Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling
©2014
Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling
Chess, the narrator, is sick, but with what exactly, she isn’t sure. And to make matters worse, she must share a hospital room with Shannon, her polar opposite. Where Chess is polite, Shannon is rude. Where Chess tolerates pain silently, Shannon screams bloody murder. Where Chess seems to be getting slowly better, Shannon seems to be getting worse. How these teenagers become friends, helping each other come to terms with their illness, makes for a dramatic and deeply moving read.
Chess, the narrator, is sick, but with what exactly, she isn’t sure. And to make matters worse, she must share a hospital room with Shannon, her polar opposite. Where Chess is polite, Shannon is rude. Where Chess tolerates pain silently, Shannon screams bloody murder. Where Chess seems to be getting slowly better, Shannon seems to be getting worse. How these teenagers become friends, helping each other come to terms with their illness, makes for a dramatic and deeply moving read.
The Homeschool Liberation League ©2009
The Homeschool Liberation League
After a summer at Wilderness Camp, thirteen year-old Katya decides that she absolutely cannot go back to school. At school she can’t eradicate invasive alien plants, go on foraged-food-finding missions, or just be herself. Her parents, despite being “school kind of people,” are willing to give it a try, but Katya has to stick to their (just-like-school!) assignments. This isn’t what she had in mind. So with the help of a mysterious violin-playing boy, Milo, and new friend Francesca, Katya comes up with a plan to save her homeschooling experience. The three become the founding members of the Homeschool Liberation League––but will it be enough to convince Katya’s parents that her ideas about learning might be just right for her?
"Frank depicts education in its purest form—an unencumbered, joyful quest for knowledge." --Horn Book
After a summer at Wilderness Camp, thirteen year-old Katya decides that she absolutely cannot go back to school. At school she can’t eradicate invasive alien plants, go on foraged-food-finding missions, or just be herself. Her parents, despite being “school kind of people,” are willing to give it a try, but Katya has to stick to their (just-like-school!) assignments. This isn’t what she had in mind. So with the help of a mysterious violin-playing boy, Milo, and new friend Francesca, Katya comes up with a plan to save her homeschooling experience. The three become the founding members of the Homeschool Liberation League––but will it be enough to convince Katya’s parents that her ideas about learning might be just right for her?
"Frank depicts education in its purest form—an unencumbered, joyful quest for knowledge." --Horn Book
Lucky Stars ©2005
Lucky Stars
On stage is the last place on Earth Kira, Jake, or Eugene want to be.
"I'm not a human jukebox," Kira tells her dad, "or a dancing doll, or a puppet, where you press a button and I'll entertain you!" Yet since arriving in New York City, she's had to sing "Amazing Grace" and "Me and Bobby McGee" with him and her two little brothers, Chris and Charlie, for handouts on a subway platform. Singing like an angel. Wanting to stop singing forever.
Jake sings, but only in his dreams. In real life he'll do anything to keep his mouth shut because of his stutter.
Eugene's greatest dream is that the world will laugh with him and not at him. Eugene sings like a foghorn.
Ms. Hill, the school's music teacher, has ambitions for them all.
"My alto section could use some boys," she tells Jake and Eugene after they've been thrown out of the lunchroom for a kimchi incident, and she spots them eyeing her poster:
is there a singer inside you trying to get out? you know you want to sing. join the chorus!
"Uh, I don't think that would be us," Eugene says. "We're nonjoiners. Trust me. This works for everyone."
Until Jake meets Kira.
"The story has a wide appeal, and the lively narrative voices and fast pacing ensure that readers will keep turning the pages all the way to the satisfying conclusion." --VOYA
On stage is the last place on Earth Kira, Jake, or Eugene want to be.
"I'm not a human jukebox," Kira tells her dad, "or a dancing doll, or a puppet, where you press a button and I'll entertain you!" Yet since arriving in New York City, she's had to sing "Amazing Grace" and "Me and Bobby McGee" with him and her two little brothers, Chris and Charlie, for handouts on a subway platform. Singing like an angel. Wanting to stop singing forever.
Jake sings, but only in his dreams. In real life he'll do anything to keep his mouth shut because of his stutter.
Eugene's greatest dream is that the world will laugh with him and not at him. Eugene sings like a foghorn.
Ms. Hill, the school's music teacher, has ambitions for them all.
