The Paris Project

July 15, 2019
A small-town Francophile dreams big in this story of economic hardships and parental incarceration. Cleveland Potts has one goal in life: move to Paris, France. Her plan consists of taking ballet lessons (for culture), cooking French cuisine, viewing impressionist art, then applying to the American School of Paris. She already studies French vocabulary with language CDs from the public library, and she's sure the other steps are within her reach. However, Sassafras, Florida, isn't a bastion of culture, and her first ballet class ends in disgrace. What's more, she recently lost all the money from her Paris fund (earned by walking dogs); her father took it after stealing from his boss to feed a gambling addiction. Now he's in jail, and Cleveland struggles to reconcile her anger for his transgression with how desperately she and the rest of the family want him home. She's also starting seventh grade with only one friend from her trailer park, an aspiring chef who's slowly coming out as gay. Gephart once again compassionately creates complex characters, including the members of Cleveland's presumed-white family, who are profoundly earnest in their collective and individual dreams. Readers won't "pity" Cleveland (she wouldn't want any), but they'll be rooting for her all the way. Includes a glossary of Cleveland's French phrases, a recipe, and notes on incarcerated parents. Une histoire d'espoir--a story of hope. (Fiction. 8-12)

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November 4, 2019
Seventh-grader Cleveland Rosebud Potts has a six-step plan to escape Sassafras, Fla., and Sunny Smiles Trailer Park, where everyone assumes that she must be a bad seed because her dad is in jail. Cleveland dreams of leaving town and attending the American School of Paris, but her immediate challenges are facing an ex-friend turned bully, navigating a shifting relationship with her best friend, and sorting through her confusing feelings about her father (no one knows that after her dad was caught stealing money from his boss to gamble at the dog track, he also stole Cleveland’s dog-walking earnings). As the young woman navigates her feelings of shame, fear, and betrayal, Gephart (Lily and Dunkin) creates a winning character in her beret-clad, Francophile heroine. This authentic, ultimately hopeful story of forgiveness and empathy is a memorable, heartfelt read that centers the difficult, complicated reality of addiction, poverty, and bullying in small-town America. Ages 8–12.