Oh hey, I also write books!
It’s true! I’m way better at talking about other people’s books than I am about my own, but I feel like if I don’t have a proper pages up here about my own writing, my editors, agent, and publicists will come for me. And hey, maybe you want to read them! Interested in a review copy, a book for your classroom, etc? Email me! I love donating books to teachers and librarians.
WITH OR WITHOUT YOU
A Junior Library Guild selection!
Inkyard Press (November 2023)
All’s fair in love and (food truck) war.
Everyone knows Jordan Plazas and Cindy Ortiz hate each other. According to many viral videos of their public shouting matches, the Plazas and Ortiz families have a well-known food truck rivalry. Jordan and Cindy have spent all of high school making cheesesteaks and slinging insults at each other across their shared Philadelphia street.
But the truth? They’re in love, and it’s all just an act for the tourists.
When the fake feud lands them a reality tv show pilot, Jordan and Cindy find themselves having to lie on a much bigger scale. Trapped between pursuing their dreams or their love, can they find a way to have their cheesesteak and eat it too?
FIRST-YEAR ORIENTATION
Candlewick (April 2023)
★ The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books - Starred Review!
Sixteen acclaimed authors—including a National Book Award nominee, a New York Times best-selling novelist, and a beloved actress—join forces for a cross-genre YA anthology of linked short stories about the first days of college.
Jilly cannot believe her parents keep showing up at all of her orientation events. (Except, yes, she can totally believe that.) Isaac wants to be known as someone other than the kid who does magic and has an emotional support bunny. Lilly is stuck working at the college bookstore during orientation (but maybe new friends are closer than they appear). Hira, meanwhile, just wants to retire from ghost hunting once and for all, but a spirit in the library’s romance section has other ideas.
For their sophomore effort, the contributing editors behind the critically acclaimed Battle of the Bands admit us to opening day at a fictional college, with a collection that makes an ideal high school graduation gift or “summer-before” read. This colorful array of stories spans genres and moods—from humorous to heartfelt to ghostly—tackling with sensitivity, humor, and warmth what it feels like to take those first shaky steps into adulthood.
With stories from: Adi Alsaid * Anna Birch * Bryan Bliss * Gloria Chao * Jennifer Chen * Olivia A. Cole * Dana L. Davis * Kristina Forest * Kathleen Glasgow * Sam Maggs * Farah Naz Rishi * Lance Rubin * Aminah Mae Safi * Phil Stamper.
JAGGED LITTLE PILL: THE NOVEL
Amulet / Abrams (April 2022)
One of Apple’s Most Anticipated Books of 2022!
A timely and gutsy YA novel based on the Tony and Grammy Award winning musical from Alanis Morissette, Diablo Cody, and Glen Ballard!
Swallow it down—what a jagged little pill . . .
Jagged Little Pill: The Novel follows the intertwining lives of five teens whose world is changed forever after the events at a party.
Adopted Frankie struggles to see eye-to-eye with her mother—who would rather ignore a problem and preserve their “perfect” life than stand up for what’s right. Jo just wants her mom to accept her queer identity—and is totally crushed when Frankie, the only person who really gets her, finds herself infatuated with someone new. Phoenix tries to find his place at the new school and balance wanting to spend time with Frankie but knowing he also has to help out with his sick sister at home. Bella wants to enjoy the end of high school and just head off to college without a hitch. Everyone expects Frankie's brother Nick to be the golden boy, but even though he just got into his dream school, he’s not even sure he's a good person. Each of their stories intersects when Bella is sexually assaulted at a party, and it looks like the perpetrator might get away with it.
Moving, heartfelt, and raw, Jagged Little Pill: The Novel draws on the musical’s story and gives readers deeper glimpses of the characters. It’s a story about the power of voicing your pain, standing up for what’s right, and finding healing and connection.
YOU CAN GO YOUR OWN WAY
Inkyard Press / HarperCollins (November 2021)
A Most Anticipated of 2021 Title from BuzzFeed and Bustle!
No one ever said love would be easy…but did they mention it would be freezing?
Adam Stillwater is in over his head. At least, that’s what his best friend would say. And his mom. And the guy who runs the hardware store down the street. But this pinball arcade is the only piece of his dad that Adam has left, and he’s determined to protect it from Philadelphia’s newest tech mogul, who wants to turn it into another one of his cold, lifeless gaming cafés.
