Nova Darling

Age: Nova is in 9th grade and is fourteen.

Hair: She has medium-length, curly red hair. (She wishes it was
blond and straight.)

Eyes: Gray

Body: She doesn't like the way she looks. She is tall and slim, not athletic. She has white skin. (She wishes she could tan.)

Fashion-Sense: Nova's not a fashion diva. She yearns for a "sense of fashion," but is pretty much clueless.

Likes/Dislikes: What she really enjoys (hidden from her family because they would never understand) is playing the guitar. She's also always been mildly interested in insects and plants.

She's a star in ballet class, which she's been taking since she could walk. Her mother is a total ballet nut. Although Nova's a natural at it and doesn't hate it (and doesn't even mind practicing), she does not love it.

Parents: Nova's parents are married, usually pretty happily. Mom is a former ballet star.

Sisters: Her sister, Venus, is a senior at Middletown High. In her family, Venus is "The Genius." Venus is only sixteen, but she's already been accepted to Harvard for next year.

School: Nova skates by in school doing only what she needs to do to get Bs and Cs -- except for science classes, which interest her. She daydreams a lot in other classes.

Crushes/Friends: Joe Tsai, her guitar teacher. They met while volunteering at the library. Carmen and Yumi are also new friends from the library.

Secrets: Nova keeps her guitar and her interest in rock music secret. She has problems asserting herself. (The problem with her mother is just one example of how she feels she can't stand up for herself.)

First Book: Nova Rocks! (April 2005)