I love writing stories for young people in that “in-between” age: age 12, 13, and 14, when kids are figuring out who they are and who they want to become. For many young people, crushes are a huge part of this coming-of-age process—I know they were for me! When I was this age, there weren’t many books that explored crushes and the first romance for LGBTQ+ kids. I’m thrilled to be part of a wave of authors writing these stories now. And I’m so excited for a future where we have a wealth of books about the joy, heartbreak, and humor of all kinds of young love.
I thought this was such a gorgeous book with complex, relatable characters and a really profound portrayal of the sweetness and depth of first love! Thirteen-year-olds Andi and Zora are dealing with grief, the complexities of friendships and family pressure, and the hyper-competitive world of their elite music camp.
This is one I had to really savor—I kept re-reading sentences because the writing was just so lovely and really brought the characters’ feelings to life. There were also several references to songs and performing artists I love, adding an extra layer of connection with the story!
In Grand Rapids, Michigan, Andi is grappling with grief following the death of her mother. Zora is exhausted by trying to please her success-oriented parents. Both feel very much alone. Until a summer music camp brings them together.
The only two Black girls at camp in a sea of white children, Andi and Zora slowly begin to connect and reveal their deepest fears and dreams. While Andi is a natural on trumpet, Zora doesn't know if she wants to be a floutist since she also loves to dance.
As Andi and Zora struggle to figure out who they really are,…
This story brought me to a whole new world I’d never considered before: what’s it like to grow up in a family that owns a pizzeria—and what happens when that business (and family) starts falling apart?
I found it so easy to love Luca Salvatore, a protagonist doing his best to keep his family’s pizza parlor in business and his parents’ marriage together while also trying to figure out if he should confess his feelings to the cute new boy in his class, who’s quickly becoming his close friend…and his crush. There’s a lot on Luca’s young shoulders, and it’s satisfying to move to a resolution where he’s empowered to put himself—and his own feelings—first.
A heartfelt contemporary middle grade novel perfect for fans of Front Desk, following Luca Salvatore, a young gay Italian American trying to save his family’s pizza restaurant and a life that feels like it’s falling apart after he learns that his parents may be separating and his first crush and best friend might be into each other.
Twelve-year-old Luca Salvatore is always running interference: in arguments between his younger twin siblings, in his parents’ troubled marriage, and between Will, the cute new boy in town, and Luca’s best friend, June, who just can’t seem to get along.
I absolutely love this fast-paced, adorable novel-in-verse, which is about two very different girls, Kate and Tam, who fall in “like,” learning a lot about themselves in the process. I really enjoyed watching Kate, who comes off as a stereotypical cheerleader, and Tam, a tall jock, learn to test their assumptions about each other and themselves.
It’s a heartwarming story with a lot of depth, and it’s told in quick poems that pack a real emotional punch. This verse novel holds a special place in my heart, and I recommend it to everyone who will listen!
2020 Odyssey Honor Award
2020 Rainbow Booklist Title
NCTE 2020 Notable Poetry Book
ALSC Notable Children's Recordings
Kate and Tam meet, and both of their worlds tip sideways. At first, Tam figures Kate is your stereotypical cheerleader; Kate sees Tam as another tall jock. And the more they keep running into each other, the more they surprise each other. Beneath Kate's sleek ponytail and perfect facade, Tam sees a goofy, sensitive, lonely girl. And Tam's so much more than a volleyball player, Kate realizes: She's everything Kate wishes she could be. It's complicated. Except it's not. When Kate and Tam…
This book perfectly captures the atmosphere of a summer trip that both feels like it lasts forever and is also over way too fast. I loved the Oregon beach setting and the slow-building connection between Jeremy and Evan, first as friendship and then maybe something more.
This is such a tender, beautiful, and vivid story—when I finished it, I really felt like I had just come back from a wistful seaside vacation myself! And as a runner, I enjoyed the way Jeremy and Evan connected while jogging together. Evan was a very kind and empathetic “coach.”
