• Age: 14 to 18
• Grade: 9 to 12

Fran longs to be a star of stage and screen, but she's too poor to afford elocution and dance lessons. When she lands the leading role of Miss Matty in a school production of Cranford, she's determined to make a splash. Far away, in Europe, World War II rages on, but Fran isn't worried, because her boyfriend is stationed in Canada. Her life seems to be heading in the right direction, finally — until she begins to unravel a web of lies and deception. Much as she wants to cling to familiar fantasies, Fran may have no choice but to face the truth.

Edeet was born on a kibbutz and lived in Israel until the age of seven. She has a PhD in Jewish studies from McGill and graduate degrees in literature and creative writing. She has taught at McGill, Concordia and John Abbott College. In addition to her award-winning novels for adults, Edeet has written Held, a YA thriller that was nominated for the CLA Young Adult Book of the Year, the Saskatchewan Willow Award, the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association Top Forty and the Arthur Ellis Best Juvenile Crime Award. Her YA novel The Saver has been adapted for film by Wiebke von Carolsfeld; the film has garnered prizes around the globe. Edeet lives in Guelph, Ontario, and gets her best ideas at the Y swimming pool. Her name is pronounced ee-DEET.

Edeet Ravel's profile page

"Miss Matty takes readers back in time to Montreal during the Second World War, where they will find young women who, despite different circumstances, are remarkably similar to themselves. With patience and care, Edeet Ravel builds a story that encompasses not only the uncertainties of wartime, but friendship, desire, betrayal, sacrifice, ambition, loyalty, and class—all imbued with youthful, determined hopes for the future." —Joan Barfoot, author of Critical Injuries, longlisted for the Man Booker Prize

"A brilliant novel. Memorable, engaging, with deftly-drawn, distinct characters. The setting—Jewish Montreal in 1942—is evoked with extraordinary fidelity and determines the characters' lives in multiple ways. Young adult readers of Miss Matty will find in it reflections of their doubts, their aching desires, and their struggle to understand the complex flawed humanity that defines their own lives and the lives of others."—

"In this richly detailed story of Montreal in wartime, Edeet Ravel deftly explores girlhood and friendship. A joy to read and an inspiration."mdash;Claire Holden Rothman, author of The Heart Specialist