NORTH READING, MASS. — At just 15-years-old, a North Reading teen is now an author. Her love for reading and writing—and inspiration from her first-grade teacher—paved the way for her first book.
For as long as she can remember, 15-year-old Charlotte McEntee has loved to read.
“This is a really good one,” said Charlotte McEntee. “I love Hamlet so much.”
From the classics—to the Harry Potter series—-she’s read it all. Her interest spawned from a first-grade assignment.
“We started doing narrative exercises, and I was like I really, really like this and it just kind of evolved into something I wanted to pursue,” said McEntee.
In sixth grade—she started writing—and couldn’t stop.
“I was bored one day, so I just, like, typed up a draft, and then I went on, and like, you know, next thing you know it’s like 200 pages,” said McEntee.
Charlotte teamed up with a writing coach—and then before she knew it, her book was in the hands of an editor.
“Look, that’s me, that’s me right there,” exclaimed McEntee, as she pointed to her name on the front cover of her book.
And now its online and on the shelves at a local bookstore.
“It was something that felt like it was so far away from me,” said McEntee. “It’s like right here, and that’s like crazy to me. I can’t even drive and I wrote book.”
Not to mention—how competitive it is to get a spot among some of the best authors. The owner of Molly’s Bookstore in Melrose has the final say on which books can be placed on the shelves.
“There’s not a lot of space in a small independent bookstore, and so each book needs to be carefully selected,” said Andrea Iriarte, the owner of Molly’s Bookstore. “But this one was a great one, so we gave it to her the opportunity.”
The ‘Origins of a Star’ is a fictional horror book—with a very real message.
“How important it is to know who you are and your place in the world and how important is to have that sense of individualism and identity and stuff like that because you know without it you just kind of feel lost and like trapped,” said McEntee.
Charlotte credits her first-grade teacher for helping her find her place in the world.
“And can still distinctively remember her first grade teacher showing other teachers her work for a narrative exercise, which motivated her in her early years to continue writing,” said Katie Barron, as she read from McEntee’s book.
In the 20 years as a first-grade teacher— Katie Barron says she was humbled to mentioned in Charlotte’s book.
“Elementary teachers have such a vital impact on children educationally, socially, emotionally, and they really laid the foundation for their learning,” said Barron, a North Reading first grade teacher.
“So it is something that we do every day, and you don’t realize that the impact that you have on students. So when you get an experience like this, it is so rewarding, incredibly rewarding that you were an influence in some way.”
It’s that foundation that keeps charlotte motivated for more.
“There’s always going to be you know something great ahead of you if you just work for it,” said McEntee.
Charlotte has just scratched the surface in her young writing career. She has three more drafts in the works. She also has hopes of one day becoming an English professor.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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