Life is getting tricky for eleven-year-old Madison Morgan. She's not interested in boys, fashion, or the latest gossip, unlike her best friend Paige. Since her mom died, her stepdad, who she knows as Henry, has way too many complicated systems around the house but way too little to say about her mom's death. To top it off, in her first year of middle school, Madison and her new friend Cooper have become the "school project" of a bully named Donald. And all she really wants is a dog to call her own, but all she gets is the parental-brush-off. What is a straight-talking, spunky middle grader going to do? Kids from ages nine- to twelve-years-old are sure to get a laugh from every page of Madison Morgan: When Dogs Blog, the young adult novel by author Pam Torres that charts the sometimes tough, frequently funny days of the wise-cracking, dog-loving Madison. When her dad arrives home with a foster dog, a scrawny brown terrier named Lilly, Madison is amazed to find she has an ability to understand dogs, their emotions, and often their pasts. However, this rare ability also leads her to uncover some extremely harmful activities that are happening right in her very own neighborhood. If she exposes the culprits behind them, she may risk losing Cooper, not to mention destroy her plan to remain invisible at school. As Madison struggles to feel normal and understand her ability to translate dog-speak, this coming-of-age story shares how one quirky young girl saves the day with the help of her father and their friend Netta at the Second Chance Rescue Shelter. Frank, funny, and full of adventure, Madison Morgan: When Dogs Blog is a must for any middle grader, who is certain to be enthralled by this dog blogger.
About the Author: Pam Torres was born in Logan, Utah and spent most of her growing up in Prairie Village, Kansas. Besides playing Dorothy during tornado weather, digging Peter Pan-like underground forts she also played piano and ran cross-country. She started her family early and had five energetic and creative children and returned to school when the last one was four. She has fond memories of reading and playing with her children in between hefty amounts of volunteering at church and their schools. Several of her favorite memories were doing writers workshop, updating the art docent program, recruiting volunteers, working as the parent liaison for the curriculum team, publishing articles in the newsletter and directing a very popular after school art club. About this time she met her current husband, who had a four-year-old son of his own making them a lopsided Brady Bunch. In college she majored in communication with an emphasis on journalism and writing. As managing editor of the the UWT's literary magazine she learned formatting, working with editors and producing a quality product. Working as an advertising and contributing editor for Walk About Magazine she quickly learned that in order to move up in the Public Relations Field or Advertising she was up against stiff competition: twenty-somthings willing to work 80 hours a week. Her children were all blessed with beautiful huge teeth for their small mouths. In search of the best orthodontia coverage at several companies, she took a sales management position in downtown Seattle. Writing was the one constant in her life through all the struggles of single parenthood, stepparent issues and bringing a large family together. She continued to write her brains out in hopes of writing full time one day. After five years in sales, she quit her well paying job to write. Her supportive husband is her biggest cheerleader and she frequently acknowledges that she couldn't have done it without him. Madison Morgan is her debut middle grade novel. She organized Project Madison around it's release and is donating 10% of her proceeds to the ASPCA(R), animal shelters and other programs to benefit homeless or abused animals.