title: Kissing Brendan Callahan
author: Susan Amesse
description: Grade 5-8It's summer on Staten Island, NY, and Sarah is adjusting to having a new baby brother. The soon-to-be seventh grader is a passionate, budding romance writer who wants to be free of her journalist mother's overbearing, closed-minded, fact-based way of thinking. Sarah wants to model her work after Antonia DeMarco, her favorite author and judge of a local writing contest. She is certain that when Antonia reads her play, she will recognize her talent. Unfortunately, Sarah isn't allowed to participate because her mom is in charge of the competition. Enter Brendan, her pesky but cute neighbor, who is determined to become a comedian. He encourages Sarah to stand up for herself and enter the contest under a pseudonym. The plot takes many twists and turns as the protagonist struggles with her budding independence and her emerging interest in Brendan. With the help of her brother's new nanny, Sarah learns that people aren't always what they seem. She discovers that Antonia is a selfish fraud, that Brendan isn't the immature creep she thought him to be, and that her mother understands her better than she thought. The insecurities and emotions of adolescents come through loud and clear in this innocent yet candid coming-of-age novel.<i>Julie Webb, Shelby County High School, Shelbyville, KY</i> <br />Copyright  Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
zlib_text: AN UNEXPECTED FEELING . . .
  Before he left, Liam turned around and
  gave her a hard look that sent a little
  shiver down her spine. She chose to
  blame it on the cool night air, instead of
  the chill in his eyes.
  “Remember what I said about staying
  away from Peter Callahan and his
  assistant. I don’t care what you suspect
  them of—I am the law here and you are
  a professor who is very far away from
  home. Make no mistake; I like you, but
  that won’t keep me from tossing your ass
  into jail if I have to.” He turned his back
  on her and left, slamming the door
  behind him to emphasize his point.
  
  Baba scowled at the place where
  he’d been and fingered the perfectly
  applied bandage on her elbow. It had
  been a long time since anyone had
  bothered to take care of her—she
  couldn’t tell if she liked it or not.
  
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