Get Psyched

by Janet McLaughlin

There's more at stake at this year's two-day National Cheerleading Competition than taking first place. Lives will be changed and possibly even lost if fifteen-year-old Zoey Christopher doesn't take action. She knows she'll need help, but who to trust is the problem. No one knows about Zoey's gift and she wants to keep it that way. Being fifteen is tough enough. Being fifteen and psychic, as Zoey would tell you if she trusted you, really sucks.
At practice the night before the competition, Zoey gets a vision about a fellow cheerleader whose life is in danger. Later she gets more sensory a cheerleader surrounded by smoke and a panicking crowd; a vendor covered in ashes.
To further complicate her life, she meet Josh, whose very touch sends her sensory system into overload. Circumstances force Zoey to tell Josh, and her friends Becca and Mike, about her visions. The foursome band together to stop the fire that threatens to destroy the hotel/convention center and the lives of so many of her fellow cheerleaders.

213 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 16, 2013

About the author

I have been involved in the communication field most of my adult life as either a writer, teacher, or editor. I am a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and the Florida Writers Association and am an avid fan of cheerleading competitions, especially those involving my grandchildren. I live in Florida with my husband Tom. My other passions involve tennis, traveling, walking, and meeting people.

"Different"

Twelve-year-old Izzy wants to be like everyone else, but she has a secret. She isn’t weird or angry, like some of the kids at school think. Izzy has Tourette syndrome. Hiding outbursts and tics from her classmates is hard enough, but when a new girl arrives, Izzy’s fear of losing her best friend makes Izzy’s symptoms worse. And when she sees her crush act suspiciously, runaway thoughts take root inside of her. As the pressure builds and her world threatens to spin out of control, Izzy must face her fear and reveal her secret, whatever the costs.

Authentic and perceptive, Different shines a light on the delicate line of a child’s hopes and fears and inspires us all to believe that perhaps we are not so different after all.