Kathleen Speigner

Hero "Kit" Hunter and Valentines in October: a Novel for Contemporary Youth Kathleen Speigner

Poems "To Hero!" Wilting flowers! Turtles and Dr. Pepper! "You are my Sunshine" skipping home! Hootchie Kisses! Pizza punch out! Nine-year-old Match-maker! Honest words that hurt! Little pink pig! Brother's Rescue! The "Good Book." Cookies and chamomile. Heart-to-hearts! More poems! Goofy juice! Love songs! Dances! Tickle fights! "The Word-wright's Dancing Partner!" Forgiveness! Snapshot suspended memories! Songs of praise! Dad's Devotion after Colts cause commotion! Add more salt! And still more poems! Letters on the ledge...phone calls on the edge! Beethoven's "Fur Elise." Best Friend's Kiss! Last but never least, an adorable kitten! And just a pinch of a faithful friend's allegiance! What recipe is this? Valentines in October! Meet Hero "Kit" Hunter, her mismatched friends, and her fun-loving family, in this novel about the games teens play in-love and getting-into-trouble-with-love. Western-city girl, living in a Midwestern-very-Catholic-town, Hero struggles with her own faith while analyzing her boyfriend's intentions... However, over the chaotic and charming Halloween weekend, fireworks fly in forms of flowers, songs, and strangely enough, poems written by her best friend. Perceived~love is challenged, puppy~love explodes, popular~love is not so popular after all, and true~love blooms! In this upbeat world, with labels and trends, where teens do their best to "fit in," love is one emotion or value that will surely come to pass. For Hero "Kit," it emerges out of the most unexpected places and with the most peculiar people. Sour friends turn sweet! Semi-sweet friends turn sour! Best of all, sweet friends turn even sweeter. Sound like chocolate? Hero's story is just that. Once you are hooked...you will never look back! Luckily, this addiction is a sweet one without calories, no dangerous side effects, and only favorable consequences! Hero "Kit" Hunter emphasizes the social pressures of high school life that teens endure. As a source of inspiration, it o