Q. What is your writing process?
A. I write every weekday morning at my computer in my home office. A plump cat or two for company. More coffee than is good for me. I wear pajamas and look rather unattractive. I do not answer the phone, I do not clean the house, I check my e-mail only as a reward for doing my job. Sometimes I offer myself other ridiculous little rewards for writing—like: I can go out to the drugstore and buy toothpaste if I write two pages! It is borderline psychotic.
Q. What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
A. Go to college. Read as many books as you can. Try to get an internship at a publishing house or magazine. And write. It is very easy to say you are a writer and not write. But if you actually write stuff—then you are a writer, whether published or not.
The Boy Book • E. Lockhart • 978-0-385-73208-6
It’s the beginning of Ruby Oliver’s junior year at Tate Prep, and things are not off to a good start. But the year turns out to be full of surprises—along with many difficult decisions—that help Ruby see that there is indeed life outside the Tate universe.
Fly on the Wall • E. Lockhart • 978-0-385-73281-9
At the Manhattan School for Art and Music, where everyone is “different” and everyone is “special,” Gretchen Yee feels ordinary. One day, Gretchen wishes she could be a fly on the wall in the boys’ locker room—just to learn more about guys. (What are they really like? What do they really talk about?) This is the story of how that wish comes true.
Not Like I’m Jealous or Anything: The Jealousy Book Edited by Marissa Walsh • 978-0-385-73317-5
We’ve all been there. We’ve all felt that pang. It’s hard to stop the green-eyed monster once it rears its ugly head. In this collection of short stories, essays, and one poem, thirteen writers share their visions of jealousy.
Girl, 15, Charming but Insane • Sue Limb 978-0-385-73215-4
With her hilariously active imagination, Jess Jordan has a tendency to complicate her life, but now, as she’s finally getting closer to her crush, she’s determined to keep things under control. Readers will fall in love with Sue Limb’s insanely optimistic heroine.
Counting Stars
David Almond
978-0-440-41826-9
With stories that shimmer and vibrate in the bright heat of memory, David Almond creates a glowing mosaic of his life growing up in a large, loving Catholic family in northeastern England.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Ann Brashares
978-0-385-73058-7
Over a few bags of cheese puffs, four girls decide to form a sisterhood and take the vow of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. The next morning, they say goodbye. And then the journey of the Pants, and the most memorable summer of their lives, begin.
The Second Summer of the Sisterhood
Ann Brashares
978-0-385-73105-8
With a bit of last summer’s sand in the pockets, the Traveling Pants and the Sisterhood who wears them—Lena, Tibby, Bridget, and Carmen—embark on their second summer together.
Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood
Ann Brashares
978-0-385-72935-2
It’s the summer before the Sisterhood departs for college … their last real summer together before they head off to start their grown-up lives. It’s the time when they need the Pants the most.
Walking Naked
Alyssa Brugman
978-0-440-23832-4
Megan Tuw has always been popular. But when she’s thrown into detention with Perdita Wiguiggan, the most unpopular “freak” in school, Megan finds herself slowly drawn into an almost-friendship. Then Megan faces a choice: Perdita or the group?
Keeper of the Night
Kimberly Willis Holt
978-0-553-49441-9
Living on the island of Guam, a place lush with memories and tradition, young Isabel struggles to protect her family and cope with growing up after her mother’s suicide.
The Lightkeeper’s Daughter
Iain Lawrence
978-0-385-73127-0
Imagine growing up on a tiny island with no one but your family. For Squid McCrae, returning to the island after three years away unleashes a storm of bittersweet memories, revelations, and accusations surrounding her brother’s death.
Lord of the Nutcracker Men
Iain Lawrence
978-0-440-41812-2
In 1914, Johnny’s father leaves England to fight the Germans in France. With each carved wooden soldier he sends home, the brutality of war becomes more apparent. Soon Johnny fears that his war games foretell real battles and that he controls his father’s fate.
Gathering Blue
Lois Lowry
978-0-440-22949-0
Lamed and suddenly orphaned, Kira is mysteriously taken to live in the palatial Council Edifice, where she is expected to use her gifts as a weaver to do the bidding of the all-powerful Guardians.
The Giver
Lois Lowry
978-0-440-23768-6
Jonas’s world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices, until Jonas is given an opportunity that will change his world forever.
Harmony
Rita Murphy
978-0-440-22923-0
Power is coursing through Harmony—the power to affect the universe with her energy. This is a frightening gift for a girl who has always hated being different, and Harmony must decide whether to hide her abilities or embrace the consequences—good and bad—of her full strength.