About this item
Dear Diary,You will never in a million years guess where we're going.Nope. Guess again. Never mind. I'll tell you. Italy! We're going to ITALY! In Europe!! Across the ocean!!! I even have a passport. It's really cool, except I'm squinting my eyes in the photo so I look like a dork. At least that's what my brother said. I call him Matt the brat. You would too. Trust me. . . . Go ahead. It's not snooping, because you're invited to dig right into the private diary of Melanie Martin, age 10. Melanie is off to Italy on a family vacation with her art-obsessed mom, her grumpy dad, and her annoyingly cute 6-year-old brother. But Italy isn't exactly everything Melanie expects it to be. As she discovers Michelangelo, gelato, and the joy of penning poetry, she also discovers how much her crazy family really means to her. Maybe she won't trade them in after all. Show more Show less #outer_postBodyPS { display: none; } #psGradient { display: none; } #psPlaceHolder { display: none; } #psExpand { display: none; } Dear Diary,You will never in a million years guess where we're going.Nope. Guess again. Never mind. I'll tell you. Italy! We're going to ITALY! In Europe!! Across the ocean!!! I even have a passport. It's really cool, except I'm squinting my eyes in the photo so I look like a dork. At least that's what my brother said. I call him Matt the brat. You would too. Trust me. . . . Go ahead. It's not snooping, because you're invited to dig right into the private diary of Melanie Martin, age 10. Melanie is off to Italy on a family vacation with her art-obsessed mom, her grumpy dad, and her annoyingly cute 6-year-old brother. But Italy isn't exactly everything Melanie expects it to be. As she discovers Michelangelo, gelato, and the joy of penning poetry, she also discovers how much her crazy family really means to her. Maybe she won't trade them in after all.
About the Author
Hi! I'm thrilled that SPEED OF LIFE received *starred* reviews from PW, Kirkus, Booklist, and SLJ and that the New York Times called it "a perceptive, funny and moving new novel." It's about Sofia, 14, who thinks her life is over when really it is just beginning... ("You won't want to put it down" Julia Alvarez; "multicultural cast...strong voice" Kirkus; "wonderful" --Richard Peck) Age 11 and up. My AVA series in now in paperback! Ava is ten, and in the first diary, she tries to help her shy big sister find her voice--and ends up finding her own. In AVA AND TACO CAT, Ava's desperate for a pet. In AVA XOX, Ava wonders if she has a crush on her best guy friend. And yes, A-V-A likes palindromes! I've been "Dear Carol" at Girls' Life since 1994. I majored in French/Spanish comp lit major at Yale and have an M.A. from Middlebury. Photos and links at www.carolweston.com. GIRLTALK: All the Stuff Your Sister Never Told You, (HarperCollins) , has been translated into 12 languages. Now in a fourth edition, it's as sensible, encouraging, and "outstanding" (SLJ) as ever. Among my other 16 books: The Melanie Martin (Knopf) diary series about Melanie and Matt the Brat. (Set in Italy, Holland, Spain, NYC.) Thank you for telling friends about my work! So appreciated!
