Lake Superior State University writing professor Janice Repka is a pretty good example for her students, with her second fiction book just published.
It's titled
The Clueless Girl's Guide to Being a Genius, and it was just released by Dutton Children's Books, part of Penguin Publishing Groups. Don't be surprised if it shows up at your school library or local bookstore soon, as the book appeals to pre-teens, teens, and anyone who appreciates a funny story about friendship.
The hero of the story, Aphrodite Wigglesmith, is a 13-year-old math genius who has a college degree and a new job assignment: to teach middle schoolers remedial math.
Kirkus Reviews calls Clueless Girl’s Guide "a lighthearted, funny and often bizarre saga of middle-school mayhem."
"It’s a book about friendship," says Repka, a new addition to the LSSU faculty. "But it’s also about valuing ourselves. I’m clueless about the secret to my mother’s meatball recipe and how to pronounce the word hyperbole, but I’m a genius at circus trivia and loving my kids. Discovering what parts of ourselves are clueless and what parts are genius can be a lot of fun."
It's Repka's second book; her first was The Stupendous Dodgeball Fiasco, published in 2004. It was a Junior Library Guild selection and a 2008 Nebraska Golden Sower Award Honor Book, and was nominated for several other state-level young reader awards.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Janice Repka, Lake Superior State University
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