In her biography of writer Flannery O'Connor, Mary Carpenter introduces young readers to one of the most renowned American authors. With an accessible style of writing, the book gives younger readers an overview of O'Connor's life and examines the influences that helped her become one of the most respected fiction writers of the twentieth century.

Mary Flannery's life is inspirational. Her childhood in Savannah, Georgia, was both difficult and privileged. During the Great Depression, her father had to leave home to find work and then became very ill. Later in small-town Milledgeville, Georgia, Flannery lived with her mother and an extended family of strong women. Flannery's ability to know her mind at an early age helped her build an artistic reputation starting in high school. Through her fiction, she went on to become a role model for unconventional girls everywhere and for anyone who dreams of becoming a writer.