Children & YA | Chapter 16

A Finely Drawn Character

Robert Gipe’s illustrated debut novel, Trampoline, introduces a troubled teen coming of age during an Appalachian coal war

By Michael Ray Taylor | April 7, 2015

April 7, 2015 It’s been a while since anyone produced a great American coming-of-age-novel, but Kingsport native Robert Gipe hits the mark with Trampoline, an inventive debut set in the coal country of Eastern Kentucky. Narrator Dawn Jewell, fifteen, is as smart as Scout Finch, more profane than Holden Caulfield, and as tough in a fight as Mattie Ross. Gipe tells her story not only in flawless prose but also with 220 comics-style drawings that keep the book grounded in the world of an Appalachian teenager.

Marching On

The graphic trilogy March, Congressman John Lewis’s memoir of the American civil-rights movement, continues with a focus on Nashville’s Freedom Riders

By Michael Ray Taylor | March 19, 2015

March 19, 2015 Impressive artwork by Nate Powell, a gripping story by Andrew Aydin, and an eyewitness view of history from U.S. Representative John Lewis combine flawlessly in March: Book Two, the second volume of Lewis’s graphic memoir of the American civil-rights movement. This installment highlights Lewis’s Nashville-based efforts to launch Freedom Riders onto segregated bus lines throughout the South.

What Makes Us Who We Are?

In her debut novel, Memphis native Moriah McStay explores the way our experiences shape us

By Tracy Barrett | March 11, 2015

March 11, 2015 Fiona Doyle’s face was horribly scarred when she was a little girl. But what if the accident had never happened? Moriah McStay’s Everything That Makes You follows Fiona and an alternative, unscarred version of herself, exploring how much (and how little) would change if we could turn back the clock and “fix” what we think is wrong with our lives. McStay will read from her debut novel at The Booksellers at Laurelwood in Memphis on March 17, 2015, at 6:30 p.m.

The Dragon Lantern: A League of Seven Novel

March 10, 2015

“This hybrid of steampunk and alternate American history features… three highly likable leads in a yarn rip-roaring from start to finish.”

–Booklist on The League of Seven

A Collection of Oddities

Mosquitoland, a debut YA novel by David Arnold, introduces a snarky but beguiling teen protagonist

By Susannah Felts | February 25, 2015

February 25, 2015 Mosquitoland, the debut novel from former Nashvillian David Arnold, introduces a beguiling new voice in young-adult fiction. Edgy, insightful, and full of heart, the novel is a road narrative that readers of all ages should fall for. Arnold will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on March 3, 2015, at 6:30 p.m.

When Fury Meets Guilt

In her new YA novel, I Was Here, Gayle Forman explores the questions surrounding a teen suicide

By Tracy Barrett | January 27, 2015

January 27, 2015 In I Was Here, bestselling author Gayle Forman has created a powerful story about an eighteen-year-old girl’s search for the reasons behind her best friend’s suicide. Forman will be joined by fellow young-adult authors Ruta Sepetys, David Arnold, and Courtney Stevens at Parnassus Books in Nashville on January 30, 2015, at 6:30 p.m.

Camilla and the Caterpillars

By Frances Figart, illustrated by Matt Brass
Smokies Life
68 pages
$14.95

A young girl’s encounter with an extraordinary caterpillar in the Great Smoky Mountains leads her and her family on a quest to plant a national park right in their own backyard.

This environmentally themed chapter book for ages 6 through 11 introduces young readers to important ecological concepts including habitat loss and the interdependence of native species and offers a compelling grassroots solution through native-plant gardening that invites anyone to take part in addressing the growing biodiversity crisis.

~the publisher