 First edition | |
| Author | Helen Frost |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Young adult, poetry |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
Publication date | April 2, 2003 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 128 pages |
| ISBN | 0374340641 |
Keesha's House is a 2003 award winning debut young adult verse novel by American author Helen Frost. The book's story is told through multiple poems and concerns a group of teenagers that are all drawn to the house of the title character Keesha due to serious issues in their personal lives.
The book follows several teenagers that have come to Keesha's house in search of a safe haven. Each teen has something that is going wrong in their life. Young couple Stephie and Jason are having troubles due to her teen pregnancy, with Jason feeling pressure due to him feeling like he has to choose between a potential sports career and his responsibilities. Dontay and Carmen both have had interactions with the legal system. Carmen must deal with a DUI charge while Dontay is shuffled through the foster care system due to his parents being in prison. Meanwhile, Harris and Katie are both experiencing trouble with their family members. Harris has come out to his father, only to be disowned. Katie can't understand why her mother remains with her abusive stepfather and tries to escape her situation by becoming a workaholic in every aspect of her life.
Initial critical reception for Keesha's House has been predominantly positive. [1] [2] Booklist and the School Library Journal have both praised the audiobook adaptation's narration, with the School Library journal commenting that it was a "perfect vehicle for teaching high school poetry". [3] [4]
In 2004 the book was adapted into a stage play by Fort Wayne's Youtheatre. [7]
Speak, published in 1999, is a young adult novel by Laurie Halse Anderson that tells the story of high school freshman Melinda Sordino. After accidentally busting an end of summer party due to an unnamed incident, Melinda is ostracized by her peers because she will not say why she called the police. Unable to verbalize what happened, Melinda nearly stops speaking altogether, expressing her voice through the art she produces for Mr. Freeman's class. This expression slowly helps Melinda acknowledge what happened, face her problems, and recreate her identity.
Laurie Halse Anderson is an American writer, known for children's and young adult novels. She received the Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 2010 for her contribution to young adult literature.
The House of the Scorpion (2002) is a science fiction young adult novel by Nancy Farmer. It is set in the future and mostly takes place in Opium, a country which separates Aztlán and the United States. The main character Matteo Alcrán, or Matt, is a young clone of a drug lord of the same name, usually called "El Patrón". It is a story about the struggle to survive as a free individual and the search for a personal identity. It won the U.S. National Book Award for Young People's Literature and was named a Newbery Honor Book and a Michael L. Printz Honor Book. In the speculative fiction field, it was a runner-up for the Locus Award in the young adult category and the Mythopoeic Award in the children's category.
The Michael L. Printz Award is an American Library Association literary award that annually recognizes the "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit". It is sponsored by Booklist magazine; administered by the ALA's young-adult division, the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA); and named for the Topeka, Kansas, school librarian Mike Printz, a long-time active member of YALSA.
Melina Marchetta is an Australian writer and teacher. Marchetta is best known as the author of teen novels, Looking for Alibrandi, Saving Francesca and On the Jellicoe Road. She has twice been awarded the CBCA Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers, in 1993 and 2004. For Jellicoe Road she won the 2009 Michael L. Printz Award from the American Library Association, recognizing the year's best book for young adults.
Jennifer Donnelly is an American writer of young adult fiction best known for the historical novel A Northern Light.
The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand the capacity of libraries to better serve teens. YALSA administers several awards and sponsors an annual Young Adult Literature Symposium, Teen Read Week, the third week of each October, and Teen Tech Week, the second week of each March. YALSA currently has over 5,200 members. YALSA aims to expand and strengthen library services for teens through advocacy, research, professional development and events.
For other uses, see Hard Love (disambiguation).
Angela Johnson is an American writer of children's books and poetry, with over 40 books to her credit since beginning her writing career in 1989. Her children's picture books are simple yet poetic stories about African-American families, friendships, and common childhood experiences such as moving. Her books for older children revolve around similar themes but also explore deeper issues such as teen pregnancy and divorce. Her characters are realistic and the treatment sensitive, positive, and hopeful. Many of Johnson's books have connections to Alabama and Alabama history.
The Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production is an annual award conferred by the American Library Association upon the publisher of "the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States". It is jointly administered by two ALA divisions and sponsored by Booklist magazine. It recognizes production quality in all respects, considering such things as narration, sound quality, background music and sound effects. It is named for Homer's eighth century BCE epic poem Odyssey, which was transmitted orally, to remind us modern people of the ancient roots of storytelling.
Susan Duerden is a British actress, voice artist, and audiobook narrator. Her roles include the character of Carole Littleton in the television series Lost. She has performed on television, film, and theater.
Margaret Stiefvater is an American writer of Young Adult fiction, known mainly for her series of fantasy novels The Wolves of Mercy Falls and The Raven Cycle. She currently lives in Virginia.
Adele Griffin is a young adult fiction author, writing numerous novels for young adults, most recently The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone, as well as the Vampire Island and Witch Twins series. Her novels Sons of Liberty and Where I Want to Be were both National Book Award finalists.
Stephanie Kuehn is an American author of young adult fiction, best known for her William C. Morris Award-winning debut novel Charm & Strange, Delicate Monsters, and Complicit. Her novels often explore themes of mental illness and psychology.
Amy Sarig King is an American writer of short fiction and young adult fiction.
Helen Marie Frost is an American writer and poet. She is best known for the young-adult novel Keesha's House, which was a Michael L. Printz Award honor book in 2004.
Blood Red Horse is a 2004 young adult historical novel by author K M Grant. The book was published in 2004 by Puffin Books and in the US in 2005 by Walker Children's. Blood Red Horse is the first novel in the De Granville Trilogy and was followed by the books Green Jasper and Blaze of Silver.
Julie Berry is an author of children's and young adults books and winner of several national book awards.
Anna-Marie McLemore is a Mexican-American author of young adult fiction magical realism, best known for her Stonewall Honor-winning novel When the Moon Was Ours, Wild Beauty, and The Weight of Feathers.
The 2019 Youth Media Awards were held by the American Library Association on January 28, 2019. The awards recognize books written for children and young adults and the authors and illustrators who create them.
