When: Sat, May 23, 2015 from 12-4 pm
Where: Pasadena Public Library, 285 East Walnut Street Pasadena, CA 91101
Cost: Free! No tickets are necessary.
Contact: (626) 744-4066, Option 4 or email jgov@cityofpasadena.net for questions
You can also message us on Facebook // Twitter // Instagram // Ask us anything on Tumblr. Please use hashtag #ptbf2015 when posting about the festival!
View Pasadena Teen Book Festival in a larger map
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: Do I have to buy a book at the Festival to get my books signed?
A: No purchase is necessary. You may bring books from home. Please remember that purchasing from our on-site vendor will help support the event and raise the chances of it happening again next year!Q: Will there be time to get my books signed before the next panel starts?
A: Signings for authors on a panel will take place in the same room, and there will be about 15 minutes or less between the start of signing and the beginning of the next panel in another room, so please help us keep the lines moving! Keep posed photos to a minimum if there are a lot of people waiting for you to finish.
Q: Will there be food at the Festival?
A: There will be some refreshments offered to attendees in the Studio/Teen Central, but we recommend you bring your own lunch/snacks to consume during the event as there is no way to predict if there will be enough for all. Food is NOT allowed in certain areas like the Auditorium, the Children's Room, and the Centennial room. As always, be sure to keep the library clean.
Q: Where should we park?
A: While we do have some parking at the library lot and on the street, there are some additional spaces at the University of Phoenix (enter on Garfield Ave just past the library lot). You can check out the map here.
Alternate parking areas:
330 E Union St (corner of Euclid) $4 all day, 2 blocks from venue
135 N Los Robles Ave (enter on E Union St) $5 all day, 3 blocks from venue
(prices subject to change, the above is the most current info available online from the city)
Thanks for spreading the word!
Please link to http://cityofpasadena.net/library/
Please link to http://www.bridgetobooks.org
2014 Keynote Speaker Andrew Smith | Website | Tweet @marburyjack
Grasshopper Jungle (Dutton Juvenile, 2014)
This is the truth. This is history.
It’s the end of the world. And nobody knows anything about it.
You know what I mean.
Funny, intense, complex, and brave, Grasshopper Jungle brilliantly weaves together everything from testicle-dissolving genetically modified corn to the struggles of recession-era, small-town America in this groundbreaking coming-of-age stunner.
Stay tuned for an interview with Andrew Smith on What a Nerd Girl Says (April 7)
Ryan Dean West is a fourteen-year-old junior at a boarding school for rich kids. He’s living in Opportunity Hall, the dorm for troublemakers, and rooming with the biggest bully on the rugby team. And he’s madly in love with his best friend Annie, who thinks of him as a little boy.
With the help of his sense of humor, rugby buddies, and his penchant for doodling comics, Ryan Dean manages to survive life’s complications and even find some happiness along the way. But when the unthinkable happens, he has to figure out how to hold on to what’s important, even when it feels like everything has fallen apart.
Filled with hand-drawn info-graphics and illustrations and told in a pitch-perfect voice, this realistic depiction of a teen’s experience strikes an exceptional balance of hilarious and heartbreaking.
With the help of his sense of humor, rugby buddies, and his penchant for doodling comics, Ryan Dean manages to survive life’s complications and even find some happiness along the way. But when the unthinkable happens, he has to figure out how to hold on to what’s important, even when it feels like everything has fallen apart.
Filled with hand-drawn info-graphics and illustrations and told in a pitch-perfect voice, this realistic depiction of a teen’s experience strikes an exceptional balance of hilarious and heartbreaking.
Jesse Andrews | Website | Tweet @_jesse_andrews_
Me and Earl and The Dying Girl (Harry N. Abrams, 2012)
Until Greg’s mother forces him to rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel.
Rachel has been diagnosed with leukemia—-cue extreme adolescent awkwardness—-but a parental mandate has been issued and must be obeyed. When Rachel stops treatment, Greg and Earl decide the thing to do is to make a film for her, which turns into the Worst Film Ever Made and becomes a turning point in each of their lives.
