SHOUT AT THE THUNDER
Twelve-year-old Holly Toast has Tourette’s syndrome, making her mind feel like a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. When her family moves for the summer to a crumbling estate set to become a state park—her mom the new ranger, her dad an eccentric inventor—Holly steps into a forgotten world: a decaying mansion, overgrown gardens, an abandoned zoo, and echoes of the wealthy family who once lived there.
A twisty mystery of hidden histories and self-discovery, Shout at the Thunder is a journey toward self-acceptance and belonging.
Shout at the Thunder broke my heart and mended it just as quickly as Holly Toast navigates the world and her Tourette's. Takoudes's sparkling gem of a novel enchants as much as it delights as it reminds us that choosing to see the dignity in others, and in ourselves, is truly the most powerful magic of all.
—Brendan Kiely, New York Times bestselling author of Sole Survivor
BROOKLYN BOY, MANHATTAN GIRL
Nick is our Brooklyn Boy — a working-class teen with ambitions to become the city’s best chef. Julia is our Manhattan Girl — a high-society daughter to a notorious restaurateur, struggling to get out from under her father’s thumb.
When Nick and Julia meet, theirs is a romance like Romeo and Juliet — across class, culture, and the Brooklyn Bridge — to challenge her father’s restaurant empire and compete in a televised cooking competition.
Brooklyn Boy, Manhattan Girl is a novel about food, love, big dreams (that are sometimes half-baked, fully baked, crushed, or diced) and the glitz and wonderful chaos of coming-of-age in New York City.
THE UNSTUMPABLE CHARLIE KITE
Imagine this: you’re alone on an island with nothing to eat except a bag of marshmallows. Maybe that’s not a problem if the bag is big enough. But imagine there’s a bear on the island with you. A bear who also loves marshmallows. What do you do? Climb a tree? Share the marshmallows? What if the bear doesn’t like sharing?
This is the exact problem that eleven-year-old Charlie faces in The Unstumpable Charlie Kite, a story of wilderness survival like no other. What begins as a camping trip with his dad turns into the most incredible adventure Charlie could have imagined. He must use the clues of the forest to navigate rivers, stay warm, find food, and among other things, conquer a marshmallow-loving bear. The Unstumpable Charlie Kite is a story about hope, trust, and solving life's biggest puzzles.
WHEN WE WUZ FAMOUS
Published by Henry Holt & Co. / Macmillan Publishers. A group of East Harlem teenagers wrestle with their sense of identity when one of their own escapes the city for life in boarding school.
Intense and determinedly realistic, this story will leave a lasting impression on readers.
—Publishers Weekly
American Library Association Pick | Winner of the Muriel Becker Award, The New Jersey Council of Teachers of English | Junior Library Guild Selection
