Books with author Holly Thompson

In a Japanese seaside neighborhood lives Jason Parker:a sixth graderone year older than his classmatesa stinking foreigner to some classmatesan orange belt in aikidoa big brotherJason Parker is just a boy trying to get through his days with calm and courage. If only everyone around him would let him.This is a beautifully spare novel in verse about one boy's life--a story that will resonate with anyone who has ever struggled to fit in.

This aptly named fiction anthology—tomo means “friend” in Japanese—is a true labor of friendship to benefit teens in Japan whose lives were upended by the violent earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011. Authors from Japan and around the world have contributed works of fiction set in or related to Japan. Young adult English-language readers will be able to connect with their Japanese counterparts through stories of contemporary Japanese teens, ninja and yokai teens, folklore teens, mixed-heritage teens, and non-Japanese teens who call Japan home. Tales of friendship, mystery, love, ghosts, magic, science fiction, and history will propel readers to Japan past and present and to Japanese universes abroad.Edited and with a foreword by Holly Thompson, Tomo contributing authors include Naoko Awa, Deni Bechard, Jennifer Fumiko Cahill, Liza Dalby, Megumi Fujino, Andrew Fukuda, Alan Gratz, Katrina Toshiko Grigg-Saito, Suzanne Kamata, Sachiko Kashiwaba, Kelly Luce, Shogo Oketani and Leza Lowitz, Ryusuke Saito, Graham Salisbury, Fumio Takano, and Wendy Tokunaga, among others.Through understanding comes compassion and the desire to help; portions of the proceeds of Tomo will be donated to ongoing relief efforts for teens in Japan.Holly Thompson is a longtime writing teacher and resident of Japan and author of the young adult verse novel Orchards, which was nominated for a 2012 YALSA/ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults award. She serves as the regional advisor for the Tokyo chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

This aptly named fiction anthology—tomo means “friend” in Japanese—is a true labor of friendship to benefit teens in Japan whose lives were upended by the violent earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011. Authors from Japan and around the world have contributed works of fiction set in or related to Japan. Young adult English-language readers will be able to connect with their Japanese counterparts through stories of contemporary Japanese teens, ninja and yokai teens, folklore teens, mixed-heritage teens, and non-Japanese teens who call Japan home. Tales of friendship, mystery, love, ghosts, magic, science fiction, and history will propel readers to Japan past and present and to Japanese universes abroad.Edited and with a foreword by Holly Thompson, Tomo contributing authors include Naoko Awa, Deni Bechard, Jennifer Fumiko Cahill, Liza Dalby, Megumi Fujino, Andrew Fukuda, Alan Gratz, Katrina Toshiko Grigg-Saito, Suzanne Kamata, Sachiko Kashiwaba, Kelly Luce, Shogo Oketani and Leza Lowitz, Ryusuke Saito, Graham Salisbury, Fumio Takano, and Wendy Tokunaga, among others.Through understanding comes compassion and the desire to help; portions of the proceeds of Tomo will be donated to ongoing relief efforts for teens in Japan.Holly Thompson is a longtime writing teacher and resident of Japan and author of the young adult verse novel Orchards, which was nominated for a 2012 YALSA/ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults award. She serves as the regional advisor for the Tokyo chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Winner of the APALA Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult LiteratureAn ALA-YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults BookAfter a classmate commits suicide, Kana Goldberg—a half-Japanese, half-Jewish American—wonders who is responsible. She and her cliquey friends said some thoughtless things to the girl. Hoping that Kana will reflect on her behavior, her parents pack her off to her mother's ancestral home in Japan for the summer. There Kana spends hours under the hot sun tending to her family's mikan orange groves.Kana's mixed heritage makes it hard to fit in at first, especially under the critical eye of her traditional grandmother, who has never accepted Kana's father. But as the summer unfolds, Kana gets to know her relatives, Japan, and village culture, and she begins to process the pain and guilt she feels about the tragedy back home. Then news about a friend sends her world spinning out of orbit all over again.

Emma Karas was raised in Japan; it's the country she calls home. But when her mother is diagnosed with breast cancer, Emma's family moves to a town outside Lowell, Massachusetts, to stay with Emma's grandmother while her mom undergoes treatment. Emma feels out of place in the United States.She begins to have migraines, and longs to be back in Japan. At her grandmother's urging, she volunteers in a long-term care center to help Zena, a patient with locked-in syndrome, write down her poems. There, Emma meets Samnang, another volunteer, who assists elderly Cambodian refugees. Weekly visits to the care center, Zena's poems, dance, and noodle soup bring Emma and Samnang closer, until Emma must make a painful choice: stay in Massachusetts, or return home early to Japan.

