This week on Reading Wednesdays, I am featuring my friend, Kristin F. Johnson’s newest book, FEARLESS: A Middle Grade Adventure Story.
What is the book about?
Eleven-year-old Jessie Nelson fears her soldier Mom won’t make it home from fighting in the War in Afghanistan. So, Jessie and her dad move in with Grandpa for the summer in southern Minnesota where the historic tornado of 1998 has changed the town forever. Soon, Jessie, along with two new friends, stumbles onto an old barn with terrified dogs inside. Jessie can’t save them all, but she saves one. Soon Jessie learns the dog suffers from PTSD and needs special care. Jessie hides the dog from her dad and grandpa as long as possible until another tornado strikes and changes everything.
What inspired you to write this book?
Several years ago, I had an older yellow lab who was a rescue dog from an Indiana puppy mill. She was skittish and slow to trust newcomers, but she was a sweetheart and I fell for her instantly. I wondered what her life had been like at the puppy mill and how hard it must have been for her to birth so many puppies just to have them taken away and sold. She was considered expendable once she was too old to “produce” any more puppies. FEARLESS is my love letter to that dog. Her name was Maizy.
Praise for Kristin F. Johnson
Day of Disaster Titles: BLACK BLIZZARD, WALL OF WATER, DEEP FREEZE
”…absorbing reading…” —Kirkus Reviews
”…relatable character and fast-paced plots…” —School and Library Journal
”…adrenaline-fueled and tightly paced…” —Booklist
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Kristin F. Johnson was an elementary media specialist and librarian for Minneapolis Public Schools. She also taught creative writing for twelve years at Metropolitan State University. She has been a computer programmer, web designer, yearbook editor, newspaper reporter, and content strategist. Her first job was at Valleyfair Family Amusement Park. She lives with her family in Minnesota with their rescue dog, a mixed breed who is mostly half Black Labrador and half Australian Shepherd. Kristin’s website