List price: $12.95
ISBN: 978-1-934074-76-3
Specs: Paperback, 198 pages, 6″x9″ perfect bound on white paper
This title is available through the following booksellers:
Amazon.com | Kindle | iBookstore | BN.com
Contact Apprentice House for quantity or wholesale orders.
“Kelsey Shining Bright provides eye-opening insights for preteens and teenagers into the thoughts and feelings of their Deaf and hard-of-hearing peers. While telling a compelling story of evolving friendships and athletic challenges that most students can relate to, this book subtly teaches important information about Deaf culture and sign language, and promotes awareness of how much people are alike even when they may appear to be different.” — Sheryl B. Cooper, Coordinator
Deaf Studies Program, Towson University “Ms. Geary works hard to get inside the head of a Deaf girl and uses her writing to express all the senses. She uses detailed descriptions to paint a picture of a world that may be less familiar to readers — and shows a character who is figuring out this world on her terms. The story of a runner, too, is always a journey worth taking — a metaphor for the rough and occasionally uneven course of life. I am impressed by Geary’s enthusiasm as a writer.” — Laura Dower, writer of over 50 books for children
“Kelsey Shining Bright is a captivating story with the themes of family, forgiveness, friendship, and acceptance seamlessly interwoven. For the reader, the fresh visual imagery and memorable dialogue brings both the characters and setting to life.
“The emotional complexities of friendship and the strength of the family bond are vividly portrayed. Kelsey learns to accept being Deaf and to see how her self-perception, as well as the world’s view of her, evolves. The events of Kelsey’s life, both the defining moments and the mundane ones, are viewed from all angles, much like how the prism she once kept in her room dispersed light. When she helps her cross country team score a major victory, Kelsey realizes, ‘Who needs a prism at a time like this? I am bright enough.’
This beautifully written book captures the reader from the first vivid descriptions of the end of summer for the twelve-year-old to the awkward first steps of becoming friends with a new neighbor. Kelsey Shining Bright is a book you will read in one sitting and, when finished, will pick up to read again.” — Kathleen D. Zwiebel, Chair of Judging Standards, Columbia Scholastic Press Association of Columbia University
“Kelsey Shining Bright is witty and heartbreaking, brave and fiercely honest. Kelsey does not let being Deaf stop her from facing the emotional and social roller coaster of adolescence with humor and resourcefulness. She is a true inspiration, and debut-author Cailean Geary is a writer to listen to and watch. There will be much more from this talent for sure.” — Emily Rubin, author of STALINA
Cailean McCarrick Geary’s love of writing began early on, and was expressed in poems, stories and even a hand-printed family newspaper. When—at age ten—her story won the top award in a short story contest and was later published in an anthology, Cailean received all the encouragement she needed to take writing more seriously. Cailean’s interest in Deaf culture is rooted in the signs she learned, and the stories about her Deaf uncle that she heard throughout her youth. A college freshman, Cailean lives in Crestwood, New York, with her parents and two sisters.
The school year is just beginning, and twelve-year-old Kelsey Baker has a lot on her mind. September brings opportunities for new friendships, beginning when Allie Anderson moves in next door. The girls bond over Allie’s interest in learning about Kelsey’s Deafness, as well as their shared love of running. They quickly become friends and are excited to join their school’s cross country team together. But Kelsey soon wonders whether she has to pretend to be someone she isn’t in order to be a part of the team. Plus, balancing her old friendships with her new ones and dealing with less-than-kind classmates are both much more difficult than she thought. She wonders where she fits in and whether her family and friends really understand her. Kelsey needs to bring her different worlds together, but how? This year will test her courage, patience, and confidence, but, despite it all, Kelsey’s shining positivity and determination will lead her to realize who she truly is: a girl of many colors.