The Arizona Kid (novel)

Last updated
The Arizona Kid
The Arizona Kid (novel).jpg
First edition
Author Ron Koertge
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Young adult
Publisher Joy Street Books,
Little, Brown & Co.
Publication date
1988
Media typePrint
Pages228 pages
ISBN 9780316501019 (first edition)
OCLC 17327918

The Arizona Kid is a 1988 novel by Ron Koertge about a summer 16-year-old Billy spends living with his gay uncle and working with racehorses.

Contents

Characters

Reception

Reviews

The American Library Association designated the book a "Best of the Best Books for Young Adults" in 1988. [1] The School Library Journal praised it, saying "Koertge's marvelous wit (also evident in Where the Kissing Never Stops Little, 1987) out of the mouth of his young hero is a delight, and his compassion for and understanding of Wes and Billy and his summer friends shapes a funny but affecting novel." [2] The book also received positive reviews from Publishers Weekly [3] and the Emergency Librarian. [4]

Criticism

The book is number seventy-five on the American Library Association's list of the top 100 most frequently challenged books from 1990 to 1999. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

Judy Blume American writer of children, young adult and adult works (born 1938)

Judith Blume is an American writer of children's, young adult and adult fiction. Blume began writing in 1959 and has published more than 25 novels. Among her best-known works are Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (1970), Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (1972), Deenie (1973), and Blubber (1974). Blume's books have significantly contributed to children's and young adult literature.

<i>Go Ask Alice</i> 1971 novel by Beatrice Sparks

Go Ask Alice is a 1971 book about a teenage girl who develops a drug addiction at age 15 and runs away from home on a journey of self-destructive escapism. Attributed to "Anonymous", the book is in diary form, and was originally presented as being the edited "real diary" of the unnamed teenage protagonist. Questions about the book's authenticity and true authorship began to arise in the late 1970s, and Beatrice Sparks is now generally viewed as the author of the found manuscript–styled fictional document. A therapist, Sparks went on to write numerous other books purporting to be real diaries of troubled teenagers. Some sources have also named Linda Glovach as a co-author of the book. Nevertheless, its popularity has endured, and as of 2014 it had remained continuously in print since its publication over four decades earlier.

Susan Eloise Hinton is an American writer best known for her young-adult novels (YA) set in Oklahoma, especially The Outsiders (1967), which she wrote during high school. Hinton is credited with introducing the YA genre.

Nancy Garden was an American writer of fiction for children and young adults, best known for the lesbian novel Annie on My Mind. She received the 2003 Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association recognizing her lifetime contribution in writing for teens, citing Annie alone.

<i>Fallen Angels</i> (Myers novel) Novel by Walter Dean Myers

Fallen Angels is a 1988 young-adult novel written by Walter Dean Myers, about the Vietnam War. It won the 1988 Coretta Scott King Award. Fallen Angels is listed as number 16 in the American Library Association's list of 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990–2000 due to its use of profanity and realistic depiction of the war.

<i>Cryptid Hunters</i>

Cryptid Hunters is a 2005 young adult science fiction novel by Roland Smith; it follows the adventures of thirteen-year-old siblings Grace and Marty O'Hara, who are sent to live with their Uncle Wolfe after their parents are lost in an accident. He is an anthropologist on a remote island, searching for cryptids, which are animals thought to be extinct or not to exist. His rival Noah Blackwood, a popular animal collector, tries to acquire an alleged dinosaur egg from Wolfe, and the twins get involved in the conflict which reveals a convoluted family history. The novel was nominated for several library awards and book lists, which include Hawaii's 2008 Nene Recommended Book List, the Texas Library Association's 2007-2008 Lone Star Reading List, and Third Place for the Missouri Association of School Librarians' Mark Twain Readers Award. Smith has written three sequels called Tentacles, Chupacabra, and Mutation.

<i>The Lightning Thief</i> American childrens novel, 2005, first in the Percy Jackson series

The Lightning Thief is a 2005 American-fantasy-adventure novel based on Greek mythology, the first young adult novel written by Rick Riordan in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. It won the Adult Library Services Association Best Books for Young Adults, among other awards. It was adapted into a film named Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief released in the United States on February 12, 2010. On May 14, 2020, Riordan announced that a live-action TV series for Disney+ would adapt the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, with the first season covering The Lightning Thief. The novel is followed by The Sea of Monsters and spawned two sequel series and the extended universe of the Camp Half-Blood Chronicles.

<i>Cut</i> (novel) 2000 novel by Patricia McCormick

Cut is a 2000 novel by Patricia McCormick, targeted at young adults. In 2002 it was named one of the ALA's "Best Books for Young Adults" for that year.

