I’m a Hollywood native, writer/actor/mixed-media artist/creative compulsive. When I was a kid, I was really close to my older brother who was an addict. Unfortunately he never stopped using and died too young. I dealt with it by allowing the experience to inspire me. In my recent young adult novel, Just a Girl in the Whirl, the father character is inspired by him. I express myself through all art forms in order to make my way in the world and I love reading about other female characters who do the same! I’m a lifelong optimist and I love feeling inspired and inspiring others to love themselves, find the humor in everything, and create!
17-year-old Lauren is a closet poet trying to keep her messy family together. she juggles responsibility between her younger sisters and her bipolar mother. When her allegedly now sober father wants back into their lives to reconnect, everything spins out of control, and Lauren's writing is her only escape.
Just a Girl in the Whirl is about family, forgiveness, and being bold enough to create your own life, your own way.
I loved this book from the get-go! It’s about Xiomara (X), a first-generation Dominican American teen living in Harlem who feels stifled growing up in a religious immigrant home and I love how X is tough and confident enough to defend herself against the boys who give her unwanted attention and also protect her little brother. But mostly what I loved about her is how she fought for the freedom to express herself, which she does so beautifully in her school’s poetry slam. Her poetry is timely and raw. I love how it made me feel like creativity can set us all free.
WINNER OF THE THE CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL 2019
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES CHILDREN'S BOOK PRIZE 2019
THE WINNER OF THE 2018 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD
THE WINNER OF THE MICHAEL L.PRINTZ AWARD
THE WINNER OF THE PURA BELPRE AWARD
THE WINNER OF THE BOSTON GLOBE-HORNBOOK AWARD
'I fell in love at slam poetry. This one will stay with you a long time.' - Angie Thomas, bestselling author of The Hate U Give
'This was the type of book where "I'll just do 50 pages" turned into finishing it in 2 reads. I felt very emotional, not just because the story and…
Tiger is a teenage girl who suddenly loses her mother. It’s a real, heartfelt, and painfully sad book, so be warned! This book made me look into my own losses and remember that grief is not a one size fits all experience and that there’s no way to avoid the sadness. To get through it we must keep going. I think it’s a beautifully written and important book for all who are grieving.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces comes a novel about love and loss and learning how to continue when it feels like you're surrounded by darkness that Karen M. McManus, the New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying, calls "rare and powerful."
Here is what happens when your mother dies.
It's the brightest day of summer and it's dark outside. It's dark in your house, dark in your room, and dark in your heart. You feel like the darkness is going to split you apart.
This book is about twin Israeli-American teenage girls whose mom has Huntington’s disease and the different ways they go about handling that as individuals and how it affects the sister’s relationship. I love the way religion is handled in this book, with each sister’s different take where it concerns their Judaism. It’s about life, death, and sisterhood. I loved it.
Eighteen-year-old twins Adina and Tovah have little in common besides their ambitious nature. Viola prodigy Adina yearns to become a soloist-and to convince her music teacher he wants her the way she wants him. Overachiever Tovah awaits her acceptance to Johns Hopkins, the first step on her path toward med school and a career as a surgeon.
But one thing could wreck their carefully planned futures: a genetic test for Huntington's, a rare degenerative disease that slowly steals control of the body and mind. It's turned their Israeli mother into a near stranger and fractured the sisters' own bond in…
Even though this story has a tragic ending, Anne Frank is a true inspiration through her words. She kept this diary while she and her family hid from the Nazis during WWII. She shares with us her hopes, fears, and dreams and through her eyes we can feel a sense of hope, love of family, and so much strength. I’ve read it several times and I still can’t get over how Anne, after all she went through, could say, “In spite of everything, I still believe people are good at heart.” Wow. I wish I knew her.
With 30 per cent more material than previous editions, this new contemporary and fully anglicized translation gives the reader a deeper insight into Anne's world. Publication of the unabridged Definitive Edition on Penguin Audiobook, read by Helena Bonham-Carter, coincides.
It’s about a girl, Eliza, who created a super successful webcomic. IRL, Eliza is shy and withdrawn so when she meets a boy who loves her comics she doesn’t tell him that she’s the creator. This book is so now and reminds me of the importance of showing your true self and embracing your gifts.
"A love letter to fandom, friendship, and the stories that shape us, Eliza and Her Monsters is absolutely magical."-Marieke Nijkamp, New York Times-bestselling author of This Is Where It Ends
Eighteen-year-old Eliza Mirk is the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea, but when a new boy at school tempts her to live a life offline, everything she's worked for begins to crumble.
Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl meets Noelle Stevenson's Nimona in this acclaimed novel about art, fandom, and finding the courage to be yourself. "A must-have."-School Library Journal
Burne’s been hiding out in the forest since deserting the King’s Guard. Each time he tries to return to the village, he begins to panic. And then one day, he encounters a handsome stranger picking flowers and hides behind a tree instead of talking.
He wants to be braver—and he’s about to get another chance. Because the stranger is Gray, a fairy and master of illusions who’s now following Burne home. And Gray’s got more on his mind than talking. Would a fairy that beautiful ever want someone like him? Stranger things have happened.
Burne hid behind a tree. He wanted to talk to the handsome man picking flowers at the edge of the forest, but he'd only flub it if he tried-he'd stumble over his words and blush bright red. And now the man is gone.
He tries to continue on to the village, but the same thing happens as always: his hands start shaking and panic wells up inside him. What if he runs into the bullies who tormented him in the King's Guard last spring? Ever since he deserted, he has hidden out in the…
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