NATCHEZ &8212; Laura Perilloux has found herself in the midst of a campaign she didn&8217;t know existed.

But now, she wants to win more than ever.

The Cathedral Elementary fifth-grader found out last week that she was one of 10 finalists for a national book report contest &8212; the grand prize, a trip to New York City and a one-day job as editor of the Scholastic Book Club.

To win, she needs votes. Her book report on &8220;Heidi&8221; is on the Scholastic Web site, along with the nine other finalists. Web visitors can read all the reports, choose their favorite and vote. Voting is ongoing until Dec. 23. There were more than 6,000 entries.

Starting with the Cathedral newsletter, word is spreading, and Laura said she knows votes are coming.

&8220;I&8217;ve got people in South Carolina voting for me,&8221; she said. &8220;Yesterday we were walking on Main Street, and this guy yells &8216;I voted for you.&8217; I was like, &8216;who are all these people?&8217;&8221;

Laura and her mother didn&8217;t tell anyone, including her teacher, that she&8217;d even entered the contest. It wasn&8217;t a school-sponsored project, and in fact, the report on &8220;Heidi&8221; was something she wrote in the fourth-grade for an assignment. Her mom found the contest online when looking at other educational sites.

&8220;I almost didn&8217;t do it,&8221; she said. &8220;Then I said, I&8217;ll do it, so one weekend I put it together and sent it in.&8221;

Her fourth-grade work needed major revisions she said, and was essentially rewritten. She read the book more than a year ago and had to reread a few parts.

But reading isn&8217;t something Laura avoids.

&8220;I love to read,&8221; she said. &8220;I used to read more, but homework has started cutting into my reading time. I do most of my reading in the summer. And I love to write.&8221;

Laura is currently revising a short story she wrote in kindergarten or first-grade.

The contest winner will be announced on Jan. 9.

To vote visit

http://www.scholastic.com/bookcontest/.

&8220;If I win this, it&8217;s because of everybody else,&8221; she said. &8220;I just wrote it, and they did the rest.&8221;