Mammoth

by Jill Baguchinsky

Overview

The summer before her junior year, paleontology geek Natalie Page lands a coveted internship at an Ice Age dig site near Austin, Texas. Natalie, who’s also a plus-size fashion blogger, depends on the retro style and persona she developed to shield herself from her former bullies, but vintage dresses and designer heels aren’t compatible with digging for fossils.

But nothing is going to dampen her spirit. She’s exactly where she wants to be, and gets to work with her hero, the host of the most popular paleontology podcast in the world. And then there’s Chase, the intern, who’s seriously cute, and Cody, a local boy who’d be even cuter if he were less of a grouch.

It’s a summer that promises to be about more than just mammoths.

Until it isn’t.

When Natalie’s paleontologist hero turns out to be anything but, and steals the credit for one of her accomplishments, she has to unearth the confidence she needs to stand out in a field dominated by men. To do this, she’ll have to let her true self shine, even if that means defying the rules and risking her life for the sake of a major discovery. While sifting through dirt, she finds more than fossils—she finds out that she is truly awesome.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684421954
Publisher:	TURNER PUB CO
Publication date:	11/06/2018
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.80(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Jill Baguchinsky was the only kid in town who used to dress up as a Ghostbuster for Halloween. Jill lives in Florida, where she spends too much time on the Internet, sneaks off to Disney World whenever possible, and serves as secretary to her grumpy muses. Her first book, Spookygirl: Paranormal Investigator, won the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award for Young Adult Fiction.

Editorial Reviews

"Nerds and fashionistas alike can rejoice: Natalie is the unapologetically awesome heroine we've all been waiting for! Fresh and fun, this story is a love letter to paleontology, a great example of women in STEM, and a victory for anyone who's ever wanted to change what they see in the mirror. I can't say it enough: this book is a must-read!" —Sarah Glenn Marsh, author of the Reign of the Fallen series

"This book brings me back to my teenage years, when I fell in love with paleontology. A fun story told with unapologetic verve, Mammoth reminds us that science must be open to anyone who has the passion and ambition to learn new things about the world. Natalie's enthusiasm and drive to follow her dreams are a great example for young people considering a career in science." —Steve Brusatte, paleontologist at University of Edinburgh and bestselling author of The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs

From the Publisher

11/01/2018

Gr 9 Up—An engaging, complex heroine with an intriguing love of fashion and paleontology enables this story to succeed despite its less-than-credible plot. Natalie is a rising high school junior who, despite years of enduring fat jokes and cruel pranks, manages to hide her insecurities behind an easygoing, confident demeanor. She has learned to use body sculpting undergarments, flattering clothing, and makeup to redefine herself. Armed with a daily mantra of "be awesome," Natalie authors a popular blog that is part fashion and completely "paleo geek." This summer she has won an internship at the Central Texas Mammoth Site where she'll get hands-on experience working with fossils. Dressed to the nines, she heads off to follow in the footsteps of her paleontologist idol, Dr. Thomas Carver. Unfortunately, she's failed to account for the wilting Texas heat, the need for practical shoes, or the possibility of a summer romance. To her additional surprise, her fellow intern and roommate is the petite, cynical daughter of her idol. It doesn't take long to discover that there's a dark side to her desired profession that, devastating to Natalie, is personified by Dr. Carver and threatens the site where she's interning. Natalie determines to make the most of this opportunity, though, by using her considerable smarts, talent, and newfound daring. Sadly, her willingness to risk everything to unearth a rare fossil comes at an unexpected cost. In the end, she begins to recognize her intelligence and bravery as her defining qualities, and this revelation boosts her self-confidence and minimizes her preoccupation with her weight. VERDICT Science, fashion, and romance combine in this adventure with lots of appeal. A general purchase.—Cary Frostick, formerly at Mary Riley Styles Public Library, Falls Church, VA

School Library Journal

Narrator Carly Robins portrays Natalie, the plus-size fossil-loving heroine, as the unabashedly awesome teenager she is. As she spends her summer interning at an Ice Age dig, Natalie’s exuberance gets her into trouble repeatedly, painfully, and always in a fashion true to her character—whether she’s crushing on a boy who is able to see past her image or giving into moments of weakness in order to follow her paleontological passion. Listeners will particularly enjoy Robins’s pitch-perfect depictions of the spectacles at the dig, particularly the nonsensical alcohol-soaked arguments of teenagers who are unused to alcohol. The drama continues when Natalie and her friend Quinn’s delight at making a potentially great find turns to anger when Natalie’s greatest hero, Quinn’s father, steals the credit. E.J.F. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

DECEMBER 2018 - AudioFile