About this item
Sixteen-year-old Ellie Morgan's life would be almost perfect if she could just get her potentially prize-winning pumpkin, Max, to put on about two hundred more pounds, and if she could lose twenty herself. With the extra weight, Max would be the shoo-in champion at the Rock River Pumpkin Weigh-In. Ellie could then become a famous pumpkin-growing personality and squash that obnoxious Cyril Pool once and for all. With a trimmer figure, Ellie would have the courage to approach Wes, the new boy in town and former president of the Agriculture Club at Gaithersville High. But with unpredictable weather threatening Max, pumpkin thieves running rampant, and Sweet Corn Coquette contestants eyeing Wes, the pressure is great as Ellie seems ready to take on the world. "Fast-paced and engrossing entertainment that startles the reader with its underlying strength." (Publishers Weekly, starred review) "Skillful plot development and strong characterization are real strengths here. Ellie's perceptive, intelligent, and funny narrative keeps the story lively right up to its satisfying conclusion." (School Library Journal, starred review)
About the Author
Joan Bauer has won numerous awards for her twelve (soon to be thirteen) novels for young readers, among them, the Newbery Honor Medal, the American Library Association's Schneider Family Book Award, two Christopher Awards, the LA Times Book Prize, the Chicago Tribune Young adult Literary Prize, the Golden Kite Award of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and most recently, the St. Katherine Drexel Award of the Catholic Library Association. A NY Times Best-selling author, speaker, and songwriter, she has been a guest on local and national radio shows, and she has been sent to both Croatia and Kazakhstan by the State Department as part of its Professional Speakers Program to speak at schools, universities, libraries, and writers' groups. Joan has also been a recipient of the Judy Lopez Memorial Award; the ASTAL Award for Outstanding Contributions to Literature for Young People; the Michigan Thumbs-up! Award for Children's Literature; the Delacorte Prize for a First Young Adult Novel; the Pacific Northwest Library Association Award; the New Jersey Reading Association M. Jerry Weiss Award; the New England Booksellers Award; and the Boston Public Library's "Literary Light" Award. Her novels have been nominated extensively for state book awards, in addition to appearing on ALA Notable Books, ALA Best Books, ALA Quick Picks, American Bookseller Pick of the List, School Library Journal Best Books, Smithsonian Notable Children's Books, VOYA's Perfect 10s. Her novel Rules of the Road was chosen as one of the top young adult books of the quarter century by the American Library Association. Her thirteenth novel, Soar, will be published in January 2016.Joan is a member of the Writers Guild of America East, the Authors Guild, PEN, and the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband Evan and their intrepid wheaten terrier Max. She enjoys cooking, playing the piano, hiking, songwriting, and ice skating (as long as she has enough time for a slow stop) .
