Why am I passionate about this?

As a kid I felt the unseen magic in the things around me: it seemed as obvious as breathing, particularly when I was out in nature. These are books that brought me back to thatā€¦ reminding me that being ā€˜realisticā€™ doesnā€™t mean ignoring whatā€™s unseen. These stories have inspired me so deeply and driven my passion as a writer: which is basically to try to reach out to readers and say, hey, we are surrounded. There is more. This is not all there is. 


I wrote

Book cover of Tiger Lily

What is my book about?

When fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan deep in the forbidden woods of Neverland, the two formā€¦

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Weetzie Bat

Jodi Lynn Anderson Why did I love this book?

This sumptuous, inclusive, achingly loving, and lovable novel is the first book I remember reading and thinkingā€¦this makes me want to be a writer.

Weetzie and her offbeat group of loved ones live in an LA painted five shades more magical by Blockā€™s descriptions of it. As sweetly as she captures the diverse set of characters, the gift I treasure most in this story is how Block also captures the atmosphere of places: itā€™s like sheā€™s dug underneath the surface to what makes them matter. 

By Francesca Lia Block,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Weetzie Bat as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

ā€œTranscendent.ā€ ā€”New York Times Book Review

ā€œMagnificent.ā€ ā€”Village Voice

ā€œSparkling.ā€ ā€”Publishers Weekly

Francesca Lia Blockā€™s dazzling debut novel, Weetzie Bat, is not only a genre-shattering, critically acclaimed gem, it's also widely recognized as a classic of young adult literature, having captivated readers for generations.

This coming-of-age novel follows the eponymous Weetzie Bat and her best friend Dirk as they navigate life and love in a timeless, dreamlike version of Los Angeles. When Weetzie is granted three wishes by a genie, she discovers that there are unexpected ramificationsā€¦.

Winner of the prestigious Phoenix Award, Weetzie Bat is a beautiful, poetic workā€¦


Book cover of The Street of Crocodiles

Jodi Lynn Anderson Why did I love this book?

Shulzā€™s real biography is both tragic and beautiful: a painter and writer, his life was cut short by the holocaust, but he left behind ā€“ among other things ā€“ an exquisite bedroom mural it took years to discover, and this masterpiece of a book.

A collection of short stories, it poignantly captures the feelings of his time: the sense of order turning into disorder right under a personā€™s feet. And yet what I think is most incredible about his writing is how Shulz can take you, in a breath, from reality to unreality ā€“ without you ever noticing where the line was crossed. 

By Bruno Schulz, Celina Wieniewska (translator),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Street of Crocodiles as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A novel that blends the real and the fantastic, from "one of the most original imaginations in modern Europe" (Cynthia Ozick) 

The Street of Crocodiles in the Polish city of Drogobych is a street of memories and dreams where recollections of Bruno Schulz's uncommon boyhood and of the eerie side of his merchant family's life are evoked in a startling blend of the real and the fantastic. Most memorable - and most chilling - is the portrait of the author's father, a maddened shopkeeper who imports rare birds' eggs to hatch in his attic, who believes tailors' dummies should beā€¦


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Book cover of Acquaintance

Acquaintance by Jeff Stookey,

Acquaintance is a work of LGBT historical fiction, a gay love story set in 1923 when the Ku Klux Klan was growing in influence, the eugenics movement was passing human sterilization laws, illegal liquor was fueling corruption, and Freud was all the rage.

Based on extensive period research, the storyā€¦

Book cover of Beloved

Jodi Lynn Anderson Why did I love this book?

It feels presumptuous to even try to describe this novelā€¦I can only say that to me, it is a story about a truth so painful that it can only be viewed indirectly and magically, from all the many vantage points its characters (and ghosts) offer.

A spiraling, heartbreaking explosion of a book, brilliantly structured, beautifully written, with a secret at its center. 

By Toni Morrison,

Why should I read it?

