On the cusp of her teenage years, Maria says, “I don’t like to be bored.”
Reading — usually into the world of fantasy and mythology — is her escape from boredom. It also gives her needed quiet time away from her busy family of mom, stepdad, stepsister, and three younger siblings in Prescott Valley. “There’s lots of noise,” Maria says with a smile, adding that they also have a menagerie of a dog, four bunnies, three fish and three birds.