Leona Forde: Milly McCarthy is a 'little bit wild, with rebel blood'

Meet the Cork author behind a new book that’s been dubbed the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid - and a character to which her own daughter could relate

Author Leona Forde: has crafted a heroine for her daughter to relate to

MILLY MCCARTHY was an accident. Leona Forde had no intention of writing a book about a 10-year-old fun-loving girl from Cork that, once published, would be compared to the best-selling Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

But covid changed everything. Her then 10-year-old daughter Asha, an avid reader, had finished all of the ‘Wimpy Kid’ series, moved on to the ‘Big Nate’ books and was asking her mother why all the books she was reading were set in America and featured boys. Not to mention references to ‘diapers’, ‘fall dances’, and ‘middle school’.