Helping Middle Graders Feel Less Alone

I remember the years during junior high school as being some of the most challenging of my childhood years, filled with bouts of insecurity, transition and low self-esteem. Those experiences have often made their way into my middle grade novel characters Langston in Finding Langston and now, Lymon in Leaving Lymon. This week, Horn Book included Leaving Lymon in their roundup of four titles to help middle graders feel less alone in dealing with life changes. Shout out to the other featured authors Hena Khan, Renee Watson, and Rebecca Stead, whose wonderful interview I just enjoyed on one of my fav podcasts, Jennifer Laughran’s Literaticast.