Whitney Mitchell doesn’t know how she got here. Her parents split up. Her boyfriend dumped her. Her friends seem to have changed overnight. And now she’s spending her senior year running social media for her dad’s chain of super successful gaming cafés—which mostly consists of trading insults with that decrepit old pinball arcade across town.
But when a huge snowstorm hits, Adam and Whitney suddenly find themselves trapped inside the arcade. Cut off from their families, their worlds, and their responsibilities, the tension between them seems to melt away, leaving something else in its place. But what happens when the storm stops?
BATTLE OF THE BANDS
Candlewick (September 2021)
Co-edited with Lauren Gibaldi!
Starred reviews from Kirkus and Publisher’s Weekly!
Fifteen young adult authors and one real-life rock star band together for one epic—and interconnected—take on a memorable high school rite of passage.
A daughter of rock ’n’ roll royalty has a secret crush. A lonely ticket taker worries about his sister. An almost-famous songwriter nurses old wounds. A stage manager tires of being behind the scenes. A singer-songwriter struggles to untangle her feelings for her best friend and his girlfriend. In this live-out-loud anthology, the disparate protagonists of sixteen stories are thrown together for one unforgettable event: their high school’s battle of the bands. Told in a harmonic blend of first- and third-person narrative voices, roughly chronological short stories offer a kaleidoscopic view of the same transformative night. Featuring an entry from Justin Courtney Pierre, lead vocalist of Motion City Soundtrack, Battle of the Bands is a celebration of youth, music, and meeting the challenges of life head-on.
With stories by Brittany Cavallaro, Preeti Chhibber, Jay Coles, Katie Cotugno, Lauren Gibaldi, Shaun David Hutchinson, Ashley Poston, Jenny Torres Sanchez, Sarah Nicole Smetana, Eric Smith, Jenn Marie Thorne, Sarvenaz Taghavian, Jasmine Warga, Ashley Woodfolk, and Jeff Zentner, and featuring Motion City Soundtrack’s Justin Courtney Pierre.
DON’T READ THE COMMENTS
Inkyard Press / HarperCollins (January 2020) | Paperback out April 6th, 2021!
A 2021 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Pick
We all need a place to escape from the real world.
For Divya and Aaron, it’s the world of online gaming. While Divya trades her rising-star status for sponsorships to help her struggling single mom pay rent, Aaron plays as a way to fuel his own dreams of becoming a game developer – and as a way to disappear when his mom starts talking about medical school. After a chance online meeting, the pair decides to team up – but soon find themselves the targets of a group of internet trolls who begin launching a real-world doxxing campaign, threatening Aaron’s dream and Divya’s actual life. They think can drive her out of the game, but Divya’s whole world is on the line…
And she isn’t going down without a fight.
THE GIRL AND THE GROVE
Flux (May 2018)
Leila’s life is full of challenges. From bouncing around the foster care system to living with seasonal affective disorder, she’s never had an easy road. Leila keeps herself busy with her passion for environmental advocacy, monitoring the Urban Ecovists message board with her best friend, Sarika. And now that Leila has finally been adopted, she dares to hope her life will improve. But the voices in Leila’s head are growing louder. Something calls out to her in Fairmount Park. Is she ready to answer? More on the Flux website.
WELCOME HOME
Flux (September 2017)
All royalties from this book go towards helping youth centers that work with foster teens and adoptees stock their libraries. Email me for more info.
A collection of short stories from over two dozen authors, centering on stories of foster homes and adoption, spanning fantasy, sci-fi, and contemporary tales. Featuring shorts from NYT bestsellers Nic Stone, C.J. Redwine, William Ritter, and more. Further details on Flux’s website, here.
THE INKED DUOLOGY
A digital exclusive YA series with Bloomsbury’s Spark line! Available wherever eBooks are sold.
Also available as an audiobook!
Tattoos once were an act of rebellion. Now they decide your destiny the moment the magical Ink settles under your skin.
And in a world where Ink controls your fate, Caenum can't escape soon enough. He is ready to run from his family, and his best friend Dreya, and the home he has known, just to have a chance at a choice.
More on Inked and Branded on Bloomsbury’s official website, here.
THE GEEK’S GUIDE TO DATING
Quirk Books (December, 2013)
An IndieBound bestseller! A non-fiction pop culture fueled guide to love and relationships, using video games, comics, and movies as a way to talk about dating.
The Geek’s Guide to Dating has sold into several territories and languages, including Chinese, Hungarian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Turkish, and German.