Books with author Maggie Martin

An NPR Best YA Book of 2018The author of The Big F is back with another snappy, utterly relatable contemporary novel about loving yourself and forging your own path.Savannah is dreading being home alone with her overbearing mother after her big sister―and best friend―goes off to college. But if she can just get through senior year, she'll be able to escape to college, too. What she doesn't count on is that her mother's obsession with weight has only grown deeper since her appearance on an extreme weight-loss show, and now Savvy's mom is pressuring her even harder to be constantly mindful of what she eats. Between her mom's diet-helicoptering, missing her sister, and worrying about her collegiate future, Savvy has enough to worry about. And then she meets George, the cute new kid at school who has insecurities of his own. As Savvy and George grow closer, they help each other discover how to live in the moment and enjoy the here and now before it disappears.To Be Honest is another sharp, witty novel from Maggie Ann Martin, about a spunky heroine who is dealing with very real issues―body image, parental pressure, loneliness, first love, and finding your way―with heart and humor.Praise for To Be Honest:"Savvy’s story is a welcome one in today’s YA market and will help spread a much-needed message to teens about parental mental health issues and the potential dangers of diet culture." ―School Library Journal, starred review"I love that the book, itself, is not obsessed with its plus-size main character. ... It's a shame that books like this are so few and far between." ―NPR"To Be Honest captures the struggle to be proud of who you are and to find the courage to live boldly, no matter your shape or size ... For fans of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and Dumplin’." ―GERM Magazine

An NPR Best YA Book of 2018The author of The Big F is back with another snappy, utterly relatable contemporary novel about loving yourself and forging your own path.Savannah is dreading being home alone with her overbearing mother after her big sister—and best friend—goes off to college. But if she can just get through senior year, she'll be able to escape to college, too. What she doesn't count on is that her mother's obsession with weight has only grown deeper since her appearance on an extreme weight-loss show, and now Savvy's mom is pressuring her even harder to be constantly mindful of what she eats. Between her mom's diet-helicoptering, missing her sister, and worrying about her collegiate future, Savvy has enough to worry about. And then she meets George, the cute new kid at school who has insecurities of his own. As Savvy and George grow closer, they help each other discover how to live in the moment and enjoy the here and now before it disappears.To Be Honest is another sharp, witty novel from Maggie Ann Martin, about a spunky heroine who is dealing with very real issues—body image, parental pressure, loneliness, first love, and finding your way—with heart and humor.Praise for To Be Honest:"Savvy’s story is a welcome one in today’s YA market and will help spread a much-needed message to teens about parental mental health issues and the potential dangers of diet culture." —School Library Journal, starred review"I love that the book, itself, is not obsessed with its plus-size main character. ... It's a shame that books like this are so few and far between." —NPR"To Be Honest captures the struggle to be proud of who you are and to find the courage to live boldly, no matter your shape or size ... For fans of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and Dumplin’." —GERM Magazine

A spunky, contemporary novel about friendship, failure, and what happens when things don’t go according to plan, ideal for readers who like their heroines smart and strong—but not perfect.Nominated for Best Young Adult Novel by the 2017 RT Reviewers' Choice Awards!Danielle's plans for the future were all figured out... until she failed senior English and her single college acceptance was rescinded. Determined to get her life back on track, Danielle enrolls in her hometown community college with a plan: pass English and get back into Ohio State—and her mother’s good graces. Romance isn't on her radar... until she reconnects with her childhood crush and golden boy next door, Luke.Between family drama, first love and finding her own way, Danielle can't help but feel a little overwhelmed. Thankfully she has her friendship with the snarky and frustratingly attractive Porter, her coworker at the campus bookstore, to push her to experience new things and help keep her afloat. One thing's for sure: This time, failure's not an option.Chosen by readers like you for Macmillan's young adult imprint Swoon Reads, The Big F is a smart, funny, and highly relatable novel by debut author Maggie Ann Martin about finding your own way after one epic fail. Praise for The Big F:"The quirkiest, most fun-loving read of [the year] so far!" —RT Book Reviews"Danielle is a savvy, likable character with whom teens will easily identify." —School Library Journal"An easy, enjoyable read." —VOYA"Fun, cute, and totally relatable." —Book Allure

