• Age: 10 to 14
• Grade: 5 to 8

Janet McNaughton’s brilliantly realized novel The SecretUnder My Skin has been critically acclaimed both here in Canada,where it won three awards, and in the US. Readers everywhere have been eagerlyawaiting its sequel, also set in a darkly tinged future three centuries ahead.

Blake Raintree, the heroine of The Secret Under My Skin,is now eighteen. She returns to the city of her birth as an aide to a justicecouncil charged with trying to address the wrongs of the technocaust. Whilethere, Blake submits the ID code from the microchip that was implanted in herarm by her parents in infancy, hoping to find out more about her past, andespecially her father. What she learns will cause her to question everything sheknows about herself. Torn between a terrible anger and a search for love andacceptance she has been denied her entire life, Blake must face a harsh choice.

Another superbly crafted blend of rich storytelling, thoughtprovoking ideas and sensitive character portrayal, The Raintree Rebellionreconfirms Janet McNaughton as one of our best juvenile novelists.

Janet McNaughton was fifteen when she began to write her first book - a historical novel for young readers. She did not finish it, but did learn she loved finding out how people lived and thought in the past. This led her to study folklore in university and eventually brought her to Newfoundland. After completing a Ph.D in Folklore, she returned to her first love, writing for young readers.
Ms. McGrath is the winner of the Violet Downey National Chapter of the IODE Book Award (best Canadian English Language Children's Book), Ann Conner Brimer Award for Children's Literature in Atlantic Canada, and the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People. She has also been short-listed for the Mr. Christie Book Award, the Blue Heron Book Award and the CLA Young Adult Book Award. Most recently she has been nominated for the 1998 Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Literature, 1998 Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction and the 1998 Red Maple Reading Award.
Janet also reviews books for Quill & Quire and Atlantic Books Today. She has also contributed to Canadian Bookseller, Books in Canada, and Canadian Author. Janet writes essays for adult literacy education and sometimes does radio commentary. She currently resides in St. John's with her husband and daughter.

Janet McNaughton's profile page