GOLDING, Theresa Martin 1960-

Personal

Born February 27, 1960, in Philadelphia, PA; daughter of James J. (an attorney) and Kathryn Martin; married Gilbert J. Golding (an attorney); children: Jennifer, Michael, Mary Kathryn. Education: LaSalle University, B.A., 1982; Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 1985.

Addresses

Home —New Hope, PA. Agent —c/o Author Correspondence, Boyds Mills Press, 815 Church St., Honesdale, PA 18431. E-mail —gjg874@aol.com.

Career

Writer.

Writings

Kat's Surrender, Boyds Mill Press (Honesdale, PA), 1999.

The Secret Within, Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 2002.

Memorial Day Surprise, illustrated by Alexandra Artigas, Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 2004.

The Truth about Twelve, Boyds Mills Press (Honesdale, PA), 2004.

Sidelights

Theresa Martin Golding is a native of Philadelphia, where she grew up in a row house. As a child she dreamed of being a writer, but the adults in her life encouraged her to pursue a more financially reliable career. Golding attended law school at Georgetown University, but even there she was observing people and situations that she would later adapt for novels. Now an adult, she commented on the Boyds Mills Press web site, she hopes to make writing books her "real job."

Kat, the heroine in Golding's Kat's Surrender, is trying to understand life in the wake of her mother's death. A lonely thirteen-year-old who takes no pleasure in the activities she once enjoyed, Kat finds solace in the company of an old man she calls "the General." When Kat's friend Maggie is injured in a hit-and-run accident, circumstances point to the General as the perpetrator of the crime. It is up to Kat to investigate and learn the truth about the accident, and about her own deep feelings as well. Booklist critic Chris Sherman found Kat "an appealing character" and noted that Golding "has an ear for kids' dialogue."

In The Secret Within, young Carly finds herself in a difficult situation with nowhere to turn for help. The victim of an abusive father, Carly must deliver mysterious packages for him. She deliberately avoids finding out what the packages contain, and she lies to friends and well-meaning adults who want to help her. As her circumstances become more desperate, however, Carly realizes that she is protecting a criminal and putting herself in great danger. GraceAnne A. DeCandido in Booklist described The Secret Within as "a tale that will holds readers until the end." In School Library Journal, Miriam Lang Budin called the novel "suspenseful, … solid [and] well-paced."

Biographical and Critical Sources

periodicals

Booklist, October 15, 1999, Chris Sherman, review of Kat's Surrender, p. 444; September 15, 2002, GraceAnne A. DeCandido, review of The Secret Within, p. 231.

School Library Journal, August, 2002, Miriam Lang Budin, review of The Secret Within, p. 184.

online

Boyds Mills Press, http://www.boydsmillspress.com/ (June 7, 2004) "Theresa Martin Golding."