White House Autumn (President's Daughter) [Paperback]

Ellen Emerson White (Author)

Book Description

Series: President's Daughter | Publication Date: July 22, 2008

After ten months of living in the White House, seventeen-year old Meg Powers knew she should be used to the pressures of life in the spotlight—but she wasn’t.
     In addition to the usual senior year worries—college applications and Josh, her first serious boyfriend—Meg had to live up to what was expected from the President’s daughter. She had to suppress her sense of humor and watch the way she dressed and spoke. And she had to try to have a normal relationship with Josh despite intrusions by reporters and secret service agents who followed her everywhere.
     Then, just when everything was already so difficult, a shocking attack on her mother makes life in the White House even more impossible. Meg, her father, and her two younger brothers find they must turn to one another for solace and support—while her mother’s life hangs in the balance.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Meatier than the well-crafted, believable The President's Daughter, White's sequel continues to chronicle events about the family of Katherine Powers, first woman President of the U.S. Meghan (Meg) is 17 and, with her younger brothers Steve and Neal, endures life in the spotlight while trying to carry on normally in private at home. Madame President and First Gentleman Russell are respected and she's doing well until a psycho wounds her seriously. Unsure whether she will recover, Russell and the children suffer severe traumas that they express in their own ways while relying on each other for solace and support. The media are more of a burden than ever; the author clearly delineates the effects of unremitting assaults as well as the Powerses' dignified ways of handling them. Apart from its novelistic merits, the book prompts thought on the burdens of public office, the need for character in the elect and their families.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9 Meg is the daughter of the first woman President of the United States (elected in The President's Daughter Avon, 1984). Her life is complicated by the ever-present Secret Service men and by the demands on her by the media and the White House photographerbut for the most part, she appears to have the same interests as other girls her age, including a boyfriend. But the attempted assassination of her mother, which seriously injures the President, shocks Meg out of her comparatively thoughtless existence to the realization that being in the public eye can threaten not only the character of family life, but even life itself. Dialogue among the family members is realistic. A pleasant, nondemanding book with a slightly different twist. And everybody recovers. Susan F. Marcus, Pollard Middle School Library, Needham, Mass.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Feiwel & Friends; First Edition edition (July 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312374895
• ISBN-13: 978-0312374891
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #941,467 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ellen Emerson White has lived in New york City for many years, but still hankers for New England a bit.

She roots for the Red Sox, even when they are not at their best.

She is wicked private.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a young adult novel that stands the test of time, September 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: White House Autumn (Paperback)

I first read this series in junior high school and at 22, my high school friends and I still pepper our conversations with lines from these books. Meg is a high school senior, whose mother happens to be president. The story opens with Meg fighting with her mother over what to wear to school. A few pages later she is called from class to learn her mother has been shot. She and her brothers must learn to deal with their mother's injuries and recovery as they struggle with being in the spotlight. Although it may sound grim, the book has many great one-liners, particularly in scenes with her mother's press secretary Preston, her friend Beth and her boyfriend Josh, who I believe may have been incorrectly identified as Jeff in a prior review.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great sequel to a great novel., May 20, 2001

By 

regency reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: White House Autumn (Paperback)

Like its predecessor, I found myself unable to put the book down until I had read the very last page. I stayed up until 5 in the morning to finish it, and it was worth every minute (good thing I didn't have work the next day). Not as light as The President's Daughter, the first book in the trilogy, White House Autumn is bit more depressing and a bit more adult as it tells what happens to Meg and her family when her mother, the President, is shot. It's a serious subject, and the author deals with it in a very mature, realistic and sympathic way. Of course, all of the other great qualities of the first book is still present in this one. The characters are as likable as ever, especially Meg's best friend, Beth, who I'm sure would've been my idol had I read this book when I was younger. The conversation is witty, and the situations and the way the characters deal with them are very true to life. Admittedly not as great as the President's Daughter, but nevertheless a wonderful wonderful read. Try to get your hands on this one.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book -- disappointing quality on this reprint edition, October 30, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: White House Autumn (Paperback)

I have read and reread (and loved, especially the first one) all three Meghan Powers books in their original editions. I am grateful to Hawk Publishing for reprinting these three books (now called the "President's Daughter" series) so that more people can enjoy them, but I do feel that people should know that these reprints are not high quality. They are trade paperbacks with bindings that seem sturdy enough, but the text is not at all crisp -- in fact, it looks like the publisher may have enlarged the pages from the original mass market editions on a Xerox machine and then reprinted these new editions from those copies. I am basing this guess on the fact that the text looks enlarged and somewhat blurry.

The covers of all three of the reprint editions are hideous; the first one shows a girl who looks to be about 8 or 10 years old instead of a teenager, and the "White House Autumn" cover is not much better. The price is also steep at $14.95. I can excuse that on the basis that Hawk is probably a small press, and small presses find it hard to make ends meet.

If you can get past all that, these books are marvelous to read. "White House Autumn" continues to use Meg's unique voice and sense of humor. The book also deals with Meg's feelings of guilt when her mother is the subject of an assassination attempt. Again, I am grateful to Hawk for reprinting these, even if the quality is a little disappointing.