Books with author Andy Smith

Fourteen-year-old Stark McClellan (nicknamed Stick because he's tall and thin) is bullied for being "deformed" – he was born with only one ear. His older brother Bosten is always there to defend Stick. But the boys can't defend one another from their abusive parents. When Stick realizes Bosten is gay, he knows that to survive his father's anger, Bosten must leave home. Stick has to find his brother, or he will never feel whole again. In his search, he will encounter good people, bad people, and people who are simply indifferent to kids from the wrong side of the tracks. But he never loses hope of finding love – and his brother.

USA Today Bestselling author Andrea Smith gives you her debut YA/Teen novel. A heartwarming story of coping with loss.My name is Victoria Howard and when Mom died just shy of my tenth birthday, nothing could have prepared me for the pain of dealing with my loss.Imagine my surprise when just a few weeks later, on my tenth birthday, Mom had planned a special gift to be delivered to me. A puppy named Sir Percival Howard. A Chinese Pug. As if he could ever replace my Mom! I was angry with my mother. So angry I was determined not to let Percy into my heart. He wasn't a substitute to make me forget my loss. As hard as I tried to ignore this pesky puppy, he just didn't get the hint.But as time went on, something changed, maybe I changed. And I came to realize Percy was the one who would see me through those changes. Maybe it was Mom's plan all along to provide me with a companion to help lessen the loneliness and insecurities that come with growing up. Maybe Percy was part of that plan.So, despite my earlier resolve to reject my puppy, I allowed Percy to worm his way into my life, and into my heart. My rewards came in ways I could never have expected. Thanks, Mom.

Sam Abernathy prepares to leave home for the first time in this charming follow-up to award-winning author Andrew Smith’s The Size of Truth.Vampires have just moved in to the haunted house next door. All twelve-year-old Sam Abernathy wanted to do was make the most of his last few weeks in Blue Creek before he has to say goodbye. Goodbye to the well he fell in eight years ago; goodbye to cooking at Lily Putt’s snack bar; goodbye to his overdramatic best friend, Karim; goodbye to unsweetened iced tea at Colonel Jenkins’s Diner every Saturday with Bahar (who he does not have a crush on); goodbye to his old life. But the arrival of the Monster People throws a wrench into his plans. Things only get worse when the new family hires Bahar to babysit their child, Boris, who is almost certainly a cannibal. And then—scariest of all—they employ Sam’s catering services. He can’t possibly say no. If he doesn’t survive the summer, Sam might not have to say bye-bye to Blue Creek at all.

“Andrew Smith is the Kurt Vonnegut of YA . . . [Smith’s novels] are the freshest, richest, and weirdest books to hit the YA world in years.” —Entertainment WeeklySkillfully blending multiple story strands that transcend time and place, award-winning Grasshopper Jungle author Andrew Smith chronicles the story of Ariel, a refugee who is the sole survivor of an attack on his small village. Now living with an adoptive family in Sunday, West Virginia, Ariel's story is juxtaposed against those of a schizophrenic bomber and the diaries of a failed arctic expedition from the late nineteenth century . . . and a depressed, bionic reincarnated crow.

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 Andrew Smith’s first middle grade novel.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.

Crime reporter Rosie Gilmour returns from hiding in Bosnia to a story of a brutal execution. University lecturer Tom Mahoney was shot at point blank range and the killing has all the signs of a hit. But who would want to kill a retired lecturer? Rosie throws herself into the investigation, looking for a witness that has gone missing. A witness that might hold the key to the story. But she has her own reasons to stay hidden. As Rosie digs deeper, she finds the story has connections to the Ministry of Defence and MI6 and Mahoney's past is darker than anyone could imagine. Rosie's running out of time to find out the truth, before Mahoney's killers silence her for good.'Anna Smith is the real deal . . . Rosie Gilmour is a captivating character who drags the reader along at breakneck speed' Daily Express

Best friends Jack and Conner can't stay away from Marbury. It's partly because of their obsession with this alternate world and the unresolved war that still wages there. But it's also because forces in Marbury―including the darkest of the dark, who were not revealed in The Marbury Lens―are beckoning the boys back in order to save their friends . . . and themselves.The boys try to destroy the lens that transports them to Marbury. But that dark world is not so easily reckoned with. Reality and fantasy, good and evil―Andrew Smith's masterpiece closes the loop that began with The Marbury Lens. But is it really closed? Can it ever be?

