Wyeth, Sharon Dennis

PERSONAL: Born in Washington, DC; children. Education: Harvard University, received degree; studied drama in New York, NY.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Delacorte Press, 1540 Broadway, New York, NY 10036. E-mail—sdw@sharondenniswyeth.com.

CAREER: Worked as a social worker in Boston, MA, and as an actress, day-care worker, and in other jobs in New York, NY; also taught public speaking at New School, New York, NY; children's book author.

WRITINGS:

Vampire Bugs: Stories Conjured from the Past (for children), illustrated by Curtis E. James, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 1995.

NOVELS; FOR YOUNG ADULTS, EXCEPT AS NOTED

Rocky Romance, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1988.

P.S. Forget It!, Dell (New York, NY), 1989.

Boys Wanted!, Dell (New York, NY), 1989.

Too Cute for Words, Dell (New York, NY), 1989.

Dream Holiday, Dell (New York, NY), 1990.

Stolen Pen Pals, Dell (New York, NY), 1990.

Lisa, We Miss You, Dell (New York, NY), 1990.

The World of Daughter McGuire, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 1994.

Always My Dad (for children), illustrated by Raúl Colón, Knopf (New York, NY), 1995.

Ginger Brown: Too Many Houses, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu, Random House (New York, NY), 1996.

Ginger Brown: The Nobody Boy, Random House (New York, NY), 1997.

Once on This River, Knopf (New York, NY), 1998.

Something Beautiful, illustrated by Christ K. Soentpiet, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1998.

Tomboy Trouble, illustrated by Lynne Woodcock Cravath, Random House (New York, NY), 1998.

A Piece of Heaven, Knopf (New York, NY), 2001.

Freedom's Wings, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2001.

Flying Free, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2002.

Message in the Sky, Scholastic (New York, NY), 2003.

Orphea Proud, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS: An author of young-adult novels that often deal with very serious subjects, Sharon Dennis Wyeth has addressed racism, homophobia, family breakup, and the legacy of slavery. The World of Daughter McGuire, for example, describes a young girl dealing with her parents' separation, even as she struggles with being biracial. In the midst of this, she starts attending a new school where a local gang of budding delinquents torments her as a "zebra," deriding her for being neither black nor white. When she has to do a school project on family heritage, Daughter is convinced that it will be a deeply humiliating experience. "As it turns out, the gathering of stories about her African, Irish, Jewish, and Russian ancestors gives her a sense of identity," explained Janice Del Negro in Booklist. As she comes to know more about her blended ethnic heritage, Daughter learns that it is not just all right but actually good to be different. According to a Publishers Weekly reviewer, Wyeth "deserves commendation for her compassionate rendering of contemporary families."

Wyeth recaptures some of her own childhood in Always My Dad. Like Daughter, she had to deal with the separation of her parents and the long absences of her father. The story, designed for young elementary school students, describes a summer when her father surprised her with a visit while she was staying at her grandparents' farm. "Wyeth paints a vivid portrait of a treasured time with Dad—running barefoot, catching lightning bugs, drinking soda at the general store,"as Booklist contributor Lauren Peterson put it.

Ginger Brown: Too Many Houses and its sequel, Ginger Brown: The Nobody Boy, likewise deal with the questions of identity and the separation of parents. Ginger, a biracial six year old, struggles to understand why her white grandparents are named Brown and her brown grandparents are named Gray. At the same time, she longs for her parents to reunite, although she finds enough strength to cheer up a friend so devastated by his own parents' separation that he calls himself "Nobody."

Once on This River reaches back in time to describe a neglected part of the history of slavery: the role of small communities of free African Americans in colonial America. When Monday and her mother travel from Madagascar to New York in 1760, they encounter one of these communities. On a mission to rescue Monday's uncle, who has been sold into slavery illegally, mother and daughter find themselves in a confusing world where some black people are slaves while others are free and respected professionals and property owners. "Unfortunately, the fiction is awkward, and the background stuff overwhelms the story," commented Booklist reviewer Hazel Rochman. Similarly, a Publishers Weekly contributor found that "occasionally ponderous execution impedes the flow of this otherwise rewarding novel."

Most of Wyeth's stories address the pain caused by racism, but in Orphea Proud she takes on a form of bigotry that is prevalent in both black and white communities: homophobia. Orphea, a sixteen-year-old orphan, is being raised by her half-brother, Rupert, who castigates her for her increasingly intimate relationship with Lissa, who is her best friend. When Lissa is killed in an accident indirectly caused by Rupert, Orphea is plunged into a deep depression, and her distinctly unsympathetic half-brother sends her to live with her great aunts in rural Virginia. There she records her experiences in a journal, which she turns into a stage performance. The book itself is written as "one long onstage monologue with a smattering of recited poems," as a Kirkus Reviews contributor reported. There are even interruptions, reminding patrons to try the food and drink at the imaginary restaurant. While not entirely pleased with the "disjointed format," Booklist contributor Gillian Engberg felt that "aspiring poets or teens questioning their sexuality will be especially moved by Orphea's struggle to verbalize her overwhelming experience." Writing in Black Issues Book Review, Nancey Flowers called Orphea Proud "a quick and witty read. The characters are unique, memorable and vibrant, and Wyeth's style of writing is delicate and soft with dashes of poetry."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Black Issues Book Review, March-April, 2005, Nancey Flowers, review of Orphea Proud, p. 16.

Booklist, May 1, 1994, Janice Del Negro, review of The World of Daughter McGuire, p. 1602; February 15, 1995, Lauren Petersen, review of Always My Dad, p. 1095; April 15, 1996, Lauren Petersen, review of Ginger Brown: Too Many Houses, p. 1442; September 1, 1996, Chris Sherman, review of The Winning Stroke, p. 124; May 1, 1997, Hazel Rochman, review of Ginger Brown: The Nobody Boy, p. 1505; December 15, 1997, Hazel Rochman, review of Once on This River, p. 691; September 15, 1998, Hazel Rochman, review of Something Beautiful, p. 242; February 15, 1999, Hazel Rochman, review of Once on This River, p. 1068; February 15, 2001, Gillian Engberg, review of A Piece of Heaven, p. 1129; June 1, 2002, Ellen Mandel, review of Flying Free, p. 1726; November 1, 2004, Gillian Engberg, review of Orphea Proud, p. 476.

Book Report, September-October, 2001, Barbara L. McMullin, review of A Piece of Heaven, p. 67.

Ebony, December, 1998, review of Something Beautiful, p. 22.

Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2002, review of Flying Free, p. 582; November 1, 2004, review of Orphea Proud, p. 57.

Kliatt, September, 2002, Claire Rosser, review of A Piece of Heaven, p. 23; November, 2004, Janis Flint-Ferguson, review of Orphea Proud, p. 57.

Publishers Weekly, January 24, 1994, review of The World of Daughter McGuire, p. 56; June 17, 1996, review of The Winning Stroke, p. 65; December 8 1997, review of Once on This River, p. 73; August 3, 1998, review of Something Beautiful, p. 83; December 4, 2000, review of A Piece of Heaven, p. 73; May 27, 2002, review of Freedom's Wings, p. 62; January 3, 2005, review of Orphea Proud, p. 57.

School Library Journal, February, 2001, Kit Vaughan, review of A Piece of Heaven, p. 123; June, 2001, Jeanette Larson, review of Freedom's Wings, p. 160; August, 2002, Be Astengo, review of Flying Free, p. 156; December, 2004, Betty S. Evans, review of Orphea Proud, p. 154.

ONLINE

Sharon Dennis Wyeth Home Page, http://sharondenniswyeth.com (May 17, 1995).