Books with author Andrew Pender-Smith

Jonah and his younger brother, Simon, are on their own. All they have left in the world is ten dollars, a backpack full of dirty clothes, and a stack of letters from their older brother, who’s fighting in the war. They’re on their way to Arizona when they catch a ride from a couple. The girl is friendly—and beautiful. But the man is different, maybe dangerous, maybe deadly. It’s a good thing Jonah and Simon packed one more thing in their bag . . . a gun.

The summer before Troy Stotts turns seventeen, his mother dies. Communicating with his father mostly by notes, Troy spends his time with his friends: Tom Buller, brash and fearless; Gabe Benavidez, smart enough to know he’ll never take over the family ranch; and Gabe’s sister, Luz, who Troy has loved since they were children. They want this to be the summer of “ghost medicine,” when time seems to stop, and they can hide from the past and the future, and all the ghosts that come with them. Troy and his friends don’t want trouble, but as the summer fills with dangerous and fateful encounters, can even the most powerful ghost medicine keep them hidden and safe?

The summer before Troy Stotts turns seventeen, his mother dies. Troy and his father barely speak, communicating instead by writing notes on a legal pad by the phone. Troy spends most of his time with his closest friends: Tom Buller, brash and fearless, the son of a drunk; Gabe Benavidez, smart enough to know he’ll never take over the family ranch; and Gabe’s sister, Luz, whose family overprotects her, and who Troy has loved since they were children. Troy and his friends don’t want trouble. They want this to be the summer of what Troy calls “ghost medicine,” when time seems to stop, so they won’t have to face the past or the future. But before the summer is over, their paths will cross in dangerous and fateful ways with people who will change their lives: Rose, a damaged derelict who lives with a flock of wild horses and goats; and Chase Rutledge, the arrogant sheriff’s son. Troy and his friends want to disappear. Instead, they will become what they least expect —brothers, lovers, heroes, and ghosts.

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Finn Easton sees the world through miles instead of minutes. It's how he makes sense of the world, and how he tries to convince himself that he's a real boy and not just a character in his father's bestselling cult-classic book. Finn has two things going for him: his best friend, the possibly-insane-but-definitely-excellent Cade Hernandez, and Julia Bishop, the first girl he's ever loved. Then Julia moves away, and Finn is heartbroken. Feeling restless and trapped in the book, Finn embarks on a road trip with Cade to visit their college of choice in Oklahoma. When an unexpected accident happens and the boys become unlikely heroes, they take an eye-opening detour away from everything they thought they had planned-and learn how to write their own destiny.

Jonah and his younger brother, Simon, are on their own. They set out to find what’s left of their family, carrying between them ten dollars, a backpack full of dirty clothes, a notebook, and a stack of letters from their brother, who is serving a tour in Vietnam. And soon into their journey, they have a ride. With a man and a beautiful girl who may be in love with Jonah. Or Simon. Or both of them. The man is crazy. The girl is desperate. This violent ride is only just beginning. And it will leave the brothers taking cover from hard truths about loyalty, love, and survival that crash into their lives. One more thing: The brothers have a gun. They’re going to need it.

A boy who spent three days trapped in a well tries to overcome his PTSD and claustrophobia so he can fulfill his dream of becoming a famous chef in this charming novel that is Andrew Smith's first foray into middle-grade storytelling.When he was four years old, Sam Abernathy was trapped at the bottom of a well for three days, where he was teased by a smart-aleck armadillo named Bartleby. Since then, his parents plan every move he makes.But Sam doesn't like their plans. He doesn't want to go to MIT. And he doesn't want to skip two grades, being stuck in the eighth grade as an eleven-year-old with James Jenkins, the boy he's sure pushed him into the well in the first place. He wants to be a chef. And he's going to start by entering the first annual Blue Creek Days Colonel Jenkins Macaroni and Cheese Cook-Off.That is, if he can survive eighth grade, and figure out the size of the truth that has slipped Sam's memory for seven years.