Jersey Tomatoes are the Best

Maria Padian

Mar 2011 · Sold by Knopf Books for Young Readers

About this ebook

This is a hilarious and heartbreaking story of two teen girls and the summer when everything changes for them. Both Henry and Eva are New Jersey natives and excellent athletes: Henry's a master on the tennis court and Eva is a graceful ballerina. When opportunity knocks for both of them the summer before their junior year in high school they throw open the door: Henry sees freedom from her overbearing father and a chance to build her talents on the court. Eva sees the chance to be the best as well as even more pressure to be graceful, lighter, more perfect on the dancefloor.

Soon, Eva's obsession with physical perfection leads her down the path to anorexia, and her health issues overwhelm everything else. But through it all these two best friends know that Jersey Tomatoes are the Best, and nothing will come between them no matter the distance.

About the author

MARIA PADIAN has worked as a commercial radio news reporter, an essayist for public radio, a press secreterary for a U.S. Congressman, and a freelance writer. An avid tennis player, gardner, skiier, and hiker, she is also the mother of two teenagers, who, along with their friends, have provided countless ideas, inspirations, and insights for her writing. A graduate of Middlebury College, she has also attended the Bread Loaf Writers Conference, Oxford University, and the University of Virginia. She lives with her children and husband, and an Australian Shepherd, in Maine where she is at work on a new novel.