Please note that this is a PROSE novel about superheroes, not a graphic novel/comic book.REVIEWS FOR THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING:"[TGWWBK] introduces the best superhero/villain pair in ages. Lola is, without hyperbole, one of the most fantastic antagonists I’ve ever had the pleasure to read." - io9"A fresh, vibrant and haunting story that rivetingly explores the danger and wonder of (super) power. In Lola and Bonnie Thompson has created two extraordinary characters - extraordinary in their abilities, surely, but also in their richness and complexity. A superhero story that's epic in scope, but also intimate - a great read." - Scott Snyder (critically acclaimed writer of Batman, Detective Comics, Superman Unchained, American Vampire, The Wake and more!)"Refreshingly, TGWWBK isn't about one heroine, torn between two suitors - it's about two young women with tremendous power, torn between right and wrong. Between good and evil. Destiny and free will. In a compelling, poppy exploration of Nature vs. Nurture, these girls don't just fly - they soar." - Bryan Q. Miller (author of Batgirl Vol. 3 and writer for Smallville)"This book is f***ing amazing and I wouldn't change a damn thing." - Erin Jade Lange (author of Butter and Dead Ends)"TGWWBK is not only one of my favorite books ever, but it also has maybe my favorite literary character: Lola LeFever!" - Ross Campbell (creator of Wet Moon and Shadoweyes, artist for Glory)SUMMARY:A novel about two teenage girls with superpowers and radically different agendas, destined for a collision that will rock the world:Separated by thousands of miles, two young women are about to realize their extraordinary powers which will bind their lives together in ways they can't begin to understand.Protecting others. Maintaining order. Being good. These are all important things for Bonnie Braverman, even if she doesn't understand why. Confined to a group home since she survived the car accident that killed both her parents, Bonnie has lived her life until now in self-imposed isolation and silence; but when an opportunity presents itself to help another girl in need, Bonnie has to decide whether to actually use the power she has long suspected she has. Power that frightens her.Across the country, Lola LeFever is inheriting her own power by sending her mother over a cliff...literally. For Lola the only thing that matters is power; getting it, taking it, and eliminating anyone who would get in the way of her pursuit of it. With her mother dead and nothing to hold her back from the world any longer, Lola sets off to test her own powers on anyone unfortunate enough to cross her. And Lola's not afraid of anything.One girl driven to rescue, save, and heal; the other driven to punish, destroy, and kill.And now they're about to meet.

"A broadly appealing mix of the tragic and droll, comforting, disturbing, exotic and universal" - Kirkus Reviews"Offers a unique and wide-ranging taste of Japanese life" - Booklist"The collection is extremely varied, featuring urban and rural settings, contemporary situations and timeless folk tales, humor, and adventure... Numerous stories involve mixed-race parents and children, affording good insights into cultural assimilation. Tomo is an excellent story collection, presenting a rich and varied immersion in Japanese culture from a teen perspective." - VOYA"Published on the one-year anniversary of the Japanese tsunami and earthquake, this collection of short stories and poems about Japanese teens is weird and wonderful, studded with the unique color of Japanese teen pop culture, as well as the impact of defining events from the twenty-first century to the present: Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima, the tsunami, earthquake and nuclear disaster." - Barnes & Noble Review"Thirty-six stories by writers somehow connected to Japan, five contributors with ties to Tohoku — each piece concisely aligns the disparate puzzle of the teenage map...Tomo reverberates with the authentic voice of Japanese and bicultural teens as they face down the confusing adult world before and after 3/11." - The Japan Times"From Pasmo travel cards to Harajuku girls to face-offs between a Kendo club and a dance group at the school gym, Japan is placed vividly in the reader’s heart and mind. And that heart would have to be made of the proverbial stone not to feel for the people affected by the earthquake. But Tomo inspires more than sympathy—it ignites us to empathy." - The Asian Review of Books"The thirty-six stories of Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction—An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories cover a wide range of genres (prose, verse, graphic narratives) and feature nine stories translated from the Japanese...most of the authors, many of whom write for adults, will be new to American teens." - The Horn BookThis aptly named fiction anthology—tomo means “friend” in Japanese—is a true labor of friendship to benefit teens in Japan whose lives were upended by the violent earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011. Authors from Japan and around the world have contributed works of fiction set in or related to Japan. Young adult English-language readers will be able to connect with their Japanese counterparts through stories of contemporary Japanese teens, ninja and yokai teens, folklore teens, mixed-heritage teens, and non-Japanese teens who call Japan home. Tales of friendship, mystery, love, ghosts, magic, science fiction, and history will propel readers to Japan past and present and to Japanese universes abroad.Portions of the proceeds of Tomo will be donated to the Japanese non-profit, HOPE FOR TOMORROW, to support ongoing relief efforts for teens in Japan.Edited and with a foreword by Holly Thompson, Tomo contributing authors include Naoko Awa, Deni Bechard, Jennifer Fumiko Cahill, Liza Dalby, Megumi Fujino, Andrew Fukuda, Alan Gratz, Katrina Toshiko Grigg-Saito, Suzanne Kamata, Sachiko Kashiwaba, Kelly Luce, Shogo Oketani and Leza Lowitz, Ryusuke Saito, Graham Salisbury, Fumio Takano, and Wendy Tokunaga, among others.Holly Thompson is a longtime writing teacher and resident of Japan and author of the young adult verse novel Orchards, which won the 2012 Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association Award for Young Adult Literature . She serves as the regional advisor for the Tokyo chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

