"Filled with love, hope, and longing, this is a novel for readers of all ages." - Holly Goldberg Sloan
Bestselling author Ann Hood crafts a funny, heartfelt story of a girl growing up in the heart of Beatlemania.
The year is 1966. The Vietnam War rages overseas, the Beatles have catapulted into stardom, and twelve-year-old Rhode Island native Trudy Mixer is
not thrilled with life. Her best friend, Michelle, has decided to become a cheerleader, everyone at school is now calling her Gertrude (her hated real name), and the gem of her middle school career, the Beatles fan club, has dwindled down to only three other members--the least popular kids at school. And at home, her workaholic father has become even more distant.
Determined to regain her social status and prove herself to her father, Trudy looks toward the biggest thing happening worldwide: the Beatles. She is set on seeing them in Boston during their final world tour--and meeting her beloved Paul McCartney. So on a hot August day, unknown to their families, Trudy and crew set off on their journey, each of them with soaring hopes for what lies ahead.
In her signature prose, Hood crafts an extraordinary story of growing up, making unexpected connections, and following your dreams even as the world in front of you--and the world at large--is changing too fast.
On sale: June 4, 2019
Age: 10 and up
Grade: Grade 5 & Up
Page count: 288 Pages
ISBN: 9781524785123
Reading level: Lexile: 780L | Fountas/Pinnell: W
Ann Hood is the author of the best-selling novels
The Book That Matters Most,
The Obituary Writer,
Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine,
The Red Thread, and
The Knitting Circle, as well as the memoir
Comfort: A Journey Through Grief, which was a New York Times Editor's Choice and chosen as one of the top ten nonfiction books of 2008 by
Entertainment Weekly. She has won two Pushcart Prizes as well as a Best American Spiritual Writing Award, two Best American Food Writing Award, and a Best American Travel Writing award. A regular contributor to the
New York Times, Hood's short stories and essays have appeared in many publications, including
Ploughshares,
Tin House,
Traveler,
Bon Appetit,
O,
More,
The Wall Street Journal,
The Washington Post,
The Paris Review, and others. She is the editor of the anthologies
Knitting Yarns: Writers Writing About Knitting,
Knitting Pearls: More Writers Writing About Knitting, and
Providence Noir. Hood is also the author of books for children, including the middle-grade novel,
How I Saved My Father (And Ruined Everything Else), and the ten-book Treasure Chest series for young readers. Her new memoir,
Morningstar: Growing Up with Books, will be published in August. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island, and New York City, and is married to the writer Michael Ruhlman.
