Teen Reads

Some recently published books for young adult and for middle grade readers will be at Mountain Spirits.

Three are YA: Corner Pride, a coming of age novel by Ferrum resident Charles Shea Lemone; Memento Nora by Roanoker Angie Smibert; and What We Keep is Not Always What Will Stay by Hollins professor of children's literature,  Amanda Cockrell. The other two books are for younger readers: Eaglebait, a middle school novel by Smith Mountain Lake resident Susan Coryell; and Stuck, a middle-grade paranormal novel by Penhook resident Becky Mushko. Here's a bit of what the books are about:

What We Keep is Not Always What Will Stay (Flux, 2011): Angie, a teenager who's been confiding her feelings to a statue of St. Felix (who suddenly takes human form), falls for Jesse, who suffers from post traumatic stress syndrome. 

Memento Nora (Marshall Cavendish, 2011): In the not-to-distant future, Nora has the opportunity to remove unpleasant memories by taking a pill, but she and two friends decide the memories must be saved and shared. (Update: Angie will not be able to make the festival. However, her book will be available.)

Corner Pride (Multicultural Educational Publishing, 2009): Two teenage boys, in a rough Philadelphia neighborhood in 1957, have dreams of a bright future—one wants to become a prizefighter, the other a writer.

Another YA book, previously mentioned (and pictured) in the June 5th Piedmont Writers post, is Facing Fallout, by Dorothy Hemenway Carter. In Facing Fallout (Createspace, 2011), Sara spends her junior year of high school working for a newspaper and "facing fallout" from several complications in her life.

Stuck (Cedar Creek Publishing, 2011): 11-year-old Jacie, stuck in grief over her mother's death and stuck on a Union Hall, Virginia, farm with her soon-to-be stepmother, helps a ghost who is stuck on earth.

Eaglebait (back in print via iUniverse, 2011): Underachieving 14-year-old Wardy Spinks is a target of bullies until a teacher takes an interest in him. Wardy gains confidence, but then the teacher exploits his scientific abilities.

Visit these authors under the tent on October 1st. Susan Coryell will be at the Lake Writers table, Becky Mushko will be at the Cedar Creek table (where her Appalachian folktale Ferradiddledumday will also be available), Dorothy Hemenway Carter will be at the Piedmont Writers table, and the other three authors will be at individual tables.

Note: You don't have to be a young person to enjoy these books. Older readers will enjoy them, too.

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