And all at once Greg must abandon invisibility and stand in the spotlight.
Stay tuned for an interview with Jesse Andrews on FangirlFeeels (Apr 2)
Carrie Arcos | Website | Tweet @carriearcos
There Will Come a Time (Simon Pulse, 2014)
Grace’s best friend, Hanna, says she understands what he’s going through. But she doesn’t. She can’t. It’s not just the enormity of his loss. As her twin, Mark should have known Grace as well as he knows himself. Yet when he reads her journal, it’s as if he didn’t know her at all.
As a way to remember Grace, Hanna convinces Mark to complete Grace’s bucket list from her journal. Mark’s sadness, anger, and his growing feelings for Hannah threaten to overwhelm him. But Mark can’t back out. He made a promise to honor Grace—and it’s his one chance to set things right.
Stay tuned for an interview with Carrie Arcos on The Book Twins (Apr 22)
Out of Reach (Simon Pulse, 2012)
Rachel has always idolized her older brother Micah. He struggles with addiction, but she tells herself that he's in control. And she almost believes it. Until the night that Micah doesn't come home. Rachel's terrified, and she can't help but feel responsible. She should have listened when Micah tried to confide in her. And she only feels more guilt when she receives an anonymous note telling her that Micah is nearby and in danger.
With nothing more to go on than hope and a slim lead, Rachel and Micah's best friend, Tyler, begin the search. Along the way, Rachel will be forced to confront her own dark secrets, her growing attraction to Tyler, and the possibility that Micah may never come home.
Katherine Ewell | Website | Tweet @kateewell
Dear Killer (Katherine Tegen, 2014)
Rule Two—Be careful.
Rule Three—Fight using your legs whenever possible, because they’re the strongest part of your body. Your arms are the weakest.
Rule Four—Hit to kill. The first blow should be the last, if at all possible.
Rule Five—The letters are the law.
Kit takes her role as London’s notorious “Perfect Killer” seriously. The letters and cash that come to her via a secret mailbox are not a game; choosing who to kill is not an impulse decision. Every letter she receives begins with “Dear Killer,” and every time Kit murders, she leaves a letter with the dead body. Her moral nihilism and thus her murders are a way of life—the only way of life she has ever known.
But when a letter appears in the mailbox that will have the power to topple Kit’s convictions as perfectly as she commits her murders, she must make a decision: follow the only rules she has ever known, or challenge Rule One, and go from there.
Katherine Ewell’s Dear Killer is a sinister psychological thriller that explores the thin line between good and evil, and the messiness of that inevitable moment when life contradicts everything you believe.
Stay tuned for an interview with Katherine Ewell on Birth of a New Witch (Apr 24)
Holly Goldberg Sloan | Website | Tweet @hgoldbergsloan
Counting by 7s (Dial, 2013)
Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. It has never been easy for her to connect with anyone other than her adoptive parents, but that hasn’t kept her from leading a quietly happy life... until now.
Suddenly Willow’s world is tragically changed when her parents both die in a car crash, leaving her alone in a baffling world. The triumph of this book is that it is not a tragedy. This extraordinarily odd, but extraordinarily endearing, girl manages to push through her grief. Her journey to find a fascinatingly diverse and fully believable surrogate family is a joy and a revelation to read.
Stay tuned for an interview with Holly Goldberg Sloan on The Windy Pages (Mar 31)
I'll Be There (Simon Pulse, 2012)
Sam Border wishes he could escape, but there's nowhere for him to run. He and his little brother, Riddle, have spent their entire lives constantly uprooted by their unstable father. That is, until Sam sees Emily. That's when everything changes.
As Sam and Riddle are welcomed into the Bells' lives, they witness the warmth and protection of a family for the first time. But when tragedy strikes, they're left fighting for survival in the desolate wilderness, and wondering if they'll ever find a place where they can belong. Beautifully written and emotionally profound, I'll Be There is a gripping story that explores the complexities of teenage passions, friendships, and loyalties.
The sequel, Just Call My Name, will release in August 2014.
