Teenage girls - Growth - Juvenile literature;
Teenage girls - Physiology - Juvenile literature;
Puberty - Juvenile literature;
Sex instruction for girls - Juvenile literature;
Sex instruction for girls;
Puberty;
Teenage girls
Lynda Madaras discusses her series of books, “What’s Happening To My Body?” She begins by explaining that her series was designed for young boys and girls to teach about their transition through puberty. She discusses her experience...
Jews - Persecutions - Russia - History - 19th century; Jewish soldiers - Russia - History - 19th century; Jewish children - Government policy - Russia - History - 19th century; Russia - Armed Forces - Recruiting, enlistment, etc. - History - 19th...
Larry Domnitch discusses his book, “The Cantonists.” He begins by explaining the name of the book and how the cantonists were a group of Jewish boy soldiers who were forced to fight for the Russian army under Tsar Nicholas I. He then goes...
Dating (Social customs) - Fiction; Single women - Fiction
Eric Garcia discusses his book, “Cassandra French’s Finishing School for Boys.” He begins by saying how he wanted to write a novel from the point of view of a young woman although he initially had some challenges with getting into...
Michael Chabon discusses his book, “Wonder Boys.” Martinson begins by defining the term “wonder boy.” Chabon goes on to describe the storyline and the characters, Grady Tripp, an aging wonder boy, and his student, James Leer. Chabon's...
African American boys - Fiction;
Boxers (Sports) - Fiction;
Phoenix (Ariz.) - Fiction
Murad Kalam discusses his book, “Night Journey.” He begins by explaining that his book is about two brothers who choose drastically opposite life paths: one goes to prison, and the other becomes a champion fighter. He discusses the epidemic...
Micheline Aharonian Marcom discusses her novel, “The Daydreaming Boy.” She begins by talking about why she decided to write the book from a man’s point of view during the Armenian genocide. She discusses life in Beirut in the early 1960s...
Wolff, Tobias, 1945- - Childhood and youth; Authors, American - 20th century - Biography
Tobias Wolff discusses his book, “This Boy’s Life: A Memoir.” Wolff describes his mother and their travels to the Utah uranium mines and her abusive partners. He talks about his brother, Geoffrey, and fabricating documents when he was...
Lawrence H. Schiffman discusses his book, “Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls.“ He begins by explaining that two boys who found the first scrolls in 1947, and since then eleven caves have been found in Qumran. He talks about how the caves were...
Murder - California - Pasadena - Case studies;
Teenagers - California - Social conditions - Case studies
Léon Bing discusses his book, “Smoked.” She begins by explaining that her book is about three teenage girls who were murdered in an affluent community in Pasadena, CA. She describes the girls’ relationships with drugs, money, and sex at a...
Americans - Germany - Fiction; Runaway teenagers - Fiction; Fathers and sons - Fiction; Male friendship - Fiction; Teenage boys - Fiction; Cold War - Fiction; Widowers - Fiction; Berlin (Germany) - Fiction
James Carroll discusses his book, “Secret Father.” He describes the characters, Paul, and his son, Michael, and Michael’s friends Ulrich and Katharine. Carroll says the book is framed around the
Cold War and the erection and dismantling of...
Teenage boys - Fiction;
Kidnapping - Fiction;
Scotland - History - 18th century - Fiction
Barry Menikoff discusses his book, “Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped, or, The Lad with the Silver Button.” He begins by explaining that he re-edited Robert Louis Stevenson’s original copy of “Kidnapped” from the Huntington Library in...
Older women - Fiction;
Jewish women - Fiction;
Los Angeles (Calif.) - Fiction
Merrill Joan Gerber discusses her novel, “Anna In Chains.” She begins by explaining that her book is fiction, but is based on her mother’s adventures in life. She talks about her main character Anna, a widow who is recovering from an...
California, Northern - Fiction; Public defenders - Fiction; Indecent exposure - Fiction; Attorney and client - Fiction
Dylan Schaffer discusses his book, “Misdemeanor Man.” He begins by explaining the plot of the book, which follows the main character Gordon who deals with low-level cases in the public defender's office and performs in a Berry Manilow tribute...
Augusta (Ga.) - Fiction; Antisemitism - Fiction; Trials (Murder) - Fiction; Male friendship - Fiction
Sol Wachtler discusses his book, “Blood Brothers.” He begins by sharing the book’s plot. He explains that during the late 1950s, fifteen-year-old Luke Lupton befriends T.C. Simmons. Since Luke is one of the town’s very few Jewish residents...
Lisa Rosenbaum discusses her book, “A Day of Small Beginnings.” She begins by discussing the book’s plot, which starts with the protagonist, Itzik who protects three small Jewish boys from a Polish peasant, only to result in the accidental...
Gross, Nelson, 1932-1997; Lenney, Dinah; Murder - New Jersey - Case studies; Millionaires - Crimes against - New Jersey - Case studies; Children of murder victims - United States - Biography; Fathers and daughters - United States - Biography;...
Dinah Lenney discusses her book, “Bigger than Life.” She begins by explaining that the book is a memoir of her life and experiences beginning with the traumatic event of her father’s kidnapping in 1997. She shares how her father, Nelson...
Teenage boys - United States - Fiction; Hate crimes - United States - Fiction; African American teenagers - Fiction; Basketball stories; Violence - Fiction
Alan Sitomer discusses his book, “The Hoopster.” He begins by stressing the importance of getting teenagers to read. He shares that he is a high school teacher and he feels that the number one factor that keeps students from being at risk is if...
Boys - Fiction; Men - Fiction; Los Angeles (Calif.) - Fiction
Alan Rifkin discusses his book, “Signal Hill.” He begins by describing how living on the outskirts of Los Angeles inspired his stories. He talks about children of divorced families and the psychological trauma that they can grow up with. He...
Karp, Butch (Fictitious character) - Fiction; Ciampi, Marlene (Fictitious character) - Fiction; Rap musicians - Crimes against - Fiction; Public prosecutors - Fiction; New York (N.Y.) - Fiction
Robert Tanenbaum discusses his novel, “Hoax.” He begins by giving background information on his two main characters: Butch Karp, the District Attorney of New York City and his wife Marlene Ciampi. He describes how a few young rap artists...
African American neighborhoods - Fiction; Color blindness in children - Fiction; African Americans - Fiction; Dysfunctional families - Fiction; Race relations - Fiction; Children, White - Fiction; Boys - Fiction
Andrew Winer discusses his novel, “The Color Midnight Made.” He begins by explaining that his novel is about a young boy who is a victim of child abuse and befriends a blind boy. Martinson asks Winer to read a passage from the book about how...
