JOHNSON, Maureen 1973-

PERSONAL: Born 1973. Education: Columbia University, M.F.A.

ADDRESSES: Home—New York, NY. Agent—c/o Author Mail, HarperCollins Publishers, 10 E. 53rd St., New York, NY 10022.

CAREER: Writer.

AWARDS, HONORS: Best Young-Adult Books selection, American Library Association, and Books for the Teen Age selection, New York Public Library, both 2005, both for The Key to the Golden Firebird; Booksense selection, 2005, for Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes.

WRITINGS:

YOUNG-ADULT FICTION

The Bermudez Triangle, Razorbill (New York, NY), 2004.

The Key to the Golden Firebird, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2004.

Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: Maureen Johnson writes young-adult novels that deal with themes such as sex and death. In The Bermudez Triangle, Johnson tells the story of Nina Bermudez's last year in high school. Sent off to summer camp prior to her senior year, Nina returns to find that her two best friends, Avery and Mel, have begun a homosexual romance. While at camp Nina had started her own relationship with a boy named Steve, whom she still keeps in contact with via e-mail and phone. The novel follows Nina and her friends through the school year as they make plans for college and try to deal with the fact that the relationship between Avery and Mel has strained the friendship of all three. Writing in the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Deborah Stevenson commented that "the omniscient narration slips easily from viewpoint to viewpoint, which helps keep the girls sympathetic through good behavior and bad … and makes credible the final restoration and affirmation of friendship." A Kirkus Reviews contributor called the book a "warm, humorous, and smoothly readable story" and also noted that "the characterizations of love … are tender even when painful." Susan Riley, writing in the School Library Journal, thought the novel is "excep-tional" and commented that it "perceptively reflects the real-life ambiguities and shades of gray faced by contemporary adolescents."

The Key to the Golden Firebird is the story of May, a teenager, and her strained family, which appears to be falling apart after the death of May's father. May's mother must work even harder to make money, leaving her children alone when they need her. May's teenage sisters, Brooks and Palmer, deal with the death badly; Brooks turns to alcohol and hanging out with a bad crowd while Palmer incessantly watches television to escape from the fear and anxiety she faces. May deals with the situation better than anybody and even debates turning her relationship with her longtime friend and next-door neighbor Peter into something more. Much of the story involves baseball, a favorite pastime of the girls' late father and his Pontiac Firebird. The girls make a road trip in their father's car, which plays an integral role in how all three deal with his death.

Miranda Doyle, writing in the School Library Journal, called The Key to the Golden Firebird "poignant and laced with wry humor." Doyle went on to note that "this is a wonderfully moving and entertaining novel full of authentic characters and emotions." In a review for Booklist, Frances Bradburn called the book "a very special, unexpected coming-of-age novel," while a Kirkus Reviews contributor commented that "the story's realism lends credibility to the emotional struggles of a courageous family." Kliatt contributor Claire Rosser wrote, "The dynamics of the relation-ships among the sisters, and with Peter and their other friends, are believable and honest, ringing absolutely true." Writing in the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Deborah Stevenson called the book "an honest yet highly reassuring account of surviving loss."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, September 1, 2004, Frances Bradburn, review of The Key to the Golden Firebird, p. 122; November 1, 2004, Frances Bradburn, review of The Bermudez Triangle, p. 475.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, July-August, 2004, Deborah Stevenson, review of The Key to the Golden Firebird, p. 471; November, 2004, Deborah Stevenson, review of The Bermudez Triangle, p. 128.

Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2004, review of The Key to the Golden Firebird, p. 443; October 1, 2004, review of The Bermudez Triangle, p. 962.

Kliatt, May, 2004, Claire Rosser, review of The Key to the Golden Firebird, p. 10; September, 2004, Janis Flint-Ferguson, review of The Bermudez Triangle, p. 12.

Publishers Weekly, December 6, 2004, review of The Bermudez Triangle, p. 61.

School Library Journal, June, 2004, Miranda Doyle, review of The Key to the Golden Firebird, p. 143; November, 2004, Susan Riley, review of The Bermudez Triangle, p. 146.

ONLINE

Key to the Golden Firebird Web site, http://www.keytothegoldenfirebird.com/ (May 29, 2005).