A sweet, tender middle-grade story of two boys finding first love with each other over a seaside summer.
Jeremy is not excited about the prospect of spending the summer with his dad and his uncle in a seaside cabin in Oregon. It's the first summer after his parents' divorce, and he hasn't exactly been seeking alone time with his dad. He doesn't have a choice, though, so he goes ... and on his first day takes a walk on the beach and finds himself intrigued by a boy his age running by. Eventually, he and Runner Boy (Evan) meet --…
I really enjoyed this fast-paced story, which features the perfect combination of relatable, everyday themes and a magical twist. I had fun watching the suspense build as Emma uses her secret powers to try to keep her best friend from having to move away.
Things quickly spiral out of control—and Emma ends up having to reveal more secrets than she planned. The story cleverly explores the experience of feeling different from everyone around you, whether that’s being a young girl with a crush on another girl, or an adoptee who doesn’t look like their parents, or secretly being a witch. While Emma wrestles with all of this, the story doesn’t lose its lighthearted feeling.
Witchlings meets The Parent Trap in this contemporary fantasy about a girl who tries to use her fickle witchy powers to keep her best friend (and secret crush!) from moving away.
Twelve-year-old, Korean American adoptee Emma Davidson has a problem. Two problems. Okay, three:
1. She has a crush on her best friend, Avangeline, that she hasn't been able to share 2. Avangeline now has to move out of their town because her parents are getting a divorce 3. Oh, and Emma is a secret witch who can't really control her powers
It's a complicated summer between sixth and seventh…
My book is an enemies-to-first-crushes story about two 13-year-old girls on the same eighth-grade soccer team, with a You’ve Got Mail twist. The story follows the end of protagonists Mel and Tory’s soccer season as they face down the top teams in their area and deal with off-the-field drama in the wake of a friendship breakup.
As championships loom closer, everything around the girls starts to get more and more complicated: the dynamics on the field, the rift between their friend groups, and, as they connect anonymously online, maybe even their feelings for each other. It’s an action-packed but tender novel about first romance, queer identity, and learning how to be brave when it matters the most.
My favorite fantasy novels tend to be rather complex. Winding plotlines, mysteriously interconnected characters, whimsical settings, and intricate, thoughtful worldbuilding combine to create immersive stories that stick in the mind like overworn folklore. Time travel or interworld travel lend additional layers of intrigue and mystery, forcing the inescapable contemplation of a more thrilling, alternate reality. And if it’s all packaged in artful, breathtaking prose that breeds full-color images, audible noises, indelible flavors, nose-crumpling odors, and tangible textures, I will happily lose myself in the pages, truly forgetting about the strictures of everyday life… at least until I get hungry and remember I need to consume more than books to survive.
An Heir of Realms tells the tale of two young heroines—a dragon rider and a portal jumper—who fight dragon-like parasites to save their realms from extinction.
Rhoswen is training as a Realm Rider to work with dragons and burn away the Narxon swarming into her realm. Rhoswen’s dream is to Ride, but her destiny will pit her against her uncle and king, who have scorned her since before her birth.
In the Exchange, the waystation between realms, Emmelyn fights the G’Ambit, a gambling ring with members more intent on lining their pockets than protecting the realms—or their own lives.
Realm-devouring parasites threaten all existence. The Exchange is desperate to destroy them. But could their radical plans endanger the realms, too?
Soul-sucking parasites are overwhelming the realms.
Rhoswen of Stanburh is of age to train as a Realm Rider—a defender of the realms. Riders and their dragons work together to burn away infiltrating Narxon as they swarm in through tears in a realm’s fabric. But it’s not an easy battle: the mere touch of the smoky, dragon-like adversaries can reduce the lively winged beasts—and their Riders—to ash.
Becoming a Realm Rider is Rhoswen’s dream, but she carries far more responsibility…
