YA novels
My first novel for young people, straydog, was published in 2002, introducing me to a world I felt, somehow, I already knew. No surprise: so many of the characters I love in literature — Louise Fitzhugh’s Harriet, J.D. Salinger’s Holden and Franny and Zooey, Francesca Lia Block’s Witch Baby — are young people. For them, everything happens faster, emotions are intense, and change is constant and welcome. They’re also aware that they don’t yet know everything there is to know, a fact many adults have forgotten. Youth recreates the world through its vision, and for a novelist, that’s exciting ground to explore.
straydog, Buddha Boy, The Blue Mirror, Talk, Going Under, Kissing the Bee, Headlong: These novels have won various awards, and received starred reviews, and I’m proud of that. But what’s truly satisfying are the times when readers let me know that my work has meant something to them, made them think differently about their lives, question a belief or an assumption, made them angry or made them laugh. (straydog makes everybody cry; me too.) Young people are rarely reticent about their opinions, good or bad: more peaks and valleys! And I appreciate them all. It’s a privilege – and a blast – to be able to communicate this way.
These books are available in stores and online from your preferred bookseller(s). Signed copies are available; please email kathe AT kathekoja.com.
STRAYDOG
[C]ompelling and sympathetic…In telling her story, Koja plumbs not only Rachel’s dark and darkly funny psyche, but also what it means to be human and to make connections of love and trust.
– Publishers Weekly
A searing, beautiful book…Strong characters, rich detail, and well-articulated emotions, interspersed with Rachel’s startling writing, make a powerful story.
– Booklist
2007 YALSA Popular Paperback
Winner of the Humane Society’s KIND Book Award
Winner of the ASPCA’s Henry Bergh Award
A selection of the Junior Library Guild
A selection of the Children’s Literature Choice List
BUDDHA BOY
Koja accomplishes quite a feat…A compelling introduction to Buddhism and a credible portrait of how true friendship brings out the best in people.
– Publishers Weekly [starred review]
Koja flawlessly walks a tightrope…Quickly paced, inviting, and eye-opening, this is a marvelous addition to YA literature.
– School Library Journal
I want every young person to read this book. It is a potent remedy for the teasing and bullying so rampant in today’s schools.
– Chinaberry
Winner of the International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Awards
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best List
Books for the Teen Age List, sponsored by the New York Public Library
Amazon.com Top Ten Editors’ Pick for Teens
Selected as one of Booklist’s Top Ten Religious Books for Youth
2007 YALSA Popular Paperback
THE BLUE MIRROR
Psychologically gripping…Koja explores the confusion between infatuation and real love – in all its cruelty and its redemptive powers.– Publishers Weekly [starred review]
A richly embroidered tale of abuse and control highlighted with shiny threads of magic and redemption.
– Kirkus Reviews
Maggy’s voice is articulate, controlled, and self-aware…the intensity and breakneck pacing of this latest YA outing from Koja will appeal to the teen up for a literary run on the wild side.
– Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
Michigan Library Association Thumbs Up! nominee
Chicago Public Schools Recommended Reading List (11th/12th grades)
A Tayshas Reading List choice
TALK
The writing is phenomenal . . . Kathe Koja has created a memorable and meaningful story in TALK. – Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy
A richly satisfying story . . . Layers of friendships, wounds, yearnings, and secrets are expertly interwoven to create this daring novel . . . . Sure to appeal to anyone who has longed for another’s affections or dared to overcome social fears, this book is destined for success.
– VOYA
The novel . . . flows in a poetic stream-of-conciousness style. Kit’s own questions of identity and truth lead to a dramatic conclusion – both on and offstage – as he finally discovers who he is.
– The Horn Book [starred review]
Honorable Mention, Gustavus Myers Book Award
A selection of the Junior Library Guild
A 2006 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults nominee
GOING UNDER
If you are or you know a smart young reader who’s ready for something different, Koja’s YA books like Going Under are like nothing you’ve ever read before. And if you’re an adult, Koja’s YA novels are a visit to the horrors and wonders of adolescence, a ticket to a world where young people aren’t mere literary devices, but their own species, separate and whole; vulnerable and strong. Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing
Koja has once again created a rich psychological drama whose characters will not be easily forgotten….[Raises] fascinating questions about the complex layers of truth and identity that can exist within a single person or story. – The Horn Book
Going Under is definitely a page-turner…with the brilliant prose that actually sounded more like poetry….It doesn’t compare to any other young adult novel; it is, in fact, like nothing I’ve read. Highly original, this story gets into your head and stays there. Flamingnet, Student Reviewer
KISSING THE BEE
Koja incorporates facts and folklore about bees in this spare and haunting novel ….Her understated, tightly focused language evokes vivid scenes and heady emotions…each line of dialogue, each interaction illuminating struggles that readers face as well. – Publishers Weekly [starred review]
Readers will find it hard to pry themselves away from this brilliantly written story . . . A must read for young romantics. International Reading Association
Koja takes the typical teen love triangle and spins it into a layered, intricate, emotional read. This story is thick like honey, humming with beautiful imagery and dialogue . . . .Kissing the Bee is a short but rich psychological exploration of the intense complexities of friendship and love in a teen world. A definite choice for reluctant readers looking for something with a more creative, “emo” slant.
School Library Journal
Poetic, realistic, and filled with memorable characters, this spare novel captures first love’s exquisite, earth-shattering joy and the struggle and thrill that come with claiming one’s own life. Booklist, starred review
Kissing the Bee is an amazingly straight-forward novel that will draw you in and keep you reading from the first page to the last. The main character is as true as she is flawed; a character that anybody who’s ever loved can identify with. TeensReadToo.com, starred review
HEADLONG
The book takes place at an élite prep school, a haven for the children of the rich, but there the similarity to “Gossip Girl” ends; “Headlong” is a closely observed tale of a privileged girl beginning to perceive the constraints of her background, who channels her restlessness into a friendship with an emotionally elusive free spirit. —The New Yorker‘s Book Bench Blog
Besides reliably recreating the dynamics of teen-girl friendship, Koja relays this story with her usual insight and, through her lightning-fast characterizations, an ability to project multiple perspectives simultaneously. – Publishers Weekly [starred review]
This is an excellent character study . . . and an in-depth look at how real friendships demand a soul-searching dive beneath the nature of one’s own feelings while trying to understand the complexity of another’s.—School Library Journal
This lovely story portrays friendship—what it is and what it is not. Many teen girls will wish themselves into this book. —VOYA
Koja is one of the treasures of fiction, and of young adult fiction especially. —Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother, on boingboing.net
