• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

In a new town, in a new school, fourteen-year-old Terra is experiencing many of the trials and tribulations that face her peers. She isn’t finding it easy to make new friends, nor leave behind her old ones. And while some of the new Inglewood girls seem kind of exciting, is that the crowd she really wants to hang out with? And what about that cute guy Glenn from the new school? Could he possibly want to be friends with Terra - or more? Terra has many, ultimately crucial, choices to make. All of these are normal stresses for a teenaged girl. But on top of all of these, Terra, who has always known she was adopted, is panicked at the thought of meeting her birthmother for the first time. Why didn’t this woman want to keep her baby fourteen years ago, and why has she decided she wants to meet Terra now? This is the follow-up to A Hole in the Hedge, which was shortlisted for the Canadian Library Association Children’s Book of the Year and brings to the page another moving story about the angst of being a teen.

Grace Casselman worked for many years as a business and technology journalist -- writing for a number of prominent newspapers, such as the National Post, the Globe and Mail and the Calgary Herald. She also edited technology magazines, including Computerworld Canada, Canadian Computer Wholesaler and ebiz Magazine. That line of work gave her the chance to travel and has taken her to tradeshows and conventions all across the United States and throughout Europe. Grace grew up as a minister's daughter, moving from parish to parish in Eastern and Northern Ontario. In total, she ended up attending five elementary schools and two high schools. While it was somewhat traumatic always being "the new kid“, that experience helped her in later life to adapt to new situations. Grace was always interested in writing. She decided to study at Carleton University in Ottawa, where she earned an Honours Bachelor of Journalism, graduating in 1991. She worked on staff at technology publications for number of years. In 1997, she moved to Calgary, where she was able to use her technology journalism contacts to establish herself as a freelance writer. She lives with her husband and son in Calgary. Her first novel for young readers, A Hole in the Hedge, was published by Napoleon in 2003. It was shortlisted for the Canadian Library Association’s Children’s Book of the Year and won an Alberta Book Award. A Walk in the Park features many of the same characters but deals with the story of a new protagonist, Terra, a fourteen-year-old girl struggling to adapt to life in a new town, and the issue of adoption. This talented novelist passed away in late 2006 and is missed by all.

Grace Casselman's profile page