13 to Life »

Since she was a child Shannon Delany has written stories, beginning writing in earnest when her grandmother fell unexpectedly ill. In 2008 her greatly abbreviated version of 13 to Life (written in just five weeks) won the grand prize in the first-ever cell phone novel contest in the western world through Textnovel.com. Previously a teacher and now a farmer raising heritage livestock, Shannon lives and writes in Upstate New York and enjoys traveling to talk to people about most anything.

Everything about Jessie Gillmansen’s life changed when her mother died. Now even her hometown of Junction is changing.  Mysterious dark things are happening. All Jessie wants is to avoid more change. But showing a hot new guy around Junction High, she’s about to discover a whole new type of change. Pietr Rusakova is more than good looks and a fascinating accent—he’s a guy with a dangerous secret. And his very existence is sure to bring big trouble to Jessie’s small town.  It seems change is the one thing Jessie can’t avoid…

Publishers Weekly

Delany's debut launches a paranormal series with a thoughtful but flawed exploration of emotionally wounded teens. Sixteen-year-old Jessica spends her days mourning her mother, mooning over football star Derek, and tiptoeing around her accident-altered best friend, Sarah. She doesn't want complications like Pietr Rusakova in her life, but doesn't have a choice when she is assigned to guide the newcomer around school. Soon Pietr and Jessica are setting off romantic sparks, but she pushes him away--Sarah has her eye on him. When Jessica learns Pietr's biggest secret--that he and his siblings are werewolves--she becomes involved in a complicated web that includes the Russian mafia, the CIA, and ticking time-bomb Sarah. The plot has some problems (particularly that no one gives Sarah details about her accident), but Delany effectively probes what makes a monster, how being too selfless can be damaging to the soul, and whether it's possible to rewrite a person's personality. Readers who can overlook the plot issues will likely be caught up in the story's potential to explode, but will have to wait for the next installment for the boom. Ages 13-up. (July)