Readers Decide Fate in ‘Million Little Mistakes’

Many Gen-Xers will recall the “Choose Your OwnAdventure” children’s books, where the reader assumes the guise of the main characterand is able to determine how the story should progress, leading to multipleplotlines and fresh, divergent escapades with the single jump of a page. In Million Little Mistakes, HeatherMcElhatton adopts this style and applies it to adult situations. With more than150 possible endings, the “choose your own adventure” format is similar to theclassic series and entrusts readers to design a unique tale.

MillionLittle Mistakes has one beginning: You have just won $22 million inthe lottery. The rest, however, is up to your imagination. Do you quit yourjob? Travel the world? Save an endangered species from extinction? The multiplelives you can explore in Million LittleMistakes include the extravagant and the deranged, with circumstances bothhighly entertaining and wildly bizarre. Given the chance to live as amillionaire, some readers may find that money does indeed buy them happiness,while others discover that their pursuits leave them destitute. The outcomedepends on readers’ predilections in this original, addictive style ofstorytelling.

MillionLittle Mistakes is McElhatton’s second grown-up version of the“Choose Your Own Adventure” novels, following her 2007 best-selling novel, Pretty Little Mistakes. She has alsopenned numerous short stories, including RedShoes, which was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2001. Beyond writing,McElhatton is an independent producer for Minnesota Public Radio and PublicRadio International. McElhatton, who was born in Chicago, studied creativewriting at the University of London and earned her MFA from Warren WilsonCollege in North Carolina. She will visit NextChapter Bookshop on Thursday, Sept. 2, for a 7 p.m. reading and booksigning.