Michaels, Jamie

PERSONAL:

Born in New York, NY.

ADDRESSES:

Home—New York, NY. Agent—Michael Bourret, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management, 1 Union Sq. W., Ste. 904, New York, NY 10003.

CAREER:

Novelist.

WRITINGS:

Kiss My Book, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Jamie Michaels is a writer based in New York City whose first novel, Kiss My Book, also focuses on a home-grown Manhattan writer. Fifteen-year-old Ruby Crane, Michaels's protagonist, seems to be on the fast track: not only has she got a publishing contract, but her first novel is also slated to be made into a feature film. Her rise in popularity is on par with her literary success, and she has even gained the attention of the cutest boy in her high school, until her world comes crashing down when the charge of plagiarism is directed against her on national television. Shame and loneliness prompt Ruby to flee to Aunt Fin's home in upstate New York where, under the name Georgia, she determines to create a new life. As she begins to learn about her new home town of Whispering Oaks, the young teen realizes that personal missteps affect many lives and that it is possible to transcend secrets that are worse than her own.

While Booklist critic Debbie Carton wrote that Kiss My Book is made confusing due to its multiple subplots, she nonetheless praised "Ruby's contagious passion for words and truth." In contrast, Kliatt reviewer Amanda MacGregor paired praise for Ruby with praise for Michaels's novel, writing that the book's "unpredictable plot, wild cast of townsfolk, and multiple plotlines make for a winning combination." Calling Kiss My Book a story of "growth, love, acceptance, friendship, and ghosts," School Library Journal critic Jill Heritage Maza predicted that teens "will end up rooting for [the] … redemption" of Michaels's book-loving young heroine. In her novel the author references "many superb books and sonnets, making [Kiss My Book] … a veritable primer of must-reads," observed a Kirkus Reviews writer.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 1, 2007, Debbie Carton, review of Kiss My Book, p. 46.

Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2007, review of Kiss My Book.

Kliatt, September, 2007, Amanda MacGregor, review of Kiss My Book, p. 25.

School Library Journal, February, 2008, Jill Heritage Maza, review of Kiss My Book, p. 122.