The 13th year might not be so unlucky for the Louisiana Book Festival, as it’s jam-packed with appearances by local and national authors, live music and plenty of food.
This year festival organizers highlight some exceptional juvenile and young adult titles, a fitting choice when you consider the popularity of YA novels in recent years, such as the Hunger Games trilogy—many of which also appeal to adults.
While some stories for young readers might get dismissed as simple or shallow, many other titles have turned into classic tales for both children and adults.
These timely stories invite young readers to follow someone like themselves through the tumult of the larger world and imagine their own way through, showing that even if the world isn’t all right, the kids will be.
State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton says the young adult focus of this year’s festival extends to its “Teen HQ” area, where games, crafts, a scavenger hunt and talks from teen authors will happen throughout the day.
“One of my favorite things to do is to visit our Teen HQ to see the faces of our young people enjoying everything having to do with reading and writing,” Hamilton says. “I often scan their faces and wonder who might be a future writer.”
FRESH READS
Here are a few books with universal appeal that will be highlighted at this year’s festival. The authors are also expected to make appearances at the festival for lectures and panels, though schedules weren’t finalized at press time.
All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely is about the aftermath of an incident of police brutality. The narrators are Rashad, a black ROTC cadet who was beaten by a police officer, and his white classmate Quinn, who witnessed the beating and arrest. The boys never interact directly in the novel, but each tells the story of his confusion and anger and the conflicting and surprising allegiances he encounters within his own family, the school and the community.
Jewell Parker Rhodes’ Towers Falling follows 11-year-old Dèja Barnes, living with her family in a homeless shelter, as she starts a new school. As she reluctantly makes new friends and completes her assignments, she begins to learn about the World Trade Center towers that fell before she was born and how their absence affects her family and teachers, New York City and America.
Images for the 2016 Louisiana Book Festival
The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner is about Dill, Lydia and Travis, a trio of friends in their senior year of high school, as they navigate life in their rural Tennessee town and contemplate following their dreams into the world outside it. Chapters alternate among the three friends, their separate obsessions and goals—music, fashion and a fantasy book series—and their shared experiences.
Meredith Russo’s If I Was Your Girl is also about a teen’s senior year in
Tennessee. Amanda Hardy is a new student concealing a secret, terrified of exposure even as she is drawn to her classmate Grant Everett. Occasional chapters tell about Amanda’s history as Andrew. Like Amanda, Meredith Russo is a trans woman, and If I Was Your Girl was inspired by her experiences.
The Louisiana Book Festival returns to downtown on Saturday, Oct. 29, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at the State Library, the State Capitol and the Capitol Park Museum. Check out the festival app that allows personalized schedules to help track all the programs. Search “Louisiana Book Festival” in the App Store or Google Play. louisianabookfestival.org
This story was originally published in the October issue of 225 Magazine.
