Eastland

WOULD YOU RISK YOUR LIFE FOR JUST ONE DAY OF FREEDOM? For hardworking teen, Dee Pageau, the annual employee picnic will let her escape the drudgery of work and possibly find love with her best friend Mae's older brother, Karel. But in 1915 Chicago, girls don't go on picnics without their mother's approval. Unfortunately for Dee, Mama has had a premonition of disaster and forbids Dee from going. Forced to watch as Mae and Karel leave without her, Dee defies Mama and rushes off to join her friends. But Dee's joy soon turns to terror when the ship ferrying them to the picnic capsizes. Rescued not once but twice-by Karel and a mysterious sailor-Dee finds herself tested in unimaginable ways. What happens next turns out to be worse ... and better ... than anything Dee ever expected.

Marian Cheatham is a full-time writer of contemporary and historical young adult fiction. A native Chicagoan and a graduate of Northern Illinois University, Marian taught special education and worked in the business world before pursuing her dream of becoming a full-time writer. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, gardening, travelling, and researching new projects. Not necessarily in that order. Her new YA series, Stratford High, revolves around modern retellings of Shakespeare’s plays. Ruined, Book One, is inspired by the Bard’s classic romance, Much Ado About Nothing. 4Ever Girl, Book Two, is inspired by Shakespeare’s controversial comedy, The Merchant of Venice. Marian’s debut YA, Eastland, is based on the real-life story of the 1915 Eastland boat disaster in Chicago. www.facebook.com/mariancheatham.author www.twitter.com/CheathamMarian