Books with author Norma Fox Mazer

The more things change, the more Ami wishes they’d stay exactly the same Ami and her best friend, Mia, share almost everything—even the letters in their names! But when Ami’s mom and dad separate and her mom moves out, even all of the traditions she and Mia share can’t put her family back together. Ami wants everything to go back to the way it was—for her mother not to live in an apartment and have a life of her own, and for her dad not to go to dinner with the new science teacher, Ms. Linsley. At least her friendship with Mia will always be the same . . . won’t it?

My mother is determined that I will have a wonderful life -- better than her own. I guess she can't imagine what it is like for me, a kid from a trailer park, to transfer to the junior high school where all the rich kids go -- the kind of kids who come from homes where my mother works as a cleaning woman....But somehow, miraculously, I've become part of a little clique of pretty and popular girls who have everything money can buy. And sometimes they also have secrets in their lives more painful than anything I've ever known.

How’s a girl supposed to know when she’s in love—and more importantly, how does she get out of it? One remarkable older sister would be bad enough, but Karen Freed has two: Liz, a beautiful poet, and Tobi, compellingly intense and argumentative. Karen knows she couldn’t possibly compete, but it would be nice to be known for something of her own. The three have been inseparable all through Karen’s childhood, but now her sisters have moved into a world that Karen can’t yet share, and their blossoming romances make her feel left out. Karen wishes some of their romance would rub off on her. She has Davey, but he’s more best friend than love interest, and despite his many advances, Karen knows it wasn’t meant to be. Is something wrong with her? Will she even know when love comes her way? Then she falls head over heels for someone she definitely can’t have: Scott, Liz’s boyfriend. Her feelings cause a rift between her and Liz, one that Karen might not be able to fix. But if anything has ever brought these three sisters together, it’s coming to one another’s rescue.

This is the story of five sisters—Beauty, Mim, Stevie, Fancy, and Autumn—and the man who watches men. He could be any ordinary man . . . but he's not. Unaware of his scrutiny and his increasingly forbidden thoughts about them, the sisters go on with their ordinary lives—planning, arguing, laughing, and crying—as if nothing bad could ever breach the security of their family. In alternating points of view, Norma Fox Mazer manages to interweave the lives of predator and prey in this unforgettable psychological thriller.

How is it possible that the one guy Jenny falls for is totally off limits? March isn’t usually Jenny’s month. For one thing, it’s too dark and gray. For another, her sister, Gail, died two years ago in March after being hit by a drunk driver, a blow her family hasn’t yet recovered from. But March is also when she first sees Rob. He’s new in school, and although Jenny doesn’t know who he is yet, she can’t look away when they pass each other in the halls. She knows there’s something between them, and he seems to know it too, until a chance conversation reveals something terrible: Rob’s mother was the driver who killed Gail. Even as Jenny tries to pull away from Rob, she’s secretly glad about his stubborn insistence that they be friends despite their pasts. If Jenny and Rob become friends—or more—is she betraying her family? Can she and Rob find a way to transcend the tragedies in both their pasts and hold on to each other?

Ten years after WHEN SHE WAS GOOD launched Arthur A. Levine Books, Mazer brings us TEN WAYS TO MAKE MY SISTER DISAPPEAR, a humorous look at a blistering sister rivalry. Everything ten year-old Sprig wants, her older sister Dakota already has. Everything Sprig does, Dakota does better. And anytime Sprig complains, Dakota just grins and calls her a baby. It’s enough to make a kid wish her sister would disappear. But in a year when Sprig’s father is away, her favorite neighbor is ill, and the class bully is acting almost like, well, a boyfriend, Sprig discovers that allies come in unexpected shapes. Sometimes they’re even related to you.

Escaping from the terrors of World War II, Karin gets the chance for a new life in America—but she can’t stop thinking about her mother, who she left behind in France Karin Levi’s life in Paris was happy and normal. She never dreamed she would find herself hiding in a cramped attic with her family, sitting silently while police went from house to house hunting for Jews and turning them over to German soldiers. Hopeless and scared, only Maman’s loving smile and caring touch give Karin the strength to keep going. But soon, Karin and her older brother, Marc, must flee the attic, crossing land and sea in search of safety, and leaving Maman behind. Longing for her mother and a return to their happy life, Karin expresses her love in letters she won’t be able to send until the war is over. Dearest Maman . . .

Nina always thought that if just one person would love her perfectly and completely, she’d never be alone again Nina’s the first person in her family to leave home and go to college. Maybe that’s why she feels so isolated once she gets there, especially compared to some of the other students—like her roommates, who have been friends for so long they can finish one another’s sentences. But it seems like her narrow, small-town past hasn’t prepared her for this life in which everyone else knows things about the world that she doesn’t. Afraid of falling behind in her classes, all Nina does is study and wonder if she’ll always be this lonely. But then she meets Mitch. He introduces himself from the top of some scaffolding, taking a break from painting the house next door to hers. Their growing relationship frees Nina from her self-doubt—finally, someone to love who loves her back! Their togetherness is perfect . . . but can it stay that way forever?

Some families you’re born into, some you have to find for yourself Sarabeth Silver knows that her mom is different. Jane Silver is younger, prettier, harder working, and poorer—making just enough money cleaning houses for her and Sarabeth to live in a little trailer. It’s always been just the two of them, but when tragedy suddenly strikes, Sarabeth will have to figure things out on her own. Sarabeth has never known either of her parents’ families, who refused to help when Jane got pregnant at sixteen. Is it worth trying to find them after they rejected her parents so long ago? She knows her friends would be willing to help, but how can she lean on them when what she really wants is the open hearts of relatives she’s not even sure exist? And if they are out there, how will they feel about Sarabeth after all these years?

At fifteen, Rachel is a worrier. She worries about whether her family understands her, whether her friends like her, and whether she'll get her first kiss before she turns sixteen. And she worries about whether she can handlehaving a real boyfriend if he does come along. But it takes a dying old man -- her grandfather -- who has never been easy for anyone to handle, to show Rachel she has very special abilities. With love and compassion, she reaches the heart of an old tyrant who has always been unreachable. And in so doing, she comes to a better understanding of her family, her friends, and herself.

He could be any man, any respectable, ordinary man.But he's not. This man watches the five Herbert girls—Beauty, Mim, Stevie, Fancy, and Autumn—with disturbing fascination. Unaware of his scrutiny and his increasingly agitated and forbidden thoughts about them, the sisters go on with their ordinary everyday lives—planning, arguing, laughing, and crying—as if nothing bad could ever breach the safety of their family.In alternating points of view, Norma Fox Mazer manages to interweave the lives of predator and prey in this unforgettable psychological thriller.

Emily just wants everything to be perfect—is that too much to ask? When Emily’s parents got divorced two years ago, her dad still made time to see her and the twins as much as possible. But since he moved to Chicago with Marcia, his phone calls have started getting less and less frequent and it feels like he might as well live at the North Pole. And if that weren’t bad enough, her mom seems ready to start a new family, too! Emily knows that it’s impossible to get her parents back together, but that doesn’t mean she’s ready for her mom to start dating—and she’s ready to put a stop to it. So, in effort to sabotage her mom’s new relationship, Emily pretends to go out with a boy at school who she’s not even sure she likes. Now, she’s going to have to deal with two unwanted relationships!