I'm Not Who You Think I Am - Softcover

Peg Kehret was born in Wisconsin, grew up in Minnesota, spent fourteen years in California, and now lives with her husband in Washington State. They have two grown children, four grandchildren, one dog, and one cat.

Peg's novels for children are regularly recommended by the American Library Association, the International Reading Association, and the Children's Book Council. She has won many state "young reader" or "children's choice" awards. Peg's characters are ordinary kids who find themselves in exciting situations and who use their wits to solve their problems. There is usually humor as well as suspense in her books. A long-time volunteer at The Humane Society, she often uses animals in her stories.

Before she began writing books for children, Peg published plays, short stories, articles, and two books for adults. She is a frequent speaker at conferences for librarians and teachers.

At the age of twelve, Peg had polio and was paralyzed from the neck down. Because she can remember that experience and her year of recovery so vividly, she finds it easy to write in the viewpoint of a twelve or thirteen year old. Most of her main characters are that age. Her autobiography, Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio, won the Golden Kite Award from the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators, and the PEN Center USA West Award for Children's Literature.

When she is not writing, Peg likes to watch baseball, bake cookies, and pump her old player piano.

Grade 5-8-Two separate plot lines involve Ginger in danger and controversy. She is being stalked by a mentally ill woman who believes that the 13-year-old is her daughter. Meanwhile, Ginger's favorite teacher, Mr. Wren, is being harassed by Mrs. Vaughn, an irate and influential parent who doesn't like the way he is coaching the girls' basketball team. Ginger's parents are away on business trips, so there is no adult on the scene to turn to when she and her older sister begin to suspect that someone is watching their house. Nor can anyone advise her on what to do in the case of her teacher. Because she videotapes the school's basketball games, she has proof that Mr. Wren has done a good job of coaching. But if she makes those tapes public, her mother and sister may lose customers because Mrs. Vaughn threatens to boycott their party-planning and catering businesses. As events unfold, suspense builds. The mentally ill woman is a sinister presence, but she is not a well-developed character. Mrs. Vaughn is the quintessential obnoxious parent, pushy and self-centered. Ginger is a plucky, thoughtful young teen. When the two plots converge in the final scenes, everything is resolved satisfactorily. This enjoyable novel will draw readers' interest and keep them turning pages. The message, that a person should follow her conscience and do the right thing in spite of the expected consequences, is one that young people will understand and appreciate.
Bruce Anne Shook, Mendenhall Middle School, Greensboro, NC
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.