Gadget Girl

Anna and the French Kiss meets Stoner & Spaz in a contemporary young adult coming-of-age novel about a girl, her struggles, and her art. Aiko Cassidy is fifteen and lives with her sculptor mother in a small Midwestern town. For most of her young life, Aiko, who has cerebral palsy, has been her mother's muse. But now, she no longer wants to pose for the figures that have made her mother famous. Aiko works hard on her own dream, becoming a sought-after manga artist with a secret identity. When Aiko's mother invites her to Paris for a major exhibition of her work, Aiko resists. She'd much rather go to Japan, Manga Capital of the World, where she might be able to finally meet her father, the indigo farmer. When she gets to France, however, a hot waiter with a passion for manga and an interest in Aiko makes her wonder if being invisible is such a great thing after all. "Spunky heroine with big dreams? Check Trip to Paris? Check Hot French waiter? Check Gadget Girl has everything a reader like me could wish for, and more. I love this story." Tamara Ireland Stone, author of Time Between Us "Suzanne Kamata beautifully captures the essence of what it feels like when you're learning to be who you already are." Andrea J. Buchanan, author of the multimedia YA title Gift and co-author, The Daring Book for Girls "Anyone who has ever longed to come into their own will love Gadget Girl." Leza Lowitz, author of Jet Black and The Ninja Wind Suzanne Kamata's books include Losing Kei; The Beautiful One Has Come, (long-listed for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award); and three anthologies. Her short stories and essays have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize five times. She is Fiction Co-editor of literarymama.com and Fiction Editor of Kyoto Journal. Suzanne Kamata lives in Tokushima, Japan with her husband and her bicultural twins. Visit Suzanne at www.suzannekamata.com