Piecing Me Together

Black History Month

Staff recommendations, guest essays, and curated reading lists.

Powell's Picks of the Month

Hot new releases and under-the-radar gems for adults and kids.

Taking place in Portland, Oregon, this is an extremely relevant novel about race. Jade, an African American teenager attending a mostly white school, is being treated as a special problem. The writing is strong and beautiful, winning both a Newbery Honor and a Coretta Scott King Award. The ending will make the reader cheer. Recommended By Richard C., Powells.com

2018 Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner

Acclaimed author Renée Watson offers a powerful story about a girl striving for success in a world that too often seems like it's trying to break her.

Jade believes she must get out of her poor neighborhood if she's ever going to succeed. Her mother tells her to take advantage of every opportunity that comes her way. And Jade has: every day she rides the bus away from her friends and to the private school where she feels like an outsider, but where she has plenty of opportunities. But some opportunities she doesn't really welcome, like an invitation to join Women to Women, a mentorship program for "at-risk" girls. Just because her mentor is black and graduated from the same high school doesn't mean she understands where Jade is coming from. She's tired of being singled out as someone who needs help, someone people want to fix. Jade wants to speak, to create, to express her joys and sorrows, her pain and her hope. Maybe there are some things she could show other women about understanding the world and finding ways to be real, to make a difference.

NPR's Best Books of 2017
A 2017 New York Public Library Best Teen Book of the Year
Chicago Public Library's Best Books of 2017
A School Library Journal Best Book of 2017
Kirkus Reviews' Best Teen Books of 2017
2018 Josette Frank Award Winner

“...will make readers wrestle with every assumption they have about race, economic class, and so-called at-risk kids. An honest look at how girls stitch together their talents to find their voice and power.” Meg Medina, award-winning author of Burn Baby Burn

“An important and deeply moving novel. Highly recommended.” John Green, New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of The Fault in Our Stars

“Watson...somehow gets at the toxicity of sympathy, the unquenchable thirst of fear, and the life-changing power of voice and opportunity, all wrapped up in Jade — the coolest young lady in the world.” Jason Reynolds, New York Times bestselling and award-winning coauthor of All American Boys

“Watson's elegantly crafted novel speaks to the myriad of people who find themselves searching for themselves in the world. Timely and timeless.” Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award-winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming

Renée Watson is the acclaimed author of the teen novel, This Side of Home, and two picture books: Harlem's Little Blackbird and A Place Where Hurricanes Happen, which was featured on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. Her middle grade novel, What Momma Left Me debuted as an ABA New Voices Pick. She lives in New York City.