Cynthia Voigt

Her Life:

Voigt was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the second of her parents' five children. Most of her childhood was spent in small-town southern Connecticut. It was in this atmosphere that Voigt began to develop an interest in books. She once recalled: "My grandmother lived in northern Connecticut, in a house three stories high; its corridors lined with bookcases." Voigt noted that she had already become an avid reader, with books such as "Nancy Drew, Cherry Ames, The Black Stallion, and the Terhune book(s)," when one day at her grandmother's house she "pulled The Secret Garden off one of her shelves and read it. "This was the first book I found entirely for myself, and I cherished it."

"There weren't any so-called 'young adult' books when I was growing up. I started to read adult books, with my mother making sure what I had chosen was not 'too adult.' I read Tolstoy, Shakespeare, Camus, and many classics."

By the time Voigt began high school, she had set her sights on a career as a writer. She began writing short stories and poetry, and while at Smith College, she enrolled in creative writing courses. After graduation from Smith College, Voigt moved to New York City where she worked for the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency.

In 1964, she moved with her first husband to Santa Fe, New Mexico; though she had never planned to become a teacher, this was the work that was available and, as she once noted, "the minute I walked into a classroom, I loved it."

By the time of her divorce from her first husband, Voigt had settled in Annapolis, Maryland and eventually took a job at the Key School there. Though she had not written much during her first marriage, her literary interests were rekindled at the Key School. As she once explained, "I was assigned to teach English in second, fifth and seventh grades. The second graders were a kick and a half. I assigned book reports to my fifth graders. I would go to the library and starting with the letter 'A' peruse books at the fifth, sixth, and seventh-grade age level. If a book looked interesting, I checked it out. I once went home with thirty books! It was then that I realized one could tell stories which had the shape of real books--novels--for kids the age of my students.

"IT'S STILL TRUE." That's the first thing James Tillerman says to his sister Dicey every morning. It's still true that their mother has abandoned the four Tillerman children somewhere in the middle of Connecticut. It's still true they have to find their way, somehow, to Great-aunt Cilla's house in Bridgeport, which may be their only hope of staying together as a family.

But when they get to Bridgeport, they learn that Great-aunt Cilla has died, and the home they find with her daughter, Eunice, isn't the permanent haven they've been searching for. So their journey continues to its unexpected conclusion -- and some surprising discoveries about their history, and their future.

The four Tillerman children finally have a home at their grandmother's rundown farm on the Maryland shore. It's what Dicey has dreamed of for her three younger siblings, but after watching over the others for so long, it's hard to let go. Who is Dicey, if she's no longer the caretaker for her family?

Dicey finds herself in new friends, in a growing relationship with her grandmother, and in the satisfaction of refinishing the old boat she found in the barn. Then, as Dicey experiences the trials and pleasures of making a new life, the past comes back with devastating force, and Dicey learns just how necessary -- and painful -- letting go can be.

Jeff Greene was only seven when Melody, his mother, left him with his reserved, undemonstrative father, the Professor. So when she reenters his life years later with an invitation to spend the summer with her in Charleston, Jeff is captivated by her free spirit and warmth, and he eagerly looks forward to returning for another visit the following year.

But Jeff's second summer in Charleston ends with a devastating betrayal, and he returns to his father wounded almost beyond bearing. But out of Jeff's pain grows a deepening awareness of the unexpected and complicated ways of love and loss and of family and friendship -- and the strength to understand his father, his mother, and especially himself.
A NEWBERY HONOR BOOK
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION CHILDREN'S NOTABLE BOOK
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION BEST BOOK FOR YOUNG ADULTS
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION BEST OF THE BEST FOR YOUNG ADULTS
INTERNATIONAL READING ASSOCIATION TEACHERS' CHOICE
INTERNATIONAL READING ASSOCIATION YOUNG ADULT CHOICE
BOOKLIST EDITORS' CHOICE

It was the 1960s, the time of the Vietnam War. "Bullet" Tillerman, the school track star, had to decide if he would go to fight or stay on the family farm. Bullet's father, who had already driven Bullet's older brother and sister out of the house, made impossible demands on him. And his mother seemed to have lost the will to resist the old man. Meanwhile, at school, a black student joined the track team, forcing Bullet to question his own prejudices. But nothing would keep him from running. Nothing.

Mina Smiths, whom many readers will remember from Dicey's Song (Atheneum, 1982), takes center stage in this addition to the Tillerman saga and holds it with energy and spirit. The story takes her from age 10 to 15, following her from a youthful dancer, full of herself and her ambitions, to a wise and realistic young woman. The key to her growth is Tamer Shipp, a young pastor who drives her home from the station once she leaves the dance camp from which she has been dismissed, perhaps because puberty has harmed her talents, perhaps because she is black. When Tamer's honesty and understanding help her through the first pain, she begins to love him, forming a relationship which will be central to her perceptions of the world around her for the ensuing three summers

In this continuation of the Tillerman saga, the focus is on brothers James and Sammy. Always the questioner, James is determined to find the father he never knew. His main objective is to see if his own character traits, especially his intelligence, which sets him apart, are inherited from this shadowy figure from the past. Reluctantly, Sammy joins in on the search, which is made more difficult because they do not confide in Gram, nor older sister Dicey, who is away at college. Readers are drawn into the hunt, hoping that the merchant seaman father is found, yet fearing what kind of man he will turn out to be.

