Showing results by narrator "Anthony Perez" in All Categories

Ivy, Mateo and Cal used to be close - best friends back in middle school. So when Cal pulls into campus late for class and runs into Ivy and Mateo, they decide to ditch school. Just like old times. But they're not the only ones ditching school that day. When Ivy, Cal and Mateo spot Brian 'Boney' Mahoney acting suspiciously downtown they follow him into an empty building and walk straight into the middle of a murder scene. With their day of freedom about to turn deadly, it's only a matter of time before everyone's secrets are revealed.

Javier Perez is a hustler from a family of hustlers. He learns from an early age how to play the game to his own advantage, how his background—murdered drug dealer dad, single cash-strapped mom, best friend serving time for gang activity—can be a key to doors he didn’t even know existed. This kind of story, molded in the right way, is just what college admissions committees are looking for, and a full academic scholarship to a prestigious university brings Javi one step closer to his dream of becoming a famous writer.

This is a story about two teens falling in love over a summer that throws everything possible to keep them apart. Max: Chill. Sports. Gay and not a big deal. And a secret: An encounter with an older kid that makes it hard to breathe, one that he doesn't want to think about, ever. Jordan: The opposite of chill. Poetry. His "wives" and the Chandler Mall. Never been kissed and searching for Mr. Right, who probably won't like him anyway. And a secret: A spiraling out of control mother, and the knowledge that he's the only one who can keep the family from falling apart.

Gal and Ettian have never been farther apart. Once, they were roommates and best friends, each suffocating under a secret of galactic consequence. When Gal’s came to light—that he was heir to the Umber Empire and all of its brutal conquest—the two were forced to flee their military academy, fall in with a brewing rebellion to reclaim the Archon Empire from Umber’s grasp, and face their long-held feelings for each other.

Five puppies have plans that surprise everyone. The Queen has a problem, and her closest friends travel to Earth to find her a solution. It's time for an audience with the King of Yoll, and he isn't going to like the outcome. Not one bit. He has a secret he has been hiding, and those sneaky Aliens in space find out what it is, and turn it against him.

When the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 solidifies Castro’s power in Cuba, 12-year-old Cumba’s family makes the difficult decision to send him to Florida alone. Faced with the prospect of living in another country by himself, he tries to remember the sound of his father’s clarinet, the smell of his mother’s lavender perfume.

When the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 solidifies Castro’s power in Cuba, 12-year-old Cumba’s family makes the difficult decision to send him to Florida alone. Faced with the prospect of living in another country by himself, he tries to remember the sound of his father’s clarinet, the smell of his mother’s lavender perfume. Life in the United States presents a whole new set of challenges. Lost in a sea of English speakers, Cumba has to navigate a new city, a new school, and new freedom all on his own.

Lina has come home to the country of her childhood. Sent away from Colombia to England after her mother's death 20 years before, she's searching for the one person who can tell her about their shared past. She's never forgotten Matty, her childhood friend and protector, who now runs The Anthill, a day-care refuge for the street kids of Medellín. Lina begins volunteering there, but her reunion with Matty is not what she hoped for. Medellín is entering a new era, and Matty appears to have taken the city's attempts to redefine itself post-conflict to heart. 

Neither Mason, a US Special Forces medic, nor Lisette, a foreign correspondent, has emerged from America's long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan unscathed. Yet, for them, war still exerts a terrible draw - the noble calling, the camaraderie, the life-and-death stakes. Where else in the world can such a person go? All roads lead to Colombia, where the US has partnered with the local government to stamp out a vicious civil war and keep the predatory narco gangs at bay. Mason is ready for the good war, and Lisette is more than ready to cover it.

After the violent, shadowy events surrounding his father's disappearance and his siblings' disbandment, Martín flees Mexico City with his wife, newborn son, and dog. Isolated and homesick in Madrid, Martín awakes one sticky, hot morning, quietly overwhelmed by the circumstances - his growing aversion to his son, the dog's sudden illness, and the vague unresolved danger from his abandoned homeland.

When Hector's mother suggests that he and his amigo Mando get out of East L.A. for the weekend and see some of the world, he's thinking Paris. So he's a little disappointed when they end up in Fresno, sleeping on a lumpy couch in his Uncle Julio's messy apartment. Hector figures it's going to be one boring weekend. He couldn't be more wrong.

The 1992 Los Angeles Riots: six days of looting, arson, assault, and murder. America's second largest city in chaos. In All Involved Ryan Gattis weaves a heart-stopping narrative from the perspectives of characters whose stories of the riots were never told. In six sections, each covering a single day, we follow the intersecting lives of 17 people: gang members, firefighters, nurses, law enforcement officers, and graffiti artists, every one changed for ever.

Margaret Millar's husband, Kenneth, who wrote under the name of Ross Macdonald, received more attention for his Lew Archer books, but her equally noteworthy mysteries are among the best of the genre. This story of love and greed among the rich and eccentric citizens of a California city - very much like the Millars' beloved Santa Barbara - is full of the things that make her work memorable - a wickedly twisted plot, sly observations on all social levels, and a writing style that welcomes you to the party like an old friend.

Hector and his amigo Mando are looking for adventure as they hit the road on a leisurely bike trip from their East L.A. neighborhood to the beach in Santa Monica. They've just set out when the fun begins, as Hector literally stumbles into a starring role in a TV commercial. Then he turns out to be the one-millionth fan at a Dodger game--and is escorted to a private box and treated like a VIP!

All Nestor Lopez wants is to live in one place for more than a few months and have dinner with his dad. When he and his mother move to a new town to live with his grandmother after his dad’s latest deployment, Nestor plans to lay low. He definitely doesn’t want anyone to find out his deepest secret: that he can talk to animals. But when the animals in his new town start disappearing, Nestor's grandmother becomes the prime suspect.

Santos & Santos centers around a morally ambivalent Mexican-American law firm that subsidized its well-meaning political battles with drug money. A chain reaction of tragedy ensues when the youngest and well-meaning "good brother" betrays his older siblings.

From the organization We Need Diverse Books and Dhonielle Clayton, the co-author of Blackout, comes a fantasy collection of short stories from a list of diverse, award-winning, and best-selling authors. This critically acclaimed young adult anthology welcomes every voice to lead, empower, and take command of their universe.

Compared to other industrialized nations, the United States is losing ground across nearly every indicator of social health. Its race problem, argues Eduardo Porter, is largely to blame. In American Poison, the New York Times veteran shows how racial animus has stunted the development of nearly every institution crucial for a healthy society, including organized labor, public education, and the social safety net. The consequences are profound and are only growing graver with time.

Gal’s destiny has always been clear: Complete his training at the military academy, prove his worth as a royal successor, and ascend to the galactic throne. When a failed assassination plot against Gal sends him and Ettian - his infuriatingly enticing roommate - on a mad dash through the stars, Gal’s plans are momentarily disrupted. But he was born to rule the Umber Empire, and with Ettian by his side, nothing will stop him from returning home and crushing the growing insurgency threatening his family’s power.

From David Levithan’s story about a non-binary kid collecting pieces of other people’s collections to Jenny Torres Sanchez's tale of a girl gathering types of fire while trying not to get burned to G. Neri's piece about 1970's skaters seeking opportunities to go vertical—anything can be collected and in the hands of these award-winning and bestselling authors, any collection can tell a story. Nine of the best YA novelists working today have written fiction based on a prompt from Printz-winner A.S. King (who also contributes a story) and the result is itself an extraordinary collection.