M. G. Hennessey

M. G. Hennessey writes middle-grade fiction about young people negotiating identity, family, and belonging. The Echo Park Castaways follows four children in the Los Angeles foster-care system who live with Mrs. K and gradually form a family of their own. Nevaeh, Vic, Quentin, and Mara bring different histories and perspectives to a journey from Echo Park toward Torrance in search of Quentin's mother. Its 2019 HarperCollins release came through the children's list, and its small-scale adventure remains grounded in foster care, displacement, and a changing neighborhood. Hennessey had previously written The Other Boy, another middle-grade story concerned with how a child understands and presents identity. In The Echo Park Castaways, rotating viewpoints allow the group rather than a single rescuer to carry the narrative. Its setting and ensemble distinguish the book within Hennessey's work, while its juvenile-fiction classification establishes the intended readership and literary context.