Today I want to tell you about a wonderful writer, a few months new to me and in a few short more weeks, new to publishingdom.

I met Rose Cooper in the most bizarre way. Two clean cut nineteen-year-old boys made the connection for us. When I was told she was a writer, I was like, right, aren't most people? But then I stalked her online and found out that not only was she represented by the most successful YA/MG agent in the business, but that her debut book was ready to be pre-ordered on Amazon. She was a bona-fide writer traveling the same path as me, albeit several steps ahead.

Rose Cooper lives two miles from me and being able to connect with another flesh and blood YA/MG writer has been an amazing experience. Not only have I had the joy of writerly commiseration, I've gotten a sneak peek at her book, Gossip From the Girls' Room. And it is hilarious. Here's the blurb:

If there's anything going on at Middlebrooke Middle School, Sofia has it all right here, in her super-secret notebook... Sofia Becker "accidentally" overhears gossip in the girls' room. She jots down all the juicy gossip in her notebook so her brain won't forget any super single important detail. Filled with text and hilarious sketches, follow Sofia on her dramatic journey to finding gossipy goodness for her blog while surviving 6th grade, gaining the attention of her crush, taking down the Popular Pretties and staying true to her BFF. Whew, what's next--taking on the world?

What I loved about Sophia was the false bravado she uses to get her through one of the most hellacious times in anyone's life. She's not as brazen as she pretends to be, but darn it if she's going to let anyone find that out. Wee One, who's in seventh grade this year, devoured the book and quotes it still months later. She can't wait for the next one to come out. She perfectly identifies with the ridiculously accurate picture Rose paints of middle school.

Rose is a gem, and I'm so excited to watch as her writing career takes off. I highly recommend picking up Gossip From the Girls' Room for the middle-grader in your life - or even for yourself if you're looking for a trip down middle school memory lane, punctuated with laugh-out-loud drawings.