Iris, Messenger

Dreamer Iris Greenwold doesn't care much for the real world. It's generally pretty disappointing: divorced parents, unsympathetic peers, and a middle school that is hell. But then, on her twelfth birthday, Iris mysteriously receives a copy of Bulfinch's Mythology and discovers that the entire pantheon of gods are living in the greater Philadelphia area. Poseidon's running a clam shack, Aphrodite's doing makeovers, Apollo's playing tenor sax. . . . Suddenly the day-to-day life Iris found so humdrum is rich with new meaning and excitement, and all her dreams are not quite what they seemed.Includes an author's note and a key to the gods and goddesses.

SARAH DEMING was a Golden Gloves champion, a pastry chef, and a yoga instructor before becoming an author. Iris, Messenger is her first novel. Sarah lives in Brooklyn, New York.