Lamar Giles

A tour-de-force collection of stories about the black experience, by award-winning, bestselling, and emerging African American YA authors. Black is...two sisters navigating their relationship at summer camp in Portland, Oregon, as written by Renée Watson.Black is…Jason Reynolds writing about three guys walking back from the community pool talking about nothing and everything.Black is…Nic Stone’s bougie debutante dating a boy her momma would never approve of.Black is…two girls kissing in Justina Ireland’s story set in Maryland.Black is urban and rural, wealthy and poor, mixed race, immigrants, and more—because there are countless ways to be black enough. Edited by National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi, this is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it’s like to be young and black in America.

Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, and Omega gamble on a mission to help rebuild Pabu in this thrilling adventure for The Bad Batch.A good soldier knows that life is all about change – whether it’s on or off the battlefield. Surviving, living, means adaptation. Hunter is well acquainted with this lesson. He’s on the run from the Empire, Echo’s off on a mission with Captain Rex, and Crosshair is . . . still Crosshair, but amidst all the change, Hunter still has Tech, Wrecker, and Omega.And it seems that his small family might have finally found a safe place to land, far from the increasingly vigilant eyes of the Empire: Pabu. But their potential new island home is in desperate need of resources if there is any hope for the fledgling community to recover from a devastating sea wave. That’s where Phee Goena, self-proclaimed liberator of treasures, comes in, with a couple of jobs she swears will get them the funds they need. Despite Hunter’s concern with Phee’s precarious plans, the rest of the crew is fine following her lead.Things go wrong almost immediately, as Phee’s droid blows the crew’s cover at a high-stakes auction, and they barely make it out with the relic they’d been paid to acquire. Hunter insists they finish their first mission and deliver the relic before taking on more work, but Phee and the others push forward with a second job: ferrying a couple on the run, one of whom is due to give birth at any moment. Hunter worries what they’re risking, especially when their mysterious new passengers cling to lies and secrets that trace back to an Imperial Security Bureau officer hot on their trail.As Hunter tries to get the crew back on a stable, safe path far, far away from anything to do with the Empire’s watchdogs, their overlapping missions only invite more danger and chaos. On the verge of failing both their desperate passengers and their community on Pabu, the Batch must remember that the only way they succeed, the only way they survive to fight another day, is by trusting each other.

Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, and Omega gamble on a mission to help rebuild Pabu in this thrilling adventure for The Bad Batch. A good soldier knows that life is all about change--whether it's on or off the battlefield. Surviving, living, means adaptation. Hunter is well acquainted with this lesson. He's on the run from the Empire, Echo's off on a mission with Captain Rex, and Crosshair is . . . still Crosshair, but amidst all the change, Hunter still has Tech, Wrecker, and Omega. And it seems that his small family might have finally found a safe place to land, far from the increasingly vigilant eyes of the Empire: Pabu. But their potential new island home is in desperate need of resources if there is any hope for the fledgling community to recover from a devastating sea wave. That's where Phee Goena, self-proclaimed liberator of treasures, comes in, with a couple of jobs she swears will get them the funds they need. Despite Hunter's concern with Phee's precarious plans, the rest of the crew is fine following her lead. Things go wrong almost immediately, as Phee's droid blows the crew's cover at a high-stakes auction, and they barely make it out with the relic they'd been paid to acquire. Hunter insists they finish their first mission and deliver the relic before taking on more work, but Phee and the others push forward with a second job: ferrying a couple on the run, one of whom is due to give birth at any moment. Hunter worries that they're risking too much, especially when their mysterious new passengers cling to lies and secrets that trace back to an Imperial Security Bureau officer hot on their trail. As Hunter tries to get the crew back on a stable, safe path far, far away from anything to do with the Empire's watchdogs, their overlapping missions only invite more danger and chaos. On the verge of failing both their desperate passengers and their community on Pabu, the Batch must remember that the only way they succeed, the only way they survive to fight another day, is by trusting each other.

