Synopses & Reviews
A stunning debut novel about survival and friendship on the streets of New York City.
Best friends Ray and Jose are not your typical thirteen-year-olds. They?ve escaped foster care and juvenile detention centers to live on their own together in an abandoned building located near Manhattan Park called Ten-Mile River. With no use for school or families, street-smart Jose and bookish, introspective Ray have everything they need in each other. They are closer than brothers until they meet Trini. She?s smart, beautiful, and confident, and they both fall for her immediately. As tension creeps into their relationship, Ray must struggle to find an identity separate from Jose and try to envision a future for himself beyond Jose and Ten-Mile River.
This is Paul Griffin?s first novel, and his spare moving prose and uncanny ear for authentic dialogue is guaranteed to garner many fans.
Review
“Everything affects everything,” declares Hannah Baker, who killed herself two weeks ago. After her death, Clay Jensen—who had a crush on Hannah—finds seven cassette tapes in a brown paper package on his doorstep. Listening to the tapes, Hannah chronicles her downward spiral and the 13 people who led her to make this horrific choice. Evincing the subtle—and not so subtle—cruelties of teen life, from rumors, to reputations, to rape, Hannah explains to her listeners that, “in the end, everything matters.” Most of the novel quite literally takes place in Clay’s head, as he listens to Hannah’s voice pounding in his ears through his headphones, creating a very intimate feel for the reader as Hannah explains herself. Her pain is gut-wrenchingly palpable, and the reader is thrust face-first into a world where everything is related, an intricate yet brutal tapestry of events, people and places. Asher has created an entrancing character study and a riveting look into the psyche of someone who would make this unfortunate choice. A brilliant and mesmerizing debut from a gifted new author.—Kirkus, starred review
Review
"Griffin gracefully answers questions and solves mysteries, leaving us with hope and a smile without making things falsely shiny and bright."
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* "A haunting story of love and heartbreak. Bittersweet, stellar, with genuine dialogue and drama, this book will appeal greatly to teens, especially dog lovers."
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* "Unique and genuine. This is romance but also true tragedy. Heart-wrenching."
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* "Heartbreaking . . . extraordinary . . . vividly depicted through affecting prose and believable dialogue. Remarkable characters abound. Achingly, authentically emotionally resonant, this sad, never-saccharine tale will have absorbed readers reaching for the Kleenex. An outstanding love story."
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* "Sweet, sensual, utterly engrossing, drawing readers in with engagingly authentic dialogue and fully realized characters."
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"Exquisite, unforgettable, an intense portrait of first love, family ties and the bond between man and dog."
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"Realistic underlined. Will find its way to the 'favorites' shelf right next to S.E. Hinton's classic The Outsiders."
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"Authentic, painful, heartfelt. Griffin's gift shines in this moving novel of loss, acceptance, and the possibility of redemption."
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" . . . a strong title in the competitive teen romance genre. With tragic Romeo-and-Juliet elements, this is a fast,paced, refreshingly honest, and surprisingly realistic urban love story."
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Official selection
Review
Praise for
Burning Blue:
* "As always, Griffin (Stay with Me) fills his story with fascinating, distinctive characters whose interior and exterior struggles are closely entwined." -Publishers Weekly, starred review
* “This poignant, romantic mystery, told through Jays no-nonsense point of view, is a suspenseful, memorable exploration of love, identity, and beauty.” -Library Media Connection, starred review
"A taut thriller explores the evolving relationship between two outsider teens, at first defined by their shared defectiveness but later superseding it." -Kirkus Reviews
Review
"A dull moment does not exist in this fast-paced, modern mystery.”—
VOYA, starred review
"In this chilling, of-the-moment mystery . . . Griffin fills his story with fascinating, distinctive characters whose interior and exterior struggles are closely entwined.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Griffin has upped the ante with this engrossing page-turner that will keep readers on the edge of their seats . . . Another stellar offering from this talented author.”—School Library Journal
“Griffin fleshes out a gripping whodunit with a host of believable teen characters . . . a taut thriller.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Griffin teases out various motives and sets up red herrings in this suspenseful mystery with elements of romance, high school dynamics, and teenage angst. This fourth novel establishes Griffin as one of the better writers of contemporary realistic fiction for a high school audience.”—The Horn Book
Synopsis
Meet Tamika Sykes?Mik to her friends (if she had any). She?s hearing impaired and way too smart for her West Bronx high school. She copes by reading lips and selling homework answers, and looks forward to the time each day when she can be alone in her room drawing. She?s a tough girl who never gets close to anyone, until she meets Fatima, a teenage refugee who sells newspapers on Mik?s block. Both Mik and Fatima unite in their efforts to befriend Jimmi, a homeless vet who is shunned by the rest of the community.
