The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z

Kate Messner, the author of the poignant and thoroughly middle grade novel THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z has written to Ask My Sister on behalf of her adorable protagonist. Read on for a fun letter some most excellent advice.

Dear Eva,

I am locked up here in my bedroom because I only have a few days left to finish this ginormous leaf collection project. It's REQUIRED for 7th grade science, and if I don't pass it, I can't run at cross country sectionals and Bianca gets to go instead. (I know you don't know Bianca, but trust me, she does not belong there and is a pretty awful human being, too.)

The thing is...I sort of left this to the last minute, and things keep going wrong, and my Nonna's acting all weird and confused on top of everything else. Any tips for how I can get it done? Or do you maybe have one from when YOU were in 7th grade that I could borrow or something?

Desperately yours,

Gianna Z

P.S. There's also this guy...are you good with advice about guys? I'm not even sure I like him yet. I mean, LIKE him, like him, know what I mean? But I'm wondering how I should act around him since we've been friends forever and now I kind of like him. Well, I don't really LIKE him like that, but I might sort of like him. Oh nevermind...here comes my mom. I have to pretend I'm identifying leaves.

Dear Gianna,

Are you sure you didn’t mean to write Roz? She seems more like your type—scattered, disorganized, and ….a little boy crazy.

Scratch that. You sound adorable in a scattered, disorganized, not very boy crazy kind of way. What you need is a big sister to help straighten things out.

First of all never think about boys when you’re trying to identify leaves because you might incorrectly identify one as a Bryanus cutetushicus because your mind is on him and not on your work.

Do some stretches and crunches to help focus. Then set an alarm for a full hour from now. No daydreaming until it goes off. Make yourself some tea (more leaves) and get to work.

If that doesn’t work, give me your phone number, and I’ll call you every fifteen minutes to make sure you stay on track. Don’t give that awful Bianca (I know who she is) a chance for your spot on the team.

The boy problem is so much harder. If he likes you back, he’ll start acting funny, too. Then you’ll know, at least. Shakespeare said, “The course of true love never did run smoothe.”

Best of luck!

Eva

P.S. I’m so sorry to hear about your grandma.

About The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z
Gianna Zales has a lot on her plate this fall – a father who drives her to school in the family hearse, a mother who’s turned into the junk food police, a little brother who thinks he’s a member of the paparazzi, and a grandmother who leaves false teeth in the refrigerator. Worst of all, she’s left her 7th grade leaf collection to do at the last minute. It’s a monster project, and Gianna will miss cross-country sectionals if she doesn’t meet the deadline. She’ll need the help of her geeky friend, Zig, and some brilliant ideas of her own to pull it off.

About Kate Messner
Kate Messner grew up in Medina, New York and graduated from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Communication with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. She worked as a television news producer and reporter in Syracuse, NY and then Burlington, VT, before going back to school to get a teaching degree. These days, Kate is a National Board Certified middle school English teacher. She has helped hundreds of kids work on leaf collection projects and likes sugar maples and catalpa leaves the best. Kate lives on Lake Champlain with her husband and kids and loves spending time in the woods.

To learn more about Kate and her book, visit her website: http://katemessner.com/

Or buy her book:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Brilliant-Fall-Gianna-Z/dp/080279842X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251760751&sr=1-1
Indiebound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780802798428