Kirsten Hubbard – författare

It''s hard finding beauty in the badlands of Washokey, Wyoming, but 14-year-old Grace Carpenter knows it''s not her mother''s pageant obsessions, or the cowboy dances adored by her small-town classmates. True beauty is wild-girl Mandarin Ramey: 17, shameless and utterly carefree. Grace would give anything to be like Mandarin. When they''re united for a project, they form an unlikely, explosive friendship, packed with nights spent skinny-dipping in the canal, liberating the town''s animal-head trophies, and searching for someplace magic. Grace plays along when Mandarin suggests they run away together. Blame it on the crazy-making wildwinds plaguing their Badlands town. Because all too soon, Grace discovers Mandarin''s unique beauty hides a girl who''s troubled, broken, and even dangerous. And no matter how hard Grace fights to keep the magic, no friendship can withstand betrayal.From the Hardcover edition.

Are you a Global Vagabond?No, but 18-year-old Bria wants to be. In a quest for independence, her neglected art, and no-strings-attached hookups, she signs up for a tour of Central America—the wrong one. Middle-aged tourists are hardly the key to self-rediscovery. So when Bria meets Rowan, devoted backpacker and dive instructor, and his outspoken sister Starling, she seizes the chance to ditch her group and join them off the beaten path. Bria''s a good girl trying to go bad. Rowan''s a bad boy trying to stay good. As they travel through Mayan villages and remote Belizean islands, they discover they''re both seeking to leave behind the old versions of themselves. The secret to escaping the past, Rowan''s found, is to keep moving forward. But Bria realizes she can''t run forever. At some point, you have to look back.

When a little girl adopts a tigerish stray kitten from the shelter, her family isn't sure about her choice. But she can see that she and the kitten have lots in common as they both have a tendency to lash out when they’re uncomfortable. The little girl does her best to be patient and give her kitten plenty of space, treating it the way she likes to be treated. And in doing so, somehow they figure out just the right ways to help calm each other. A poignant text and evocative art make this story about two friends who share the heart of a tiger a standout.