"My alto section could use some boys," she tells Jake and Eugene after they've been thrown out of the lunchroom for a kimchi incident, and she spots them eyeing her poster:
is there a singer inside you trying to get out? you know you want to sing. join the chorus!
"Uh, I don't think that would be us," Eugene says. "We're nonjoiners. Trust me. This works for everyone."
Until Jake meets Kira.
"The story has a wide appeal, and the lively narrative voices and fast pacing ensure that readers will keep turning the pages all the way to the satisfying conclusion." --VOYA
The Annoyance Bureau ©2002
The Annoyance Bureau
In the fifteen hours since Lucas Graham arrived in New York City, his own annoyance level has skyrocketed. For starters, he'd rather be spending his Christmas week at the beach with Mom instead of visiting Dad and Claire in the cold and slush. He'd rather not be sharing a bathroom with his critical stepsister, Phoebe, and her disapproving cat. He'd rather not be threatened with a haircut at Trims for Tykes by his little stepbrother's unspeakable baby-sitter, Gladys.
And he wishes the strange Santa in front of Book World had not slipped this beeping, buzzing device into his backpack for safekeeping, even if it does seem to have entertaining effects on cats and baby-sitters. And who are these strange, green-coated guys milling around, muttering into walkie-talkies -- guys only twelve-year-old Lucas and this Santa seem to see? Lucas overhears the words "annoyanceremoval," as if they're attuned to his innermost wishes. Something weird is going on. Weird, but irresistible.
Now this old man, Izzy Gribitz, is talking about bungling agents, secret passages, this mysterious remote control-like device, and something called the Annoyance Bureau. What does it all mean?
"That," says Izzy, "is for me to know and you to find out."
"A maverick bureaucrat becomes a mentor of sorts for an unhappy lad in this offbeat fantasy. Tongue in cheek to the max." --Kirkus
In the fifteen hours since Lucas Graham arrived in New York City, his own annoyance level has skyrocketed. For starters, he'd rather be spending his Christmas week at the beach with Mom instead of visiting Dad and Claire in the cold and slush. He'd rather not be sharing a bathroom with his critical stepsister, Phoebe, and her disapproving cat. He'd rather not be threatened with a haircut at Trims for Tykes by his little stepbrother's unspeakable baby-sitter, Gladys.
And he wishes the strange Santa in front of Book World had not slipped this beeping, buzzing device into his backpack for safekeeping, even if it does seem to have entertaining effects on cats and baby-sitters. And who are these strange, green-coated guys milling around, muttering into walkie-talkies -- guys only twelve-year-old Lucas and this Santa seem to see? Lucas overhears the words "annoyanceremoval," as if they're attuned to his innermost wishes. Something weird is going on. Weird, but irresistible.
Now this old man, Izzy Gribitz, is talking about bungling agents, secret passages, this mysterious remote control-like device, and something called the Annoyance Bureau. What does it all mean?
"That," says Izzy, "is for me to know and you to find out."
"A maverick bureaucrat becomes a mentor of sorts for an unhappy lad in this offbeat fantasy. Tongue in cheek to the max." --Kirkus
Just Ask Iris ©2001
Just Ask Iris
One wacky building. One amazing summer.
According to her mother, Iris is supposed to spend the summer safely indoors, keeping the apartment clean and learning to type. But when Iris follows a cat out onto the fire escape one day, she ends up meeting some of the amazing people who live in her building, including Yolanda, the Cat Lady, and the angry boy with the peashooter. So she comes up with two summer goals of her own: to earn some money, and to spend as much time outside the stuffy apartment as possible.
The money starts trickling in thanks to Iris's many neighbors and her errand-running business. But little does she know her job -- and her typing skills -- will lead her to play a major role not only in the future of her building, but also in the lives of forty-plus cats. And in the end, Iris gets something she didn't even know she was looking for....
"A classic adolescent girl's dilemma catapults the heroine into the lives of her fellow apartment-building dwellers. This tribute to good-hearted New Yorkers becomes especially poignant in the aftermath of September 11." -- Smithsonian Notable Books for Children 2001
One wacky building. One amazing summer.
According to her mother, Iris is supposed to spend the summer safely indoors, keeping the apartment clean and learning to type. But when Iris follows a cat out onto the fire escape one day, she ends up meeting some of the amazing people who live in her building, including Yolanda, the Cat Lady, and the angry boy with the peashooter. So she comes up with two summer goals of her own: to earn some money, and to spend as much time outside the stuffy apartment as possible.
