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American novelist
Janet McDonald (August 10, 1953 – April 11, 2007)
[1] was an American writer of young adult
novels as well as the author of Project Girl , a memoir about her early life in Brooklyn's
Farragut Houses and struggle to achieve an Ivy League education. Her best known children's book is Spellbound , which tells the story of a teenaged mother who wins a spelling competition and a college scholarship. The book was named as one of the
American Library Association 's eighty-four
Best Books for Young Adults in 2002.
[2]
In addition to books, McDonald also wrote articles for publications such as
Slate , including one in which she paid psychic
Sylvia Browne $700 for a telephone reading.
[3] McDonald was a member of
Mensa , the high IQ society.
[4]
[5]
Biography
After graduating from
Vassar (1977),
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism (1984), and
New York University Law School (1986),[
citation needed ] McDonald practiced law in
New York City (1986–89) and
Seattle (1989–91).
[6] She took a position as an intern at a
Paris law firm (1991–93) before moving to
Olympia, Washington , to work in the Attorney General's office and teach
French language classes at
Evergreen State College .
[7] McDonald settled in
Paris in 1995 to work first as an international attorney and then as a writer, until she died of cancer in 2007.
[8]
[9]
Bibliography
Books
— (1999).
Project Girl . New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
ISBN
0-374-23757-3 . Retrieved July 1, 2014 .
— (2003).
Spellbound . New York, N.Y., U.S.A: Puffin Books.
ISBN
0-14-250193-X . Retrieved July 1, 2014 .
— (2003).
Twists and Turns . New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
ISBN
0-374-40006-7 . Retrieved July 1, 2014 .
— (2004).
Brother Hood . New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
ISBN
0-374-30995-7 . Retrieved July 1, 2014 .
— (2006).
Chill Wind . Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR).
ISBN
0-374-41183-2 . Retrieved July 1, 2014 .
— (2006).
Harlem Hustle . Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR).
ISBN
0-374-37184-9 . Retrieved July 1, 2014 .
— (2007).
Off-Color . Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR).
ISBN
978-0-374-37196-8 . Retrieved July 1, 2014 .
— (2004).
Skin Deep (Anthology) "Zebra Girl" . Puffin Books.
ISBN
978-0141315058 . Retrieved July 12, 2014 .
— (2011).
Paris Was Ours (Anthology) "Just Another American" . Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.
ISBN
978-1-56512-953-5 . Retrieved July 12, 2014 .
Articles
"Up the Down Staircase: Where Snoop and Shakespeare Meet" . Horn Book Magazine . 81 (6): 747–750. November–December 2005. Archived from
the original on May 24, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2014 .
"X-Patriate". Literary Review . 47 (1): 58–62. Fall 2003.
"Double Life". Literary Review . 45 (4): 679–685. Summer 2002.
"Educating Janet". Teacher Magazine . 10 (4): 46–52. January 1999.
"Booklist Interview". Booklist . 98 (12): 1026. February 15, 2002.
"A Sister in Paris". Essence . 25 (1): 54. May 1994.
"Crystal bawl" . Slate . January 8, 2003. Retrieved May 21, 2014 .
"Black like (white) me" . Slate . August 24, 1998. Retrieved May 21, 2014 .
"A dime bag for the schoolgirl" . Slate . February 4, 1999. Retrieved May 21, 2014 .
"Project Girls" . The Village Voice . January 16, 2001. Retrieved June 25, 2014 .
Quotes
"Freedom is ... not about nothing left to lose, it's about nothing left to be; you don't have to be anything."
[10]
"Paris is where I became possible. It's where I became free."
[4]
References
^ Ross-Stroud, Catherine (2009).
Janet McDonald: The Original Project Girl . Scarecrow Press. p. 1.
ISBN
9780810863569 .
^
"2002 Best Books for Young Adults" . American Library Association. 29 September 2006. Retrieved May 21, 2014 .
^
"Articles by Janet McDonald" . Slate. Retrieved May 21, 2014 .
^
a
b Powers, Retha (May 1, 2007).
"Janet McDonald 1953-2007: make some noise for the Project Girl" . Black Issues Book Review . The Free Library. Retrieved June 25, 2014 .
^ Project Girl , p. 183, 1st edn.
^ Ross-Stroud (2009).
Janet McDonald: The Original Project Girl . Scarecrow Press. pp. xi–xii.
ISBN
9780810863569 .
^ Ross-Stroud (2009).
Janet McDonald: The Original Project Girl . Scarecrow Press. pp. xii.
ISBN
9780810863569 .
^ Ross-Stroud (2009).
Janet McDonald: The Original Project Girl . Scarecrow Press. pp. xii–xiii.
ISBN
9780810863569 .
^ "Janet McDonald".The Brown Bookshelf.2010.
^
Americans in Paris , a 2000 episode of
This American Life , featuring McDonald.
Further reading
Catherine Ross-Stroud. "Urban Hip-Hop Fiction: Janet McDonald", Tarshia Stanley (ed.), Encyclopedia of Hip-Hop Literature , Greenwood Press, 2008.
External links
Slate . Various articles by McDonald, 1998–2003
"Americans in Paris" , This American Life , 2000 (extended radio interview with McDonald, beginning at 41.05)
"Remembering Janet McDonald" , Entrée to Black Paris, 2011
Thomas E. Kennedy,
"The Wind Blew It Away" , The Literary Explorer, 2001
Catherine Ross-Stroud,
"A Talk with Janet McDonald" , The ALAN Review, Fall 2009
Jennifer Williams,
"Twists and Turns" , HipMama, 2003
C-Span Book Discussion Janet McDonald discusses Project Girl, 1999
Susie Linfield,
"Caught in Life's Harsh Extremes" , L.A. Times Book Review , 1999
Julia Browne,
"Janet's Own Rhythm" , Spirit of Black Paris, 2007
Reading Eagle "From Projects to Paris" Associated Press, 1999
The Birmingham Post (England) "Letter from Paris", 1999
Memorial Page by Janet McDonald's Family , Forever Missed.
Sheryl McCarthy,
"Talking With Janet McDonald / I Will Survive" , Newsday , 2000
Lisa J. Curtis
"Tales From the Hood" , Go Brooklyn, 2004
Thomas E. Kennedy,
"You Don’t Remember Me, But I Remember You - For Janet McDonald" , Serving House Journal , 2011
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