"Timely, thrilling, and gripping from start to finish. An absolute page-turner." -- Karen M. McManus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is LyingJay is living his best life at Karloff Country, one of the world's most famous resorts. He's got his family, his crew, and an incredible after-school job at the property's main theme park. Life isn't so great for the rest of the world, but when people come here to vacation, it's to get away from all that.As things outside get worse, trouble starts seeping into Karloff. First, Jay's friend Connie and her family disappear in the middle of the night and no one will talk about it. Then the richest and most powerful families start arriving, only... they aren't leaving. Unknown to the employees, the resort has been selling shares in an end-of-the-world oasis. The best of the best at the end of days. And in order to deliver the top-notch customer service the wealthy clientele paid for, the employees will be at their total beck and call.Whether they like it or not.Yet Karloff Country didn't count on Jay and his crew -- and just how far they'll go to find out the truth and save themselves. But what's more dangerous: the monster you know in your home or the unknown nightmare outside the walls?

VIRGIL (aka STATIC) can do amazing things with his vast array of electrical abilities, but instantly mending a broken heart isn t in his skill set. Virgil Hawkins has just gone through a bad break up. He can t get over his ex, so his best friend Richie has an idea for how to distract him: attend a music festival in their city of Dakota. But wouldn t you know it his ex is in attendance. And that s just the beginning of his troubles. A series of encounters and events leads to an all-night adventure involving super villains, a diner, a reluctant rapper, and a size-changing kleptomaniac, as well as Virgil s frequent bad decision making. But in the end, with the help of his friends, Virgil will find he can move on from a broken heart.

An Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee From Edgar Award nominee and WNDB cofounder Lamar Giles, this middle grade adventure stars the Epic Ellison twins as they race to solve the mystery of Cosmos Camp for young geniuses in a stand-alone companion to the Legendary Alston Boys series.School's out, and Wiki and Leen Ellison are facing a new challenge...their first summer apart. Genius inventor Leen has been accepted to Petey Thunkle's world-famous summer training program for STEM prodigies with their eyes on the stars. Meanwhile, Wiki is looking forward to her first summer on her own, running the family corn stand and outclassing Otto and Sheed Alston.But the night before Leen's departure, the twins find out that Wiki has also been accepted into the same camp (even though she didn't apply). And they are...not thrilled. This summer was never supposed to be a Twin Thing. The situation soon goes from bad to worse--because the Ellisons haven't been invited just to participate in the program.They're there to solve a mystery.Someone (or something) has been tampering with the company's upcoming big-deal rocket launch. Now the sisters are undercover, dealing with hypercompetitive campers by day and trying to stop the mysterious saboteur by night.All is not as it seems at PeteyTech. There are bigger, badder forces at play than the girls could've imagined. And if Wiki and Leen don't get their act together fast, their first epic adventure away from Logan County could end up an epic fail...for the entire world.

In The Last Chance for Logan County, the third Legendary Alston Boys mystery from Edgar Award nominee Lamar Giles--now in paperback--Otto and Sheed team up with the Epic Ellisons against a corporation that wants Logan County's weirdness for itself Otto and Sheed are back in yet another legendary adventure that just might take all their deduction skills, and a little help, to solve.With their journey through the last mirror on the left behind them, Otto and Sheed are ready for things to get back to normal. But their trip to that other dimension had side effects, and they come on quickly--starting with a thunderstorm that rains carnivorous frogs And that's only the beginning. When a suspicious company called GOO, obsessed with Logan County's weirdness, shows up and starts buying all the property in town--and threatening to take Sheed away from Otto--some of the adults start acting stranger than usual, almost... zombie-like?With the help of Otto's mom, Sheed's dad, and the Epic Ellison twins, can the Legendary Alston Boys find a way to save their town and keep their family together?

