New York: Nan A. Talese/ Doubleday (2013) dj. Hardcover first edition - The first novel by this documentary filmmaker, based on the real-life story of Anna Simpson, whom the author met during the filming of the award-winning 'Our Song.'
"Written in an urban vernacular, it introduces a heroine whose voice is irrepressible, dynamic, and unstintingly honest. Thirteen-year-old AnnMarie Walker dreams of a world beyond Far Rockaway, where the sway of the neighborhood keeps her tied to old ideas about success. While attending a school for pregnant teens, AnnMarie comes across a flyer advertising movie auditions in Manhattan. Astonishingly, improbably, and four months before shes due to give birthshe lands a lead role. But when the the realities of her life set in, her grit and determination are the only tools left to keep her moving forward." 310 pp. ISBN: 978-0385537322.