Synopses & Reviews
A beautifully voiced debut captures an intimate story of change and acceptance.
Twelve-year-old Davis lives in an old brownstone with his mother and grandmother in Brooklyn. He loves people-watching in Prospect Park, visiting his mom in the bakery she owns, and listening to the biggest operas he can find as he walks everywhere.
But Davis is having a difficult summer. As questions of sexuality begin to enter his mind, he worries people dont see him as anything other than husky.” To make matters worse, his best girlfriends are starting to hang out with mean girls and popular boys. Davis is equally concerned about the distance forming between him and his single mother as she begins dating again, and about his changing relationship with his amusingly loud Irish grandmother, Nanny.
Ultimately, Davis learns to see himself outside of his one defining adjective. Hes a kid with unique interests, admirable qualities, and people who will love him no matter what changes life brings about.
Review
"A fascinating and dreamy first novel." -
New York Times "Bold. Engaging. Heartbreaking." -Ellen Hopkins, New York Times bestselling author of Crank
"A brilliant account of alienation and angst in the heartland." -Quest Magazine
"Nick Burd reaps a bounty from The Vast Fields of Ordinary." -Vanity Fair
"Burd is a terrific writer+he is a new talent to watch." -Booklist, starred review
Review
A sweet confection of southern charm and gentle humor.
-VOYAReview
Readers will relish his conversational voice, naughty humor, celebrity put-downs, unabashed exuberance, and ALL CAPS expletives.
-School Library Journal, starred review
In Billy Bloom, St. James has created an archetypal hero for outsiders and freaks.
-Publishers Weekly, starred review
Synopsis
" G]enuinely funny, heart-wrenching . . ." - Kirkus Reviews
" A] moving journey of self-discovery and a gratifying coming-of-age story." - Publishers Weekly
"Husky . . . is a superb addition to the middle grade literary canon." - VOYA Reviews
"There is not a false note in the writing . . ." - Lambda Literary
A beautifully voiced debut captures an intimate story of change and acceptance.
Twelve-year-old Davis lives in an old brownstone with his mother and grandmother in Brooklyn. He loves people-watching in Prospect Park, visiting his mom in the bakery she owns, and listening to the biggest operas he can find as he walks everywhere.
But Davis is having a difficult summer. As questions of sexuality begin to enter his mind, he worries people don't see him as anything other than "husky." To make matters worse, his best girlfriends are starting to hang out with mean girls and popular boys. Davis is equally concerned about the distance forming between him and his single mother as she begins dating again, and about his changing relationship with his amusingly loud Irish grandmother, Nanny.
Ultimately, Davis learns to see himself outside of his one defining adjective. He's a kid with unique interests, admirable qualities, and people who will love him no matter what changes life brings about.
Synopsis
It's Dade's last summer at home, and things are pretty hopeless. He has a crappy job, a "boyfriend" who treats him like dirt, and his parents' marriage is falling apart. So when he meets and falls in love with the mysterious Alex Kincaid, Dade feels like he's finally experiencing true happiness. But when a tragedy shatters the final days of summer, he realizes he must face his future and learn how to move forward from his past.
Synopsis
It?s not so easy being Rosemary Goode and tipping the scales at almost two hundred pounds? especially when your mother runs the most successful (and gossipiest!) beauty shop in town. After a spectacularly disastrous Christmas break when the scale reaches an all-time high?Rosemary realizes that things need to change. (A certain basketball player, Kyle Cox, might have something to do with it.) So begins a powerful year of transformation and a journey toward self-discovery that surprisingly has little to do with the physical, and more to do with an honest look at how Rosemary feels about herself.
Synopsis
Blubber meets
Steel Magnolias in this funny and honest story about body image and family.
Rosemary Goode is smart and funny and loyal and the best eyebrow waxer in Spring Hill, Tennessee. But only one thing seems to matter to anyone, including Rosemary: her weight. And when your mom runs the most successful (and gossipy) beauty shop in town, it can be hard to keep a low profile. Rosemary resolves to lose the weight, but her journey turns out to be about everything but the scale. Her life-changing, waist-shrinking year is captured with brutal honesty and humor, topped with an extralarge helping of Southern charm. A truly uncommon novel about an increasingly common problem.
Synopsis
Meet Billy Bloom, new student at the ultra-white, ultra-rich, ultra-conservative Dwight D. Eisenhower Academy and drag queen extraordinaire. Actually, ?drag queen? does not begin to describe Billy and his fabulousness. Any way you slice it, Billy is not a typical seventeen-year-old, and the Bible Belles, Aberzombies, and Football Heroes at the academy have never seen anyone quite like him before. But thanks to the help and support of one good friend, Billy?s able to take a stand for outcasts and underdogs everywhere in his own outrageous, over-thetop, sad, funny, brilliant, and unique way.
Synopsis
Billy Bloom is gay, but its mostly theoretical, as he hasnt had much experience. When he has to move to Florida, he cant believe his bad luck. His new school is a mix of Bible Belles, Aberzombies, and Football Heroes, none of which are exactly his type. Billys efforts to fit in and stand out at the same time are both hilarious and heartrending. In this novel from adult author and media personality James St. James, readers are in for a wild ride as he tells Billys fascinating story of bravado, pain, and unexpected love, inspired by his own experiences.
Synopsis
Twelve-year old Jack Goodrich was a Broadway star, with two shows under his belt and a third in rehearsals. But when his voice changes suddenly, Jack and his parents leave the spotlight and move from New York City to Shaker Heights, Ohio. While Jack hopes to leave his Broadway past behind, his new neighbor refuses to let him off the hook. Louisa is a self proclaimed "musical theater nerd" and can hardly believe when an actor moves to town. Whats more, the local theater has announced auditions for her favorite show, Into the Woods.” As the audition date looms nearer, the two are faced with difficult choices. Should Jack risk humiliation and return to the stage? Will Louisa have confidence to go it alone? And can their friendship survive all those complicated octave leaps?
Synopsis
It?s Dade?s last summer at home. He has a crappy job at Food World, a ?boyfriend? who won?t publicly acknowledge his existence (maybe because Pablo also has a girlfriend), and parents on the verge of a divorce. College is Dade?s shining beacon of possibility, a horizon to keep him from floating away.
Then he meets the mysterious Alex Kincaid. Falling in real love finally lets Dade come out of the closet?and, ironically, ignites a ruthless passion in Pablo. But just when true happiness has set in, tragedy shatters the dreamy curtain of summer, and Dade will use every ounce of strength he?s gained to break from his past and start fresh with the future.
About the Author
Andrew Keenan-Bolger is a musical theater actor and singer originally from Detroit. He has appeared on Broadway in
Newsies, Mary Poppins,
Seussical, and
Beauty and the Beast. Andrew and Kate Wetherhead created the popular web series,
Submissions Only, which was hailed as one of
Entertainment Weekly's "Top 10 Things We Love."
Kate Wetherhead originated the role of Chutney in Legally Blonde: The Musical and is a fixture on the New York stage. She has performed extensively Off-Broadway and regionally, and was in the Broadway production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.