Ann Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955 in Princeton, NJ. She was a
grade-school teacher, editor, and author of children's and young adult fiction. She
has written over a hundred books.
A Corner of the Universe was published in 2002. It tells the story of Hattie Owen, an
11 year old who helps her mother run a boarding house in Millerton, PA. In the summer
of 1960, Uncle Adam comes to stay with Hattie's grandparents. He had been staying at
an institution for the mentally disabled, but the place closed and he had come home.
Adam and Hattie become friends, and Adam also befriends a boarder, Angel Valentine,
who is the daughter of the carnival owner, and the plot thickens. The book won a
Newbery Honor Award in 2003. Publishers Weekly wrote: "Hattie finds adventure
and tragedy as well as enlightenment as she 'lifts the corners of [her] universe' in order
to better understand Adam. . . . Readers will relate to Hattie's fear of being as 'different'
as Adam, and will admire her willingness to befriend an outcast. Hearts will go out to
both Hattie and Adam as they step outside the confines of their familiar world to
meet some painful challenges."