Project News

June 2017: EDNA IN THE DESERT is proud to be on new reading lists alongside time-honored classics.  Hope students enjoy their summer reading!  EDNA IN THE DESERT Can a Beverly Hills teen survive without a smart phone, Internet, and TV?  Edna will find out.  Edna is thirteen, spoiled and wreaking havoc at her Beverly Hills school. Her therapist advocates medication, but her parents come up with an alternative cure: Edna will spend the summer in the desert with her grandparents. Their remote cabin is cut off from cell phone service, Internet and TV. Edna is determined to rebel until she meets an older local boy and falls in love for the...

Thanks to Insatiable Readers for this terrific review of EDNA IN THE DESERT!  xo, Maddy   Can a Beverly Hills teen survive without a smart phone, Internet, and TV? Edna will find out. Edna is a girl who knows what she wants and where she’s going…or at least she was until this summer’s new itinerary was sprung on her by her loving parents.  Wait, scratch that…apparently they are much more hateful than loving since they’re dumping her in the middle of the desert, off the grid, with her grandparents…one of which is less than friendly, while the other nary speaks...

Review by Book Wonderland, 7/11/16 My Rating: ★★★★★   Edna is a 13 year old Beverly Hills teen. Her snide comments and disrespect towards her parents leads them to abandon her in the desert with her grandparents. Edna is in complete shock by this and now must do chores everyday and be respectful to her grandparents who live in the middle of nowhere. She has no idea how she will survive with no contact to the outside world. She tries everything she can in order to get out of this situation. But when Johnny, a handsome 17 year old that lives...

EDNA IN THE DESERT  Author Maddy Lederman is on the 2016 Scholastic Writing Awards Jury!   “It was hard to believe that these stories came from writers who are so young, and it was even harder to judge this contest: Every entry had its own strengths. Some were so moving they brought me to tears (I made sure I brought tissues the second day!). What an incredible variety of topics and talent! Scholastic is doing a great job highlighting teen writers. I had so much fun, and I’m proud to join their distinguished list of jurors!” Maddy Lederman...

Book Rags has created a smart, insightful study guide for the Edna In The Desert.  Can a Beverly Hills teen survive without a cell phone, Internet or TV? …Edna will find out. Edna is spoiled and wreaking havoc at her Beverly Hills school. Her therapist advocates medication, but her parents come up with an alternative cure: Edna will spend the summer in the desert with her grandparents.  Their remote cabin is cut off from cell phone service, Internet and everything else she likes. Edna’s determined to rebel until she meets an older local boy and falls in love for the first time. How can she get to know him from the edge...

Can a Beverly Hills teen survive without a cell phone, Internet or TV? …Edna will find out.  Edna In The Desert author Maddy Lederman visited Carle Place High School where students read the novel over the summer. They talked about Edna and Johnny, social media and the desert, and then participated in a writing workshop emphasizing the use of setting in story-telling. The students asked smart questions and came up with fascinating settings in the workshop: An underground cave that has a pond filled with bio-luminescent fish, a scrumptious Candyland, an old house with creaky floors and an abandoned insane...

Edna In The Desert  was required reading at a number of middle and high schools this summer! Here’s what summer readers shared: “It was funny, realistic, sad, and loved the characters.” “It was everything I could ever want in one book!” “I really did love this book with all my heart and soul.”                                                                                          “Edna In The...

From Tween Book Blog, July 8, 2015. Edna in the Desert Review Edna in the Desert by Maddy Lederman, eLectio Publishing, 2013. 978-0615884738 Synopsis: Edna’s parents are at their wit’s end. Their daughter is constantly in trouble at school and she needs a wake-up call, but no good solution has presented itself. As a last resort, Edna is sent to spend the summer with her grandparents in Desert Palms where she is cut off from her phone and her computer. Bitter and angry, Edna is about to give up when she meets Johnny. Will her time in the desert cure her rebellious streak or will it...

“It’s been great fun bringing EDNA IN THE DESERT to English readers in Paris. Their excitement has been remarkable. They really seem to enjoy Edna’s special brand of sarcasm!” –Maddy Author Maddy Lederman read excerpts of EDNA IN THE DESERT at Le Bistro Des Artists in Saint Michel/Odeon and at Culture Rapide with Paris Lit Up in Belleville, May 2015, Paris, France.   Can a Beverly Hills teen survive without a cell phone, Internet or TV? Edna will find out. EDNA IN THE DESERT is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and iTunes. “The most hilarious and realistic Young Adult book that I have...

EDNA IN THE DESERT makes it onto another school reading list, this time as Summer 2015 Reading for 8th graders at The Royal West Academy in Quebec, Canada. It is such an honor to be on this very short list along with classics by Charlotte Bronte and Agatha Christie! Hope the students enjoy EDNA IN THE DESERT and feel free to share their thoughts! Can a modern teen live without her smart phone, WiFi or anything else she likes? Edna will find out. Edna is spoiled and wreaking havoc at her Beverly Hills school. Her therapist advocates medication, but her parents come up with an...