Teen novels look at ‘Sex’ character as high schooler

Teen novels look at ‘Sex’ character as high schooler

NEW YORK — Meet Carrie Bradshaw, in her teenage years.

“Sex and the City” author Candace Bushnell is writing a pair of teen novels, “The Carrie Diaries,” that “takes readers back to Carrie Bradshaw’s formative years in high school, giving an inside look at Carrie’s friendships, romances and how she realized her dream of becoming a writer,” HarperCollins announced Wednesday.

The first book will come out in 2010. Bushnell, in a statement issued by her publisher, said, “Carrie in high school did not follow the crowd — she led it. It was there that she began observing and commenting on the social scene.”

Bushnell’s adventures of Carrie and her Manhattan pals were adapted into the hit HBO series starring Sarah Jessica Parker and a feature film that came out this year.

Today’s birthdays

Actor Robert Blake is 75. Actor Fred Willard is 69. Singer-actor Frankie Avalon is 68. Guitarist Kerry Livgren (Kansas) is 59. Actor James Gandolfini (“The Sopranos”) is 47. Singer Ricky Bell (Bell Biv Devoe, New Edition) is 41. Actress Jada Pinkett Smith is 37. Actor James Marsden (“The Notebook,” “Ally McBeal”) is 35.