Cindy Pon is the author of Silver Phoenix (Greenwillow), which was named one of the Top Ten Fantasy and Science Fiction Books for Youth by the American Library Association’s Booklist, and one of 2009′s best Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror by VOYA. Her most recent duology Serpentine and Sacrifice (Month9Books) were both Junior Library Guild selections and received starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal. WANT (Simon Pulse), also a Junior Library Guild selection, is a near-future thriller set in Taipei releasing June 13th. RUSE, the sequel, is slated for spring 2019. She is the co-founder of Diversity in YA with Malinda Lo and on the advisory board of We Need Diverse Books. Cindy is also a Chinese brush painting student of over a decade.
Find out more about Cindy at
About WANT
by Cindy Pon
Jun 13, 2017
Simon Pulse
Available in hardcover from Vroman's Bookstore
at the Vroman's pop-up shop during the festival, and wherever books are sold
Jason Zhou survives in a divided society where the elite use their wealth to buy longer lives. The rich wear special suits that protect them from the pollution and viruses that plague the city, while those without suffer illness and early deaths. Frustrated by his city’s corruption and still grieving the loss of his mother, who died as a result of it, Zhou is determined to change things, no matter the cost.
With the help of his friends, Zhou infiltrates the lives of the wealthy in hopes of destroying the international Jin Corporation from within. Jin Corp not only manufactures the special suits the rich rely on, but they may also be manufacturing the pollution that makes them necessary.
Yet the deeper Zhou delves into this new world of excess and wealth, the more muddled his plans become. And against his better judgment, Zhou finds himself falling for Daiyu, the daughter of Jin Corp’s CEO. Can Zhou save his city without compromising who he is or destroying his own heart?
Chelsea Sedoti fell in love with writing at a young age after discovering that making up stories was more fun than doing her school work (her teachers didn’t always appreciate this.) In an effort to avoid getting a “real” job, Chelsea explored careers as a balloon twister, filmmaker, and paranormal investigator. Eventually she realized that her true passion is writing about flawed teenagers who are also afraid of growing up. When she’s not at the computer, Chelsea spends her time exploring abandoned buildings, eating junk food at roadside diners, and trying to befriend every animal in the world. She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada where she avoids casinos, but loves roaming the Mojave Desert.
Find out more about Chelsea at
About The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett
by Chelsea Sedoti
Jan 3, 2017
Sourcebooks Fire
Available in hardcover from Vroman's Bookstore
at the Vroman's pop-up shop during the festival, and wherever books are sold
The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett is a darkly comedic mystery featuring a teenage girl and the disappearance of a classmate
Hawthorn wasn't trying to insert herself into a missing person's investigation. Or maybe she was. But that's only because Lizzie Lovett's disappearance is the one fascinating mystery their sleepy town has ever had. Bad things don't happen to popular girls like Lizzie Lovett, and Hawthorn is convinced she'll turn up at any moment-which means the time for speculation is now.
So Hawthorn comes up with her own theory for Lizzie's disappearance. A theory way too absurd to take seriously...at first. The more Hawthorn talks, the more she believes. And what better way to collect evidence than to immerse herself in Lizzie's life? Like getting a job at the diner where Lizzie worked and hanging out with Lizzie's boyfriend. After all, it's not as if he killed her-or did he?
Told with a unique voice that is both hilarious and heart-wrenching, Hawthorn's quest for proof may uncover the greatest truth is within herself.
Sherri L. Smith is the award-winning author of YA novels Lucy the Giant, Sparrow, Hot Sour Salty Sweet, Flygirl and Orleans. Her bestselling novel, The Toymaker’s Apprentice is the Southern California Booksellers Association Award winner for Middle Grade. Her books have been listed as Amelia Bloomer, American Library Association Best Books for Young People, and Junior Library Guild Selections. Flygirl was the 2009 California Book Awards Gold Medalist. Sherri was a 2014 National Book Awards judge in the Young People’s Literature category. She is a three-time writer-in-resident at Hedgebrook retreat in Washington State, as well as a resident at Wassard Elea retreat, in Ascea, Italy.
