• Age: 14 to 17
• Grade: 5 to 8

Janey doesn't want to spend the summer away from her friends in Toronto--and certainly not in Edmonton with the grandmother she hardly knows. But her parents will be away--her mother in Turkey designing housing for earthquake victims, her dad on business trips. Her first surprise is her feisty grandma, who meets her at the airport in her vintage Cadillac, Marilyn. The second comes when she visits the Fort Edmonton historic park and time travels to 1907. The third is learning the real reason she's in Edmonton. Her grandma is going through cancer treatment and needs someone to be with her.

Janey makes four trips, each to a different period of Fort Edmonton's history. What draws her into the past? Only on the last trip does she discover the meaning of her adventures--and their crucial connection to her own family. Rita Feutl's first novel features a deftly handled plot and a wealth of fascinating characters from prairie history.

Rita Feutl's first words were in German and Hungarian, the languages of her parents who immigrated to Canada. She didn't learn English until she started school in Toronto. When she discovered that she could write those words down and tell stories with them, she was hooked. She became a journalist first, and her stories in national newspapers and magazines have covered everything from art and politics to how to say hello to an elephant. She has a BA in political science from the University of Toronto, an MA in journalism from the University of Western Ontario and a post-graduate diploma in Teaching English as a Second Language from the University of Alberta.
When Rita's not traveling to the Great Wall of China, the pyramids of Egypt or the palaces of Europe, she lives in Edmonton, Alberta, with her family. She is a writer and editor, and has given numerous school readings and writing workshops. Because her family has had four bikes stolen—one of them twice!—Rita has written Bike Thief, about a teen who must steal bikes to pay off a debt. Together with co-author Debby Waldman, Rita has also adapted a central-European folktale to create Room Enough Daisy, about a little girl who wants a bigger room for all the birthday presents she's expecting. Rita's historical novel, Rescue at Fort Edmonton, tells the tale of a kid who time-travels into Edmonton's past to stop a disaster. Rita adores big dogs, good chocolate and everything about soccer. For more information, please visit www.ritafeutl.com.

Rita Feutl's profile page