Laurie Halse Anderson

Overview: The first ten lies they tell you in high school. "Speak up for yourself--we want to know what you have to say." From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless, outcast, because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. As time passes, she becomes increasingly isolated...

Eighteen-year-old Lia comes to terms with her best friend's death from anorexia as she struggles with the same disorder.

After finally getting noticed by someone other than school bullies and his ever-angry father, seventeen-year-old Tyler enjoys his tough new reputation and the attentions of a popular girl, but when life starts to go bad again, he must choose between transforming himself or giving in to his destructive thoughts.

"Speak up for yourself--we want to know what you have to say." From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless--an outcast--because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her.

After being sold to a cruel couple in New York City, a slave named Isabel spies for the rebels during the Revolutionary War.

"As the Revolutionary War rages on, Isabel and Curzon are reported as runaways, and the awful Bellingham is determined to track them down. With purpose and faith, Isabel and Curzon march on, fiercely determined to find Isabel's little sister Ruth, who is enslaved in a Southern state"--

Charity has chicken pox, there's a terrible snowstorm outside, and it looks like the Chatfields will have to spend Thanksgiving without Nana and her wonderful roast turkey, stuffing, and cranberries.

The two-time National Book Award finalist (Speak and Chains) talks with Maureen Johnson (13 Little Blue Envelopes) about the compelling novels that have earned her numerous awards and fans of all ages. Her latest release, Forge (the sequel to Chains) is a gripping story filled with plot twists and unforgettable characters.

When her owner dies at the start of the Revolution, a greedy nephew keeps Isabel and her younger sister enslaved and sells them to Loyalists in New York, where she is offered the chance to spy for the Patriots.

A young girl's talented but untamed tresses do not impress her strict first-grade teacher, who has rules for everything, including hair.