Smithtown student completes second novel
Ariana Glaser, an eighth-grader at Great Hollow Middle School in Smithtown, holds a copy of her self-published first novel, "The World I Never Knew." Credit: Penny S. Glaser
A Smithtown eighth-grader with a love of literature recently completed her second novel after publishing her first one last year.
Ariana Glaser, who attends Great Hollow Middle School in the Smithtown Central School District, published her first novel, titled "The World I Never Knew," in June. The 118-page book, which is a fictional story themed around kidnapping and emotional abuse, was published through Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing.
Glaser's second novel, titled "She Remembers," is about a girl who was reincarnated after dying just before her 17th birthday. She is still working to find a publisher and plans to donate a portion of the proceeds to the Bella Muntean-Angel Heart of Hope Ministry.
Muntean is a South Carolina girl who died from osteosarcoma in 2018. Glaser had befriended her on social media because of their mutual love of American Girl dolls.
"I wanted to commemorate her in some way," Glaser, 13, said of dedicating the book to Muntean. Of her love of writing, Glaser said: “I like being able to express my imagination and inspire others through the morals of my books."
Glaser, a Girl Scout, is a member of her school's National Junior Honor Society and participates in plays at her school and through the Star Playhouse at the Suffolk Y JCC in Commack. She also plays the piano and enjoys writing songs.
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
