Autumn Cornwell

Autumn Cornwell writes fiction for younger readers with a strong interest in travel, family history, and comic misadventure. Feiwel and Friends published Carpe Diem in 2007. Its highly organized teenage protagonist, Vassar Spore, expects a carefully planned summer until her unconventional grandmother takes her through Malaysia, Cambodia, and Laos. A hidden family matter and a series of disrupted plans force Vassar to reconsider the controlled future she has imagined. Cornwell draws on her own years in Southeast Asia to give the journey geographical texture, while the coming-of-age plot balances cultural encounters with family revelations. The book is a travel adventure whose title captures Vassar's gradual movement from rigid preparation toward alert participation in the present.