By Donna Galanti<\/p>\n
A powerful new middle-grade novel by award-winning children\u2019s book author and resident of Berks County,\u00a0Donna Galanti,\u00a0shines a spotlight on kids living with autoimmune disease while delivering heart, humor, and high-stakes friendship.\u00a0The Secret Winners Club\u00a0publishes on Tuesday, March 3, with\u00a0Wild Trail Press, timed to\u00a0Autoimmune Awareness Month, and is an ideal addition to spring reading coverage.<\/p>\n
Thirteen-year-old Sunny Whitlock is tired of being known as \u201cthe bald kid.\u201d Living with alopecia, she\u2019s determined to change how others see her \u2014 by winning. Teaming up with her best friends, who also live with autoimmune skin conditions, Sunny forms The Secret Winners Club, a top-secret pact to dominate school competitions and finally be recognized for more than their differences.<\/p>\n
But as victories stack up, so do the consequences. Feelings get hurt. Lines get crossed. And Sunny must decide what kind of winner she truly wants to be \u2014 and what friendship really costs.<\/p>\n
The Secret Winners Club\u00a0speaks directly to:<\/p>\n
Kids living with autoimmune and visible skin conditionsYoung readers navigating identity, visibility, and self-acceptanceFans of friendship-driven, coming-of-age stories with STEAM elementsReaders who love theater, swimming, technology, creative arts, and school competitions<\/p>\n
\u201cSince becoming an adult, I\u2019ve acquired five autoimmune conditions that have visible symptoms,\u201d said Galanti. \u201cAnd I thought: how would it be if kids had these conditions and had to deal with them in middle school? With that came the inspiration for writing a middle-grade book that is about seeking identity, especially when it comes to self-image and self-acceptance. This is something I struggled with as a kid, and I know many kids do.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is a time when children need stories that reflect themselves \u2014 particularly those with chronic illness and medical conditions \u2014 and\u00a0The Secret Winners Club\u00a0offers vital representation. Stories like these remind young readers that they deserve empathy, belonging, and the freedom to take up space.<\/p>\n
Told in multiple points of view, the novel follows three characters living with alopecia, psoriasis, and vitiligo. Galanti herself lives with multiple autoimmune diseases and brings lived experience to the story, capturing what it feels like to look different \u2014 and to want to be seen for who you are beyond your appearance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith this story, I also wanted to bring awareness about autoimmune conditions,\u201d Galanti said. \u201cAnd hopefully show that they can be part of us \u2014 but they are not\u00a0all\u00a0of who we are. We can be many other things: a friend, a son, a daughter, an artist, a singer, and more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Praise for\u00a0The Secret Winners Club<\/p>\n
\u201cA fine weaving of heartache, grit, humor, and the ethics of what it means to get even.\u201d \u2014 Joan Bauer,\u00a0New York Times\u00a0bestselling author and Newbery Honor Medalist<\/p>\n
\u201cYou root for this group of friends as they try to figure out what it means to go after their dreams, to seek help from others, and if winning at any cost is really winning at all.\u201d \u2014 Wendy Mass,\u00a0New York Times\u00a0bestselling author<\/p>\n
\u201cAn inspiring and heartfelt story about courage, friendship, and the power of self-acceptance\u2026 blending humor, tension, and emotion in perfect rhythm.\u201d \u2014 Midwest Book Review<\/p>\n
\u201cA heart-warming, page-turning read for anyone who has ever felt different. A gift for the misfits and adventurers in us all.\u201d \u2014 Sarah Allen, author of\u00a0Breathing Underwater<\/p>\n
About the author<\/p>\n
Donna Galanti lives in Berks County, PA, and is the award-winning author of the popular middle-grade\u00a0Unicorn Island\u00a0series,\u00a0Joshua and the Lightning Road\u00a0series, and\u00a0Loon Cove Summer, as well as the paranormal suspense\u00a0Element Trilogy\u00a0for adults. She has lived in England, Hawaii (where she served as a U.S. Navy photographer), and at her family-owned campground in New Hampshire. An avid outdoor adventurer and nature lover, Donna volunteers with the Old-Growth Forest Network and the National Audubon Society. Learn more at\u00a0donnagalanti.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Donna Galanti A powerful new middle-grade novel by award-winning children\u2019s book author and resident of Berks County,\u00a0Donna…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":127586,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[128,130,129],"class_list":{"0":"post-127585","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-reading","8":"tag-reading-city","9":"tag-reading-city-headlines","10":"tag-reading-city-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127585\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}