Why am I passionate about this?

I went through major surgery when I was in eighth grade. The physical pain was bad, but what hurt more was the emotional side. When I returned to school, the friend groups had shifted, shutting me out because of my extended absence. I had to face that time in life alone. Perhaps thatā€™s why Iā€™m drawn to works about kids who have to face challenges on their own. When we go through hard times, our true selves come out. They have to; we have no one else. We canā€™t pretend. We can only try to make it. The books I like show characters that shine through their hardships.


I wrote

102 Days of Lying About Lauren

By Maura Jortner,

Book cover of 102 Days of Lying About Lauren

What is my book about?

Twelve-year-old Mouse calls an amusement park home. Nobody notices her, and that's the way she likes it. Mouse sweeps theā€¦

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Crenshaw

Maura Jortner Why did I love this book?

This book is amazing. Itā€™s about a kid named Jackson whose parents are having trouble making ends meet. It looks like theyā€™re going to be homeless... again. But thatā€™s when Crenshaw, Jacksonā€™s old imaginary friend shows up. I love how Katherine Applegate shows Jacksonā€™s fears and hopes. I grew up pretty poor, and so I know that she does a great job with this tough situation. Yet, despite the hardships, Applegate fills this book with fun, like when Crenshaw, a giant imaginary cat, takes a bubble bath.

By Katherine Applegate,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Crenshaw as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, 11, and 12.

What is this book about?

The heart-warming new story about family and friendships from Newbery Medal-winner Katherine Applegate.

Life is tough for ten-year-old Jackson. The landlord is often at the door, there's not much food in the fridge and he's worried that any day now the family will have to move out of their home. Again.

Crenshaw is a cat. He's large, he's outspoken and he's imaginary. He's come back into Jackson's life to help him but is an imaginary friend enough to save this family from losing everything?

A heart-warming story about family and friendships from Newbery medal winner Katherine Applegate.


Book cover of All of Me

Maura Jortner Why did I love this book?

I never thought Iā€™d love a book written in verse; poetry just isnā€™t my thing. Yet, Chris Baronā€™s work took my breath away. I was mesmerized and couldnā€™t put it down.

Itā€™s about Ari, an overweight kid, who struggles with his self-worth because of his size. Iā€™ve struggled with my weight tooā€“all my life. So I understood what he was going through. It broke my heart when Ari harmed himself, but I appreciated seeing him make it through this tough time. He showed determination and grit.

By Chris Baron,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked All of Me as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

"Beautifully written, brilliant, and necessary," (Matt de la Pena, Newbery Medalist), here is a body-positive book about how a boy deals with fat-shaming.

Ari has body-image issues. After a move across the country, his parents work selling and promoting his mother's paintings and sculptures. Ari's bohemian mother needs space to create, and his father is gone for long stretches of time on "sales" trips.

Meanwhile, Ari makes new friends: Pick, the gamer; the artsy Jorge, and the troubled Lisa. He is also relentlessly bullied because he's overweight, but he can't tell his parentsā€•they're simply not around enough to listen.

Afterā€¦


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Book cover of Artemis Sparke and the Sound Seekers Brigade

Artemis Sparke and the Sound Seekers Brigade by Kimberly Behre Kenna,

Artemis Sparke has had it with humans. She heads to the nearby salt marsh to hang out with the birds, plants, and mollusks who don't make a big deal of her stutter. The shoreline sanctuary is predictable, unlike her family and friends, and the data in her science journal provesā€¦

Book cover of The Thing About Jellyfish

Maura Jortner Why did I love this book?

This book features a girl named Suzi, who is convinced her friend drowned because of a jellyfish sting. Sheā€™s so affected by her friendā€™s death that she stops talking. I loved seeing Suzi research jellyfish through this book.

I love learning and studying and how she went about it was cool. She was determined and strong. I also appreciated how the plot moves from the present to the past and showed the truth about Suziā€™s friendship in the end.

By Ali Benjamin,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked The Thing About Jellyfish as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

It's peculiar how no-words can be better than words. How silence can say more than noise, or a person's absence can occupy even more space than their presence did.

