The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books began in 1996 with a simple goal: to bring together the people who create books with the people who love to read them. The festival was an immediate success and has become the largest and most prestigious book festival in the country, attracting more than 130,000 book lovers each year.
Jonathan Hunt, a teacher and librarian, writes about young adult literature for Horn Book magazine, presents seminars for the Bureau of Education & Research, and has served on the 2006 Newbery and the 2008 Printz committees.
Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak was a National Book Award Finalist and New York Times best seller. Her most recent novel is Wintergirls. Suzanne Phillips is a special education English teacher in San Diego. Chloe Doe was her acclaimed debut novel. Burn, her provocative second novel, dares readers to look at the behavior that provokes violence in a suburban high school.
Nate Powell is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City. His work includes contributions to the Eisner-nominated Syncopated anthologies. Swallow Me Whole is a 2008 finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Young Adult Literature. He lives in Indiana.
Jacqueline Woodson, winner of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults, is the author of several books, including her newest, Peace, Locomotion. Woodson was the recipient of a 2000 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Young Adult Fiction for Miracle's Boys.
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"Sure it's YA, but this might be the best thing I've read this year. There's a lot of George Saunders in here (I can't help wondering if he studied under Saunders at Syracuse) but in some ways I think he hit some of the notes better than Saunders does. Heartbreaking and very well done.
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Thomas (5 out of 5 stars)