Lesley Anne Cowan

Event Info: This Is Not The Shakespeare Stage at 3:30 PM

Lesley Anne Cowan was born in Toronto and studied English and education at McGill University in Montreal. She works as a secondary school teacher of troubled youth in Toronto. Her first novel, As She Grows, was shortlisted for the Chapters/Robertson Davies First Novel Prize.Something Wicked is the second book in this series of Young Adult novels with at-risk youth characters and subject matter. The female protagonists in each book are all connected via their social supports (i.e.: probation officer, teacher, group home staff, counsellor, CAS worker) but they will not necessarily know one another. Currently Lesley splits her time between Toronto and Kenya where she is working on an adult literary fiction manuscript that takes place in Kenya. -- Adopt this Author

Books

Something Wicked

Sixteen-year-old Melissa’s most recent troubles stem from a secret: her twenty-eight-year-old boyfriend, Michael, has just broken up with her. Even though the relationship is clearly over, Melissa clings to the past, riding a never-ending wave of hope and disappointment. Meaningless sexual escapades, drunken nights, and drug-induced blackouts help her deal with heartbreak, but her pain goes much deeper than her failed relationship. Along with a broken heart, Melissa has to cope with the memories of her younger brother’s death; the non-existent parenting of her insecure, flighty mother; being juggled between social workers and psychologists; and getting kicked out of school and sent to a special program for at-risk youth. So when the cracks in her life threaten to tear her apart, Melissa has to decide whether to keep fighting—or to let go.