'Timely, thrilling, and gripping from start to finish. An absolute page-turner.' —KAREN M. MCMANUS, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF ONE OF US IS LYING NO ONE HAS EVER DIED IN KARLOFF COUNTY Welcome to the funnest place around . . . Jay is living his best life inside Karloff Country, home of the world's most epic amusement park. He's got his family, his crew, and a dope after-school job at one of the parks. Outside Karloff Country, things aren't so great for the rest of the world. But when people come here to vacation, it's to get away from all that to a picture-perfect place. Until suddenly everything changes. People start disappearing in the middle of the night, including Jay's friend Connie and her family. Then the richest and most powerful families start arriving at Karloff, only . . . they aren't leaving. Unknown to the employees, the famous resort has been selling shares in an end-of-the-world oasis. The best of the best at the End of Days. And in order to deliver the top-notch customer service the wealthy clientele paid for, the employees will be at their total beck and call. Whether they like it or not. Yet Karloff Country didn't count on Jay and his crew—and just how far they'll go to find out the truth and save themselves. But what's more dangerous: the monster you know in your home or the unknown nightmare outside the walls? Perfect for fans of Tiffany D. Jackson, Angie Thomas, and Stephen King A creepy thriller - the speculative genius of Jordan Peele meets masterful writing From author Lamar Giles, founding member of We Need Diverse Books

"Timely, thrilling, and gripping from start to finish. An absolute page-turner." --Karen M. McManus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of One of Us Is LyingJay is living his best life at Karloff Country, one of the world's most famous resorts. He's got his family, his crew, and an incredible after-school job at the property's main theme park. Life isn't so great for the rest of the world, but when people come here to vacation, it's to get away from all that.As things outside get worse, trouble starts seeping into Karloff. First, Jay's friend Connie and her family disappear in the middle of the night and no one will talk about it. Then the richest and most powerful families start arriving, only... they aren't leaving. Unknown to the employees, the resort has been selling shares in an end-of-the-world oasis. The best of the best at the end of days. And in order to deliver the top-notch customer service the wealthy clientele paid for, the employees will be at their total beck and call.Whether they like it or not.Yet Karloff Country didn't count on Jay and his crew--and just how far they'll go to find out the truth and save themselves. But what's more dangerous: the monster you know in your home or the unknown nightmare outside the walls?

In The Last Chance for Logan County, the third Legendary Alston Boys mystery from Edgar Award nominee Lamar Giles, Otto and Sheed team up with the Epic Ellisons against a corporation that wants Logan County's weirdness for itself Otto and Sheed are back in yet another legendary adventure that just might take all their deduction skills, and a little help, to solve.With their journey through the last mirror on the left behind them, Otto and Sheed are ready for things to get back to normal. But their trip to that other dimension had side effects, and they come on quickly--starting with a thunderstorm that rains carnivorous frogs And that's only the beginning. When a suspicious company called GOO, obsessed with Logan County's weirdness, shows up and starts buying all the property in town--and threatening to take Sheed away from Otto--some of the adults start acting stranger than usual, almost... zombie-like?With the help of Otto's mom, Sheed's dad, and the Epic Ellison twins, can the Legendary Alston Boys find a way to save their town and keep their family together?

Bestselling author Chris Grabenstein and the Mystery Writers of America bring together twenty peerless puzzles—from bestselling authors such as Peter Lerangis, Stuart Gibbs, Lauren Magaziner, Kate Milford, and, of course, Grabenstein himself—in an anthology of mystery short stories that invite readers to try to unravel the riddles themselves. From tales of hapless superheroes and stolen squirrel monkeys to murderous triplets and haunted basements, these thrilling, puzzling, and hilarious cases have one thing in common—YOU get a chance to be the detective before the author reveals the solution.With twenty never-before-published mystery stories, this collection will leave young detectives sleuthing for more!