The money starts trickling in thanks to Iris's many neighbors and her errand-running business. But little does she know her job -- and her typing skills -- will lead her to play a major role not only in the future of her building, but also in the lives of forty-plus cats. And in the end, Iris gets something she didn't even know she was looking for....
"A classic adolescent girl's dilemma catapults the heroine into the lives of her fellow apartment-building dwellers. This tribute to good-hearted New Yorkers becomes especially poignant in the aftermath of September 11." -- Smithsonian Notable Books for Children 2001
Oy, Joy! ©1999
Oy, Joy!
Joy's just started high school and already her life is a mess. She can't seem to find a date who resembles a human being. Ever since her great-uncle Max moved into her family's tiny apartment, Joy has had to share a room with her little brother and she never has a moment to herself. Now, Uncle Max has decided to play matchmaker and set her up with every boy he can find. Will Joy ever get her life back on the right track?
"Pithy observations from a 14-year old narrator and full-blooded characters make this latest from Frank a laugh out loud tale of teen angst." -- Publisher's Weekly
Joy's just started high school and already her life is a mess. She can't seem to find a date who resembles a human being. Ever since her great-uncle Max moved into her family's tiny apartment, Joy has had to share a room with her little brother and she never has a moment to herself. Now, Uncle Max has decided to play matchmaker and set her up with every boy he can find. Will Joy ever get her life back on the right track?
"Pithy observations from a 14-year old narrator and full-blooded characters make this latest from Frank a laugh out loud tale of teen angst." -- Publisher's Weekly
Will You Be My Brussels Sprout?
©1996
Will You Be My Brussels Sprout?
Sarah is nervous yet excited about her weekend trips to New York City for cello lessons. The other students at the music conservatory are intimidating, but Sarah knows she's talented. Sarah's also excited about her relationship with David, her friend Emily's brother. David plays guitar and understands the power of music. As David and Sarah spend more time together, he pressures her to escalate the physical part of their relationship. Sarah wonders how to handle being with David while holding on to her strong sense of self.
"Punctuated with humor and witty dialogue and filled with all the angst any teen could ever want, this quirky coming-of-age story will confirm Frank's place as a fresh new YA talent." -- Booklist
Sarah is nervous yet excited about her weekend trips to New York City for cello lessons. The other students at the music conservatory are intimidating, but Sarah knows she's talented. Sarah's also excited about her relationship with David, her friend Emily's brother. David plays guitar and understands the power of music. As David and Sarah spend more time together, he pressures her to escalate the physical part of their relationship. Sarah wonders how to handle being with David while holding on to her strong sense of self.
"Punctuated with humor and witty dialogue and filled with all the angst any teen could ever want, this quirky coming-of-age story will confirm Frank's place as a fresh new YA talent." -- Booklist
I Am An Artichoke ©1995
I Am An Artichoke
Fifteen-year-old Sarah can't wait to start her summer job as a mother's helper in exciting New York City. At first everything about the job looks great. Mrs. Friedman is outgoing, and her beautiful, 12-year-old daughter Emily seems too self-sufficient to need much looking after. Sarah's even met a good-looking guy in the building. But soon Sarah feels that she's landed in the middle of a mess. Emily has a serious eating disorder, and her divorced parents argue about how to handle her. As Sarah gets closer to Emily, she feels caught between her desire to help and fear that she is in over her head.
"Frank's novel is wonderfully rich and multi-layered; there are no simple reasons nor easy solutions. Young people will be drawn with fascination into the dynamics of the characters." -- SLJ
Fifteen-year-old Sarah can't wait to start her summer job as a mother's helper in exciting New York City. At first everything about the job looks great. Mrs. Friedman is outgoing, and her beautiful, 12-year-old daughter Emily seems too self-sufficient to need much looking after. Sarah's even met a good-looking guy in the building. But soon Sarah feels that she's landed in the middle of a mess. Emily has a serious eating disorder, and her divorced parents argue about how to handle her. As Sarah gets closer to Emily, she feels caught between her desire to help and fear that she is in over her head.
"Frank's novel is wonderfully rich and multi-layered; there are no simple reasons nor easy solutions. Young people will be drawn with fascination into the dynamics of the characters." -- SLJ