Girl Singer

"A fast-paced narrative. . . . compelling and intense reading, by turns funny, tender, and horrifying, Girl Singer is the real deal--a captivating, well-told tale." --Fred Kasten, Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist

"Carlon is a natural heir of Robert Louis Stevenson. If you like good fiction, you'll like Girl Singer." --Brian Morton, The Penguin Guide to Jazz

"Carlon is a unique educational force, bringing young readers into the pleasures and drama of jazz." --Nat Hentoff, Jazz Country, Boston Bay, etc.

"An arresting and wonderful story that communicates--through a deep relationship between a singer and a Holocaust survivor--the joy of music, self-discovery, pain, and racism." --Dick Golden, host of George Washington University Presents American Jazz

"Avery's story tackles hard topics--racism, women's rights--which transcend time and place. A tale with deep resonance and educational force, that will keep readers turning pages." -Marilyn Lester, executive director, the Duke Ellington Center for the Arts

Harlem 1938: eighteen-year-old Avery, aspiring singer, is heard by Lester "Pres" Young, Count Basie's tenor saxophonist. Pres recommends her to Basie, and Avery is whisked into the jazz life. Years later, with several hit records to her credit, Avery settles in Greenwich Village. But her life takes a sharp turn when she meets Karl, a Jewish refugee from Hitler's Germany.

Mick Carlon is a thirty-year veteran English and journalism teacher at the high and middle school levels, and the author of the middle-grade novels Riding on Duke's Train and Travels with Louis. He is a frequent contributor to Jazz Times.