A girl and her cat help each other survive brutality and war
Doan Phuong Nguyen mines family history as well as world history in her debut novel for young readers, set in South Vietnam in the 1960s. She will discuss Mèo and Bé at Parnassus Books in Nashville on May 24.
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Andrea Williams tells the story of Effa Manley in Baseball’s Leading Lady
FROM THE CHAPTER 16 ARCHIVE: Nashville author Andrea Williams formerly worked in marketing and development for the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri. Her wide knowledge of the subject is evident in her first book for young readers, Baseball’s Leading Lady: Effa Manley and the Rise and Fall of the Negro Leagues, an account of the only woman in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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A lonely boy unravels the mystery of his own death
In The Visitors, Greg Howard’s third middle-grade novel, a 12-year-old boy is “stuck” in a neglected plantation in South Carolina, along with other inhabitants — some benevolent, some definitely not. When three visitors arrive to investigate a long-ago mystery, the boy starts to unearth memories of his past. Greg Howard will discuss The Visitors at a virtual event hosted by Parnassus Books in Nashville on January 31.
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A teenager explores her heritage and herself in Delhi
In Sheba Karim’s fourth YA novel, The Marvelous Mirza Girls, Noreen is grieving the death of her beloved aunt. She postpones her first year of college and travels to Delhi, where — with the charming Kabir as her guide — she explores the chaotic and beautiful city, a stark contrast to her suburban New Jersey home. Karim will discuss The Marvelous Mirza Girls at Parnassus Books in Nashville on May 18.
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A 14-year-old makes a difficult journey of self-discovery
Award-winning author Kacen Callender returns to middle-grade fiction with King and the Dragonflies. King is convinced that his much-loved older brother, Khalid, became a dragonfly after he died suddenly. King has to struggle through his own and his family’s grief while grappling with the nature of friendship and his questions about his sexuality. Callender will appear at the 2020 Southern Festival of Books, held online October 1-11.
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A determined girl saves lives in war-torn Poland
Sharon Cameron’s The Light in Hidden Places is a novelization of the true lifesaving deeds of Stefania Podgórska, who hid 13 Jews in a small attic during the Nazi occupation of Poland.
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