In The Last Mirror on the Left, the second Legendary Alston Boys mystery from Edgar Award nominee Lamar Giles--now in paperback--Otto and Sheed must embark on their most dangerous journey yet, bringing a fugitive to justice in a world that mirrors their own but has its own rules to play by.Unlike the majority of Logan County's residents, Missus Nedraw of the Rorrim Mirror Emporium remembers the time freeze from The Last Last-Day-of-Summer--and how Otto and Sheed took her mirrors without permission in order to fix their mess.Usually that's an unforgivable offense, punishable by a million-year sentence. However, she's willing to overlook the cousins' misdeeds if they help her with a problem of her own. One of her worst prisoners has escaped, and only the Legendary Alston Boys of Logan County can help bring the fugitive to justice And don't miss the Legendary Alston Boys in their next adventure: The Last Chance for Logan County

"Hysterical. I couldn’t put it down.” (Nic Stone) "I laughed, I gasped, I church grunted through every chapter." (Tiffany D. Jackson) "Heartfelt and hilarious on every page!" (Justin A. Reynolds)4 starred reviews! * An Indie Next List Pick! * Named one of Bank Street College of Education's Best Children’s Books of the Year!Two-time Edgar Award finalist Lamar Giles spotlights the consequences of societal pressure, confronts toxic masculinity, and explores the complexity of what it means to be a “real man.”Del has had a crush on Kiera Westing since kindergarten. And now, during their junior year, she’s finally available. So when Kiera volunteers for an opportunity at their church, Del’s right behind her. Though he quickly realizes he’s inadvertently signed up for a Purity Pledge.His dad thinks his wires are crossed, and his best friend, Qwan, doesn’t believe any girl is worth the long game. But Del’s not about to lose his dream girl, and that’s where fellow pledger Jameer comes in. He can put in the good word. In exchange, Del just has to get answers to the Pledgers’ questions…about sex ed.With other boys circling Kiera like sharks, Del needs to make his move fast. But as he plots and plans, he neglects to ask the most important question: What does Kiera want? He can’t think about that too much, though, because once he gets the girl, it’ll all sort itself out. Right?"With true-to-life characters and a straightforward handling of sex, including often ignored aspects of male sexuality, Giles’s thoughtful, hilarious read offers a timely viewpoint on religion, toxic masculinity, and teen sexuality." (Publishers Weekly, "An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List")

"The Last Last-Day-of-Summer reminds me that all children deserve to exist in magical spaces where their imaginations and familial bonds will them into heroism. Every single child should have the freedom to be one of The Legendary Alstons. And I, for one, am grateful to Giles, and this brilliant story, for that reminder." —Jason Reynolds, #1 New York Times bestselling and Newbery Honor–winning author of Stuntboy, in the MeantimeIn the first Legendary Alston Boys mystery from Edgar Award nominee Lamar Giles—now in paperback—two adventurous cousins accidentally freeze time on the last day of summer, and the secrets hidden between the seconds, minutes, and hours aren't quite the endless fun they expected!Otto and Sheed are the local sleuths in their zany Virginia town, masters of unraveling mischief using their unmatched powers of deduction. And as the summer winds down and the first day of school looms, the boys are craving just a little bit more time for fun, even as they bicker over what kind of fun they want to have.That is, until a mysterious man appears with a camera that literally freezes time. Now, with the help of some very strange people and even stranger creatures, Otto and Sheed will have to put aside their differences to save their town—and each other—before time stops for good.And don't miss the Legendary Alston Boys in their next adventures: The Last Mirror on the Left and The Last Chance for Logan County!