ADVANCE REVIEWS:“Storykiller is a sweeping fantasy grounded by sarcastic wit and a modern twist on age-old characters that is great for any fan of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. No author has ever made me care so much for the villains, but Thompson does it again in Storykiller with Snow and Fenris." - ERIN JADE LANGE, author of BUTTER and DEAD ENDS“Tessa Battle saves the world from Stories, wielding a double-bladed axe and rocking a red Mohawk. The Snow Queen, Bluebeard, Robin Hood, Romeo, Trolls…every classic Story you can possibly think of create the ultimate monster mash within the same pages, and it works. Tessa, Micah, and Brand give Buffy, Willow, and Xander a run for their money. Except this isn’t an undiscovered Whedon story, it’s Kelly Thompson’s second novel – and she kicks the idea of a ‘sophomore slump’ firmly in the balls. Tessa Battle-style.” -KAREN MAHONEY, author of THE IRON WITCH TRILOGYSUMMARY:The monster under the bed is real. In fact, all the monsters are real, as well as the heroes and everything in between because all Fiction is real and exists in a dimension called Story. However, plenty of them hang out in the Mortal world, living both innocent and nefarious lives. This might not mean much to the average Mortal unaware of the Fictional characters living among them, but for The Last Scion--the only Mortal that can kill those Fictional characters--things are about to become very complicated.Tessa Battle is that MortalUpon her return to Lore, Oregon after years bouncing around boarding schools in Europe, Tessa had her sights set on simple things like shoe shopping, finding a hot boyfriend, and eating as many pancakes as humanly possible. However, the Last Scion mantle Tessa just got saddled with is not making any of that easy, and as Tessa and her new friends are about to learn, Story is long from done with her, no matter how much she'd like to deny her destiny.With more than one monster chasing her and questionable characters like The Snow Queen and Robin Hood as her allies, Tessa is going to need all the superpowers she inherited just to stay alive. And maybe, just maybe, it's a GOOD thing that behind her back, Stories call her THE STORYKILLER.

Caitlin Ober is back in Japan, teaching English in Kyushu. Some 15 years ago, as a little girl, Caitlin lived in Kyoto, but a tragic accident drove her and her family back to America. Now guilt obscures her path, just as ashfall from a nearby volcano covers Kagoshima in dust. In a garden Caitlin meets a teenage half-Japanese girl, Naomi, who may be someone Caitlin can save this time around. Together the two travel to Kyoto during O-Bon, the festival when the dead return. Amid bonfires, temple grounds, and ghostly memories, Caitlin bravely embraces her future. Ash is a bittersweet novel of redemptive beauty, of startling images and alluring details.Holly Thompson lives in Kamakura and writes frequently about Japan. This is her first novel.

“…a devilishly clever psychological thriller…” – Joseph Haschka, Amazon Top 500 Reviewer “It’s a page-turner.” – Matt C, Prairiefirereview.com “…on a par with Hitchcock and Flynn in my estimation.” – Patrick Sean Lee, Magnolia Blossom Review“I can’t say enough good things about this book.” – Yvonne, Socrates’ Book Reviews“When you read this book, you forget about anything and everything else…” – Ionia Martin, Readful Things********** 2018 Edition **********Revised and updated to be more gripping than ever. No other thriller series provides more shocking, satisfying twists.************************************What if the voice inside your head wanted out?Andrew Goodwin hears voices. They wake him in the dead of night, lingering behind the walls, growing steadily more intense until they take control.Making him captive in his own home.These voices are real. Andrew doesn't know who they are or what they want, but every time he approaches the door, they somehow force him back. Whenever he wakes up in the daylight, they put him right back to sleep, making him live on stolen moments in the darkness.Desperate, he records his own movements, and discovers his entire life is a lie – Andrew is somehow leaving the flat each day as though things were perfectly normal.So why doesn’t he remember? Who is in control? And why are there bruises and bloodstains all over his body?Affinities is a fast-paced, mind-bending psychological thriller about a man whose very life is stolen from him.Because sometimes, you can't even trust yourself.

The monster under the bed is real. In fact, all the monsters are real, as well as the heroes and everything in between because all Fiction is real and exists in a dimension called Story. However, plenty of them hang out in the Mortal world, living both innocent and nefarious lives. This might not mean much to the average Mortal unaware of the Fictional characters living among them, but for The Last Scion--the only Mortal that can kill those Fictional characters--things are about to become very complicated. Tessa Battle is that Mortal Upon her return to Lore, Oregon after years bouncing around boarding schools in Europe, Tessa had her sights set on simple things like shoe shopping, finding a hot boyfriend, and eating as many pancakes as humanly possible. However, the Last Scion mantle Tessa just got saddled with is not making any of that easy, and as Tessa and her new friends are about to learn, Story is long from done with her, no matter how much she'd like to deny her destiny. With more than one monster chasing her and questionable characters like The Snow Queen and Robin Hood as her allies, Tessa is going to need all the superpowers she inherited just to stay alive. And maybe, just maybe, it's a GOOD thing that behind her back, Stories call her THE STORYKILLER.