As Leah is trying to get home in the city of New York, she is a little uneasy. Recently, there have been a few disappearances and this had her anticipating the subway’s long awaited arrival. As it finally makes its stop, she jumps on, in hopes of having avoided the danger that could’ve been lurking. It was just she and the empty cart until a grim man in a long overcoat came aboard. Leah instantly becomes a little skittish as he stares. She tries to talk to the man, but he just continues to mysteriously stare at her. Leah begins to wonder what the strange man’s problem is. Was he asleep with his eyes open or was a self-defense murder about to transpire? Warning: This young adult horror story has disturbing zombie imagery. Adults should read carefully to determine if the content is appropriate for a minor in their care.Here is a preview:Ok, so time to take inventory: knife in back pocket for stabbing, Amy’s scarf could be used for strangling, and my cork wedges wouldn’t do a damn thing alone but I’m sure with enough force could be used for painful face kicking.With a new take on my chances, I looked back over at the creepy guy cautiously. Yea, he was still staring. Even in a snug, gray knitted dress and jeans I felt cold. This man was literally making me freeze in fear.A black poster pasted to the seat across from me caught my eye while my peripherals acted as state of the art motion sensors. In big, white, capital letters was the word INFECTION. The poster, like the man, sent chills up my spine. I had watched the first three Resident Evil films last night and I in no way wanted to hear about any infection, no matter how cool I thought those movies were.The man, obviously watching my reaction to the poster, smirked. It was alarming to say in the least. His smirk grew into a sinister smile as he watched me reach into my back pocket. I froze. His teeth.They were deathly jagged, reminding me of the great white sharks Kaleb was always telling me about. These teeth were vile, disgusting, and terrifying, looking as if their only purpose was to tear things apart for tearing things apart sake.

Kristen and Karin are determined to try to give their mother a nice birthday. After all, she works hard and after their father died, things have been tough. For these girls, though, things are about to get tougher. They’re about to discover the horrifying secret about the death of their father.Warning: This ebook contains very dark and bloody imagery. Adults should read carefully in order to determine if the content is appropriate for a child in their care.Here is a preview:They heard their mom stomp through the house and knew she searched for them. The covered their mouths to muffle their giggles when their mom walked in the room. She looked haggard and Karin knew the surprise would make her mom relax just a bit. Both girls brought the noise makers to their lips and waited for the perfect moment.Sarah dropped the black plastic bag on her bed, and rubbed her lower back. Her day at the office could only be described as hell, and she just wanted to relax and enjoy the rest of the day, she didn’t care about it being her birthday, she wanted her snack and to sleep. She slipped off her shoes, and rubbed each foot with a sigh. She started to open the bag and then stopped. She walked to her bedroom door and looked out. She called out for the girls again and waited to hear a response. Karin and Kathryn giggled and a slight sound escaped from the noise makers. Their mom watched their mom look around, and she just shrugged it off. She walked back to her bed and opened up the bag. Sarah growled a bit and pulled out the contents of the bag. The girls were about to blow the noise makers, but they watched in horror what their mother did.

The author of The Big F is back with another snappy, utterly relatable contemporary young adult novel about loving yourself and forging your own path, perfect for fans of Julie Murphy and Jennifer Niven.Savannah is dreading being home alone with her overbearing mother after her big sister―and best friend―goes off to college. But if she can just get through senior year, she'll be able to escape to college, too. What she doesn't count on is that her mother's obsession with weight has only grown deeper since her appearance on an extreme weight-loss show, and now Savvy's mom is pressuring her even harder to be constantly mindful of what she eats. Between her mom's diet-helicoptering, missing her sister, and worrying about her collegiate future, Savvy has enough to worry about. And then she meets George, the cute new kid at school who has insecurities of his own. As Savvy and George grow closer, they help each other discover how to live in the moment and enjoy the here and now before it disappears.To Be Honest is another sharp, witty novel from Maggie Ann Martin, about a spunky heroine who is dealing with very real issues―body image, parental pressure, loneliness, first love, and finding your way―with heart and humor.Praise for To Be Honest:"Savvy’s story is a welcome one in today’s YA market and will help spread a much-needed message to teens about parental mental health issues and the potential dangers of diet culture. A first purchase for libraries serving adolescents." ―School Library Journal, starred review"This summer read tackles difficult subjects―anxiety and mental health, eating disorders, and more―while still keeping it a light and fun story about all kinds of love: parental, sibling, friendship, romantic, and most importantly, loving yourself." ―Bustle

