk, “especially in this environment, where people seem to only want Jersey Shore and Teen Mom on MTV.”

Lucic says Aboukhair is an intelligent and outspoken teen who the company discovered through another writer it works with. The book, according to the promotions, is a satirical story about a young girl who attends a summer boot camp for manners in the middle of the Texas desert.

Aboukhair also plans to go on a book tour, including a stop in Sarasota the week the book is released. She is scheduled to speak that week at several local high schools and at G.Wiz, a Sarasota science museum.