The events that follow when these three outcasts converge will break open their close-knit community and change the lives of those living in the Orange Houses in explosive and unexpected ways.
Synopsis
Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker—his classmate and crush—who committed suicide two weeks earlier.
On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out how he made the list.
Through Hannah and Clay’s dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.
Synopsis
A soulful mystery for fans of
Thirteen Reasons Why and
Paper Towns
When Nicole Castro, the most beautiful girl in her wealthy New Jersey high school, is splashed with acid on the left side of her perfect face, the world takes notice. But quiet loner Jay Nazarro does more than thathe decides to find out who did it. Jay understands how it feels to be treated like a freak, and he also has a secret: Hes a brilliant hacker. But the deeper he digs, the more danger hes inand the more he falls for Nicole. Too bad everyone is turning into a suspect, including Nicole herself.
Synopsis
An urban romance that will capture your soul, break your heart, and restore your faith in the human spiritFifteen-year-olds Cece and Mack didn't expect to fall in love. She's a sensitive A student; he's a high school dropout. But soon they're spending every moment together, bonding over a rescued dog, telling their secrets, making plans for the future. Everything is perfect. Until. Until. Mack makes a horrible mistake, and in just a few minutes, the future they'd planned becomes impossible. In this stark new reality, both of them must find meaning and hope in the memories of what they had, to survive when the person they love can't stay.
From award-winning writer Paul Griffin, Stay with Me is both heartbreaking and uplifting, filled with characters (both dog and human) that will forever change the way you look at the world.
Synopsis
Tamika Sykes, AKA Mik, is hearing impaired and way too smart for her West Bronx high school. She copes by reading lips and selling homework answers, and looks forward to the time each day when she can be alone in her room drawing. She's a tough girl who mostly keeps to herself and can shut anyone out with the click of her hearing aid. But then she meets Fatima, a teenage refugee who sells newspapers, and Jimmi, a homeless vet who is shunned by the rest of the community, and her life takes an unexpected turn.
Synopsis
Best friends Ray and Jose are not your typical teenagers. They've escaped foster care and juvenile detention centers to live on their own together in an abandoned stationhouse in New York City's Ten Mile River Park. Ray and Jose are as close as brothers. But then they meet Trini, the smart, beautiful, and confident girl from their local barber shop, and they both fall for her immediately. As tension creeps into their relationship, Ray must struggle to find an identity separate from Jose and try to envision a future for himself beyond Jose and Ten Mile River.
"Griffin has a particular gift for dialogue that not only sounds authentic but also serves to define characters whom he knows inside and out. His is clearly a talent to watch." - Booklist, review of Ten Mile River
About the Author
Jay Asher is the author of the young adult novels The Future Of Us and Thirteen Reasons Why. Thirteen Reasons Why, his first novel, was published in hardcover in October 2007, going on to spend 65 weeks on the New York Times children's hardcover bestseller list, with foreign rights into 31 countries and 750,000 copies currently in print in the US alone. Visit his blog at www.jayasher.blogspot.com and follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jayasherguy.