Best friends, Dale, Damien and Chris decided to snoop around an old tunnel on a military base for fun. But then they accidently exposed themselves to some unknown chemicals. They all thought they would all be fine, until the next day; things just got worse. Damien never expected he would be fighting for his life day and against his own friends. There was rotting flesh everywhere and he knew exactly who to blame. That’s when Damien had enough. He refused to die at the mercy of flesh eating zombies, so he decided to takes matter into his own hands. Only did Damien have the strength and guts to kill his own friends?Warning: This horror story has very dark and disturbing images. Adults should read the story before determining whether or not it is appropriate for a child in their care.Here is a preview:SMASH!!!The tiny liquid filled vials shattered on the floor, and a cloud of smoke began to rise. Some of the liquid splashed into Chris’s face and he began to scream and choke. Dale ran over to help his friend to his feet, and he started to choke as well. Damien screamed at him to hurry up and started to climb back through the tunnel. Dale and Chris got to their feet and were just a few feet behind him. Damien waited as his two friends were out of the tunnel before he said a word. Dale and Chris were on their hands knees, choking and gagging. He thought they were just messing around with him by the way they kept going, but when they started to puke purple foam, he knew this was not a joke.“Hell are you guys okay?”COUGH. CHOKE. GAG“Okay, I’m calling for help!”“No don’t!” COUGH. GAG. CHOKE.“Chris, are you kidding? You and Dale have purple foam hanging from your lips like shoelaces!”“Damien if you call them we will all get arrested, or who knows what! Look at Dale, he is fine, look!”Damien looked over and saw Dale standing up, wiping the foam off of his mouth with a hazed look in his eyes. “Dale? Dale, are you okay?”

Mike and April have tried everything to help their 6 year old son, Jeremy, overcome his fear of monsters. Every night is getting even harder to put him to bed. They don’t understand why he is so scared of something that is not real. On this particular evening, his dad decides to come up with the idea of giving him a flashlight to fight against the monsters in the closet. He has convinced Jeremy that he will be safe once and for all. But what they didn’t know was that their son’s fate had already been sealed? How would you explain what happened that night? Were there really monsters in the closet? If they only took their son’s desperate cries for help, seriously. Warning: This horror story has very dark and disturbing images.Adults should read the story before determining whether or not it is appropriate for a child in their care.Here is a preview:April looks back at her son and smiles. She rubs his shoulders, doing her best to sooth her six year old son. He looks at his mom and tears had welled up in his eyes. His father just stands in the doorway, shaking his head. “Look pal, monsters are not real. They are people dressed up in costumes trying to scare us is all.”“Why do they want to scare us? That is not nice at all!”“When you get older you will understand. For some reason grown-ups like to be scared.”“But why daddy?”“Well, it makes us forget that we are adults buddy. I know you don’t really understand. Look at it like this; you know the cartoons you watch?”“Yes?”“Well, it’s like that but scary. You like it when the road runner always beats the coyote right?”“Daddy it’s not the same.”“Yes it is, and you laugh right? Well when we see the bad guy scaring people, we laugh too.”“But daddy it’s not funny, it’s scary!”“Marcus, when you get older you will think different, trust me okay?”

