Carey, Janet Lee 1959(?)–

Personal

Born c. 1959, in NY; married; children: three sons. Hobbies and other interests: Hiking, reading, family, meditation, yoga, and music.

Addresses

Home—WA. E-mail—janetleecarey@hotmail.com.

Career

Writer and educator. Teaches writing workshops.

Writings

YOUNG ADULT NOVELS

Molly's Fire, Atheneum Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2000.

Wenny Has Wings, Atheneum Books (New York, NY), 2002.

The Double Life of Zoe Flynn, Atheneum Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2004.

The Beast of Noor, Atheneum Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2006.

Dragon's Keep, Harcourt (Orlando, FL), 2007.

Sidelights

Janet Lee Carey began writing as a young girl and has since produced books for both children and young adults. In her first book, Molly's Fire, Carey introduces thirteen-year-old Molly, who refuses to believe that her father was shot down over Holland during World War II. Molly forms a friendship with Jane, who is half-Japanese, and along with her and another friend, Peter, sets out to discover if Molly's father is alive. The childrens' investigation leads them to visit a nearby German prisoner of war camp. A Publishers Weekly contributor noted that "the details about food ration coupons, victory gardens and Japanese internment camps breathe life into an important period of history."

Wenny Has Wings finds young Will writing letters to his dead sister Wenny, who was killed when both were hit by a truck. Will's near-death experience is mixed with a story of a family struggling to survive after a tragedy. Ilene Cooper, writing in Booklist, commended the book for illustrating "sibling relationship and its unique capturing of the phenomenon of heading into the light." In a review for School Library Journal, B. Allison Gray called the work "a useful meditation on death and guilt," and Kirkus Reviews contributor referred to Wenny Has Wings as "a gentle epistolary novel requiring at least three hankies."

In The Double Life of Zoe Flynn, Carey tells the story of Zoe's coming to terms with homelessness after her dad loses both his teaching job and his bookstore. As the family struggles, with both parents only able to get part-time work, Zoe finds herself living out of a van with her mother and father and attending a new school 500 miles away from the beloved beloved California town she once called home. A Kirkus Reviews contributor called The Double Life of Zoe Flynn "thought-provoking." Hazel Rochman, writing in Booklist, commented that "there's plenty of drama in the hardship of the middle-class kid," and Miriam Lang Budin wrote in the School Library Journal: "The struggles of this middle-class family to keep their heads above water are realistically and sympathetically presented."

The Beast of Noor tells the adventure story of fifteen-year-old Miles and thirteen-year-old Hanna Sheen. The Sheen family has long been outcast in the local area due to a legend that asserts they brought a monster dog called the Shriker to the area when they arrived there 300 years before. As they set out to break the family curse, Miles and Hanna soon find themselves in the Otherworld trying to capture the Shriker. Sally Estes, writing in Booklist, noted that the author "delivers an eerie, atmospheric tale, full of terror and courage." School Library Journal contributor Saleena L. Davidson wrote that "the novel reads almost like a fairy tale, with the same rhythms and the same etiquette," and a Kirkus Reviews contributor referred to The Beast of Noor as "an engaging tale, with just the right touch of terror to make a good story."

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, July, 2002, Ilene Cooper, review of Wenny Has Wings, p. 1841; September 1, 2004, Hazel Rochman, review of The Double Life of Zoe Flynn, p. 120; August 1, 2006, Sally Estes, review of The Beast of Noor, p. 65.

Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2002, review of Wenny Has Wings, p. 801; June 1, 2004, review of The Double Life of Zoe Flynn, p. 534; June 15, 2006, review of The Beast of Noor, p. 632.

Publishers Weekly, May 29, 2000, review of Molly's Fire, p. 83; July 15, 2002, review of Wenny Has Wings, p. 74.

School Library Journal, May, 2000, Faith Brautigan, review of Molly's Fire, p. 170; July, 2002, B. Allison Gray, review of Wenny Has Wings, p. 114; August, 2004, Miriam Lang Budin, review of The Double life of Zoe Flynn, p. 116; November, 2006, Saleena L. Davidson, review of The Beast of Noor, p. 130.

ONLINE

BookLoons,http://www.bookloons.com/ (February 20, 2007), J.A. Kaszuba Locke, review of The Double Life of Zoe Flynn; Ricki Marking-Camuto, review of The Beast of Noor.

Janet Lee Carey Home Page,http://www.janetleecarey.com (February 20, 2007).

Kidsreads.com,http://www.kidsreads.com/ (February 20, 2007), Carlie Webber, review of The Double Life of Zoe Flynn.

SimonSays.com,http://www.simonsays.com/ (February 20, 2007), "Q&A: A Conversation with Janet Lee Carey."