Books with author Norma Fox Mazer

It's little sister vs. big in this fresh take on a classic struggle by a master storyteller.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.

Karin Levi’s world of family, school, and friends is torn apart when the German army occupies Paris in June of 1940. Karin and her brother, Marc, like Jews all over Europe, find themselves on the run, seeking safety wherever they can find it. When Marc obtains two coveted places aboard a ship bound for the United States, Karin knows that crossing the ocean means she may never see her beloved parents again. Yet she and Marc have little choice if they are to survive. Karin’s unforgettable story--revealing the little-known world of a handful of European refugees in World War II America--tells of survival, of growing up, and of love’s ability to endure even the most extraordinary circumstances.

After falling asleep in a park, fourteen-year old Zan awakens to find herself transported back in time to the forest world of a band of prehistoric cave dwellers. Adopted by the group, she learns their language and customs, exults in their triumphs, and shares in their grief. However, the society's wise woman has her doubts about Zan, who she believes has brought misfortune with her. In mortal danger, Zane is able to return to her own time—an eleven-month absence which was only a few hours back home.Norma Fox Mazer (1931–2009) was an American author and teacher best known for her books for young adults. Among the honors Mazer earned for her writing were a National Book Award nomination, a Lewis Carroll Shelf Award (for Saturday, The Twelfth of October), and a Newbery Medal.

Norma Fox Mazer's remarkable story of two sisters fighting to survive against a world without caring.In the sad, shabby trailer where Em Thurkill lived her first fourteen years, suffering her father's alcoholic rages and her mother's deathly silence, and in the three she lived trapped with her violent, unstable sister, there seems more than enough to end even the dream of hope.Yet Em Thurkill's story is a story of how hope outlives brutality. It is a story of one girl's sweetness, and almost unbearable pain. Heartbreaking, mesmerizing, and ultimately transcendent, this novel is a tribute to the astonishing resilience of the human soul.

When Toni’s luck runs out, real life comes calling Toni and Julie were both born right after their parents moved in next to one another, and the two girls have hardly been separated since. Julie is tall and outspoken and stands up for herself, but really she’s just trying to survive until she turns eighteen so she can move out before her parents’ constant fighting drives her crazy. Meanwhile, Toni, small and shy, has the perfect family: no financial worries and two parents who obviously adore her. Compared to Julie, Toni knows she’s lucky. But when Julie’s mom moves her family to San Francisco for the summer, Toni faces new challenges. Some changes are fun, like getting to know the cutest boy in school—but some, like discovering that maybe your family isn’t as perfect as you thought, aren’t quite so easy.

Bunny is funny, but that doesn’t mean she’s totally clueless when it comes to more serious matters With her quick wit and lighthearted personality, Bunny Larrabee can make people laugh about almost anything. She collects knock-knock jokes, riddles, and all kinds of comedy routines to try out on her best friend, Emily. The only thing Bunny doesn’t find humor in is her unusual name—she’s heard jokes about it her whole life, and none of them are funny. So when an impossibly gorgeous guy starts talking to her at a concert, Bunny opens her mouth and says two fateful words: “I’m Emily.” It’s just one tiny lie, but it will drive a wedge between the two best friends. And with what looks like more serious misfortune on the horizon, Bunny will need Emily’s friendship and advice more than ever.

Going along with the crowd can have shattering consequences Why does everyone always want you to make so many choices? Pizza or burgers, swimming or a movie, one friend or another, yes or no. For Rollo Wingate, who’s always been the biggest guy in school, sometimes it’s easier to relax and let someone else take the lead. After all, when he and his two best friends get together, they’re always on the same page—which is probably why he goes along with it when the other boys target Valerie Michon at school. Every time they see her, bad things just . . . happen. At first it’s just a taunt here, a tiny insult there. But things keeps escalating, and finally, the situation turns into something much worse. Rollo knows that a line has been crossed, and he struggles to make sense of how things could have gone so wrong so quickly. Maybe for the first time, he’s going to have to figure it out for himself.

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 handle having 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.

Danita knows that nobody’s perfect, but it’s never easy to admit that might include your own parents Danita’s parents love to remind their daughter that she weighed less than a loaf of bread when she was born, but now that she’s almost fourteen and perfectly healthy, Danita really wishes they’d give her some space. Obviously still in love and completely devoted to their family, even Danita’s best friend, Laredo, thinks Mr. and Mrs. Merritt are the ideal parents, but Danita can’t help wanting them to focus on anything—or anyone—else. Danita’s wish is about to come true, but is it more than she bargained for?

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.