cover image Dear Teen Me: 
Authors Write Letters to Their Teen Selves

Dear Teen Me: Authors Write Letters to Their Teen Selves

Edited by E. Kristin Anderson and Miranda Kenneally. Zest (HMH, dist.), $14.99 trade paper (224p) ISBN 978-1-9369762-1-8

In 2010, writers Anderson and Kenneally launched a blog where authors posted letters written to themselves as teenagers; more than 70 of those entries are gathered in this book, from Tom Angleberger, Ellen Hopkins, Mitali Perkins, Dave Roman, Sara Zarr, and more. The letters are self-deprecating (“Let’s just start by ripping off the Band-Aid,” says Robin Benway. “You need to let your bangs grow out”), encouraging (“Go ahead and embrace life on the social fringes,” advises Beth Fantaskey), and revealing (“Even though you don’t drink, a certain very cruel, very callous guy is drinking—and there’s nothing I can do now to stop that thing from happening,” writes Carrie Jones). The breadth of emotion and experience the entries cover guarantee that almost any reader will identify with some of the situations and anxieties expressed. Ages 12–up. (Nov.)