Amy Makechnie Standalone Novels Reading Order
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| The Unforgettable Guinevere St. Clair | 2018 | Buy |
| Ten Thousand Tries | 2021 | Buy |
Amy Makechnie was a teacher and soccer coach before she started writing fiction. She taught anatomy and physiology, coached youth soccer in New Hampshire, and began working on her first novel in 2007. Her books are published by Simon & Schuster and fall into the middle grade category — stories for readers around ages 8 to 12 that tackle difficult subjects without talking down to the audience.
Her debut, The Unforgettable Guinevere St. Clair (2018), follows a 10-year-old girl who moves to a small town in Iowa. Gwyn’s mother suffered a traumatic brain injury when Gwyn was four and has no memory of anything past age 13. The book mixes mystery elements with a family story about what it means when someone you love can’t remember you. Kirkus gave it a starred review.
Ten Thousand Tries (2021) draws from Makechnie’s coaching background. Twelve-year-old Golden Maroni is a soccer player whose father has ALS. Golden throws himself into training, convinced that enough effort can hold his world together. The book is about grief and the limits of determination, told through the lens of a sport the author knows well.
Makechnie grew up in the Midwest and lives in New Hampshire with her family.