Children & YA

In Greg Howard’s second middle-grade novel, Middle School’s a Drag: You Better Werk!, entrepreneurial pre-teen Mikey Pruitt thinks his new talent agency can’t miss, now that he’s representing an eighth-grade aspiring drag queen. Readers won’t be surprised to find out that things don’t go as smoothly as Mikey anticipates. Howard will discuss the book at Parnassus Books in Nashville on February 11, at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on February 13, and at the SE-YA Book Fest in Murfreesboro on March 12-14.

When 16-year-old Emma Chance loses her best friend to suicide, she never dreams that one of her new classmates will turn out to be his clone. In The Similars, first-time YA author Rebecca Hanover uses a story about human cloning to examine the evils of sexism, racism, and xenophobia.

In The Problim Children: Carnival Catastrophe, Chattanooga author Natalie Lloyd weaves startling visions, family secrets, and magical powers into a perfect balance of sweet and tart that’s just plain fun. Lloyd will appear at the 2019 SCBWI Fall Conference autograph party in Franklin on September 14 and Ya-Hoo Fest in Chattanooga on September 21.

In Better Than the Best Plan, Lauren Morrill’s teenage protagonist finds herself unexpectedly tossed into the foster care system.