Raincoast Books
Available: 08/15/06
5 x 7 · 176 pages
978-1-55192-979-8
CDN $9.95 · pb

Ages 10–15

Canadian Title

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The 25 Pains of Kennedy Baines

Dede Crane

A 2006 Books for Everybody Selection

In this very modern-day Pride and Prejudice, Kennedy is newly 15 and resents it. She’s reluctant to join the ranks of burdened adults yet frustrated by the timid passions of her teenaged boyfriend, Jordan. She resorts to Jane Austen novels and Colin Firth movies. But a typical summer turns not-so when her best friend Sarina becomes self-destructive and a creepy cyber-stalker appears on their chat line. Things truly get hot when a family friend from England visits, accompanied by her 18- year-old son named Colin.

In a story both hilarious and poignant, Kennedy finds the courage to ask the right questions and to see truth for what it is. By summer’s end, she’s learned about trust, love and the power that comes from not holding back.

Critically acclaimed author Dede Crane captures exactly the right mix of angst, melodrama and romance that peppers the lives of young girls on the cusp of adulthood. This book will appeal to teenaged girls and also to their parents, who may remember the agony and thrill of being a teenager.

Dede Crane (Victoria, B.C.) is the author of the adult novel Sympathy, which the Globe and Mail called “a complex and powerful novel.” This is her first book for teens.