Children & YA

When Doan Phuong Nguyen was in elementary school, her family immigrated to Nashville from Vietnam. This complicated transition inspired Nguyen’s new book, A Two-Placed Heart, a lightly embellished autobiographical, epistolary story told in verse. Nguyen will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on September 24 and the 2024 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville on October 26-27.

“It’s kinda hard to hunt for a murderer,” declares young Chloe Alvarez, “when you don’t want to remember that a person is dead.” Chloe is the narrator and main character of Nashville writer Kristin O’Donnell Tubb’s latest middle-grade novel, Fowl Play, and she is desperate to know what really happened to her Uncle Will. Fowl Play is scheduled for release on July 30, and a launch event will be held at the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere on August 2.

Jessica Young’s latest picture book, Two Homes, One Heart, explores through a child’s eyes the uncertainty and possibility experienced when a family separates. Young will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on March 30.

In his books Strong Inside, Singled Out, and Inaugural Ballers, Andrew Maraniss explored the intersection of sports, identity, and social justice. Now he’s bringing those themes to Beyond the Game: Athletes Change the World, a new series of biographies for young readers. Maraniss will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on March 5.