Dicey Tillerman has big dreams. She's started a boatbuilding business, and she's determined to prove she can succeed on her own. That's why at first she resists the offer of help from Cisco, the mysterious stranger who turns up one day at her shop.
But running a business doesn't leave much time for the people Dicey treasure -- her grandmother, her younger siblings, and her boyfriend, Jeff. And then the trust Dicey puts in Cisco turns out to be misplaces. Suddenly it seems as if Dicey could lose everything -- has she discovers too late what really matters to her?

Life had always been predictable for Ann . . . until she met her college roommates, Niki and Hildy. Niki is always in motion, brash, often vulgar, with a philosophy of "win at any cost." And Hildy's aura of serene wisdom cloaks a most unusual way of looking at things. They became inseparable -- until something happened that changed their lives forever.

Think carefully...
That's the advice Jean Wainwright always gets from her beloved Aunt Constance, Jean's guardian and headmistress at the boarding school where she lives. It's advice that proves valuable when Jean finds herself spending the summer far from home, sorting out family papers for the reclusive Mr. Thiel, a trustee of Aunt Constance's school and the widower of her childhood friend Irene Callender.

At Mr. Thiel's isolated country estate, Jean is surrounded by bewildering questions from the past. Why is there such hatred between Mr. Thiel and his late wife's brother? Was her death an accident? And what happened to their child, who disappeared after Irene Thiel's death? Do the answers lie in the Callender papers? And will searching for the answers put Jean's own life in jeopardy?

Brann Connell, a twelve-year-old boy who believes his father is a "loser," travels back in time thirty years and learns something about his father as a little boy. In a single mystifying day of adventure, Brann learns that fate is something both to guide and accept. A 1984 Library Journal Best YA Book of the Year.

In Izzy, Willy-Nilly, Voigt depicts the trauma faced by an active teenager whose leg is amputated after a car accident. Through this incident, and with the help of Roseamunde, an awkward girl who embodies all that Izzy did not before her accident, Voigt's protagonist finds resources and wisdom within herself that she might otherwise never have known. Though some critics complained about the book's length and some unrealistic elements in the plot, Patty Campbell of Wilson Library Bulletin dubbed Izzy, Willy-Nilly the "best young adult novel of the season, and perhaps of the year."

It's not fair that Clothilde's father has returned from World War I so disfigured that he retreats to the boathouse as a recluse. It's not fair that her brother has abandoned the family to live with his rich grandfather in Boston. It's not fair that her mother has reverted to the role of a lady, leaving Clothilde to do all the housework. And it's certainly not fair that the Maine peninsula that Clothilde inherited from a great-aunt may have to be sold to support the family.
Then a mysterious Voice speaks to Clothilde, giving her the chance to change the life fate has dealt her and the people she loves. But Clothilde's wishes come true in unexpected, frightening ways -- and at a price she isn't sure she has the courage to pay.

A mystery for younger adolescents, the plot centers on a brother and sister who go with their father when he is hired as the curator for an Egyptian collection at Vandemark College. When the collection's mummy is stolen and then found in a damaged condition, the sister disappears trying to uncover the thief. A reviewer for Junior Bookshelf wrote: "Serious issues are under debate, but the story is exciting and highly entertaining."

A chance meeting on a street corner with her childhood friend Orfe plunges Enny into the tough world of popular music. As Orfe's business manager, Enny sees Orfe and her band, the three Graces, arrive at the brink of success—and watches Orfe's dangerous obsession with Yuri. Yuri, with his black, tightly curled hair that hangs like the tendrils of grape vines. Yuri, with his dark eyes that look right into yours as if he doesn't want to miss anything about you. Yuri, with a problem that may be deeper and stronger than the love he and Orfe share. Orfe's music has always been her salvation, but it may not be enough to save Yuri. And without Yuri, what will become of Orfe herself?

Another serious theme is explored in When She Hollers, a novel about young Tish's attempts to protect herself from her stepfather's sexual abuse. In Horn Book, critic Patty Campbell lauded the book as a "devastating story" and a "small literary masterpiece" that is especially insightful about the psychological dynamics of sexual abuse.

When She Hollers is respected as a searing, unsparing, and powerful account of its complex subject. When one of Trish's friends was found naked, six months pregnant, and hanging from a tree, Trish knew the truth. Randy was the victim of abuse from her father and there was no one to help her. Trish decides to take control of her own life: she threatens her father at breakfast with a butcher knife and tells him if he comes to her room at night, she will kill him. The reader follows Trish throughout the day and sees the victim scared to tell the truth and afraid to trust anyone. Trish hints to several teachers, but they immediately stop her because she will cause trouble. The book ends on a positive note because an adult cared enough to believe her.