40 authors picked Beloved as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Toni Morrison was a giant of her times and ours... Beloved is a heart-breaking testimony to the ongoing ravages of slavery, and should be read by all' Margaret Atwood, New York Times

Discover this beautiful gift edition of Toni Morrison's prize-winning contemporary classic Beloved

It is the mid-1800s and as slavery looks to be coming to an end, Sethe is haunted by the violent trauma it wrought on her former enslaved life at Sweet Home, Kentucky. Her dead baby daughter, whose tombstone bears the single word, Beloved, returns as a spectre to punish her mother, but also to elicit herā€¦


Book cover of The Essex Serpent

Jodi Lynn Anderson Why did I love this book?

A backwoods town in England suspects that an ancient sea monster lives in its estuaries; hysteria ensues.

The electricity in the story comes from Cora, a newly widowed amateur scientist, and her growing chemistry with a local priestā€¦ as they try to navigate the path between belief and superstition, facts and faith. A fun and romantic read while also having some deep questions at its heart.

By Sarah Perry,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Essex Serpent as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Now a major Apple TV series starring Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston

THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER

'A blissful novel of unapologetic appetites ... here is a writer who understands life' JESSIE BURTON, author of THE MINIATURIST

London, 1893. When Cora Seaborne's controlling husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness. Along with her son Francis - a curious, obsessive boy - she leaves town for Essex, in the hope that fresh air and open space will provide refuge.

On arrival, rumours reach them that the mythical Essex Serpent, onceā€¦


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Book cover of Norvel: An American Hero

Norvel by Kenneth F. Conklin,

NORVEL: An American Hero chronicles the remarkable life of Norvel Lee, a civil rights pioneer and Olympic athlete who challenged segregation in 1948 Virginia. Born in the Blue Ridge Mountains to working-class parents who valued education, Lee overcame Jim Crow laws and a speech impediment to achieve extraordinary success.

Heā€¦

Book cover of A Monster Calls

Jodi Lynn Anderson Why did I love this book?

Iā€™ll always be haunted by this book, based on an idea conceived by Siobhan Dowd before she diedā€¦and then taken up and written by Patrick Ness.

A boy whose mother is terminally ill notices a monster outside his window at night, getting closer and closer. But the monster isnā€™t coming to hurt him; rather, heā€™s come to join the boy as he faces and navigates loss. Painfully truthful and beautiful.  

By Patrick Ness, Siobhan Dowd, Jim Kay (illustrator)

Why should I read it?

15 authors picked A Monster Calls as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

The bestselling novel and major film about love, loss and hope from the twice Carnegie Medal-winning Patrick Ness.

Conor has the same dream every night, ever since his mother first fell ill, ever since she started the treatments that don't quite seem to be working. But tonight is different. Tonight, when he wakes, there's a visitor at his window. It's ancient, elemental, a force of nature. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth. Patrick Ness takes the final idea of the late, award-winning writer Siobhan Dowd and weaves an extraordinary and heartbreakingā€¦


Explore my book šŸ˜€

Book cover of Tiger Lily

What is my book about?

When fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan deep in the forbidden woods of Neverland, the two form an unbreakable bond. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. And yet, she is willing to risk everything ā€“ her family, her future ā€“ to be with him.

Then an English girl named Wendy Darling arrives on the island. With dangers tightening around them, Tiger Lily soon finds out how far she is willing to go to keep Peter with her in Neverland ā€“ and discovers that the deadliest enemies lurk inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

Book cover of Weetzie Bat
Book cover of The Street of Crocodiles
Book cover of Beloved

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The Rosewood Penny by J.S. Fields,

The dragons of Yuro have been hunted to extinction. 

On a small, isolated island, in a reclusive forest, lives bandit leader Marani and her brother Jacks. With their outlaw band, they rob the rich to feed themselves, raiding carriages and dodging the occasional vindictive pegasus. Thanks to Maraniā€™s mysterious invulnerability,ā€¦

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The Dark Backward by D.W. Buffa,

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