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Lesley Kagen is an America, Milwaukee native, and national bestselling novelist. Her first book, ''Whistling in the Dark'', 2007, which takes place in a Milwaukee neighborhood, made the New York Times Best Seller list. Her novels are written from the viewpoints of children or young narrators, capturing the "kids' honesty, their unique way of viewing the world, their direct way of talking, () their enthusiasm." Common themes in her stories, which are set in the 1950s and 1960s, include: dealing with loss, family, mystery, discovering the truth, inner-workings of a community, sibling bonds, childlike perception, innocence and corruption. ==Biography== Lesley Kagen grew up in Milwaukee and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she majored in Radio and Television. She worked as a morning drive DJ on an alternative radio station before moving to Los Angeles where she worked at Licorice Pizza record chain, writing, producing, and voicing commercials. Kagen's career as an actor involved on-air commercials, made-for-TV movies, and an episode of ''Laverne and Shirley''. After meeting her husband and having two kids, Kagen and family moved back to Milwaukee where she became the co-owner of a popular Japanese sushi restaurant, Restaurant Hama, which closed for business in 2009. At age 57, Kagen began her career as a novelist. Her first novel, ''Whistling in the Dark'', published in May 2007 is a "coming-of-age thriller set in Milwaukee during the summer of 1959."〔"Whistling in the Dark." Publishers Weekly, 254.11 (2007): 40.〕 ''Publishers Weekly'' deemed the "mystery elements" of the novel as "sketchy" but said that "Kagen sharply depicts the vulnerability of children of any era." 〔 In an interview discussing ''Whistling in the Dark'', Kagen said, "Some of this book is very autobiographical. My father did die when I was very young and my mother did get very sick during one summer, and my sisters and I were left with our stepfather who we really didn't know. That trauma and that sense of fear and insecurity that I felt as I child, I think I transferred to Sally," the protagonist of the novel. ''Publishers Weekly'' described Kagen's second novel, ''Land of a Hundred Wonders'', 2008, as a "winsome" story that "offers laughter and bittersweet sighs." 〔"Land of a Hundred Wonders." Publishers Weekly, 255.26 (2008): 162-163.〕 The story's protagonist is a young girl, Gibby McGraw, who survived a car accident in which her parents died and which resulted in brain damage making her "Not Quite Right." As a young adult and struggling newspaper reporter in a small town, Gibby gets involved in the solving of a murder as an attempt to prove to everyone that she is "Quite Right." Kagen's next novel, ''Tomorrow River'', 2010, was reviewed as "stellar" and "spellbinding" by ''Publishers Weekly''.〔"Tomorrow River." Publishers Weekly, 257.11 (2010): 34-37.〕 The novel tells the story of Shenandoah Carmody who struggles to take care of her twin sister after the disappearance of their mother. Her fourth novel, ''Good Graces'', published in 2011, is a sequel to the ''New York Times'' Best Seller ''Whistling in the Dark''. It was reviewed to be a "spot-on sequel" and claimed "reader's who enjoyed the first book are in for a treat." 〔"Good Graces." Publishers Weekly, 258.21 (2011): 25.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Lesley Kagen」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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