Novel Ideas

When planning a trip overseas, Valerie Grubb, MBA’01, realized that her mom’s physical and mental capabilities had suddenly changed. Her mom now needed a wheelchair, for example, and was afraid…

Valerie Grubb, MBA’01, gets her love for travel honestly—her dad was a pilot. “I practically grew up in the air,” she says. Grubb’s mother, Dorothy, shared a similar affinity for…

Christina (Fonte) Hillsberg, BA’06, unknowingly blew off her initial interview with the CIA. “I didn’t know [the interview] was for the CIA, I just knew it was for a government…

Michael Bond never intended to be a children’s writer. Though an avid reader, he was by no means a model student and quit school at 14. He repaired rooftop radio…

Rosanne Tolin, BA’90, “devoured” the Paddington Bear book series as a kid. “I read my first Paddington book [when] I was probably about 8 years old,” she recalls. In 2020,…

Liz Lighty has always believed she’s too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it’s okay—Liz has a plan that will get…

The inaugural young adult (YA) pick for Reese Witherspoon’s book club. A 2021 Stonewall Honor Book. One of the “Best Young Adult Books of 2020,” according to Cosmopolitan. Since its…