Okay, let me start with a disclaimer that Ben Philippe is currently my very favorite YA author. Yes, I wish he didn’t sometimes use religious profanity and occasional slang that undoubtedly gives offense to some readers, but he is spot-on… Read More ›
This is a Throw-Everything-at-the-Reader-and-See-What-Sticks sort of book, with a little Wizard of Oz and X-Files thrown in for good measure. Every societal issue at play today is covered, including gender fluidity and discrimination, unequal wealth distribution, economic discrimination, political posturing,… Read More ›
Norris Kaplan arrives in Austin TX on a blazing hot day with his mother, a Creole/Patois linguist who has just accepted a tenure-track position at the University of Texas after months and months of applying for jobs all over the… Read More ›
Right in the middle of Miss Deborah’s passing out female condoms during a presentation in the Making Proud Choices class at the high school Liliana Cruz attends, Vice-Principal Seaver pulls Liliana out for a conference in his office. There he… Read More ›
Subtitled A Comic Artist Interprets Great Poetry, this beautiful, inventive book pairs illustrations by the author with famous poems by a wide selection of writers, such as Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Thomas Hardy, and Emily Dickinson–all the Literary Giants students are… Read More ›
Having lost her hearing at the age of thirteen from a bout with meningitis, seventeen-year-old Maya moves through the world with the ability to speak clearly but with a preference for using American Sign Language as a declaration that she… Read More ›
Chicago around the year 2073 is not the Chicago we know today. Crime-infested, run-down areas have been cleared of blight and are models of prosperity and community involvement. The one internet provider and the one news source sanctioned by the… Read More ›
On a hot summer’s day in her small Florida town, fourteen-year-old Beverly Tapinski sadly buries her dog Buddy with the help of her best friend Raymie. She then decides to leave town and hitches a ride with her cousin to… Read More ›
Amanda Kelly and Carter Shaw, who have been The Couple in their high school for the past 3-1/2 years, are now approaching graduation and the beginning of their college careers. Their future lives together are planned, as far as the… Read More ›
Pup Flanagan has spent most of his seventeen years as (in his mind) an undistinguished person compared to his seven older siblings. At school he is accepted by his classmates but generally ignored, neither liked nor disliked. He has no… Read More ›
Before You Buy YA 