Miller, Mary Beth 1964-

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Miller, Mary Beth 1964-

PERSONAL: Born 1964; married; children: four. Education: Attended Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT. Hobbies and other interests: Quilting and horse riding.

CAREER: Writer. Previously worked for a medical and nursing publishing house.

WRITINGS

Aimee: A Novel, Dutton Books (New York, NY), 2002.

On the Head of a Pin (novel), Dutton Books (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS: In her first young adult novel, Aimee: A Novel, author Mary Beth Miller tackles the subject of a teen suicide. The novel’s narrator is a young girl named Zoe whose best friend, Aimee, is dead. As Zoe tells the story in a journal she is keeping as part of her therapy treatment, she drifts back and forth from the past to present, revealing that she has been accused of murdering Aimee. Living in a new town with her parents, Zoe must deal with anorexia and her parents’ eventual breakup, which comes not only as a result of the ordeal over Aimee but also due to their own faults as people and parents. As the novel progresses, the reader begins to learn what drove Aimee to kill herself. “A fascinating character study that will intrigue readers wanting to go beyond sensationalistic headlines,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor of the novel. Claire Rosser, writing in Kliatt commented: “This is a tale of woe almost on every page.” In an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Karen MacPherson noted that the author “masterfully controls the book’s narrative so that the reader isn’t quite certain until the very end of the book exactly what happened the night Aimee died.” A Publishers Weekly reviewer wrote that “readers will readily recognize the feelings and conflicts that fuel this engrossing novel.” Debbie Carton, writing in Booklist, called the novel “edgy” and noted: “The portrayal of therapy is especially good.”

Miller’s next novel, On the Head of a Pin, tells a story death and lies. High school student Andy accidentally shoots and kills a young girl named Helen, the high school’s homecoming queen, while fooling around with a gun at his father’s cabin. Panicking, Andy and his friends Josh and Victor drug Helen’s boyfriend, an artist named Michael, and then go out and bury Helen. Josh is a devout Catholic who wants to tell the truth but is threatened by Andy and Victor. As a result, of the boys’ deception, Michael, who comes from a poor family and was seeing Helen despite her parents’ objections, becomes the prime suspect in Helen’s murder, leading to a catastrophic chain of events that changes the boys and their parents’ lives forever. “Alternating between Josh’s and Michael’s perspectives, the author delves deep into the psyches of these two sensitive and vulnerable boys,” wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor. “This is a book that asks big questions,” wrote Myrna Marler in Kliatt, noting that the novel “also brings up religious themes.” Frances Bradburn, writing in Booklist, commented that the author “skillfully weaves together numerous strands to create a horrifying yet thought-provoking and disturbingly real scenario.” In a review in the School Library Journal, Johanna Lewis wrote that the author’s “beautifully rendered narrators [Michael and Josh] manage to compel readers on to the last page.”

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 1, 2002, Debbie Carton, review of Aimee: A Novel, p. 1518; February 15, 2006, Frances Bradburn, review of On the Head of a Pin, p. 95.

Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2002, review of Aimee, p. 661; January 15, 2006, review of On the Head of a Pin, p. 87.

Kliatt, May, 2002, Claire Rosser, review of Aimee, p. 11; March, 2006, Myrna Marler, review of On the Head of a Pin, p. 15.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 1, 2002, Karen MacPherson “Deft Whodunit Gracefully Handles Teen Suicide Topic,” interview with author.

Publishers Weekly, May 20, 2002, review of Aimee, p. 68; February 27, 2006, review of On the Head of a Pin, p. 63.

School Library Journal, April, 2006, Johanna Lewis, review of On the Head of a Pin, p. 144.