Varian Johnson

Coretta Scott King Honor author Varian Johnson teams up with rising cartoonist Shannon Wright for a delightful middle-grade graphic novel! Maureen and Francine Carter are twins and best friends. They participate in the same clubs, enjoy the same foods, and are partners on all their school projects. But just before the girls start sixth grade, Francine becomes Fran -- a girl who wants to join the chorus, run for class president, and dress in fashionable...

Conor, Abeke, Meilin, and Rollan race to stop an ancient enemy with the power to strip spirit animals from their partners, while one young hero faces the loss of a spirit companion.

Gabriela's offered a dance opportunity she can't pass up during her already busy sixth grade year, but she finds herself wishing she could work on her poetry instead and wonders if her dreams have changed.

Because of his reputation for practical jokes Jackson Greene is the automatic suspect for anything that goes wrong at school. But when he and his friends are framed for a crime they did not commit, Gang Greene sets out to expose the students responsible, who are trying to blackmail Jackson into helping them cheat on an important test.

"In America during the early twentieth century, no part was safe from segregation, not even the country's national pastime, baseball.  Despite their exodus from the Major Leagues because of the color of their skin, African American men still found a way to participate in the sport they loved.  Author Varian Johnson shines a spotlight on the players, coaches, owners, and teams that dominated the Negro Leagues during the 1930s and 40s.  Readers will...

Joshua Wynn is a preacher’s son and a “good boy” who always does the right thing. Until Maddie comes back to town. Maddie is the daughter of the former associate pastor of Joshua’s church, and his childhood crush. Now Maddie is all grown up, gorgeous—and troubled. She wears provocative clothes to church, cusses, drinks, and fools around with older men. Joshua’s ears burn just listening to the things she did to get...

When a video frames Jackson Greene and his friends for a crime they didn't commit, Gang Greene battles the blackmailers in this sequel to the acclaimed The Great Greene Heist. Jackson Greene is riding high. He is officially retired from conning, so Principal Kelsey is (mostly) off his back. His friends have great new projects of their own. And he's been hanging out a lot with Gaby de la Cruz, so he thinks maybe, just maybe, they'll soon have their...

From seventeen acclaimed Black male and non-binary authors comes a vibrant collection of stories, comics, and poems about the power of joy and the wonders of Black boyhood.

Shares stories about growing up in diverse homes or communities, from an Asian youth who gains temporary popularity by making up a false background, to a biracial girl whose father clears subway seats by calmly sitting between two prejudiced women.

Using humor as the common denominator, a multicultural cast of YA authors steps up to the mic to share stories touching on race.
Listen in as ten YA authors — some familiar, some new — use their own brand of humor to share their stories about growing up between cultures. Henry Choi Lee discovers that pretending to be a tai chi master or a sought-after wiz at math wins him friends for a while — until it comically backfires.

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