Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling

This novel-in-verse—at once literary and emotionally gripping—follows the unfolding friendship between two very different teenage girls who share a hospital room and an illness. Chess, the narrator, is sick, but with what exactly, she isn’t sure. And to make matters worse, she must share a hospital room with Shannon, her polar opposite. Where Chess is polite, Shannon is rude. Where Chess tolerates pain silently, Shannon screams bloody murder. Where Chess seems to be getting slowly better, Shannon seems to be getting worse. How these teenagers become friends, helping each other come to terms with their illness, makes for a dramatic and deeply moving read. "An emotional and innovative novel.... There is so much pathos and humor in these two hospital beds." —E. Lockhart, author of We Were Liars "A story told with the utmost economy of language—intense, compelling, and satisfying." —Susan Patron, author of the Newbery Medal winner The Higher Power of Lucky "Riveting, humanizing and real." —Kirkus Reviews, Starred "A raw, unsentimental perspective on the fight to keep an illness from overpowering one's identity." —Publishers Weekly

Teen & Young Adult

Frank, Lucy

Literature & Fiction

Schwartz & Wade

This novel-in-verse—at once literary and emotionally gripping—follows the unfolding friendship between two very different teenage girls who share a hospital room and an illness. Chess, the narrator, is sick, but with what exactly, she isn’t sure. And to make matters worse, she must share a hospital room with Shannon, her polar opposite. Where Chess is polite, Shannon is rude. Where Chess tolerates pain silently, Shannon screams bloody murder. Where Chess seems to be getting slowly better, Shannon seems to be getting worse. How these teenagers become friends, helping each other come to terms with their illness, makes for a dramatic and deeply moving read. "An emotional and innovative novel.... There is so much pathos and humor in these two hospital beds." —E. Lockhart, author of We Were Liars "A story told with the utmost economy of language—intense, compelling, and satisfying." —Susan Patron, author of the Newbery Medal winner The Higher Power of Lucky "Riveting, humanizing and real." —Kirkus Reviews, Starred "A raw, unsentimental perspective on the fight to keep an illness from overpowering one's identity." —Publishers Weekly From the Hardcover edition.

Fifteen-year-old Sarah can't wait to start her summer job as a mother's helper in exciting New York City. At first everything about the job looks great. Mrs. Friedman is outgoing, and her beautiful, 12-year-old daughter Emily seems too self-sufficient to need much looking after. Sarah's even met a good-looking guy in the building. But soon Sarah feels that she's landed in the middle of a mess. Emily has a serious eating disorder, and her divorced parents argue about how to handle her. As Sarah gets closer to Emily, she feels caught between her desire to help and fear that she is in over her head.

I Am an Artichoke (Laurel-Leaf Books)

Laurel-Leaf

Sarah is nervous yet excited about her weekend trips to New York City for cello lessons. The other students at the music conservatory are intimidating, but Sarah knows she's talented. Sarah's also excited about her relationship with David, her friend Emily's brother. David plays guitar and understands the power of music. As David and Sarah spend more time together, he pressures her to escalate the physical part of their relationship. Sarah wonders how to handle being with David while holding on to her strong sense of self.

Will You Be My Brussels Sprout?

Between dealing with her crazy brother and a best friend who dumped her for a new guy, Joy has a lot on her plate, and so when her meddling Uncle Max moves in, Joy wishes he would find a lady his own age and start dating to stop him from interfering in her hopeless relationships. Reprint.

Oy, Joy!

Simon Pulse

Determined to buy herself her first bra despite her mother's refusals, Iris sets out to get the money on her own by going into business in secret and soon meets a whole cast of interesting customers from around her neighborhood who help her reach her private goal.

Just Ask Iris

Children's Books

Humor

Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books

One wacky building. One amazing summer. According to her mother, Iris is supposed to spend the summer safely indoors, keeping the apartment clean and learning to type. But when Iris follows a cat out onto the fire escape one day, she ends up meeting some of the amazing people who live in her building, including Yolanda, the Cat Lady, and the angry boy with the peashooter. So she comes up with two summer goals of her own: to earn some money, and to spend as much time outside the stuffy apartment as possible. The money starts trickling in thanks to Iris's many neighbors and her errand-running business. But little does she know her job -- and her typing skills -- will lead her to play a major role not only in the future of her building, but also in the lives of forty-plus cats. And in the end, Iris gets something she didn't even know she was looking for....

Animals

Atheneum Books for Young Readers

"Is it my imagination,"grumbles the odd old man
in the bookstore,
 "or is the world
getting more and more
Annoying?
In the fifteen hours since Lucas Graham arrived in New York City, his own annoyance level has skyrocketed. For starters, he'd rather be spending his Christmas week at the beach with Mom instead of visiting Dad and Claire in the cold and slush. He'd rather not be sharing a bathroom with his critical stepsister, Phoebe, and her disapproving cat. He'd rather not be threatened with a haircut at Trims for Tykes by his little stepbrother's unspeakable baby-sitter, Gladys.
And he wishes the strange Santa in front of Book World had not slipped this beeping, buzzing device into his backpack for safekeeping, even if it does seem to have entertaining effects on cats and baby-sitters. And who are these strange, green-coated guys milling around, muttering into walkie-talkies -- guys only twelve-year-old Lucas and this Santa seem to see? Lucas overhears the words "annoyance removal," as if they're attuned to his innermost wishes. Something weird is going on. Weird, but irresistible.
Now this old man, Izzy Gribitz, is talking about bungling agents, secret passages, this mysterious remote control-like device, and something called the Annoyance Bureau. What does it all mean? 
"That," says Izzy, "is for me to know and you to find out."

The Annoyance Bureau

On stage is the last place on Earth Kira, Jake, or Eugene want to be. "I'm not a human jukebox," Kira tells her dad, "or a dancing doll, or a puppet, where you press a button and I'll entertain you!" Yet since arriving in New York City, she's had to sing "Amazing Grace" and "Me and Bobby McGee" with him and her two little brothers, Chris and Charlie, for handouts on a subway platform. Singing like an angel. Wanting to stop singing forever. Jake sings, but only in his dreams. In real life he'll do anything to keep his mouth shut because of his stutter. Eugene's greatest dream is that the world will laugh with him and not at him. Eugene sings like a foghorn. Ms. Hill, the school's music teacher, has ambitions for them all. "My alto section could use some boys," she tells Jake and Eugene after they've been thrown out of the lunchroom for a kimchi incident, and she spots them eyeing her poster: is there a singer inside you trying to get out? you know you want to sing. join the chorus! "Uh, I don't think that would be us," Eugene says. "We're nonjoiners. Trust me. This works for everyone." Until Jake meets Kira.

Lucky Stars

Three unlikely friends dealing with hardships and personal dramas find one another during their darkest days and, through mutual support, manage to overcome their issues, join Mrs. Hill’s chorus, and succeed in making their dreams come true. Reprint.

Aladdin

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Frank, Lucy. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Frank, Lucy

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Frank, Lucy. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling

Two Girls Staring at the Ceiling

I Am an Artichoke (Laurel-Leaf Books)

Will You Be My Brussels Sprout?

Oy, Joy!

Just Ask Iris

Just Ask Iris

The Annoyance Bureau

Lucky Stars

Lucky Stars