Books: Teaching Awareness in a Virtual Reality

Edina author Roseanne Cheng is hoping to cause a conversation at the dinner table using her young-adult fiction. Her second book, Edge the Bare Garden, tackles the hot-button issue of the seemingly inconsequential nature of the internet. “I’m fascinated by what a wonderful and terrible place the internet is,” says Cheng. Although this full-time mother and former school teacher, most recently at Chaska High School, did not base her story on any particular event, she was inspired to write about this topic by the lack of responsibility she witnessed from some former students on social media. Cheng says, “Seeing these bright students posting something without thinking it through, I felt like I failed them somehow.” Cheng also made a point to keep her narrator nameless and genderless in order to keep the message relatable to all readers. Cheng has taught young adult creative writing classes at the Loft and at the Edina Community Center. Edge the Bare Garden is available on her website, teachablelit.com and on amazon.com.