Suburban teenager Andrea Marr and her friend Cybil explore the exploding "grunge" music scene in nineties Portland, OR. Excerpted in Sassy Magazine and made into a film. "A seminal coming of age text" --Vanity Fair
EXILE (1997)
Edgy New York poet gets sent to Oregon to teach at a local university. EXILE was published as an adult novel and is not recommended for younger readers.
USER (2001)
Young people in the early Techno scene. Also not recommended for younger readers.
THE NEW RULES OF HIGH SCHOOL (2003)
Max is an uptight, perfectionist. He's the editor of his high school paper and headed to a good college. Then he meets a bubbly, boy-crazy freshman writer-girl who breaks through his defenses. (PW starred review)
ROCKSTAR SUPERSTAR (2004)
Band Geek Pete Brady gets recruited by a cool indie band and must learn how to be cool or get thrown out. Also, he gets his first girlfriend. "The best rock novel of the year," --Publisher's Weekly (starred review)
PROM ANONYMOUS (2006)
Laura and Jace convince weirdo Chloe to go to their high school prom. She does and when she gets there, she hides under the table.
GENDER BLENDER (2006)
Freaky Friday with body parts. Tom and Emma switch bodies. Emma has to deal with "morning wood". "Hilarious!" --Publisher's Weekly (starred review)
PARANOID PARK (2006)
A suburban teen accidentally kills a security guard in a deserted train yard. Obviously he should report it. Or should he? Adapted into an award winning film by Gus Van Sant.
THEY CAME FROM BELOW (2007)
Aliens have lived at the bottom of the ocean for millions of years. They've seen everything that's ever happened on earth. When they do venture to the surface, they meet two teenaged girls. KLIATT'S Editors Choice for 2007.
DESTROY ALL CARS (2009)
High School Junior James Hoff likes to rant against Consumer Americans and their wasteful, environment destroying ways. "Smart and Entertaining" --NY TIMES. "Wonderful" --LA TIMES. "You can't help love James" --Newsday.
RECOVERY ROAD (2011)
Maddie and Stewart are two teenagers with a lot of issues. They meet in rehab and love blossoms. Publisher's Weekly, in a starred review, said: "This is an important story that pulls no punches." Look for the TV Series on ABC FAMILY in January 2016.
DREAM SCHOOL (GIRL #2) (2012)
This novel is the sequel to GIRL. The story follows Andrea, as a fish out of water, at distinguished Wellington University. The Seattle Stranger called GIRL and DREAM SCHOOL: "The missing link between Bret Easton Ellis and Tao Lin."
THE PRINCE OF VENICE BEACH (2014)
Robert Callahan is a teenage runaway who occasionally helps the authorities find other teen runaways. Except when he's helping them hide from the authorities. An Edgar Award Finalist. Junior Guild Selection.
THE CITY WANTS YOU ALONE (GIRL #3) (2015)
Andrea Marr, freshly kicked out of college, retreats to her hometown of Portland, OR and takes a job at J Crew. After a year though, her ambition to become a writer drives her to make the leap to New York City, where she contends with the challenges and opportunities of the big city.
BOY (2017)
Gavin is tall, blonde, a popular tennis star. Antoinette and Kai hate boys like that. But if he'll buy them cigarettes .... This book was accompanied by a re-release of GIRL. "Gavin's odyssey toward discovering his true self is a coming-of-age classic with an honesty and authenticity reminiscent of Richard Linklater's "Before Sunrise" and "Boyhood." --Buffalo News
PHOEBE WILL DESTROY YOU (2018)
Nick can't deal with his "troubled" mother when she gets out of rehab, so he spends the summer in sleepy beach town Seaside, where he finds the girlfriend of his dream, who is of course also "troubled". "With a cinematographer’s eye, Nelson (Recovery Road) captures the essence of small-town life, as well as the various forms of escape people use to forget their desperation. Nick’s inner transformations are gradual and realistic, allowing readers to understand how significantly he has been impacted by his troubled home life and to empathize with his struggle to navigate overwhelming emotions." --Publisher's Weekly
THE RED PILL (2019) THIS IS AN ADULT BOOK!
It's early 2016, and divorced, liberal-minded Martin is having trouble meeting women. He reluctantly agrees to some coaching from Rob, his Trump supporting brother-in-law. Skeptical at first, Martin's romantic life improves. Maybe Rob and his "red pill" dating strategies aren't so backward after all. But after Trump's surprise victory in the presidential election, Martin's new romantic skills are put to the test. Can he still find love in the midst of #metoo and #resistance. Is there any love left to find?
