Two teens work to overturn a murder conviction in this twisty YA mystery
In We Were Kings, the latest YA novel from Court Stevens, 18-year-old Nyla and her new friend, Sam, race against time to solve a decades-old cold case and save the life of a woman they believe to be wrongfully imprisoned for the crime. Stevens will discuss We Were Kings with Sharon Cameron at a virtual event hosted by Parnassus Books in Nashville on February 9.
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It was a weirdly specific message to get from a cookie
Divorce is an ugly business — at least it was for me. I felt as though everything in my life was broken: my home, my family, even my sanity. I didn’t know it then, but far from being over, my life was about to get interesting.
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Katherine Paterson’s new middle grade novel considers fear, faith, family, and friendship
In Katherine Paterson’s new middle grade novel, Birdie’s Bargain, 10-year-old Elizabeth “Birdie” Cunningham is sure that her dad’s third tour of duty overseas with the National Guard will end with his death. As Birdie struggles with jealousy, loss, anger, anxiety, and the trustworthiness of both God and man, Paterson allows her readers into the inmost thoughts of this conflicted and unhappy character.
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Ann Patchett’s essays consider the gifts of life and the inevitability of death
Nashville writer Ann Patchett’s second volume of essays, These Precious Days, can be enjoyed as a grab bag of personable pieces depicting her interesting life and times. But everyone who opens the book will also be confronted by serious, universal themes — the abundant gifts of life and the tragedy of its inevitable end. Patchett will discuss the book at a virtual event with novelist Amor Towles on December 7.
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A young girl in 1910 New York wrestles with fears both real and imagined
“Not everything is a monster,” admits 10-year-old Essie O’Neill in J. Kasper Kramer’s new middle grade novel, The List of Unspeakable Fears. “But some things are.” Essie should know; she keeps a list. And moving to a spooky old house in the middle of an island full of dangerously sick people is about to provide a lot more entries.
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The reality of life with a profoundly autistic child
Just before turning 2, Allison Moorer’s son was diagnosed with autism, later revealed to be Level 3, the most severe degree of disability. In I Dream He Talks to Me: A Memoir of Learning How to Listen, Moorer shares her hopes and fears for her son and offers an honest look at their life together. She will discuss the book at Parnassus Books in Nashville on October 15.
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