Amy Makechnie Books in Order

Amy Makechnie writes middle grade novels about kids facing big changes, noisy families, friendship, sports, and the hard work of figuring out what matters. Her stories make room for humor and mischief, even when life gets complicated.

She grew up in a big family and loved books, writing, and listening to her mother tell stories. At ten, she made a family newsletter, gathering details on her siblings and typing them up on a typewriter. It was an early taste of journalism, and perhaps of being the person in the room who notices the useful details.

Sports mattered, too.

In college, Makechnie studied science and added an English minor. After moving to New Hampshire, she taught anatomy and physiology and coached soccer. Those experiences show up in her fiction, where young people often have strong interests, practical knowledge, and a lot on their minds.

She started writing more seriously after becoming a mother. With four children in eight years, she fit writing into nap times, began a blog, and wrote articles for magazines and parenting outlets. Her first novel took years of drafting and querying before she found an agent, Zoe Sandler. The long route to publication gave her a clear sense of what persistence can look like.

Her debut, The Unforgettable Guinevere St. Clair, arrived in 2018. It follows Gwyn, a sharp ten-year-old who moves from New York City to rural Iowa while her family searches for ways to help her mother, whose memory was damaged years earlier. Gwyn throws herself into a missing-person mystery, but the story is also about a child trying to understand home, family, and a mother she can barely remember.

Makechnie followed it with Ten Thousand Tries, a soccer-centered story about twelve-year-old Golden Maroni. Golden believes effort can fix almost anything, including his father’s worsening ALS, but school, friendships, and the game he loves keep testing that belief. Readers who like sports stories with plenty of heart will find both a busy soccer season and a family learning to live with what it cannot control.

Then came The McNifficents, a lighter, more rambunctious family story told through Lord Tennyson, a dignified Miniature Schnauzer who serves as nanny to six children. Summer vacation, sibling fights, secret pets, and a crowded New Hampshire farmhouse give the book its comic energy. Tennyson would strongly prefer order. The McNiff children have other ideas.

Her books often put capable, determined kids at the center of situations they cannot fully manage. A mystery may need solving, a team may need a captain, or a household may be one bad afternoon away from chaos. But Makechnie’s characters keep trying, usually with a little help from friends, family, and the unexpected people around them.

She lives in a small New Hampshire town and is the mother of four. Away from the page, she enjoys running on local roads and working on her painting and drawing skills, which she says are still progressing beyond stick figures.