For Justina Chen Headley, life has been a twisty and unfailingly interesting journey. From San Fransisco to Seattle by way of Sydney, Australia, Justina had to survive the trauma of being told she couldn’t carry a tune in third grade, a close encounter with a 17 foot python, and days filled with her babies and their diapers, before she finally followed her passion back to the books that made her fall in love with literature in the first place. And so a truly amazing talent for children’s and young adult books was born! A Stanford graduate and former marketing executive for Microsoft, Justina says of her life right now: “In between my adventures with my family, writing and reading, I run, walk, and practice yoga. I’m an ardent believer in giving back to the community, which is why part of the proceeds from my first two books will benefit children.” Justina is also one of the founding divas of Reader Girlz, an awesome site that celebrates strong girls and good books!

Want to chat with Justina? You can visit her on MySpace, or check out her Website.

Price: 16.99

Girl Overboard

The worst thing about having it all is having to deal with it all—the good, the bad, and the just plain weird. Everybody thinks Syrah is the golden girl. After all, her father is Ethan Cheng, billionaire, and she has everything any kid could possibly desire, right down to a waterfront mansion, jet plane, and custom-designed snowboards. But as Syrah reveals in her manga journal, most of what glitters in her life is fool’s gold. Her half-sibs hate her, her best friend is in a consuming relationship, and a snowboarding accident exiles her from the mountains —the one place where she feels free and accepted for who she is, not what she has. As she rehabs her busted-up knee, Syrah rehabs her heart and learns that she’s worth her weight in real gold.

Pre-buy Justina's new book today!

Nothing But The Truth
(And A Few White Lies)

Hapa (Half Asian and half white) Patty Ho has never felt completely at home in her skin. Life at House Ho is tough enough between her ultra-strict Taiwanese mom (epic-length lectures and all) and her Harvard-bound big brother. But things get worse when a Chinese fortune teller channels Patty's future via her bellybutton...and divines a white guy on her horizon. Her mom then freaks out and ships her off to math camp at Stanford. Yes, math camp. Just as Patty writes off her summer of woe, life starts glimmering with all kinds of probabilities.

Toss lovingly into cart

The Patch

The kids at school want to know why Becca is wearing glasses and an eye patch. Instead of telling them she has amblyopia (where one eye is weaker than her other), Becca leads her friends on imaginative adventures to explain her new fashion accessory.