Fitzgerald, Dawn

Personal

Female.

Addresses

Home—OH.

Career

Teacher of high-school English in OH.

Awards, Honors

Best Book of the Year selection, Bank Street College, 2003, for Julia Butterfly Hill: Saving the Redwoods.

Writings

BIOGRAPHIES

Angela Bassett, Chelsea House (Philadelphia, PA), 2002.

Ben Stiller, Chelsea House (Philadelphia, PA), 2002.

Destiny's Child, Chelsea House (Philadelphia, PA), 2002.

Julia Butterfly Hill: Saving the Redwoods, Millbrook Press (Brookfield, CT), 2002.

Vinnie and Abraham, Charlesbridge Publishing (Watertown, MA), 2007.

NOVELS

Getting in the Game, Roaring Brook Press (Brookfield, CT), 2005.

Soccer Chick Rules, Roaring Brook Press (New Milford, CT), 2006.

Sidelights

Dawn Fitzgerald wrote several biographies, including Angela Bassett, Ben Stiller, and Destiny's Child, before publishing her first novel, Getting in the Game. This novel, aimed at a young-adult readership, tells the story of Jo, a seventh grader who is the only girl to try out for her school's hockey team. Despite attempts by another player to make her look bad at the tryouts, Jo achieves her goal. Her troubles continue, however, when the other players refuse to pass her the puck and generally shun and intimidate her. Away from the ice rink, Jo's life has other challenges. A longtime, close friend, Ben, seems to be trying to distance himself from her; her brother has left home for college; her parents have separated; and her grandfather is losing his grip on reality and must be moved to a nursing home. They are all "credible dilemmas" and the "snappy" first-person narration by Jo makes her and the other characters in Getting in the Gamecome to life, according to a Publishers Weekly reviewer. A Kirkus Reviews writer also found the novel's situations and characters "realistic and familiar." Jo's insights into the shortcomings of the adult authority figures around her makes for "fast and funny" reading, according to Hazel Rochman in Booklist.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 1, 2005, Hazel Rochman, review of Getting in the Game, p. 1193.

Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2005, review of Getting in the Game, p. 286.

Kliatt, March, 2005, Claire Rosser, review of Getting in the Game, p. 10.

Publishers Weekly, April 25, 2005, review of Getting in the Game, p. 57.

School Library Journal, July, 2005, Elaine Fort Weischedel, review of Getting in the Game, p. 102.