Between the Covers
Suitable for grades 8-10
In Jaclyn Moriarty's The Year of Secret Assignments, a class assignment forces three girls at a fancy prep school to become pen pals with three boys from the other side of the tracks which quickly leads to secrets, lies, laughs and mystery.
In her novella There's No Place Like, Tessa McWatt's heroine finds herself on an incredible trip around the world, where she discovers true friendship in the three young men who join her travels.
Writer Bios
Jaclyn Moriarty grew up in a large family in Sydney, Australia. She studied English at the University of Sydney, and law at Yale and Cambridge. After she completed her law degree, her former high school English teacher sent her a letter of congratulations that said, “P.S. Remember you are really a writer.” She wrote a short story that same day, and has since published several novels for young adults, including Feeling Sorry for Celia and The Year of Secret Assignments, and The Murder of Bindy Mackenzie. She divides her time between Sydney and Montreal. (bio current at February 2010)
Tessa McWatt was born in Guyana and raised in Toronto. Her first novel, Out of My Skin, was published in 1998. Her second, Dragons Cry, was shortlisted for the City of Toronto Book Award and the Governor General’s Award in 2001. She has published a novella for young adults, There’s No Place Like, and a third novel, This Body. She is currently producing a film based on John Berger’s novel To the Wedding. (bio current at February 2010)
Books Discussed
The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty
There's No Place Like by Tessa McWatt
Acknowledgements
Taped live at the 2004 Writers Festival on Granville Island. The creation of this video was made possible by CBC British Columbia and the Vancouver International Writers Festival.