In a distant time and far-off kingdom, life is hard. People don't have enough to eat, and winter is upon them. There's little that offers hope, and many turn to the legends of Jackaroo -- the masked outlaw hero who rides at night giving aid to the helpless and coin to the destitute -- for solace. But Gwyn, the Innkeeper's daughter -- sensitive, industrious, and independent -- is too practical to believe such tales.

When a snowstorm forces her and a young Lordling to seek refuge in an abandoned house, Gwyn wonders if perhaps she has been too cynical. Hidden away in an old forgotten cupboard, Gwyn discovers a package -- a cloak, a mask, a sword....Jackaroo? Could the stories be true?

Late one night 14-year-old Birle, the innkeeper's daughter, dives into the river in rash pursuit of a supposed thief, promptly falls in love with this runaway Lord of the Kingdom and embarks with him on a world-spanning adventure. Birle and her Lord are shipwrecked on a barren coast, rescued by pirates, sold into slavery and, after many other tribulations, narrowly escape and head for home. On Fortune's Wheel, set in the same imaginary world as Jackaroo-, is a lush narrative woven from elements of classic fairy tales and legends. Newbery Medalist Voigt has provided enough plot for two or three tales, compelling characterizations, keen psychological insights and a surprising, deeply rewarding ending.

Continuing the sequence begun with Jackaroo and On Fortune's Wheel, Voigt tells of two boys who embark on a series of fantastical adventures. Each section of this novel is riveting and mined with powerful surprises.
There was something different about him. He had no name. He showed no emotion, never yielded. And Griff had always stood by him. Even in this place where cruelty and betrayals were the way of life. So when he decides to escape, he takes Griff with him. Their journey has no known destination, and no purpose except to make their way through life's chances.
Recommended for all fans of Harry Potter.

In Elske, Voigt has created two strong young women who play crucial roles in the history of the Kingdom: Elske, a stranger, whose courage and intelligence enable the survival of Beriel, who becomes Queen of the Kingdom with Elske's help. The first part of the book belongs to Elske. Voigt tells of Elske's role as Death Maiden in the brutal tribe she was raised in. Elske's escape leads her to a land of traders, where she earns her keep as a servant and spy, and where she meets the rebellious Beriel, who refuses to allow her brother to unlawfully grab her throne. The two young women leave the traders after near tragedy and travel to Beriel's Kingdom in order to raise the army to defend her and place her on the throne.

Voigt's "Bad Girls" series chronicles the adventures of "bad girls" Mikey and Margalo from fifth to seventh grade. Booklist critic Hazel Rochman deemed the debut volume, Bad Girls, a "fast-talking classroom comedy that mocks traditional gender roles." Its sequels, including Bad, Badder, Baddest, It's Not Easy Being Bad, and Bad Girls in Love, earned similar enthusiastic reviews for their wit and intelligence.

Mickey Elsinger and Margola Eppo enter the fifth grade at Washington Elementary School as new students. The girls sit beside each other because everything is arranged alphabetically, and they play off one another to cause havoc throughout the school year. Mickey and Margola are not predictable and neither of them wants to be nice. The major focus of Bad Girls is the fifth-grade classroom, where the bad girls get even with Louis, Rhonda, and anyone else who has bothered one of them. While Margola would look and act nice to woo many of her classmates, she was perhaps the more dangerous of the two girls because no one expected her to be mean. Though she was always thinking of ways to get even or cause trouble. Mickey, on the other hand, acted overtly mean and was very sarcastic.

Mickey and Margola attempt to stop Mr. and Mrs. Elsinger from getting a divorce. But they are no longest the baddest because that Title now belongs to Gianette St. Etienne, a new girl in class. In order to stop her parents divorce, Mickey becomes the model child; despite her mother's excitement they go forward with divorce proceedings. When Mickey and Margola run away to scare the Elsingers, it's Gianette who foils the action. She blackmails the two girls to keep her quiet at the same time that she is providing information to Mickey's parents at a cost. It turns out that Gianette was part of a child-placement ring. Children are being sent to foster homes so that those people could increase the money of their welfare checks.

Now the adventures of feisty, wisecracking friends Margalo Epps and Mikey Elsinger continue as they enter junior high school, where they decide to challenge their "bad girl" status and conquer the world of seventh-grade popularity. But these two troublemakers don't fit the stereotype of typical popular kids. Can they use their experiences as outsiders to break up the seemingly immutable ranks of the good, the bad, and the unpopular? This one offers a fresh, funny, and remarkably real view of the ups and downs of junior high school popularity.

Mikey never does anything halfway, so it's no surprise that when she develops a not-so-secret crush on Shawn Macavity, the heartstoppingly gorgeous star of the school play, she goes a bit overboard. Soon Mikey -- Mikey? -- has a stylish new wardrobe, and she's baking Shawn cookies, writing their initials on blackboards, even buying him a T-shirt emblazoned "I LOVE ME." Fellow Bad Girl Margalo tries to get Mikey to turn things down a notch, but why should Mikey listen to her? -- after all, what does Margalo know about being in love? Or is Margalo hiding a romantic fantasy of her own?