Cynthia T. Toney
Cynthia chose to write for young people to show them how wonderful, powerful, and valuable they are. She creates complex characters and twisty plots—because life is complicated. Ask any teen! Her stories address issues that young people face today, but they are full of hope and laced with humor. Her characters are diverse in ethnicity and culture and include deaf and Jewish teens.
Cynthia's contemporary Bird Face series includes 8 Notes to a Nobody, 10 Steps to Girlfriend Status, 6 Dates to Disaster, and 3 Things to Forget. Her first coming-of-age historical, The Other Side of Freedom, takes place in the rural southern U.S. in 1925. It has received literary awards from Independent Author Network Book of the Year Awards (2018 Outstanding Fiction Children/Juvenile and Second Place Fiction Book of the Year), Next Generation Indie Book Awards (2018 First Place Grand Prize and First Place Children's/Juvenile Fiction), Catholic Press Association (2018 CPA Book Awards, Third Place, Children's), and Readers' Favorite Book Awards (2018 Gold Medal, Children: Coming of Age). In addition to writing, Cynthia has a passion for rescuing dogs from animal shelters and encourages others to save a life by adopting a shelter pet. In her spare time, she grows herbs and studies the complex history of the friendly southern U.S., where she lives with her husband and several canines. |
The Other Side of Freedom
Historical, Coming of Age
In a southern farming community in 1925, thirteen-year-old Salvatore and his Italian immigrant father become involved against their will in a crime that results in the murder of an innocent man and family friend. Will Sal keep the secrets about that night as his father asks, or risk everything he and his family cherish in their new homeland, including their lives? Amidst bigotry, bootlegging, police corruption, and gangland threats, Sal must discover whom he can trust in order to protect himself and his family and win back his father's freedom. Sal's family, their African-American farmhand, and the girl who is Sal's best friend find their lives forever changed as dreams are shattered and attitudes challenged in a small community called Freedom. |
8 Notes to a Nobody (Bird Face - Book One)
Teen, YA
Wendy Robichaud doesn't care one bit about being popular like good-looking classmates Tookie and the Sticks--until Brainiac bully John-Monster schemes against her, and someone leaves anonymous sticky-note messages all over school. Even the best friend she always counted on, Jennifer, is hiding something and pulling away. But the spring program, abandoned puppies, and high school track team tryouts don't leave much time to play detective. And the more Wendy discovers about the people around her, the more there is to learn. When secrets and failed dreams kick off the summer after eighth grade, who will be around to support her as high school starts in the fall? |
10 Steps to Girlfriend Status (Bird Face - Book Two)
Teen, YA
At the start of high school, Wendy Robichaud is on schedule to have everything she wants: two loyal best friends, a complete and happy family, and a hunky boyfriend she's had a crush on since eighth grade--until she and Mrs. Villaturo look at old photo albums together. That's when Mrs. V sees her dead husband and hints at a 1960s scandal down in Cajun country. Faster than you can say "crawdad," Wendy digs into the scandal and into trouble. She risks losing boyfriend David by befriending Mrs. V's cute hearing-impaired grandson, alienates stepsister Alice by having a boyfriend in the first place, and upsets her friend Gayle without knowing why. Will Wendy be able to prevent Mrs. V from being taken thousands of miles away? And will she lose all the friends she's fought so hard to gain? This story addresses first innocent romance, a blended family, friendship with an Alzheimer's victim, and an ancestral interracial relationship. |
6 Dates to Disaster (Bird Face - Book Three)
Teen, YA
For her mom's birthday, Wendy finds an old jewelry box at a flea market--the perfect gift for someone who loves salvaged junk. But inside the box is a cryptic note that appears to have been written recently. Wendy's curiosity leads her on a search with boyfriend David at her side, eager to help. Who wrote the note, and did the intended recipient ever see it? But when Wendy's stepfather loses his job, she needs more personal and urgent help--the financial kind. The family's plan to visit Alaska on vacation is headed down the sewer like a hard Louisiana rain. How will Wendy ever see Mrs. V or Sam again? An opportunity arrives in the form of tutoring Melissa, one of the Sticks, and Wendy's money problems appear to be solved. Until the arrangement takes a turn that gets Wendy into trouble like never before. And in the final months of ninth grade, she might lose everything she counted on for the future. |
3 Things to Forget (Bird Face - Book Four)
Teen, YA
In Alaska, Wendy thinks she’s left behind the problems resulting from her mistakes in Louisiana, at least for a while. But starting the summer at her friend Sam’s house and volunteering with Alaska Wildlife Conservation bring not only strange surroundings but also strangers into her life. And those strangers have a secret involving a troubled girl who threatens Wendy’s friendship with Sam. As Wendy struggles to understand the Alaskans she meets and gets to know, will she be able to forget what she hopes to, or will her new challenges teach her the importance of remembering the past? |