The Lerner Blog
Weed: Cannabis Culture in the Americas is a wide-reaching and inclusive collection of interviews which will satisfy young adult readers curious in the unique plant’s history and future.
Culture writer and journalist Caitlin Donohue joins us today to discuss why a book like this is so important and what she hopes young readers will find in the text.
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Honor and Fidelity. That is the motto of the 65th Infantry Regiment, the only Puerto Rican unit in the United States Army. Discover their story in the new YA nonfiction Men of the 65th: The Borinqueneers of the Korean War.
Today author Talia Aikens-Nuñez joins us on the Lerner blog to share her inspiration, a surprising research discovery, and her hopes for the young adults learning about the Borinqueneers for the first time. Read on to download the free discussion guide!
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In the brand new middle grade Indigo and Ida, Indigo is an eighth-grade investigative reporter, and she’s taking the world by storm. She breaks an important story, exposing an unfair school policy, she’s suddenly popular for the first time. But when she notices that the school’s disciplinary policies seem to be enforced especially harshly with students of color, her friends insist she’s imagining things. Indigo draws strength from the story of the trailblazing Ida B. Wells who fought for racial justice.
Today author Heather Murphy Capps joins us to discuss why she wrote this story, the origins of Indigo’s name, and the her hopes for young readers. Keep reading to download the free discussion guide and enter a Goodreads giveaway!
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Hopeful and compassionate, The Coldest Winter I Ever Spent follows eighteen-year-old Del as she discovers she cannot fully value life without accepting the realities of death. She’s in a healthier place more than a year after a suicide attempt. She’s sober, getting treatment for her depression and anxiety, and volunteering at a suicide-prevention hotline. But when her aunt receives a terminal cancer diagnosis, Del is forced to confront the demons she’s been keeping at bay.
Today author Ann Jacobus shares her inspiration for the book, her research, and her writing routines. Read on to download the free discussion guide!
Content warning: This book does involve discussions of suicidal ideation and references to suicide.
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Set in 1969 Prague, Torch explores the devastating impact of a totalitarian regime and the different ways young people carve out futures for themselves against impossible odds. The story is told from the perspective of three characters after 17-year-old Pavol fatally sets himself on fire to protest the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.
Author Lyn Miller-Lachmann had her work cut out for her when writing this historical fiction. Today she joins us to give us the details. Read on to hear about her research and to download the free educator materials.
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