"Dreamers dream. Writers write." John Henry Redgate
Anne C. LeMieux
Award-winning Author
ALA Best Book for Young Adults
Parents Choice Silver Honor Book
SEE THE MUSIC, HEAR THE LIGHT
by A.C. LeMieux
Daniel James Durkin, Jr. was born with Williams Syndrome, aka WS. You may not have heard of WS because it's rare, like, 1 in 10,000 rare. An exceptionally talented alto sax player (musicality is a WS thing) Daniel faces some extra challenges (some learning disabilities are a WS thing) as he heads into his freshman year at Stonebridge Regional High School. It's a daunting prospect. It aggravates his anxieties. (Yep, another WS thing.)
From day one of August marching band camp, Daniel's middle school nemesis Richie, a rival alto sax player who wants to be the best but isn't, amps up his bullying, aiming to beat Daniel for top slots in the jazz band and premier jazz ensemble. In the months heading up to the big quadrennial band trip to Disney World, the petty meanness escalates, and the talisman always in Daniel's pocket for luck and courage-his deceased father's Marine Boot Camp Challenge Coin-isn't powerful enough to protect him from a malicious prank with potentially deadly consequences.
Mean kids aren't the only problem. In social studies class, his ancient harpy crone of a teacher clings fiercely to her old ways, which don't include making accommodations for SpEd students. Or smiling. Or moderating the tone of her unpleasantly shrill old lady harpy crone voice.
Throughout his freshman year, Daniel grapples with both typical and atypical issues: identity formation within a peer group where you're seen as "different;" independence from a parent when you have built-in medical issues-some fixable, some not. Learning that the whole world is not your friend. (WS thing.) But one special friendship makes all the difference, and Daniel finds that with fellow freshman/new-girl-in-town, kind, artistic Phoebe Eagan. He gets by with a little help from his new true friend. And always, his music... until the night he nearly loses that.
Gen Ed: Grades 6 - 9. SpEd: Grades 6 - 12.
AWARD-WINNING YA FICTION
DO ANGELS SING THE BLUES?
by A.C. LeMieux
Parents' Choice Silver Honor Award 1995
Publishers Weekly Starred Review 1995
Surpassing Lemieux's first novel, The T.V. Guidance Counselor, in its power and sensitivity, this new drama focuses on relationships among a trio of teenagers-Boog, an accomplished guitarist; Carey, a talented but disturbed girl struggling with her father's alcoholism; and self-assured, charismatic Theo. Boog and Theo have been best friends since childhood, even before they discovered blues music and formed a band of their own. Their strong bond begins to unravel when, during their senior year at Yardley High, Carey Harrigan enters the scene, dressed like a ``walking tag sale,'' and sweeps Theo off his feet. Theo's attempts to help Carey put together the pieces of her shattered self-image lead to a series of ugly confrontations and a chilling climax readers will not soon forget. This absorbing exploration of adolescent hopes, dreams and vulnerability contains undertones as resonant and melancholy as a blues melody. Ages 11-up. (July 1995)
Re-Release Coming Soon!
With Bonus Prequel Short Story "JUST SAY..."
NONFICTION
Being & Becoming: A Williams Syndrome "Mom-oir"
The story of a 13-year search for a diagnosis of a child's rare genetic condition, with some natural history of some of the clues.
Serial mini-essay format on Medium.com