Standing on Neptune

- Seventeen-year-old Brooke Palinder might be pregnant and when her boyfriend is unable to offer any support and she’s unable to tell her best friend, Brooke turns inward and examines her life from a new perspective.

- Standing on Neptune examines the emotional effect of a possible pregnancy on a teenager and the isolation one might feel.

- The Canadian teen birth rate is 5.5 births per 1000 females aged 15-19 and many more sexually active teens worry they’re pregnant at one time or another. Standing on Neptune charts the emotional rollercoaster — the sense of isolation felt without support from loved ones and the relief felt when the teen finds the support they need.

- Formerly a group home director, Valerie Sherrard has a lot of experience with what troubles today’s youth.

- Valerie Sherrard is a versatile author 30+ books whose work is frequently nominated for awards in different genres. Her first novel in verse, Counting Back from Nine, was shortlisted for a 2012 Governor General’s Literary Award.