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About MarilynReynolds
The Author The Author
I was born a very long time ago and grew up in Temple City, California, before there were such things as shopping malls, super markets, McDonald's, or self-serve gas stations. I was twelve years old before I saw with my own eyes the miracle of television. In high school, I wrote with a fountain pen because ballpoint pens had not yet been invented. Can you imagine?These days, when I visit schools and talk with students, they often ask if I always knew I wanted to be a writer. I wish I could say that from my earliest memory I wanted to be a writer. The truth is, I wanted to be a cowboy.I had no idea about being a writer until I was in my late twenties, and then it took me another twenty years to begin to submit my writing for publication. You might say I was clueless about writing. What I did always know though, from the very beginning, was that I loved stories and I longed to read. When I was a child, reading meant looking through a magical window and seeing a vast variety of worlds beyond the limits of my everyday life.
The Inspiration The Inspiration
When I started teaching, I wanted to help my students gain the breadth and freedom that had come my way through a reading habit, and I was always on the lookout for books that they would find meaningful and entertaining. Because I had trouble finding enough books my students could relate to, books that offered a realistic portrayal of life as they knew it, I decided to try writing a book for teens. I chose to write about a twelve year old girl who is being molested by a neighbor.Statistics indicate that one out of three girls and one out of six boys will have an unwanted sexual experience with an adult before they reach the age of eighteen. Sexual molestation seemed an important subject for teen fiction. As I wrote Telling, I brought each chapter of the evolving manuscript into my classroom and kept the pages in a big, green, three-holed notebook. Students delighted in pointing out errors in spelling or punctuation. Sometimes a student would tell me, This part is stupid, or I dont think Cassie would act like this. Often I rewrote a section, or changed dialogue, based on students insights.I might have given up after the eighth or ninth rejection of my manuscript, but I kept seeing student after student, some who had never before beard a book, come into my classroom, get the big green notebook from the shelf, and remain engrossed in the story all period long. This gave me the courage to keep sending the manuscript out until I finally found a publisher.Since that first book, I have written nine more books of realistic teen fiction in the True-to-Life Series from Hamilton High, published by Morning Glory Press. These books all deal with difficult issues and situations that many teens must face, issues such as teen pregnancy, rape, racism, abortion, school failure, lack of family support, sexual identity crises, sexual abstinence, mixed race heritage, and on and on.
MRYouth2.jpg MRYouth5.jpg MRYouth4.jpg MRYouth6.jpg MRYouth3.jpg About The Author The Inspiration Supports MarilynReynolds Supports Speaking Engagements Events are carefully structured to provide a meaningful experience for each particular audience. My presentations may include slides, readings, group discussion, question-answer, and/or other activities. All presentations include an emphasis on the strength of the human spirit, the importance of reading for pleasure, and the necessity of listening to the inner voice that urges each of us, Grow.
Professional Development In addition to decades of teaching experience, I hold a B.A. in English, an M.S. in Reading Education, a K-12 Reading Specialist credential, and am the author of I Wont Read and You Cant Make Me: Reaching Reluctant Teen Readers. With special emphasis on how to match students with activities that inspire reading and writing, I offer classroom-proven techniques that involve books, art, writing, individual studies, creative group activities, graphic organizers and more.
Bookstore MarilynReynolds Bookstore My passion for helping reluctant readers develop a lifetime reading habit is renewed everytime a student tells me that that "this is the first book I have read!" The stories deal with real life situations that many of my own students have experienced. Through a mixture of wit and wisdom I hope to bolster the joy of reading among adults.
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Shut Up Shut Up Shut Up! is the story of the love of two brothers, and their struggle to get through extremely difficult times. When their single mother is deployed to Iraq, 17-year-old Mario Barajas and his nine-year-old brother, Eddie, move in with their aunt. Mario is busy with his girlfriend, his job, school, getting fit for soccer, and everything else that goes along with being a senior at Hamilton High. Its no wonder Mario doesnt notice that Eddies not laughing much anymore, or telling corny jokes, or drawing happy cartoon characters.
$9.95 Baby Help Baby Help Melissa, a senior at Hamilton High School, lives with her child, the child's father, and his mother. The teen has convinced herself that Rudy's need to control and abuse her isn't really a problem, but when he turns on their daughter, she knows she must get out and get help.
$8.95 Detour Detour For Emmy At the end of eighth grade, Emmy is at the top of the world. She's popular, does well in school, has two best friends and sings in the chorus. Ninth grade is more of a challenge, yet Emmy continues to thrive and even falls in love. Then she gets pregnant. Thoughtful and thorough, this novel vividly portrays teenage love and its consequences. Emmy faces her choices with a believable mix of bravery and weakness, earning the reader's sympathy.
$9.95 If You Loved Me If You Loved Me Having been born drug addicted, to an addict mother, 17-year-old Lauren is determined not to repeat her mother's mistakes. She has promised herself to say no to drugs and sex, but is finding the latter a challenge, as she faces increasing pressure from her longtime boyfriend
$8.95 Love Rules Love Rules When her best friend returns to Hamilton High after a summer in San Francisco, Lynn can't wait to catch up on all the news. When Kit reveals that she is coming out as a lesbian, Lynn struggles to be supportive, despite her surprise. Kit's desire to be honest with herself and her friends while also finding a new community leads her to explore a local school's Gay-Straight Alliance and motivates her to start a similar group at Hamilton High where jocks rule and anti-gay sentiment is apparent.
$9.95 Telling Telling Cassie is a typical 12-year-old girl. She is inexperienced but curious about sex and depends on her older cousin Lisa for straight talk and honest information. When new neighbors move in, Cassie's life suddenly becomes much more interesting. Fred and Angie Sloane are young, attractive, and fun, and they treat Cassie like a grown-up. She soon spends all of her free time helping them fix up their home and babysitting for their two children. Life with the Sloanes seems nearly perfect until the night Fred puts his hands on Cassie in a way she never expects.
$8.95 Too Soon For Jeff Too Soon for Jeff The realities of teenage sexuality are portrayed in this story of Jeff Browning and his girlfriend Christy. They have been together for a year, and he has just decided that he needs more independence and time to spend with his friends. He is a high school senior looking forward to a promising college career in debate. When Christy reveals that she is pregnant, life changes drastically.
$9.95 Page 12 I Won't Read Marilyn Reynolds has tackles the subject of the secondary struggling and unmotivated reader in a way that few others have. In "I won't read" She has assembled a toolbox of practical and effective strategies that can be used to assist teachers with the students that appear in all classrooms. Teachers in all subject areas will find these strategies useful.
$19.95 Contact MarilynReynolds
Contact Me Please use the form here to send me any comments or questions that you may have.
Additionally if you would like to schedule a classroom presentation or teacher training please provide a brief description of what you are looking for, the dates, and the audience that you have in mind.
Thank you for taking the time to get to know a little about me. I look forward to hearing from you. -Marilyn
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