Rapture Practice: A True Story About Growing Up Gay in an Evangelical Family
(Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2013)
When Aaron Hartzler was little, he couldn’t wait for the The Rapture: that moment when Jesus would come down from the clouds to whisk him and his family up to heaven. But as he turns sixteen, Aaron grows more curious about all the things his family forsakes for the Lord. He begins to realize he doesn’t want Jesus to come back just yet—not before he has his first kiss, sees his first movie, or stars in the school play.
Whether he’s sneaking out, making out, or playing hymns with a hangover, Aaron learns a few lessons that can’t be found in the Bible. He discovers that the girl of your dreams can just as easily be the boy of your dreams, and the tricky part about believing is that no one can do it for you.
In this funny and heartfelt coming-of-age memoir, debut author Aaron Hartzler recalls his teenage journey from devoted to doubtful, and the search to find his own truth without losing the fundamentalist family who loves him.
Tracy Holczer | Website | Tweet @tracyholczer
The Secret Hum of a Daisy (Putnam Juvenile, 2014)
After her mother's sudden death, Grace is forced to live with a grandmother she's never met. She can't imagine her mother would want her to stay with this stranger. Then Grace finds clues in a mysterious treasure hunt, just like the ones her mother used to send her on. Maybe itis her mother, showing her the way to her true home.
Lyrical, poignant and fresh, The Secret Hum of a Daisy is a beautifully told middle grade tale with a great deal of heart.
Stay tuned for an interview with Tracy Holczer on Read Now Sleep Later (TBD)
Kristen Kittscher | Website | Tweet @kkittscher
The Wig in the Window (HarperCollins Children's, 2013)
At least, they think they do. The truth is that Dr. Agford was only making her famous pickled beets! But when Dr. Agford begins acting even weirder than usual, Sophie and Grace become convinced that she’s hiding something—and they’re determined to find out what it is.
Soon the girls are breaking secret codes, being followed by a strange blue car, and tailing strangers with unibrows and Texas accents. But as their investigation heats up, Sophie and Grace start to crack under the pressure. They might solve their case, but will their friendship survive?
Perfect for fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society, The Wig in the Window is a smart, funny middle-grade mystery with a Rear Window twist.
A Girl Called Fearless (St. Martin's Griffin, 2014)
Like all her friends, Avie still mourns the loss of her mother, but she’s also dreaming about college and love and what she’ll make of her life. When her dad "contracts" her to marry a rich, older man to raise money to save his struggling company, her life suddenly narrows to two choices: Be trapped in a marriage with a controlling politician, or run. Her lifelong friend, student revolutionary Yates, urges her to run to freedom across the border to Canada. As their friendship turns to passion, the decision to leave becomes harder and harder. Running away is incredibly dangerous, and it’s possible Avie will never see Yates again. But staying could mean death.
Romantic, thought-provoking, and frighteningly real, A Girl Called Fearless is a story about fighting for the most important things in life—freedom and love.
Check out an interview with Catherine Linka at Read Now Sleep Later (Mar 25)
Gretchen McNeil | Website | Tweet @gretchenmcneil
3:59 (Balzer+Bray, 2013)
From Possess and Ten author Gretchen McNeil comes a deliciously eerie science-fiction horror story in the tradition of Lisa McMann's Wake trilogy and the movie Sliding Doors.
Josie Byrne's life is spiraling out of control. And just when she thinks it can't get worse, she wakes to an image of herself in the bedroom mirror. Except it's not her at all—the girl in the mirror is blonder and prettier. And her name is Jo.
The two girls are doppelgängers whose universes overlap every twelve hours at 3:59. Fascinated by Jo's perfect world, Josie jumps at the chance to pass through the portal and switch places for a day.
But Jo's world is far from perfect, and the stuff of nightmares lurks around every corner. And when Josie finds herself trapped there, her life becomes more dangerous—and more deadly—than she ever imagined.
Stay tuned for an interview with Gretchen McNeil on The Windy Pages (Mar 31)
Ten (Balzer+Bray, 2012)
But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.
Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine.
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