<i>Love Among the Walnuts</i> Book by Jean Ferris

Love Among the Walnuts: or How I Saved My Family from Being Poisoned is a farcical, satirical young adult novel with fairy tale elements written by Jean Ferris. The story revolves around a young man, Sandy, whose family is poisoned by his scheming uncles in a bid to gain the family fortune. He moves them to Walnut Manor, a neighboring convalescent home, where, with the help of the nurse Sunnie, he tries to save his family and benefit the manor's misunderstood residents.

David Klass American writer

David Klass is an American screenwriter and novelist. He has written more than 40 screenplays for Hollywood studios and published 14 young adult novels. His screenplays are primarily character-based thrillers for adults, while his novels often tell the stories of teenagers in crisis.

<i>The Forest of Hands and Teeth</i>

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is a New York Times best-selling post-apocalyptic zombie novel by first-time author Carrie Ryan that is marketed to young adults. It was published in 2009 by Random House Delacorte Press in the United States, and by Hachette Gollancz in Australia and the United Kingdom. This is the first volume of a trilogy; the second book in the series, The Dead-Tossed Waves, was released on March 9, 2010 and The Dark and Hollow Places followed in March 2011. As the story opens, an unexplained disaster has turned much of the human race into mindless, cannibalistic undead. They roam the titular forest, seeking to destroy a band of survivors barricaded inside a walled village deep in the woods. However, the fence that protects these villagers also imprisons them within a dystopian society marked by violence, secrecy, and repression. The forest thus profoundly influences all the action of the novel.

A. S. King American writer

Amy Sarig King is an American writer of short fiction and young adult fiction.

Book censorship is the removal, suppression, or restricted circulation of literary, artistic, or educational material – of images, ideas, and information – on the grounds that these are morally or otherwise objectionable according to the standards applied by the censor. Censorship is "the regulation of speech and other forms of expression by an entrenched authority". The overall intent of censorship, in any form, is to act as "a kind of safeguard for society, typically to protect norms and values [...] censorship suppresses what is considered objectionable from a political, moral, or religious standpoint."

Hannah Moskowitz is an American author of young adult and middle grade novels.

Michael Willhoite is an artist and writer who is best known for his children's books depicting families with gay parents. His book Daddy's Roommate (1990) was the second most challenged book in American libraries in the decade of 1990-1999, according to the American Library Association.

<i>Escape from Mr. Lemoncellos Library</i> Book by Chris Grabenstein

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library is a children's novel by author Chris Grabenstein. It was on the New York Times bestseller list for Middle Grade novels for 111 weeks between 2013 and 2016, peaking at #8 in hardback and #2 in paperback.

Christine Heppermann is an American author who specializes in poetry and books for children and young adults. She has also written many critical articles and book reviews for leading publications. As an author, she has been largely collected by libraries.

<i>The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean</i>

The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean telt by hisself is a 2011 story by David Almond. It was released simultaneously in young adult (Puffin) and adult editions (Penguin), and was Almond's first adult novel. It is about a boy, Paul, who is imprisoned by his parents until the age of thirteen and on his freedom is treated as a messiah.

<i>All American Boys</i> 2015 young adult novel by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely

All American Boys, published in 2015 by Atheneum, is a young adult novel written by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely. The book tells the story of two teenage boys, Rashad Butler and Quinn Collins, as they handle racism and police brutality in their community. The novel has gained attention in recent years, becoming the third most banned book of 2020, due to its inclusion of anti-police messages, alcohol, drug usage, and profanity.

Ron Koertge is an American poet and author of young adult fiction. Koertge is currently the Poet Laureate of South Pasadena, California. Koertge's honors include a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, a California Arts Council grant, and inclusion in numerous anthologies. His young-adult fiction has won many awards, including Friends of American Writers Young People’s Literature Award, New York Library’s 100 Best Children’s Books, ALA Best Book, New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age, and P.E.N. awards. In 2017, he was awarded a Pushcart Prize.

References

  1. "ALA Best Books for Young Adults". LibraryThing.
  2. Lewis, M. (1988), The Arizona Kid (Book Review), vol. 34, School Library Journal, p. 118
  3. Fakih, Kimberly Olson & Diane Roback (13 May 1988), The Arizona Kid [Review], Publishers Weekly, p. 278
  4. Tait, S. & Tyson, C. (1990), Paperbacks for young adults, vol. 17, Emergency Librarian, p. 61
  5. "The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–1999". American Library Association. Retrieved 2014-06-14.