Danielle Joseph

Book Title: Shrinking Violet

Publication Date: May 2009

Publisher: MTV/Pocket Books (Simon&Schuster)

ISBN: 1-4165-9703-4

Author's Website: http://www.daniellejoseph.com

Description of Book:
High school senior, Tere Adams, has one dream—to be a dj. By day she is paralyzed when she has to talk to people, but at night, she rocks, doing mock broadcasts in her bedroom. Her confidence is further eroded by her mom, who still sees Tere as the chubby, pale kid, the other children called Snowball. Mom thinks that Tere’s dreams are just silly fantasies, but her new husband, Rob, offers Tere an internship as his top-forty radio station. Her best friend, Audrey, the only person truly aware of Tere’s vast music knowledge, encourages her to take the job.

To improve her speaking skills, Tere sneaks into the school language lab to practice enunciating. She quickly finds solace in German, figuring if she loosens her vocal chords, she’ll be more comfortable on-air. And she would be if a mix-up didn’t occur, resulting in an in-house suspension for popular girl, Stacy, who blames everything on Tere. Pissed off, Stacy threatens and embarrasses Tere by flinging insults at her around school.

Then there’s the afternoon dj, Dynamite Derek, master perv, who turns everything into a sexual innuendo. Tere must learn to stand up to Derek, her mother and the rest of the demons in her life. Tere realizes that because she is afraid to speak, she has let people walk all over her and things have to change.

About the Author:

Danielle Joseph was a college DJ for five years on the Gyroscope, a world music show. She also interned at several top Boston radio stations while earning her BFA in Creative Writing and an MA in Marketing Communications and Advertising from Emerson College. She has taught Creative Writing and English to Middle school students.

Originally from Cape Town, South Africa, Danielle now lives in Miami, Florida with her husband and two young sons. These days you can find her cruising around with the tunes blaring and her internal DJ hard at work.