Children & YA | Chapter 16

The Human Essence of War

Kimberly Brubaker Bradley has won a Newbery Honor Award, one of the highest distinctions in children’s literature

By Kristin O'Donnell Tubb | March 3, 2016

March 3, 2016 Aimed at middle-grade readers, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley’s The War That Saved My Life tells the story of Ada and Jamie, two inner-city British children who are evacuated to the English countryside to keep them safe from Hitler’s bombing attacks on London. Bradley will discuss her Newbery Honor book at Parnassus Books in Nashville on March 11, 2016, at 6:30 p.m.

Dreaming of a Bigger World

Jeff Zentner’s The Serpent King is a story of both support systems and past poisons

By Kristin O'Donnell Tubb | March 2, 2016

March 2, 2016 “What a special place I have in my heart for [those] who dream of a bigger world than the one they inhabit,” writes Nashville novelist Jeff Zentner in his debut young-adult novel, The Serpent King. Zentner will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on March 8, 2016, at 6:30 p.m.

Mystery and Adventure at … the Library?

Chris Grabenstein’s eccentric librarian, Mr. Lemoncello, returns to test rival teams of young bibliophiles

By Tracy Barrett | February 11, 2016

February 11, 2016 The nonstop action in Mr. Lemoncello’s Library Olympics will captivate middle-grade readers, and the puzzles and challenges posed to its young heroes (and anti-heroes) will keep them guessing until the end. Chris Grabenstein will discuss his sequel to the New York Times-bestselling Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library at Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Brentwood on February 16, 2016, at 6:30 p.m.

Lorelai Diedrich’s Debut

C.J. Redwine’s latest YA novel breaks from her Defiance series and introduces a new heroine

By Sarah Carter | February 10, 2016

February 10, 2016 Nashville’s C.J. Redwine peppers her new fantasy novel with themes that touch on responsibility, the power of compassion, cooperation with the natural environment, and moving on from difficult experiences, in addition to the suspense and a cast of entertaining characters for which her fiction is known. She will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on February 18, 2016, and at the Southeastern Young Adult Book Festival, held in Murfreesboro March 11-13, 2016.

The Little Bookstore That Could

With the launch of Star Line Books, Star Lowe celebrates her faith in Chattanooga readers

By Tina Chambers | February 2, 2016

February 2, 2016 Star Line Books, Chattanooga’s only independent bookstore, opened last August just across Market Street from the famed Chattanooga Choo-Choo. Owner Star Lowe is passionate about books, her customers, and the Chattanooga community. She only wishes she had more time to read.

Carrying Disaster on Their Backs

Ruta Sepetys’s new YA novel returns to the ravaged landscape—and people—of World War II

By Jennie Fields | January 27, 2016

January 27, 2016 In Salt to the Sea, Ruta Sepetys—Nashville-based author of the chillingly beautiful 2011 novel, Between Shades of Gray, about a Lithuanian family sent to a Soviet work camp—tells another tale of displacement and tragedy at the end of World War II as the Red Army advances on Prussia. Sepetys will celebrate the book’s launch at Parnassus Books in Nashville on February 2, 2016, at 6:30 p.m.