It has been two years since Marie’s mother committed suicide. Marie actually went through the trauma of discovering her body. Today was her sixteenth birthday and all she could think about was having fun and putting it all behind her. That was until her friends made her re-live it all again. They told her about an urban Legend, of the Tall Man who could take her brutal memories away. Was there really a demon that would possess you to kill even as he took away the pain? Marie finally gave in to their amusement and asked the Tall Man to take her pain away. Could the legend be true? What really happened on Marie’s sixteenth birthday that would leave people talking about her for years?Warning: This horror story has very dark and disturbing images. Adults should read the story before determining whether or not it is appropriate for a child in their care.Here is a preview:Marie didn’t like where this was going, she knew that Amber would taunt them to try it out, and the fact was she was the only one who had went through trauma, and she would be the one to summon this fake demon. Amber looked at them all and she smiled even bigger.“Well, ladies? Care to try it, or are you too scared to do it?”“Scared, shut up Amber. We will do it, that’s if Marie will call the Tall Man. So how about it, Marie?”“Lisa, I hate you, but if I don’t, you guys will never let me live it down. So let’s do it.”The girls all jumped up and snuck out of the house and walked the half mile to the woods. They found a spot and they formed a circle. Amber reminded Marie to remember what her mom looked like that day she found her mom, and instead of being sad, told her to call out for the Tall Man and tell him to take it all away. Marie didn’t like this, but she knew that she had no choice. She closed her eyes, and pictured her mom, dead at the table, blood dripping. She saw herself touching her mom’s arm, and the body falling to the floor. Marie closed her eyes as tight as she could, and she screamed out.“Tall Man! Come and take my pain away! Take it all away from me! Tall Man! Tall Man!”

Over the years the legend of the vampire house had consumed the town where Shane, Collin and Mike lived. If you faced your back and threw a rock at the house and missed, it was said you would be devoured by the vampire and die a painful death. Well, the boys wanted to go check things out for themselves. And as fate would have it, each rock the boys threw missed and made no sound. But since there were no vampires in sight they decided to leave. They for sure thought the legend was false, that is until the drive home. They discovered there was indeed a vampire among them all along. The question now was who would die first?Warning: This horror story has very dark and disturbing images. Adults should read the story before determining whether or not it is appropriate for a child in their care.Here is a preview:The lady took the girl and held her close to her chest. She moved the child’s hair away from her neck, and she sunk her teeth into her and began to drink. Once that was done, the lady bit into her own wrist and the little girl drank from her. The father just watched, and could not believe what happened next. The lady set down the little girl, and she was healthy once again, hell she was glowing like an angel! The father walked on his knees and grabbed his little girl and hugged her tight. He looked at her and smiled. Then the little girl hissed and ripped out her father’s throat and drank him dry. The lady burnt the father’s body and told the child all she needed to know to survive. So the little girl decided to make a game of sorts, now here is where the dare comes in, Mike. You have to stand you’re your back facing the house and toss a rock. Now if you hit the house you are safe, if you miss, well she comes for you and drains you dry!”“Collin that is the most retarded thing I have ever heard! Where in the hell did you read that crap?”“Well hey, if you don’t believe me then let’s toss some rocks shall we?”Mike and Shane just looked at Collin like he was an idiot, but they knew that if they didn’t play along with his stupid little game he would never let them live it down. Shane shrugged his shoulders, turned around and grabbed a rock. Collin laughed and he did the same followed by Mike. “Okay boys, one…two…three”All three boys tossed their rocks and no sound was heard. “Crap! None of our rocks hit the house, so you know what that means right? It means we all die!”

A spunky, contemporary novel about friendship, failure, and what happens when things don’t go according to plan, ideal for readers who like their heroines smart and strong―but not perfect.Nominated for Best Young Adult Novel by the 2017 RT Reviewers' Choice Awards!Danielle's plans for the future were all figured out... until she failed senior English and her single college acceptance was rescinded. Determined to get her life back on track, Danielle enrolls in her hometown community college with a plan: pass English and get back into Ohio State―and her mother’s good graces. Romance isn't on her radar... until she reconnects with her childhood crush and golden boy next door, Luke.Between family drama, first love and finding her own way, Danielle can't help but feel a little overwhelmed. Thankfully she has her friendship with the snarky and frustratingly attractive Porter, her coworker at the campus bookstore, to push her to experience new things and help keep her afloat. One thing's for sure: This time, failure's not an option.Chosen by readers like you for Macmillan's young adult imprint Swoon Reads, The Big F is a smart, funny, and highly relatable novel by debut author Maggie Ann Martin about finding your own way after one epic fail. Praise for The Big F:"The quirkiest, most fun-loving read of [the year] so far!" ―RT Book Reviews"Danielle is a savvy, likable character with whom teens will easily identify." ―School Library Journal"An easy, enjoyable read." ―VOYA"Fun, cute, and totally relatable." ―Book Allure