Critics and readers everywhere stood up and took notice when Laura Moriarty’s captivating debut novel hit the stores in June ’03. Janet Maslin of the *New York Times* praised *The Center of Everything* as warm and beguiling. *USA Today* compared the scrappy yet tender-hearted Evelyn Bucknow to Scout Finch in *To Kill a Mockingbird*. It garnered extensive national attention; from *Entertainment Weekly* to the *Boston Globe* and the *San Francisco Chronicle* , the press raved about the wisdom and poignancy of Moriarty’s writing. The Book-of-the-Month Club snatched it up as a Main Selection, as did the Literary Guild. It was a *USA Today* Summer Reading Pick, a BookSense Top 10 Pick, and a BN.com book club feature title. And still, months after *The Center of Everything’s* original publication date, reviews and features of the book continue to run nationwide.