PSU English Professor Joseph Monninger ventured into new territory when writing his most recent book, Baby. It’s his first novel written for a teenage audience.

Baby is a 15-year-old girl in foster care. She is startled by her new placement in rural New England with Fred and Mary Potter, a quiet older couple whose main passion is raising and racing sled dogs. Initially resistant, Baby is soon a convert to the joys of running sled dogs, and she’s particularly smitten with snow-white Laika. The New Hampshire winter cold is also a constant presence, with the season a very different force in different situations. The descriptions of dogsledding, the sheer rush of adrenaline, the frosty air, the blur of dogs in motion, and the heady thrill of pack participation are keenly observed.

Published by Boyd Mills Press, one reviewer wrote that readers will find Baby warming beneath its crisp exterior.