Illinois Authors

"Janine is the "Soul Survivor," the girl who, as a small child, was the only survivor of a Palestinian suicide bomb in Israel that killed her parents. Ten years on, she feels like she's public property more than her own person"--

Dial Books for Young Readers, New York : ©2011.

Twelve-year-old Ari Fish is sure that the rare trading card he found has changed his luck and that of his soccer team, but after the card is stolen he comes to know that we make our own luck, and that heroes can be fallible.

With two levels of fairy godmother training behind her, Isabelle is actually looking forward to Level Three. But when half the trainees go on strike, regular training seems to go up in sparkles again.

Roaring Brook Press, New York : 2007.

Seventeen-year-old Frank Marder struggles to deal with the aftermath of an accident he had while driving drunk that killed two people, including his girlfriend, and left him paralyzed from the neck down.

Rube Goldberg was a real cartoonist who got really, really famous by inventing a whole lot of crazy, brilliant, impractical, funny stuff. None of which ever got made. Does that make any sense? It will after you read this book!

Seeking to succeed at level two of fairy godmother training, Isabelle faces a conundrum when her new princess asks her to grant a wish that will make her old princess very upset.

"Q: What will Isabelle learn in level four? a) How to be a great fairy godmother b) The TRUE story of the Unhappy Princess c) The secret to Clotilda's success d) All of the above. Isabelle has finally made it to the last level of fairy godmother training! Once she aces the final, she'll be a real fairy godmother. She can't wait for unlimited sparkles, fancy wands, and a chance to reconnect with her first assignment, non-princess Nora. But a sparkly disaster throws Isabelle for a loop. Suddenly her future as a fairy godmother isn't looking like a wish come true. Is she destined for the Home for Normal Girls after all?"

A young girl feels a pea through twenty mattresses and proves she is a real princess.

Resolving to pass her fairy godmother training, Isabelle is given the daunting challenge of helping a non-royal "practice princess" who does not believe in fairy godmothers or happily ever-afters.