Born in Chicago, IL, she has lived on all three coasts (West, East and Lake Michigan!). She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and Broadcast Journalism, an M.S. in Business and an M.A. in Humanities. Sherri has worked in film, animation, comic books and construction. She worked in stop-motion animation on Tim Burton’s Mars Attacks!, and spent three years at Disney TV Animation, helping to create stories for animated home video projects.
Upon leaving Disney, Sherri found an unlikely home with a construction company, working in a triple-wide trailer on the tarmac at Los Angeles International Airport, while she worked on her first novel. From there she went on to work and write for Bongo Comics, the company that brings you The Simpsons in print. Recently, she worked in a monster factory, wrangling the folks that make monsters and dead people for movies and television.
Sherri’s first novel, Lucy the Giant, was unanimously selected as an ALA Best Book for Young People, and received an Honorable Mention from the Dutch Golden Kiss/Gouden Zoen Awards. Her 2009 novel Flygirl, a WWII novel about a light-skinned black girl who passes for white in order to join the Women’s Airforce Service Pilots, was named a best book of the year by the Washington Post. In 2012, Sherri made her first foray into speculative fiction with the “cli fi” novel, Orleans, a book dedicated to her mother, who survived Hurricane Katrina. The Toymaker’s Apprentice , is a vibrant retelling of the story of the Nutcracker. Her latest novel is the young adult noir mystery, Pasadena.
Sherri is a faculty member of the Creative Writing MFA program at Goddard College and the MFA in Children’s Writing at Hamline University. She lives in Los Angeles with the love of her life and a disreputable cat. She is represented by Kirby Kim of Janklow and Nesbit.
Oh, and if you’re wondering, her name is pronounced “Shur-REE”– not “SHARE-ee!”
Find out more about Sherri at
About Pasadena
by Sherri L. Smith
Sep 13, 2016
G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Available in hardcover from Vroman's Bookstore
at the Vroman's pop-up shop during the festival, and wherever books are sold
Bad things happen everywhere. Even in the land of sun and roses.
When Jude’s best friend is found dead in a swimming pool, her family calls it an accident. Her friends call it suicide. But Jude calls it what it is: murder. And someone has to pay.
Now everyone is a suspect—family and friends alike. And Jude is digging up the past like bones from a shallow grave. Anything to get closer to the truth. But that’s the thing about secrets. Once they start turning up, nothing is sacred. And Jude’s got a few skeletons of her own.
Misa Sugiura is the author of It's Not Like It's A Secret (HarperTeen, May 2017). She was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, but now lives under a giant oak tree in Silicon Valley.
Find out more about Misa at
About It's Not Like It's a Secret
by Misa Sugiura
May 9, 2017
HarperTeen
Available in hardcover from Vroman's Bookstore
at the Vroman's pop-up shop during the festival, and wherever books are sold
Sana Kiyohara has too many secrets. Some are small, like how it bothers her when her friends don't invite her to their parties. Some are big, like the fact that her father may be having an affair. And then there's the one that she can barely admit to herself--the one about how she might have a crush on her best friend.
When Sana and her family move to California, she begins to wonder if it's finally time for some honesty, especially after she meets Jamie Ramirez. Jamie is beautiful and smart and unlike anyone Sana's ever known. There are just a few problems: Sana's friends don't trust Jamie's crowd; Jamie's friends clearly don't want her around anyway; and a sweet guy named Caleb seems to have more-than-friendly feelings for her. Meanwhile, her dad's affair is becoming too obvious to ignore.
Sana always figured that the hardest thing would be to tell people that she wants to date a girl, but as she quickly learns, that part is easy...what comes after it, though, is a whole lot more complicated.
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