Larsen, Judy Merrill 1960-

PERSONAL: Born April, 1960, in Whittier, CA; married; children: five. Education: Graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1982; earned master’s degree from Washington University.

ADDRESSES: Home— St. Louis, MO. Agent— Marly Rusoff & Associates, Inc., P.O. Box 542, Bronxville, NY 10708.

CAREER: Writer and educator. Worked variously as a waitress, grocery checker, copy center clerk, deli clerk, sales clerk, substitute teacher, and English teacher.

WRITINGS

All the Numbers (novel), Ballantine Books (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS: Judy Merrill Larsen moved around a lot as a child before studying in Wisconsin and settling in St. Louis, Missouri, with her husband and five children. Along with holding a number of different addresses, Larsen held numerous jobs. She stopped teaching to write her first novel, All the Numbers. Larsen explained her motivation in deciding to become a full-time writer in an interview on the Har-ford County Public Library Web site. She stated: “I had set a goal for myself that I would get to Europe and write a novel before I turned 40. So, in the summer of 1999, I took my sons to Europe for 17 days and then came home and wrote the first draft of this book. I turned 40 the following April.”

All the Numbers tells the story of a woman, who after losing her youngest son in an accident, copes with her loss, her other son, and her attitude towards the teen responsible for his death. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews liked the way Larsen “builds a tender portrait” of the family but noted that “the story is too predictable.” A Publishers Weekly reviewer concluded that “there are bright moments, but the book feels like a novella stretched too thin.” Deborah Donovan, writing in Booklist, commented that “Larsen depicts a mother’s year of grief and recovery with a sure and honest voice.”

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES

PERIODICALS

Booklist, June 1, 2006, Deborah Donovan, review of All the Numbers, p. 37.

Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2006, review of All the Numbers, p. 537.

Publishers Weekly, May 1, 2006, review of All the Numbers, p. 31.

ONLINE

BookLoons, http://www.bookloons.com/ (January 27, 2007), Hilary Williamson, review of All the Numbers.

Harford County Public Library Web site, http://www.harf.lib.md.us/ (January 27, 2007), author interview.

Judy Merrill Larsen Home Page, http://www.judymerrilllarsen.com (January 27, 2007), author biography.

Random House Web site, http://www.randomhouse.com/ (January 27, 2007), author interview.