About this item
Rinnie Gardener's life looks like a perfect painting from the outside - a loving family and a beautiful house. But when the paint is stripped away, this dream dissolves to dust. Her parents divorce. Her father treats her like a stranger. Her mother, looming like a black cloud, treats her worse. Painful words become painful bruises. Rinnie's own body becomes a source of self-punishment. As her life seemingly falls apart, Rinnie struggles to find the courage to pick up the pieces. In a brilliantly unique style and voice, Rinnie tells her story - a search for identity, love, and healing. She must look in the darkest places to repaint the canvas of her life. She must face the monster.
About the Author
I grew up in Columbus, Ohio, with a crayon in one hand and a coloring book in the other. First I'd color pictures adding extra layers to dresses, high heeled shoes to feet, long sleeved gloves to arms, and lots of sparkly looking things around the edges of the picture. As I drew, I'd make up a story to go along with my picture. It was often about a princess named Janie, a dress designer named Janie, or a winged and bejeweled creature named, Janie.I contributed to my first book in third grade. It was an anthology of class poems, however, I was a poem pig and had at least one poem on every page. My next book was written and illustrated in high school, followed by another when I was in college. Before "Paint Me a Monster" was published, I wrote and illustrated concept books for preschoolers. When my daughter was a Senior in high school, I received a Masters degree in Writing for Children and Young Adults where I mostly wrote picture books. Paint Me a Monster is my first young adult novel.