From New York Times bestselling author Andrew Smith comes the stunning, long-awaited sequel to the groundbreaking Printz Honor Book Grasshopper Jungle.It’s been sixteen years since an army of horny, hungry, six-foot-tall praying mantises forced Arek’s family underground and into the hole where he was born; it’s the only home he’s ever known. But now, post-end-of-the-world, the army of horny, hungry praying mantises might finally be dying out, and Arek’s ready to leave the hole for good.All he has are mysterious letters from Breakfast, a naked, wild boy traveling the countryside with his silent companion, Olive. Together, Arek and his best friend Mel, who stowed away in his van, navigate their way through the ravaged remains of the outside world.Praise for Grasshopper Jungle‘A cool/passionate, gay/straight, male/female, absurd/real, funny/moving, past/present, breezy/profound masterpiece of a book.' Michael Grant, bestselling author of the GONE series.‘If you only read one book this year about sexually confused teens battling 6 foot tall head-chomping praying mantises in small town America, make it this one.' Charlie Higson, author of the bestselling Young Bond series.'I devoured @marburyjack’s wonderful ‘cool/passionate’ Grasshopper Jungle’. Sally Green, author of Half Bad.‘Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith. You must read immediately. It’s an absolute joy. Scary, funny, sexy. Trust me.’ Jake Shears, lead singer of The Scissor Sisters‘Not for the faint-hearted. Mutant grasshoppers, rampant lust – a tale of teen self discovery that grips like a mating mantis.’ MetroAndrew Smith has always wanted to be a writer. After graduating college, he wrote for newspapers and radio stations, but found it wasn't the kind of writing he'd dreamed about doing. Born with an impulse to travel, Smith, the son of an immigrant, bounced around the world and from job to job, before settling down in Southern California. There, he got his first ‘real job’, as a teacher in an alternative educational program for at-risk teens, married, and moved to a rural mountain location. Smith has now written several award-winning YA novels including Winger, Stick, and Grasshopper Jungle.

The author of Printz Honor book Grasshopper Jungle returns with another genre-bending literary exploration of the absurd.Once again blending multiple story strands that transcend time and place, Grasshopper Jungle author Andrew Smith tells the story of 15-year-old Ariel, a refugee from the Middle East who is the sole survivor of an attack on his small village. Now living with an adoptive family in Sunday, West Virginia, Ariel's story of his summer at a boys' camp for tech detox is juxtaposed against those of a schizophrenic bomber and the diaries of a failed arctic expedition from the late nineteenth century. Oh, and there’s also a depressed bionic reincarnated crow. "Smith takes [readers] to a place where humanity is imbued with the potential to render people inhuman…and reminding us that being human, all too human, is far better than any conceivable alternative.” —BCCB Reviews, starred review "Magnificently bizarre, irreverent and bitingly witty” —Kirkus, starred review "Smith is a spiritual heir to Kurt Vonnegut” —Booklist, starred review “Fans of Smith’s raunchy, profane, and provocative work will find this funny but morally serious tale deeply appealing.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

Best friends Jack and Conner can't stay away from Marbury. It's partly because of their obsession with this alternate world and the unresolved war that still wages there. But it's also because forces in Marbury—including the darkest of the dark, who were not revealed in The Marbury Lens—are beckoning the boys back in order to save their friends . . . and themselves.The boys try to destroy the lens that transports them to Marbury. But that dark world is not so easily reckoned with. Reality and fantasy, good and evil—Andrew Smith's masterpiece closes the loop that began with The Marbury Lens. But is it really closed? Can it ever be?

Sixteen-year-old Jack gets drunk and is in the wrong place at the wrong time. He is kidnapped. He escapes, narrowly. The only person he tells is his best friend, Conner. When they arrive in London as planned for summer break, a stranger hands Jack a pair of glasses. Through the lenses, he sees another world called Marbury. There is war in Marbury. It is a desolate and murderous place where Jack is responsible for the survival of two younger boys. Conner is there, too. But he’s trying to kill them. Meanwhile, Jack is falling in love with an English girl, and afraid he’s losing his mind. Conner tells Jack it’s going to be okay. But it’s not. Andrew Smith has written his most beautiful and personal novel yet, as he explores the nightmarish outer limits of what trauma can do to our bodies and our minds.

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.