Prince William, Maximilian Minsky, and Me

"Nelly’s voice rings true as she deals with friends, family, love, and religion. . . . This fast-paced work will grab readers from the start." — School Library Journal

Nelly Sue Edelmeister knows exactly who she is: a skinny, brainy thirteen-year-old Berlin schoolgirl. But that’s before she develops a hopeless crush on a certain British royal. And it’s definitely before she meets the oddly attractive Maximilian Minsky, her last hope for making the basketball team before it heads off to England and she is virtually thrown into Prince William’s arms. Meanwhile, her parents’ bickering is stressing her out, as is her bat mitzvah looming ahead. Readers will relate to this funny, heartfelt tale of a determined teen as she makes some surprising discoveries about life, loss, love, and faith."Seamlessly plotted, keenly observed, very realistic and deeply satisfying." —Kirkus Reviews"The tryouts are for the basketball team. Not for the National Association of Nerds," Yvonne said.

"I heard," I said. "I'm not deaf." I bent down to tie my shoes.

"Maybe not deaf, but you sure are uncoordinated!" Caroline said.

"Tsk, tsk, Caroline," Yvonne said, shaking her head. "You're so unfair to poor Nelly. She has excellent coordination. Look, she can sit and tie her shoelaces at the same time."

The girls' laughter was drowned out by the sound of the bell for the next class. They picked up their things and scrambled away.

Peace.

I closed my eyes and waited for a beautiful starry sky to appear. Then I saw myself rise and float into its deep blackness. I soared higher and higher, on past one diamond of light to another. In the distance, I saw Prince William coming toward me, William in his three-piece, dark blue, pin-striped, cashmere-blend suit. He held out his hand and took me into his arms. As I put my head on his shoulder, my lips grazed the soft fuzz on the nape of his neck. My stomach felt funny. My lips tingled. We danced on and on, past my mother, astonished to see me, a graceful princess, with William, the price of princes. William spun me around and around, past Yvonne and Caroline and Nicole, all of them clearly envious, on past Pia and Anton, on past the entire student body.

Me, Nelly, William's chosen one.

I opened my eyes.

I'll show them, I thought. I'll show them all.

I stood up. Skinny. Klutzy. Knock-kneed. But determined. I had a goal in life. I was going to be a princess. But first, of course, I'd have to learn how to dribble.

_________

PRINCE WILLIAM, MAXIMILIAN MINSKY, AND ME by Holly-Jane Rahlens. Copyright (c) 2005 by Holly-Jane Rahlens. Published by Candlewick Press, Inc., Cambridge, MA.