Nora Shalaway Carpenter – författare

A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2020One of A Mighty Girl's Best Books of the Year?A Bank Street Best Books 2021Finalist for the Cybils AwardsLen is a loner teen photographer haunted by a past that's stagnated her work and left her terrified she's losing her mind. Sage is a high school volleyball star desperate to find a way around her sudden medical disqualification. Both girls need college scholarships. After a chance encounter, the two develop an unlikely friendship that enables them to begin facing their inner demons.But both Len and Sage are keeping secrets that, left hidden, could cost them everything, maybe even their lives.Set in the North Carolina mountains, this dynamic #ownvoices novel explores grief, mental health, and the transformative power of friendship.

Set in the mountainous outskirts of Asheville, North Carolina, The Edge of Anything follows the start of an unexpected friendship between Sage and Len. Len is a loner photographer haunted by a guilty secret that prevents her from creating quality work, while Sage is a popular high school volleyball player desperate to find a way around her sudden medical disqualification. Both girls want to rediscover their lost talents and win scholarships to the colleges of their dreams, and a chance encounter between the two in their high school's parking lot sparks an unlikely friendship. Strengthened by the newfound power of their deep bond, the girls begin to face their inner demons and exit the shadow of the past. But when Len catches Sage endangering her health by practising volleyball for the upcoming YMCA championship, a fight erupts and threatens to unravel all the progress the girls have made.Written by a successful author making her YA debut, The Edge of Anything explores the transformative power of friendship and how it can help you find yourself and the goodness in life, even when everything feels broken.

Riveting, powerful, and a little bit magical, Fault Lines offers readers a slow-burn romance alongside an unflinching examination of socio-economics, gender expectations, and environmental ethics.Ever since her aunt died four months ago, seventeen-year-old Vivian (Viv) Spry is aching to figure out where she belongs. Her father has become emotionally distant and even her best friend has found a new sense of identity in her theater group. Unfortunately, nobody in her rural West Virginia town has time for an assertive, angry girl, especially a girl dubbed "Ice Queen" for refusing to sleep with her popular boyfriend. On top of everything, she discovers a strange ability to sense energy that really freaks her out. The only place Viv feels like it's safe to be her true self is the tree stand where her aunt taught her to hunt. It's the one place she still feels connected to the person who knew her best. So when fracking destroys the stand and almost kills her, Viv vows to find a way to take the gas company down.When Dex Matthews comes to town-a new kid whose mom lands a job laying pipeline-his and Viv's worlds collide and a friendship (and maybe more?) slowly blossoms. But Viv's plan to sabotage the pipeline company could result in Dex's mom losing her job, putting them on the streets. Now Viv and Dex have to decide what's worth fighting for-their families, their principles, or each other.

A collection of 16 remarkable short stories for aspiring teen activists centered on the climate crisis, highlighting how small actions can make Earth sustainable against climate change. Young adult powerhouse authors such as Erin Entrada Kelly and Jeff Zentner come together in this anthology of speculative, dystopian, and contemporary realistic fiction.This inspiring collection of sixteen short stories is packed with fascinating characters and settings that illuminate current and possible changes to our planet and how humanity responds.Included here is prose, verse, and personal essays from a wide range of authors diverse in ethnic background, geographic location, and socioeconomic status. A few tales:Shayta cares for a tiny green plant in a futuristic world where Earth has become a barren, over-farmed landscape fraught with dirt storms.Hana and her father travel by catamaran to the farthest place from land in the entire world—only to discover a giant, floating carcass of trash and a few other surprises.William and his family want to protect an endangered fish from a potential dam on a river that’s flowed through their land for generations . . .There’s also a section where readers can find concrete and practical steps to help curtail the global climate crisis, including resources specific for every story. There’s even a section specifically “For the Severely Overwhelmed.”This young adult anthology cultivates deep hope and stunning resilience—what we all need in order to make life on Earth more sustainable for us all."Whether you are feeling hopeful or frustrated about the climate crisis (or somewhere in-between), Onward: 16 Climate Fiction Short Stories to Inspire Hope is a captivating example of how the power of story can build resilience, activate hope, uncover blind spots and unstick us from our complacency. The fear and anger many of us feel right now is matched with equal humor, insight and beauty in this diverse collection of stories."—Naisa Beaumont, environmental scientist and children’s writer