During a decade-long career in trade publishing, Cynthia traveled the world to explore new destinations while immersing herself in the art of the written word. But trekking through the Himalayas and exploring the Wadi Rum in Jordan were replaced by a new kind of adventure when her twins came along.
The recent years have been spent raising three children with her husband and their dog Coco in the boroughs of New York City. But she never lost her love of writing. A lifelong book worm and creative person at heart, Cynthia has focused her writing energy on Middle Grade fiction. She is represented by Gandolfo Helin & Fountain Literary Management
I just tore through The Forbidden Library, by Django Wexler. There is layered story telling and an interesting and robust world in this excellent fantasy about a young girl searching for the truth about her father’s disappearance while she navigates a new, magical world that has opened up to her in his absence.
Wexler’s craft is excellent and as a reader I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Bonus – it’s a series! The second book continued the tale and added interesting layers of complexity to keep its going. I’d happily keep reading more.
The flip side. The beginning is a little slow for kids. Some are going to have a hard time pushing through the first 48 pages to get to the library and the real adventure, but it will be worth it if they do. My incredibly small, entirely unscientific test group of three ten-year-old girls all struggled through the start.
Female lead, adventure fantasy, rich story telling for competent readers.
C.K. Sullivan 