Amy Goldman Koss Books In Order

How I Saved Hanukkah

A Hanukkah to rememberfinally! Marla Feinstein, the only Jewish kid in her fourth grade class, knows what this holiday season will be like. While everyone else is decorating trees and hanging stockings, she’ll be forgetting to light the candles and staring at a big plastic dreidel. But when Marla decides to learn what the Hanukkah traditions are really about, things change fast. Soon she’s got her family turning latkes into Hanukkah Performance Art and doing a wild hora. And by the end of this funny and heartwarming novel, the Festival of Lights is the biggest party in town!

The Ashwater Experiment

Hillary’s been used to a nomadic life travelling around to art and craft fairs with her hippie parents. Now they’re going to spend nine months house sitting in Ashwater, California and she’s not sure if she’ll like it. So, she assumes this experiment is being arranged by the Watchers. The ever watchful eyes are upon her. Entering 7th grade, Hillary rather automatically divides her classmates into roles; the popular kids, the brainy ones and always a class clown. With the friendship of the class queen, Serena, she gains acceptance to the popular clique but her friendship with the egghead Cass gives her a real buddy.

The Girls

Maya has been part of the group ever since the day Candace asked her if she wanted to ‘do lunch’ in the cafeteria. Yet when Candace suddenly deems her unworthy, Maya’s so-called friends just blow her off. While Maya just wants The Girls back like they used to be, she knows that can never happen-because whatever Candace wants, Candace gets, no matter who gets hurt. Maya isn’t sure exactly where things went wrong for her, but she knows she has to find out who her real friends are, and who among The Girls she can trust.

‘A suspenseful and realistic portrayal of a popular middle school clique…
. Readers will identify with and remember these characters.’ Publishers Weekly, starred review

Stranger in Dadland

Here is the engaging, funny story of a boy caught in the juggling act of life with divorced parents. Every summer John flies to Los Angeles for his annual visit with Dad. But one week a year sure isn’t a lot of time for father/son bonding, particularly when your father is a workaholic who always schedules more meetings with clients than outings with his one and only son. Not to mention the embarrassing fact that Dad always has a new girlfriend hanging around. In the past it’s been near impossible to grab some quality time with his father, but this summer John refuses to give up without a fight. He’s sick of feeling like a stranger in ‘Dadland.’

Amy Goldman Koss’s four previous novels have been highly praised for their ‘humor and insight’ The Horn Book and ‘sensitive and imaginative characters’ The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books. Her recent novel The Ashwater Experiment was named to several best of the year lists.

Strike Two

Gwen intends to spend the summer playing softball and hanging out with her cousin/best friend Jess. But the town newspaper strike throws all her plans upside down. As the union versus management tensions escalate, ripping the town in two, so do the tensions within Gwen’s softball team and even within her own family. Uncle Dave is management; Dad is union. And once the battle lines have been drawn, they’re almost impossible to erase. But Gwen insists on trying. After all, everything depends on it. Amy Goldman Koss has been widely praised for her ‘humor and insight’ The Horn Book and ‘sensitive and imaginative characters’ The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books. She’s in perfect form with Strike Two, proving herself again as the heir apparent to Judy Blume.

The Cheat

Cheating on the geography midterm is just the beginning. What was done without much thought leads to consequences great and greater as we discover from six talkative eighth graders who are willing to share every juicy detail. Told in the irresistible multi voice style of the acclaimed novel The Girls, this fast paced look at middle school’s minefields is full of truth, humor, and heart. Amy Goldman Koss’s novels have been on numerous best of the year lists, including ALA Best Books for Young Adults, ALA Quick Picks, IRA Young Adult Choices, IRA Teacher’s Choices, and School Library Journal Best Books of the Year.

Gossip Times Three

‘This is a true story about three best friends who will no doubt become my three sworn enemies when they find out that I’m writing this,’ says our mystery narrator at the beginning of Amy Koss’s latest novel of middle school fun and torment. Abby has always had a crush on Zack, and her best friends Bess and Cristy have always known it. So how could Bess possibly think it’s okay to go out with Zack herself?! And whose side is Cristy on anyway? From the moment Bess utters the traitorous ‘Zack’s cute!’ to the day Abby seeks a surprising revenge and beyond, our outspoken narrator who won’t reveal her identity until the final page is there to share her particular front row view of the mess. She even throws in some tasty tidbits about the love lives of the girls’ divorced moms. It’s laugh out loud funny, it’s candid, and it’s universal as all of Amy Koss’s novels are. That’s why they so often appear on best of the year lists, including ALA Best Books for Young Adults, ALA Quick Picks, IRA Young Adult Choices, and IRA Teacher’s Choices.

Poison Ivy

When three popular girls go on trial in Government class for their ruthless bullying of a girl named Ivy, it seems like the misfit will finally get her revenge. Eight first person narrators give different versions of the event: Ivy this victim doesn t want revenge, she just wants to be left alone; Ann she’s the beautiful, but infamously cruel, leader of the bullies; Marco he may be the only person involved who has any morals, but he s also the target of Ann s persuasive affections; Daria Ivy s painfully shy lawyer doesn t stand a chance; Bryce the goofy court reporter knows all the real dirt, even if he doesn t care; Cameron he sleeps through the proceedings but might wake up just in time to make a difference; Wayne a true devotee of the legal process, too bad he s on the sidelines; and Faith as the only witness for the prosecution, it all comes down to her. But where do her loyalties lie?

Side Effects

As if it isn t bad enough to have cancer, practically every time we pick up a book or hear about a character in a movie who gets sick, we know they ll be dead by the last scene. In reality, kids get all kinds of cancers, go through unspeakable torture and painful treatments, but walk away, fine in the end. Isabelle, not quite 15, is living a normal life of fighting with her younger brother, being disgusted with her parents, and hoping to be noticed by a cute guy. Everything changes in an instant when she is diagnosed with lymphoma and even her best friend, Kay, thinks Izzy is going to die. But she doesn t, and her humor sardonic, sharp, astute makes reading this book accessible and actually enjoyable.

The Not-So-Great Depression

A TIMELY, WARMHEARTED NOVEL ABOUT LIFE IN HARD ECONOMIC TIMES. Jacki’s ninth grade teacher is always going on about the unemployment index and the recession, but nothing sinks in until her mom is laid off and everything seems to cost more than they can afford. Acclaimed author Amy Goldman Koss delivers a warm hearted and timely tale about the things we lose and the insights we gain.

Where Fish Go in Winter

Why does popcorn pop? How do cats purr? Do islands float? What do clouds feel like? These are a few of the questions about the natural world that are asked and cleverly answered in this easy to read book. Written in rhyming poems that manage to be funny as well as informative, and illustrated with friendly, accessible illustrations, Where Fish Go in Winter makes learning fun.