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First Line Friday (Because aren't first lines exciting?)

When the train stopped in Tucson, everybody else got their stuff together and jammed the aisles, but I ducked into the bathroom and put Sunblock 15 on every inch of exposed skin I owned.

From The Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge

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From the moment sixteen-year-old Billy steps off the train in Tucson, he knows this will be a summer unlike any he's seen in small-town Bradleyville, Missouri. For starters, he's staying with his cool gay uncle, who has managed to get him a job at the racetrack caring for horses. Still, Billy doesn't expect the horseracing world to be quite as rough and tumble as this — toiling side by side with a macho survivalist and falling hard for the feisty, romance-shy "exercise girl" Cara Mae. With his trademark fast-paced dialogue filled with wit and compassion, Ron Koertge tells the tale of an insecure teen who discovers that gaining stature involves more than Stetsons and boots — and that lessons on love and manhood come from the places you least expect.  Read More 
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Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses

Ron Koertge's wonderful book Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses has been chosen as on of the best books of 2012 by Publishers Weekly.

They're right! These sideways retellings of traditional fairy tales -- in verse -- are funny, snarky and downright scary. The illustrations, by Andrea Dezso are a perfect compliment. The cover with the gigantic wolf and the tiny Red Riding Hood lets you know just what you're in for even before the book is opened.

Full disclaimer: I know Ron and saw this in advance and loved it. But the "real" book is a stunner.

Pair this with Phillip Pullman's new Fairy Tales From the Brothers Grimm and you'll be able to find something to read all winter.  Read More 
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