“The second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find someone who can play the second
fiddle with enthusiasm–that’s a problem. And if we have no second fiddle, we have no harmony.” Leonard Bernstein
I love this Bernstein quote! Thanks to my student Jamie Whitney who found it for me. I makes me think of my dear friend and life long second violin player Virginia Euwer Wolff. This is a picture of me playing second fiddle to my daughters at a book event at Third Pace Books in Seattle. We are playing Pachebel’s Canon in D, a song my string trio plays in the book.
Awards and Honors
- Spring of 2011 an Indy Next pick by independent booksellers
- 2011 Parents’ Choice Recommended Award Winner
- Oct. 2012 Oregon Spirit Book Award from the Oregon Council of Teachers of English
- 2013-2014 Oregon Battle of the Books list for 6th to 8th grade.
Second Fiddle jacket flap
The author of Heart of a Shepherd offers another sensitive portrayal of military families, this time stationed abroad, in the city of Berlin at that historic time just after the Wall came down.
When 13-year-old Jody and her friends save a badly beaten Russian soldier from drowning, they put into motion a chain of events that will take them from Berlin to Paris and straight into danger. Jody must quickly learn to trust herself, because in the time directly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the border between friend and enemy is not as clear as it once was.
Award-winning author of Heart of a Shepherd Rosanne Parry offers a fast-paced, coming-of-age story filled with adventure, music, friendship, and intrigue.
A review for Second Fiddle from Publishers Weekly
“Set in 1990, just after the Berlin Wall has fallen, Parry’s insightful coming-of-age novel follows the tumultuous journey of three eighth-grade friends who live on an army base in Berlin. Jody, a violinist and classical composer, is dreading leaving her two best friends when her father retires from the army, and she will again be forced to uproot her life to move to Texas. Along with commanding Giselle and brainy Vivian, Jody plans to enter a solo and ensemble contest in Paris as a string trio; their planned performance is thwarted when their teacher falls ill, but when they witness the attempted murder of Arvo, a Soviet soldier and translator, they rescue him and plot to secret him to Paris. The trip doesn’t go as planned, and the friends wind up on a wild goose chase with international ramifications. The action may take place in the ’90s, but this reads like first-class historical fiction; Parry (Heart of a Shepherd) vividly conjures the political tensions of the period, the challenges of life as an army brat, and the redemptive power of music.” Ages 8–12. (Mar.)
Purchase
If you would like to purchase my books I hope you will consider shopping at your local independent bookstores who have been so supportive of me. If you are not lucky enough to have a local indy, Powells will ship anywhere. I am always grateful to readers who get their books at the local or school library. They have been great supporters of my work, too. If you would like to have a signed copy of any of my books, please call my neighborhood indy bookstore Annie Blooms. They’ll be happy to take care of you. (503) 246-0053.
Thank you!
