About the Author
Angela wrote her first poem at the age of six and her first short story Candy Bars and Carrot Juice soon after.
Her novel The Safest Lie, now available in paperback, was inspired by Irena Sendler's child rescues from the Warsaw ghetto. The novel is based on research in Warsaw, Poland including meeting and interviewing Irena Sendler and reading transcripts of interviews with Jewish children recorded at the end of the war. The Safest Lie is a Sydney Taylor Honor Book for Older Readers, a Guardian Best Children's Book, and was named a Notable Social Studies Book for Young People by the Children's Book Council.
Angela's play The Power of Poetry won the audience choice award in IM-COM Europe. Her short dark comedy A Chill in My Bones, published by Youth Plays, was performed at the Paragon Science Fiction and Fantasy Play Festival and her play When Guys Talk debuted off Broadway.
She enjoys speaking on writing and the Warsaw ghetto child rescues to schools, small community groups, and at larger functions including festivals.
Reviews
The Safest Lie
National Jewish Book Awards Finalist: Anna's grandmother always told her that the truth was the safest lie—but in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, the truth about Anna's identity is the most dangerous thing there is
It's 1940, and nine-year-old Anna Bauman and her parents are among the 300,000 Polish Jews struggling to survive the wretched conditions in the Warsaw ghetto. Anna draws the attention of a woman called Jolanta—a code name of the real-life resistance spy Irena Sendler, who smuggled hundreds of children out of the ghetto.
Jolanta wants to help Anna escape, but first Anna must assume a new identity, that of Roman Catholic orphan Anna Karwolska. Whisked out of the ghetto to an orphanage, Anna struggles to hide her true identity . . . until she slowly realizes that the most difficult part of this charade is not remembering the details of her new life, but trying not to forget the old one entirely.
This powerful historical novel sheds light on the hidden children, who escaped the horrors of ghettos and concentration camps only to lose their identity and heritage, living among foreign families to stay safe. Informed by the author's interviews with Irena Sendler, the book includes an author's note detailing the research and historical information that brought this story to life.
A Chill in My Bones
Having a "psychic" for a mom is embarrassing. In fact, it's so embarrassing that as her daughter, you might want all evidence of it to disappear into the garage. But what if your mom really is psychic, and one of her regulars has just shown up—unaware that Death is hot on her heels? And what if you discover that you may have more in common with your mom than you hoped…?
10-15 minutes. 3 females, 1 any gender. Suitable for middle school and older.
Published and performances licensed by YouthPLAYS (https://www.youthplays.com), publisher of plays for young actors and audiences.
The End of the Line
Social situations from the war in Iraq to children living in poverty would make for timely and meaningful class discussions. Robbie's story has the potential to make young people think, care, and possibly change. Reviewer: Lynne Farrell Stover
--VOYA
A thought-provoking look at culpability and grief. --Kirkus Review
Robbie is locked in a room with nothing but a desk, chair, a stack of paper, and a pencil. No belt. No shoes. No socks. He starving, but all they give him is water. Robbie has reached The End of the Line, AKA Great Oaks School, and at Great Oaks School there's no time off for good behavior. All good behavior will get you are points. Enough points and you get something to eat, a bed, and bathroom privileges. Thirteen-year-old Robbie's first person accounts of struggles at the school -at times horrifying, at times hilarious-alternates with flashbacks of the events that led to his incarceration. If Robbie is to survive The End of the Line, he must confront one truth: He is a murderer.
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Contact Information
Angela is working on a new contemporary middle grade novel. Stay connected and subscribe to the Stories in Courage newsletter.
