• Age: 12 to 14
• Grade: 7 to 9

“Am extremely grouchy and even a good rant won’t help. I’d talk to Fishbone, but in spite of his tremendous goodwill, he is still ‘only’ a cat and therefore unable to contribute much in the way of verbal advice. He’s also busy right now, contemplating the borders between the recently established Cat Zone and Dog Zone. The borders were Gran’s idea. A way to keep the beasts separate until some kind of peace agreement has been reached.”

Ninth grader Thisbe has entered the Era of Weird. She’s not sure she likes her best friends anymore, and her house has been invaded by yoga-loving Granny Ed and her smelly dog, Chutney. When she’s assigned a group project in English (what could be worse?), Thisbe decides to work online with a student from another school. The next twelve weeks change her life in ways she never imagined as she forms an important new friendship and makes new discoveries about writing, identity, friendship, and love.

Shula Klinger was born in St. Albans, England. Her poetry, journalism, and creative non-fiction have been published in the UK, the US, and Canada. She holds an undergraduate degree in English from Oxford University and a Masters in Educational Technology from Cambridge. Before moving to Canada, Shula worked in children’s book publishing and for a multimedia division of the BBC. Since completing her Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia, Shula has mentored teachers and developed online course materials for schools in British Columbia. While working for the Vancouver School Board, she also created and moderated The Attic, an online community for students who love reading and writing. She now works as a consultant in online education for schools throughout the province. She is also the developer and moderator of Wordspace, an online domain for young writers. The Kingdom Of Strange is her first novel. You can visit her online at: www.shulaklinger.com

Shula Klinger's profile page