In The Last Mirror on the Left, the second Legendary Alston Boys mystery from Edgar Award nominee Lamar Giles, Otto and Sheed must embark on their most dangerous journey yet, bringing a fugitive to justice in a world that mirrors their own but has its own rules to play by.Unlike the majority of Logan County's residents, Missus Nedraw of the Rorrim Mirror Emporium remembers the time freeze from The Last Last-Day-of-Summer--and how Otto and Sheed took her mirrors without permission in order to fix their mess.Usually that's an unforgivable offense, punishable by a million-year sentence. However, she's willing to overlook the cousins' misdeeds if they help her with a problem of her own. One of her worst prisoners has escaped, and only the Legendary Alston Boys of Logan County can help bring the fugitive to justice And don't miss the Legendary Alston Boys in their next adventure: The Last Chance for Logan County

Edgar Award nominee for Best Young Adult MysteryEndangered is a thrilling page-turner perfect for fans of Barry Lyga’s I Hunt Killers, from acclaimed author Lamar Giles, author of the Edgar Award–nominated Fake ID.The one secret she cares about keeping—her identity—is about to be exposed. That is, unless Lauren “Panda” Daniels—an anonymous photo blogger who specializes in busting classmates and teachers in compromising positions—plays along with her blackmailer’s little game of Dare or . . . Dare.But when the game turns deadly, Panda doesn’t know what to do. And she may need to step out of the shadows to save herself . . . and everyone else on the Admirer’s hit list.

Bestselling author Chris Grabenstein and the Mystery Writers of America bring together twenty peerless puzzles—from bestselling authors such as Peter Lerangis, Stuart Gibbs, Lauren Magaziner, Kate Milford, and, of course, Grabenstein himself—in an anthology of mystery short stories that invite readers to try to unravel the riddles themselves. From tales of hapless superheroes and stolen squirrel monkeys to murderous triplets and haunted basements, these thrilling, puzzling, and hilarious cases have one thing in common—YOU get a chance to be the detective before the author reveals the solution.With twenty never-before-published mystery stories, this collection will leave young detectives sleuthing for more!

Even in murder, the music lives on.When rising star Paris Secord (aka DJ ParSec) is found dead on her turntables, it sends the local music scene reeling. No one is feeling that grief more than her shunned pre-fame best friend, Kya, and ParSec's chief groupie, Fuse -- two sworn enemies who happened to be the ones who discovered her body.The police have few leads, and when the trail quickly turns cold, the authorities don't seem to be pushing too hard to investigate further. But nobody counted on Paris's deeply loyal fans, ParSec Nation, or the outrage that would drive Fuse and Kya to work together. As ParSec Nation takes to social media and the streets in their crusade for justice, Fuse and Kya start digging into Paris's past, stumbling across a deadly secret. With new info comes new motives. New suspects. And a fandom that will stop at nothing in their obsessive quest for answers, not even murder...

"Hysterical. I couldn’t put it down.” (Nic Stone) "I laughed, I gasped, I church grunted through every chapter." (Tiffany D. Jackson) "Heartfelt and hilarious on every page!" (Justin A. Reynolds)4 starred reviews! * An Indie Next List Pick! * Named one of Bank Street College of Education's Best Children’s Books of the Year!Two-time Edgar Award finalist Lamar Giles spotlights the consequences of societal pressure, confronts toxic masculinity, and explores the complexity of what it means to be a “real man.”Del has had a crush on Kiera Westing since kindergarten. And now, during their junior year, she’s finally available. So when Kiera volunteers for an opportunity at their church, Del’s right behind her. Though he quickly realizes he’s inadvertently signed up for a Purity Pledge.His dad thinks his wires are crossed, and his best friend, Qwan, doesn’t believe any girl is worth the long game. But Del’s not about to lose his dream girl, and that’s where fellow pledger Jameer comes in. He can put in the good word. In exchange, Del just has to get answers to the Pledgers’ questions…about sex ed.With other boys circling Kiera like sharks, Del needs to make his move fast. But as he plots and plans, he neglects to ask the most important question: What does Kiera want? He can’t think about that too much, though, because once he gets the girl, it’ll all sort itself out. Right?"With true-to-life characters and a straightforward handling of sex, including often ignored aspects of male sexuality, Giles’s thoughtful, hilarious read offers a timely viewpoint on religion, toxic masculinity, and teen sexuality." (Publishers Weekly, "An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List")