Last Stop on Market Street is a quiet little book about a boy and his grandma riding the bus from church to their soup kitchen. I set out to tell a simple, realist urban story featuring “diverse” characters. I was also thrilled to be working with one of the most talented illustrators in the field, Christian

Happy 2015!  I’m super excited to announce that my second picture book, Last Stop on Market Street, comes out January 8th. The book is a “Winter 2014-2015 Kids’ Indie Next Pick” and has already received starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. Here’s what folks are saying: “This celebration of cross-generational bonding is a textual

On November 19, I’ll be doing a reading at my alma mater, the University of the Pacific. Details here. UOP is a really special place. With special professors. Graduating from college is still the accomplishment I’m most proud of. But there’s a second reason I’m really looking forward to this event. My old man’s

I’m kind of awkward on camera. At least on the inside. (I was in a play once in college — I wrote it and the main actor bailed at the last minute and I was the only other person who knew the lines — and the whole time I was on stage I kept

Hey everyone, My True Love Gave to Me hits bookstores Tuesday, October 14th! This anthology (edited by Stephanie Perkins) has 12 long stories written by an incredible collection of YA authors: me, Rainbow Rowell, David Levithan, Holly Black, Kelly Link, Gayle Forman, Myra McEntire, Kiersten White, Jenny Han, Ally Carter and Laini Taylor. I

My first-ever trip to Iowa couldn’t have gone better. The weather was perfect. The people were nice. The students were fun . . . and a bit crazy . . . and super respectful. And every teacher I met was the real deal. My first stop was Holmes Junior High. During the morning creative

I’m just coming out of a deadline-driven summer (with a good bit of baby time mixed in), and I’m excited to finally make a few announcements . . . Books: First of all, I finished the final draft of the sequel to The Living. It’s called The Hunted, and it closes out Shy’s story.

Sometimes interesting things happen at schools. And I want to start sharing them. Take yesterday . . . Yesterday, at a rough junior high in Newark, NJ I signed about 100 books for students (donated by My Very Own Library). One girl (frizzy braids, soiled jeans, messed up teeth like mine) took her copy

It’s hard to meet writing deadlines. It’s even harder to meet them when you’re on the road, flying from one city to another for nearly forty straight days (Honolulu was one of the cities so don’t feel too bad for me). Luckily I love the projects I’ve been working on. And I loved all

It was such an amazing honor to be recognized by the Pura Belpre committee at this year’s ALA awards ceremony. One of the consistent themes running through all my work over the years (I’ve now been publishing books for almost a decade — I’m so old!) is the “mixed-race” experience. A lot of folks