C.K. Kelly Martin

About me:

I started writing my first novel in a flat in Dublin, Ireland and finished it in a Toronto suburb. By then I was thoroughly hooked on young adult fiction.

I Know It's Over and One Lonely Degree are out now followed by The Lighter Side of Life and Death on May 25, 2010.

Pure. Unplanned. Perfect. Those were Nick's summer plans before Sasha stepped into the picture. With the collateral damage from his parent's divorce still settling and Dani (his girl of the moment) up for nearly anything, complications are the last thing he needs.

All that changes, though, when Nick runs into Sasha at the beach in July. Suddenly he's neck-deep in a relationship and surprised to find he doesn't mind in the least. But Nick's world shifts again when Sasha breaks up with him. Then weeks later, while Nick's still reeling from the breakup, she turns up at his doorstep and tells him she's pregnant, and with his emotions and hopes crashing in around him, Nick finds himself struggling once more to understand the girl he can't stop caring for, the girl who insists that it's still over.

Beautifully written, richly layered, and intensely readable, first-time author C.K. Kelly Martin's I Know It's Over shows how high first love can take us, and how great its loss can be, in this passionate, powerful and heartbreakingly honest debut.

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"Authentic and sophisticated"
— Kirkus Review, starred review

"Debut novelist Martin displays uncanny insight, replacing the issue-driven engine common to most pregnant-teen stories with an emotionally complex and disarmingly frank coming-of-age tale."
— Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Without a trace of hysteria or overwrought sensibility, Nick's layers are peeled back with unstinting honesty as he works through the seldom-explored guy's side of first (embarrassing, fumbling) sex, a wounding breakup, and teen pregnancy."
— The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"This full-throttle novel totally nails teenage romance — the dizzying depths of infatuation and the inevitable heartbreak."
— Denver Post

"C.K. Kelly Martin’s first young adult novel is frank to the point of almost being brutal and yet so sincere that readers are totally immersed in the main characters and suffer the highs and lows of their relationship right along with them...Some critics may find this novel too gritty and detailed for teen readers, but I applaud Martin for her intelligent characters and her sensitive portrayal of their honest reactions and emotions."
— Canadian Review of Materials, **** /4

“This book is compelling and unswervingly honest. It takes on real, complex issues with a light, deft touch. The second half broke my heart a little every page or so.”
— Jaclyn Moriarty

“I'm not sure I've ever read a story as heartrendingly genuine as I Know It's Over. C.K. Kelly Martin captures flawlessly the passion, rhythm and confusion of a sixteen-year-old boy. Censors be damned; this novel should be read by every teen in North America, and every parent.”
— Catherine Gilbert Murdock



Nominated for the 2009 ALA-YALSA Quick Picks for Relucant Young Adult Readers list and Best Books for Young Adults list 09

The New York Public Library's Stuff for the Teen Age 2009 list

Cybils 2008 Young Adult Fiction Finalist

Kirkus Reviews Best Young-Adult Books of 2008 list

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Read Chapter One of I Know It's Over

You can check out the book trailer below and find out more about my books at my website where I do more extensive updates and rambling.

I Know It's Over
Random House Books for Young Readers

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Fifteen-year-old Finn has always felt out of place, but suddenly her world is unraveling. It all started with The Party. And Adam Porter. And the night in September that changed everything. The only person who knows about that night is Audrey—Finn's best friend, her witness to everything and the only person (under thirty) Finn trusts implicitly. So when Finn's childhood friend Jersy moves back into town—reckless, beautiful boy Jersy, all lips and eyes and hair so soft you'd want to dip your fingers into it if you weren't careful—Finn gives her blessing for Audrey to date him. After all, how could she possibly say no to Audrey?

With Audrey gone for the summer, though, Finn finds herself spending more and more time with Jersy, and for the first time since September, for the first time in her life maybe, something feels right—absolutely, stunningly right. But Finn can't be the girl who does this to her best friend...can she?

Read Chapters One & Two of One Lonely Degree

One Lonely Degree
Random House Books for Young Readers

"The perfect temperature for a summer read or a cool discussion, and an outstanding second novel."
— Kirkus Review, starred review

"C.K. Kelly Martin creates another wonderfully awkward love story with One Lonely Degree."
— Teens Read Too

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Sixteen-year-old Mason Rice is having the night of his life. He's just delivered an incredible performance in the school play, basked in celebratory afterglow vibes at the party of the year, and lost his virginity to one of his best friends—the gorgeous but previously unobtainable Kat Medina. His dreams are coming true, and the future looks golden.

Unfortunately, Kat sees things very differently. Crossing the friendship line was a big mistake, and all she wants is to forget it and move on, even if that means forgetting Mason altogether. What's a guy to do? Well, if you're Mason, you hang your hopes on the first attractive twenty-three-year-old you cross paths with. At first Mason wonders if he's imagining the chemistry . . . until Colette invites him over to her apartment. Suddenly Mason's living in a whole new world.

The Lighter Side of Life and Death is the sexy, soulful story of one confused boy, two girls, and all the complications that ensue—a romantic feel-good love story that celebrates friendship, first love, first lust, and second chances.

* Coming May 25th, 2010 from Random House Books for Young Readers

Watch the trailer:



Read Chapter One of The Lighter Side of Life and Death