Suzy is twelve when her best friend, Franny, drowns one summer at the beach. It takes two days for the news to reach Suzy, and it's not something that she can accept: Franny has always been a strong swimmer, from the day they met in swim class when they were just five. How can someone all of a sudden, just no longer be there?

Suzy realizes that they must have gotā€¦


Book cover of The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise

Maura Jortner Why did I love this book?

Coyote and Rodeo, her dad, travel the country in a converted school bus. Coyote is strong. You can tell that from one of the first scenes when she stamps out a lit cigarette with her bare foot. But sheā€™s also got a loving heart.

You can tell that by how she interacts with Ivan, a cat she adopts in the first chapter. She and her dad are on the move because of a family tragedyā€“a tragedy that her dad isnā€™t ready to face. But Coyote has a plan and she is ready to see it through... despite how hard it is.

Part of why I love this story is because the book The One and Only Ivan is Coyoteā€™s favorite, and itā€™s one of mine too.

By Dan Gemeinhart,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, 11, and 12.

What is this book about?

Five years. That's how long twelve-year-old Coyote and her dad, River, have lived on the road in an old school bus, criss-crossing the nation. It's also how long ago Coyote lost her mom and two sisters.

Coyote hasn't been home since, but when she learns that the park in her old neighbourhood is being demolished - the very same park where she, her mum, and her sisters buried a memory box - she devises a plan to get her dad to drive 3,600 miles back to Washington state.

On the way, they'll pick up an eclectic group of folks. Lesterā€¦


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Book cover of Genomics: A Revolution in Health and Disease Discovery

Genomics by Whitney Stewart,

Over the past 50 years, scientists have made incredible progress in the application of genetic research to human health care and disease treatment. Innovative tools and techniques, including gene therapy and CRISPR-Cas9 editing, can treat inherited disorders that were previously untreatable, or prevent them from happening in the first place.ā€¦

Book cover of Plotting the Stars 1: Moongarden

Maura Jortner Why did I love this book?

First off, this book was written by a good friend of mine and I got to read early, early drafts of it. But more importantly, Myra, the main character, is in a special school on the Moon for kids with magic. Only, she doesnā€™t have magic. She has to try to fake her way through it.

That is, until she develops the wrong kind of magic. When she discovers sheā€™s a Boton, all is lost. She could be put in jail for having plant magicā€“or worse. Myra isnā€™t very good at making friends, but she learns through this tough situation how to trust other people.

By Michelle A. Barry,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Plotting the Stars 1 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 10, 11, 12, and 13.

What is this book about?

"Moongarden blooms with heart and adventure. A stellar update of The Secret Garden, woven with a little science fiction, a lot of magic, a vibrant heroine, and a plucky robot sidekick to rival R2-D2." ā€”Victoria Aveyard, New York Times bestselling author of Red Queen

The Secret Garden meets The City of Ember. Failed climate change policy, an intergalactic conspiracy, and the magical, unlikely heroine who could unearth it all. An explosive STEAM-inspired series starter perfect for young change makers.

Centuries ago, Earthā€™s plants turned deadly, and humanity took to space to cultivate new homes. Myra Hodger is in her firstā€¦


Explore my book šŸ˜€

102 Days of Lying About Lauren

By Maura Jortner,

Book cover of 102 Days of Lying About Lauren

What is my book about?

Twelve-year-old Mouse calls an amusement park home. Nobody notices her, and that's the way she likes it. Mouse sweeps the streets and wears a uniform she ā€œborrowedā€ and sleeps on the top floor of the Haunted House of Horrors. She has her special hiding methods down to a science. But one morning, a girl named Cat comes looking for Lauren Suszek. Cat notices her, and Mouse doesnā€™t like it. Mouse cannot let this nosy pest find out who she really is! If Mouse gets discovered living in the park, Mama might come back for her. Orā€”even worse?ā€”Mama might not come back at all.

Mouse knows she can lose this girl without blowing her cover. A carefully constructed life in the park is all she needs. Right?

Book cover of Crenshaw
Book cover of All of Me
Book cover of The Thing About Jellyfish

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