Madeleine Kuderick

Madeleine Kuderick writes for anthologies and magazines and has spoken at conferences including the International Reading Association, where she's an advocate for reluctant readers and the teachers who touch their lives. She has a bachelor's degree from the University of South Florida and an MBA from Saint Leo University.

Madeleine grew up in Oak Park, Illinois, a community with a rich literary tradition, where she was editor in chief of the same high school newspaper that Ernest Hemingway wrote for as a teen. She now lives on Florida's Gulf Coast with her husband and two children.

Her new novel is Kiss of Broken Glass.

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Kuderick's reply:

I’ve recently read three books that all deal with tough issues and would make great discussion starters in the classroom.

Knockout Games, by award winning author G. Neri, presents an unflinching inside look at the random acts of violence that have surfaced in St. Louis and other cities. In the book, as in real life, teens attempt to knock out strangers with a single punch. The characters have no real motivation to play One Hit or Quit, other than to escape their boring lives and prove their manhood. They think it’s funny and don’t expect anything serious to come of it, until one of their games goes too far. This is a relentless and riveting read that exposes the risk of following the crowd instead of your conscience.

These Gentle Wounds is a beautiful debut by Helene Dunbar that follows Gordie Allen, a fifteen year old boy suffering from PTSD after surviving an unspeakable tragedy and facing continued abuse at the hands of his father. Gordie’s path to healing is realistically faltering and subtle. But his strong connection to his brother and one influential teacher illustrate the importance of having someone to talk to as a step in recovery. This is a powerful story told with sensitivity and heart.

Linda Vigen Phillips debuts with Crazy, her compelling novel in verse that paints a portrait of growing up with a family secret in a time when conditions like bipolar disorder were not well understood. Set in the 1960’s, no one in Laura’s family will talk about her mother’s hospitalizations and Laura is left to navigate her increasingly erratic world alone. Still very relevant today, this is a beautifully written, intimate story that would foster classroom discussions about the hushed subject of mental illness.

Visit Madeleine Kuderick's website.

--Marshal Zeringue