Books with author Amy Goldman Koss

Maya has been part of the group ever since the day Candace asked her if she wanted to "do lunch" in the cafeteria. Yet when Candace suddenly deems her unworthy, Maya's so-called friends just blow her off. While Maya just wants the girls back like they used to be, she knows that can never happen-because whatever Candace wants, Candace gets, no matter who gets hurt. Maya isn't sure exactly where things went wrong for her, but she knows she has to find out who her real friends are, and who among the girls she can trust."[A] suspenseful and realistic portrayal of a popular middle school clique . . . . Readers will identify with and remember these characters." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

A TIMELY, WARMHEARTED NOVEL ABOUT LIFE IN HARD ECONOMIC TIMES.Jacki's ninth–grade teacher is always going on about the unemployment index and the recession, but nothing sinks in until her mom is laid off and everything seems to cost more than they can afford. Acclaimed author Amy Goldman Koss delivers a warm hearted and timely tale about the things we lose and the insights we gain.

"IwithVY: I told Ms. Gold about how The Evil Three have been after me, feeding off me since fourth grade.MARCO: It isn't a very pretty story, so if you're looking for 'nice,' you better ask someone else.ANN: We just have to come up wiht some witnesses for our side. Think! Does anyone owe you any favors?BRYCE: I figure, Dude, why not make a little spare change on the side? A buck a bet. All's I has to do was explain that liable was civil for guilty, and they swarmed like flies."Eight first-person narrators give different versions of the same event. Lessons about the inner workings of the judicial system pale beside the insights into human nature. With pathos and a great deal of humor, Amy Goldman Koss keeps you turning pages.

The girls: Maya, Brianna, Darcy, Renee?and popular, fascinating, dangerous Candace. Five friends ruled by one ringleader who plays games to test their loyalty?and then decides who's in the group and who's out. Each of the girls has her say in this fast-paces and absolute believable novel set in the war zone of middle school cliques. The author of the highly appraised The Ashwater Experience, Amy Koss has once again crafted a "truly original piece of fiction brimming with humor and insight. " (Starred Horn Book Review for The Ashwater Experience)

Serious, funny, compelling -- and unique: a novel about a teenager with cancer and doesn't die, from Amy Goldman Koss, acclaimed author of THE GIRLS.As if it isn't bad enough to have cancer, practically every time we pick up a book or hear about a character in a movie who gets sick, we know they'll be dead by the last scene. In reality, kids get all kinds of cancers, go through unspeakable torture and painful treatments, but walk away, fine in the end. Isabelle, not quite 15, is living a normal life of fighting with her younger brother, being disgusted with her parents, and hoping to be noticed by a cute guy. Everything changes in an instant when she is diagnosed with lymphoma-- and even her best friend, Kay, thinks Izzy is going to die. But she doesn't, and her humor—sardonic, sharp, astute -- makes reading this book accessible and actually enjoyable.From the acclaimed author of The Girls and Poison Ivy, Side Effects is about the pain, fear, and unlikely comedy of 15-year-old Izzy's journey, told in her own powerful and authentic voice. It is Izzy's story—screams and all.

Award-winning author Amy Goldman Koss explores what happens when one bad decision threatens to destroy everything.Cheating on a geography midterm is only the beginning. It seemed simple enough—they were given the answers from last year's test and they used them. But Sarah and her friends got caught, and what was done without much thought leads to greater and greater consequences. Now they are facing punishment at school, tension at home, and no one is sure how or when it will end."An excellent springboard to provocative discussion or debate about the moral and ethical questions that this issue raises."—School Library Journal

Award-winning author Amy Goldman Koss explores what happens when one bad decision threatens to destroy everything.Cheating on a geography midterm is only the beginning. It seemed simple enough—they were given the answers from last year's test and they used them. But Sarah and her friends got caught, and what was done without much thought leads to greater and greater consequences. Now they are facing punishment at school, tension at home, and no one is sure how or when it will end."An excellent springboard to provocative discussion or debate about the moral and ethical questions that this issue raises."—School Library Journal

A TIMELY, WARMHEARTED NOVEL ABOUT LIFE IN HARD ECONOMIC TIMES.Jacki’s ninth–grade teacher is always going on about the unemployment index and the recession, but nothing sinks in until her mom is laid off and everything seems to cost more than they can afford. Acclaimed author Amy Goldman Koss delivers a warm hearted and timely tale about the things we lose and the insights we gain.

Abby, Bess, and Cristy are best friends-period, end of story. Until Bess said, "Zack's cute," and the two words sent the three friends into a tailspin. Zack, you see, was Abby's long, long, longtime crush. Gasp! Poor Abby has never even worried about the possibility of someone else liking Zack. Even if she had, she never would've suspected that the someone would be Bess! That leaves us with three puzzling questions about the three best friends: 1) Why didn't Bess think Zack was off-limits? 2) What will Abby do about it? And 3) Whose side is Cristy on anyway? For these three best friends, those three questions are just the beginning!

Abby, Bess, and Cristy are best friends-period, end of story. Until Bess said, "Zack's cute," and the two words sent the three friends into a tailspin. Zack, you see, was Abby's long, long, longtime crush. Gasp! Poor Abby has never even worried about the possibility of someone else liking Zack. Even if she had, she never would've suspected that the someone would be Bess! That leaves us with three puzzling questions about the three best friends: 1) Why didn't Bess think Zack was off-limits? 2) What will Abby do about it? And 3) Whose side is Cristy on anyway? For these three best friends, those three questions are just the beginning!

Hillary Siegal and her footloose parents live on the road. To Hillary, each move is an escape from becoming one of the "sleepwalkers" she's seen at all of the seventeen schools she's attended. But then the Siegals land in Ashwater, California. And this time, they're staying put. Seventh grade isn't going to be a typical year for Hillary. What can she do if she can't run?"Undercurrents of humor, and characters who develop surprising complexities, give this bittersweet tale unusual depth."—Kirkus Reviews