Books

Lights, Camera, Amalee

When Amalee's grandmother dies, she inherits a very strange object: a huge champagne bottle filled with over a thousand dollars' worth of change. Amalee is told to spend the money on something important, so she decides to make a movie about endangered species. Soon there's as much going on behind the scenes as there is in front of the camera, as Amalee deals with a new friend, a very cute older boy, her wacky family friends, and a host of other challenges. She also discovers something she never expected to find -- a link with her mother, who disappeared and died when she was very little.


"Amalee's newfound filmmaking skills coincide with her emerging life skills, evident throughout in this very satisfying story."  School Library Journal

"...a treat to read." — The Horn Book

"Williams interweaves elements of environmental science, film production, first crushes and the very normal emotional growth of a tween's initial understanding of a mother's alcoholism and subsequent early demise...a multilayered work, offering a well-developed protagonist who has grown into a sincere, genuine, caring adolescent."  Kirkus Reviews

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