Brett McCarthy: Work in Progress

Brett McCarthy lives for vocabulary words, soccer, and her larger-than-life grandmother, Nonna. Unfortunately, Brett's got a big mouth she can't seem to tame and opinions she can't keep to herself. And she's obsessed with the moment she became redefined and went from good student, bestfriend-to-Diane to twice-suspended, friendless, and deadest meat in Maine. Soon her world has turned upside down, and she's not sure where she fits, what she should do, or how to make right what she, and her big fat mouth, have made wrong. Brett's fresh and funny voice will keep readers laughing out loud at her plights, groaning in sympathy at every misstep, and rooting for her as things go from bad to worst ever possible. A Spring 2008 Association of Booksellers for Children New Voices Pick

Maria Padian has worked as a commercial radio news reporter, an essayist for public radio, a press secretary for a U.S. Congressman, and a freelance writer. She lives with her children and husband, and an Australian shepherd, in Maine, where she is at work on a new novel.