frontlines

First-Time
Author
Focuses On
Fitting In

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•

Contributing Writer

A very pleased Beth Rodgers stands beside her book on a bookstore shelf.

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ak Park educator and writer
Beth Rodgers has won
second place in the young
adult novel category of a competi-
tion for new books for her first book,
Freshman Fourteen (Clear Stone
Press, 2014).
The book follows the life of Margot
Maples as she works her way through
her ninth-grade year at Kipperton
High. She's smart, sweet and ready to
start fresh. But now that her best friend
has moved away, she's stuck wondering
just how to fit in.
Making her transition more difficult
is Max, who always knows how to push
her buttons; Walter, her geeky suitor;
Cassie, the girl who seemingly has it all;
and Peter, her first true crush. Margot
discovers freshman year is a time when
a girl's reputation is determined by the
most trivial of matters, including where

you eat, how many friends you have,
and — most notably — who you kiss.
The competition was sponsored by
BookBzz.com, a website for bibliophiles
where users can share book news and
book reviews.
The competition had 11 categories,
including young adult books. Thirteen
young-adult books were chosen as
finalists. Visitors to the website then
chose the winners.
Rodgers, who teaches English at
Baker College in Clinton Township,
spent nine years working on Freshman
Fourteen. She says she started writing
as a small child and always dreamed
of becoming a full-fledged author.
She's now working on a sequel that will
take her heroine, Margot, through her
sophomore year.
Freshman Fourteen is available online

JN CONTENTS

April 9-15, 2015

A.

Zack Herman

Barbara Lewis

20-26 Nisan 5775

Around Town
21
Arts & Life
45
Business
34
Business Memos
34
Calendar
25
Dining Around the D ..24
Editor's Picks
50
Home
51
Israel .. 5, 6, 35, 36, 38, 39
Letters
5
Lifecycles
60
Marketplace
62
Metro
8
NextGen
42

through Amazon and Barnes & Noble,
and at The Book Beat and Lincoln
Drugs, both in Oak Park.
"I love to hunker down with a great
young adult novel any chance I get:'
said Rodgers, who says she's also an
avid TV and movie watcher.
Rodgers graduated from Southfield-
Lathrup High School and holds degrees
in education from the University of
Michigan and Wayne State University.
She lives in Oak Park with her husband,
David, and their toddler son, Evan.
They are members of Congregation
Beth Shalom in Oak Park.

❑

Rodgers will have a book reading/signing

event at the Oak Park Library at 6:30 p.m.

Monday, May 18. Learn more about Rodgers

through her Facebook page, Beth Rodgers

Author.

JEWISHNEWS

Vol. CXLVII, No.10

Obituaries
Passover
Points of View
Sports
Spotlight
Synagogue List
Teen2Teen
Torah Portion
World

66
28
38
44
66
40
23
41
36

Columnists
Danny Raskin
Robert Sklar

58
38

Shabbat & Holiday Lights

Pesach 7: Thursday, April 9, 7:49 p.m.
Shabbat, Pesach 8: Friday, April 10, 7:50 p.m.
Shabbat, Pesach End: Saturday, April 11, 8:54 p.m.

Shabbat: Friday, April 17, 7:58 p.m.
Shabbat Ends: Saturday, April 18, 9:02 p.m.

Times are from Yeshiva Beth Yehudah calendar.

is an Oakland
University student majoring in educa-
tion and doing his student teaching in
Clarkston. "I'm teaching junior high
Spanish," Zack said. "I've always
loved languages, and teaching is what
I want. I've never been happier."
For years, Zack wasn't sure what to do
with his life. As high school ended, he
considered teaching as a profession,
but wasn't convinced it was right
for him. He worked retail while he
looked at options, and decided to
pursue a business degree. Along the
way he changed to liberal arts, and
with the advice of a trusted professor,
Zack came full circle back to teaching.
With that choice made, Zack looked
for a way to bridge the gap between
his costs and his available funds.
Friends had interest-free loans to
help pay for school and mentioned
the opportunity, so Zack called
Hebrew Free Loan, applied, and
received funding. The Mayer, Tillie,
Harold and Miriam Sansky
Evergreen Legacy Fund, which
was founded at HFL to benefit
those pursuing education and
training, helped support Zack.
"The loan process was easy, and
you knew where you stood every
step of the way. It felt more like
borrowing from family," Zack said.
"It seemed like the whole community
was there for me."

:lick. Call. Give Now.
www.hfldetroit.org
248.723.8184

Health. A fresh start.
A good education.
The next great business idea.

Hebrew Free Loan gives interest-
free loans to members of our
community for a variety of per-
sonal and small business needs.
HFL loans are funded entirely
through community donations
which continually recycle to
others, generating many times
the original value to help main-
tain the lives of local Jews.

HEBREW

FREE*LOAN

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The Jewish News aspires to communicate news and opinion that's useful, engaging, enjoyable and unique. It strives to
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April 9 • 2015

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