Jo is the author of Lessons from a Dead Girl (Candlewick, November 2007)
Links:
Biography:
Jo Knowles lives in Vermont with her husband and son and their two kittens. Jo works as a freelance writer and is a volunteer mentor at a women’s prison where she teaches writing.
Jo received her M.A. in children’s literature from Simmons College. She was the 2002 recipient of the SCBWI Work-in-Progress Grant for a Young Adult Novel, and the 2005 winner of the PEN New England Children’s Book Discovery Award.
When she isn’t writing, Jo is busy answering questions from her son, who is determined to make it into the Guinness Book of World Records for most questions asked by a child under 10. He’s pretty sure he reached the one million mark shortly after his 6th birthday.
Book: Lessons from a Dead Girl
FF=Friends Forever. That’s what Leah tells Laine when she writes the letters on her hand in the fifth grade. But theirs is a complex and abusive friendship, and it’s only after Leah is killed in an accident that Laine begins to make sense of their complicated past.
How long does a childhood promise written on the palm of a hand last? Is there really such as thing as friends forever? Only Laine can answer. To do so, she must explore a troubled friendship, find its core, and decide whether she can forgive Leah—and ultimately, forgive herself.
Reviews:
“Spare and evocative prose weaves the story of Leah and Lainey’s turbulent and abusive friendship…Clearly and concisely written, Knowles’s provoking exploration of children abusing children portrays the tense and finely crafted dynamics between the two girls. Lainey’s character is extremely well-developed showing her metamorphosis from hypercritical and withdrawn to self-realized with a focused and knowing clarity. A razor-sharp examination of friendship, abuse and secrets.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“This suspenseful, disturbing debut will help older teen readers understand that abusers are victims, too. If you enjoy the emotional, gritty work of E.R. Frank or Ellen Hopkins, you’re gonna love Jo Knowles.” —Jennifer Hubert, Reading Rants
Buy it Here:
Lessons from a Dead Girl