McGovern, Cammie 1963-

PERSONAL:

Born 1963; married; children: three. Education: Attended Stanford University.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Amherst, MA. E-mail—cammie@cammiemcgovern.com.

CAREER:

Writer. Whole Children (resource center for children with special needs), cofounder.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Writing fellowship, Stanford University; Nelson Algren Award.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

The Art of Seeing, Scribner (New York, NY), 2002.

Eye Contact, Viking (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor of stories to magazines, including Glamour, Ladies Home Journal, Redbook, and Seventeen.

ADAPTATIONS:

Eye Contact was optioned for a feature film by Julia Roberts.

SIDELIGHTS:

Cammie McGovern has been acclaimed for her first two novels. Her debut, The Art of Seeing, depicts the relationship between two sisters, one of whom, Rozzie, becomes a movie star and then goes blind. The younger sister, Jemma, has stayed more in the background, working as a photographer, and now, despite jealousies and sibling rivalry, she must come to her older sister's aid. Rather than letting the loss of sight overwhelm the novel, however, McGovern tightly reins in any elements of melodrama in this "unusually accomplished first novel," as a reviewer for the Atlantic Monthly described it. The same contributor also found the novel to be an "elegant and complex study of two sisters." Similarly, Booklist contributor Kristine Huntley called the same work "an honest and moving debut novel that realistically portrays the tensions and love between sisters."

With the 2006 title Eye Contact, McGovern presents a literary thriller about a young autistic child, Adam, who witnesses the killing of his classmate. When the child's mother, Cara, begins her own investigation of the crime, she discovers that secrets from the past might play a part in the crime. McGovern, whose oldest son is autistic, drew from personal experience to create a believable character in this "creepy, absorbing literary thriller," as a Kirkus Reviews contributor described it. The same critic went on to comment: "The unforgettable Adam is both a charmer and, in his distinctively quiet way, a hero." More praise came from a Publishers Weekly writer, who called the book a "dynamite second novel," a work that is both "meticulously researched and emotionally absorbing." Similarly, Booklist contributor Huntley considered Eye Contact to be a "tightly woven and gripping … literary mystery." Writing in Library Journal, Kellie Gillespie observed that this "page-turner is a rewarding look into the life of a mother who must discover the truth."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Atlantic Monthly, July-August, 2002, review of The Art of Seeing, p. 191.

Booklist, August, 2002, Kristine Huntley, review of The Art of Seeing, p. 1922; May 1, 2006, Kristine Huntley, review of Eye Contact, p. 36.

Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2002, review of The Art of Seeing, p. 761; May 1, 2006, review of Eye Contact, p. 432.

Kliatt, September, 2006, Sue Rosenzweig, review of Eye Contact, p. 56.

Library Journal, July, 2002, Cheryl L. Conway, review of The Art of Seeing, p. 120; May 1, 2006, Kellie Gillespie, review of Eye Contact, p. 80.

Publishers Weekly, April 10, 2006, review of Eye Contact, p. 45.

ONLINE

Bookreporter.com,http://www.bookreporter.com/ (October 26, 2006), Jody Prior, review of The Art of Seeing.

Cammie McGovern Home Page,http://www.cammiemcgovern.com (October 26, 2006).

Fantastic Fiction,http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/ (October 26, 2006), review of Eye Contact. *