Young Southington author publishes first book

Fordham University Undergrad
published author, Samantha D'Angelo

Southington High graduate, Class of 2014, Samantha D’Angelo is a rising sophomore star at Fordham University in the Bronx.  Majoring in English and minoring in Marketing and Creative Writing, Miss D’Angelo recently published a book which she completed in her freshman year, entitled, The Teen Girl's Guide to Becoming Her Best Self: 3 steps to achieving happiness in high school. The author’s motivation was to help teenage girls understand how to become their best, happy in who they are, through actions true to their own desires and persona. “To those who had the privilege of teaching Samantha D'Angelo, this publication is no surprise.” says Jennifer Paul, Literacy Specialist at Southington High School. 

Sam excelled at Strong Elementary School. She won the Young Authors Competition at John F. Kennedy Middle School each of her three years there  with brilliant submissions.  Her ‘how to’ guide for teenage girls, is filled with insight, wisdom, and empathy.  

D’Angelo recalled her earliest writing as a third grader when she was assigned to write a poem on Norman Rockwell’s famous Girl in the Mirror. “I remember writing my impressions of the painting in less than ten minutes. My teacher, Mrs. Cheryl Sasek looked at it. I don’t remember now whether I understood it at that time, that she welled up emotionally. She became my mentor at Strong School.” At Kennedy School her mentor was Ms. Patty Pettit. The author’s mother, Karen Carollo, recalled times when Sam might be watching scenery through their car window and write her reflections on it in her mind.

D’Angelo says she starts with a situation of conflict and begins to write her impressions, building characters, at times based on her observations of others. Her favorite college course so far has been ‘Texts and Contexts: Telepathy in Texts’. She is looking forward to advanced English courses.     

Born in Waterbury, Sam’s family moved to Southington when she was about to start school. “My passion has always been writing. I love Fordham and enjoy exploring NYC and spending time in beautiful places.”, she said.

The Teen Girl's Guide to Becoming Her Best Self is available for purchase at Amazon where several reviews with interesting insights are available.