Books with author Susan Beth Pfeffer

A cast member of TV’s number-one show is about to be fired—how will Alison, Bill, TJ, Rafe, Molly, Miranda, and Susie handle the possibility of being unemployed? A bombshell has just been dropped on the cast of TV’s Hard Time High: A major new storyline is being introduced. But it means someone is going to get canned from the show. Former childhood star TJ has lived through this before, when his previous hit TV show was canceled. Used to the steady paycheck after a life on the road, Molly makes a list of her options. Left with a mountain of debt if he gets axed, Rafe’s only hope is the movie he just filmed. If ex–teen beauty queen Alison loses her job, how will she go on supporting her family? After years of commercials and made-for-TV movies, Bill doesn’t want to lose his chance at a real career. Miranda can’t imagine being let go when she’s still learning the acting ropes. And Susie worries that she was only cast in the first place because she’s the producer’s daughter. But one of the seven is going to be kicked off the show. The bigger surprise is what will happen next.

I guess I always felt even if the world came to an end, McDonald’s still would be open.High school sophomore Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when an asteroid knocks the moon closer to Earth, like "one marble hits another." The result is catastrophic. How can her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis are wiping out the coasts, earthquakes are rocking the continents, and volcanic ash is blocking out the sun? As August turns dark and wintery in northeastern Pennsylvania, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove.Told in a year’s worth of journal entries, this heart-pounding story chronicles Miranda’s struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all—hope—in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world. An extraordinary series debut!Susan Beth Pfeffer has written several companion novels to Life As We Knew It, including The Dead and the Gone, This World We Live In, and The Shade of the Moon.

Tracy’s favorite TV star is coming to town, and she will do anything to meet him face to face The two people Tracy loves most are Rabbit O’Shea, a smooth-talking bad boy, and Ross Perlman, an innocent young man with a golden voice. She could never choose between them, and she’ll never have to, because Rabbit is a TV character, and Ross is the actor who plays him. When Ross announces a concert in Tracy’s hometown, she pledges to do whatever it takes to meet the real-life Rabbit—a decision that could cost her everything she holds dear. She and her best friend, Andrea, make a pact that they will meet Ross together or not at all. But when one of them gets the chance to meet him alone, it threatens to tear their friendship apart. Suddenly, Tracy finds herself longing for the days when Ross Perlman was just another poster on her wall.

On their first hiatus from TV’s cool new prime-time series, Bill, Miranda, TJ, Alison, Rafe, and Molly are looking forward to getting back to the real world—but will they ever be normal teenagers again? The first season of Hard Time High is over, and Bill, Miranda, TJ, Alison, Rafe, and Molly have three whole weeks to themselves. It’s back to high school for Bill—no more cramming in homework between takes—and spending quality time with his girlfriend, Calista. After years of acting on the road, Molly can’t wait to share a real Thanksgiving with Miranda and her family in New England. Between a commitment to a holiday parade and a spread for a fashion magazine, Alison won’t have much time for herself. Rafe is taking his parents on an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii. And TJ’s headed to Indiana to visit his mom. Then it’s on to New York to meet his East Coast fan club before he strikes out for London and Paris. But it seems that Rafe, Molly, and TJ are keeping major, scandal-worthy secrets. In between reuniting with old friends and doing normal stuff like attending football games, they’re all trying to cope with their new celebrity and wondering what the new season has in store.

Named as one of the 100 best books published for young adults in a 25 year period, The Year Without Michael is the story of a family torn apart when 12 year old Michael disappears one day while going to a friend's house.Told from the viewpoint of Michael's sixteen year old sister, Jody, the novel explores the emotional agony of a family forced to struggle with unanswerable questions while coping with daily routines and stresses.Stylistically similar to New York Times best selling author Susan Beth Pfeffer's novel Life As We Knew It, and as emotionally compelling as her most recent novel, Blood Wounds, The Year Without Michael is a classic novel for middle school and high school students and perfect for classroom use."A book that offers a sensitive and probing view of a contemporary family in agony. Though it is characterized as contemporary fiction for young adults, The Year Without Michael...should appeal to readers of all ages." New York Times Book ReviewThe Year Without Michael is a South Carolina Young Adult Book Award winner, as well as an ALA Best Book For Young Adults, a School Library Journal Best Book, and a Booklist Editor's Choice.

Beautiful Amy March, the youngest March sister, is a talented artist. Everyone praises her lifelike portraits. The one person she can't draw is herself. So when a photographer's studio opens in town, Amy is thrilled. Now her pretty blond curls and piercing blue eyes can be captured forever in a photograph.A photograph costs quite a bit of money--more than she has, and more than her parents can give her. Amy thinks of a clever way to come up with the money...and soon she has enough. But she decides to spend her savings on a gift for her father--a gift that will warm his heart when he's far away from home, and that ultimately gives Amy an unexpected gift in return.

Blood can both wound and heal . . .Willa is lucky: She has a loving blended family that gets along. Not all families are so fortunate. But when a bloody crime takes place hundreds of miles away, it has an explosive effect on Willa’s peaceful life. The estranged father she hardly remembers has murdered his new wife and children, and is headed east toward Willa and her mother. Under police protection, Willa discovers that her mother has harbored secrets that are threatening to boil over. Has everything Willa believed about herself been a lie? But as Willa sets out to untangle the mysteries of her past, she also keeps her own secret—one that has the potential to tear apart all she holds dear.

An incurable gossip tries to learn how to keep secrets to herself Sometimes Cass just can’t help herself. Tell her something personal, even something embarrassing, and before you know it, the whole school will have heard. It’s not that Cass doesn’t want to keep secrets—she just doesn’t know how. After her bad habit lands her in a fight with one of her friends, Cass asks her family for help. Mom proposes a psychological experiment. Every time Cass manages to keep a secret, she’ll get a dollar—and a lesson worth far more than that. It’s easy at first, but pretty soon Cass is so full of gossip, she feels like she’s going to burst. When an earth-shattering secret traps her in the middle of her two best friends, she learns that sometimes it’s more important not to keep your mouth shut.

The eagerly awaited addition to the series begun with the New York Times best-seller Life As We Knew It, in which a meteor knocks the moon off its orbit and the world changes forever. It's been more than two years since Jon Evans and his family left Pennsylvania, hoping to find a safe place to live, yet Jon remains haunted by the deaths of those he loved. His prowess on a soccer field has guaranteed him a home in a well-protected enclave. But Jon is painfully aware that a missed goal, a careless word, even falling in love, can put his life and the lives of his mother, his sister Miranda, and her husband, Alex, in jeopardy. Can Jon risk doing what is right in a world gone so terribly wrong?

There’s nothing wrong with lying—until the truth comes out For her sixteenth birthday, Evvie Sebastian got her own room—a room she doesn’t have to share with her three sisters. There’s only one problem: It’s a dump, just like the rest of the family’s new house. Evvie has hardly moved in when her dad, Nicky, asks her to spend the summer at the seaside with her great-aunt Grace, who’s had a bad fall and needs cheering up—and who is snobbish, ill tempered, and very, very rich. Evvie reluctantly agrees. When she arrives at Eastgate, she finds Aunt Grace just as fierce as she remembered, but she has to admit that the place has some redeeming qualities. Like the handsome and charming Schyler Hughes . . . and Sam Steinmetz, who works in the town bookstore and makes smart jokes about the local culture of conformity. But it’s not all romantic sailing trips and walks on the beach. Evvie soon finds that some people like to tell old stories and share old secrets a little too much—and some of those secrets may hit closer to home than Evvie expected.