Books

Item Description

Teen Novels Signed by Melissa Walker

Let's Pretend We Never Met
If it were up to Mattie Markham, there would be a law that said your family wasn’t allowed to move in the middle of the school year. After all, sixth grade is hard enough without wondering if you’ll be able to make new friends or worrying that the kids in Pennsylvania won’t like your North Carolina accent.

But when Mattie meets her next-door neighbor and classmate, she begins to think maybe she was silly to fear being the “new girl.” Agnes is like no one Mattie has ever met—she’s curious, hilarious, smart, and makes up the best games. If winter break is anything to go by, the rest of the school year should be a breeze.

Only it isn’t, because when vacation ends and school starts, Mattie realizes something: At school Agnes is known as the weird girl who no one likes. All Mattie wants is to fit in (okay, and maybe be a little popular too), but is that worth ending her friendship with Agnes?

Reviews

"In this quiet but satisfying piece of realistic fiction, Walker lays down real inroads to understanding different ways of being and the challenges and worries that accompany distinct stages of life." — Publishers Weekly

"This honest, pleasant ode to true friendships draws readers in and offers gentle, kid-friendly guidance to maintaining relationships that matter." — Kirkus Reviews

Why Can't I Be You
Claire Ladd knows that this summer is going to be special. She and her two best friends, Ronan and Brianna, are turning twelve. She is leaving camp behind and gets to do what she wants all day. She feels everything starting to change.

But things don’t always change for the better.

With Brianna’s cousin Eden visiting for the summer, Claire feels like a third wheel. Even though she is only a year older, Eden seems so much more sophisticated and glamorous . . . and when she's around, she takes up everyone’s attention, including Brianna’s.

But that doesn’t explain why things have felt awkward with Brianna ever since she moved to a fancy new house, or why Ronan, who lives in the trailer next to Claire’s, has started acting moody anytime anyone mentions his dad.

Claire has always been happy with her life just as it is, but as the summer wears on and the issues with her friends start to grow, she can’t help but wonder: Would everything be better if she could just be someone else?

Reviews

â­Âï¸Â"With a clear, compelling voice, Walker creates a believable world where socioeconomic tensions challenge, but never defeat, her well-rounded characters." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“This book is for anyone who has ever felt 'less than' or on the outside… that is to say, this is a book for everyone. Gentle, layered, and big-hearted, Why Can’t I Be You is a beautiful portrait of the complexities of families and friends.” — Elana K. Arnold, author of What Girls Are Made Of

“Walker vividly describes trailer park life, showing the good with the bad, from Ronan’s dysfunctional father to the beauty and strength of the close relationships created in Twin Pines Trailer Park.”  — School Library Journal

Item Special Note

Melissa Walker is a writer who has worked as ELLEgirl Features Editor and Seventeen Prom Editor. All in the name of journalism, she has spent 24 hours with male models and attended an elite finishing school for girls in New Zealand, among other hardships. She has written for many publications including Redbook, Glamour, New York, Teen Vogue, Family Circle and more (see samples of her magazine work). 

Melissa lives in Brooklyn and has a BA in English from Vassar College. She loves meeting kids and teenagers, and is game to speak at your library or school. Get in touch to discuss.