Representative  Deals Jennifer Mattson Associate Agent jmatt@andreabrownlit.com THOUGHT-PROVOKING YA HORROR: Tom Leveen's SICK, in which a group of determined teen misfits escape a bloody contagion by barricading themselves in their high school's drama department, and face tough decisions about how to continue to survive. (Amulet/Abrams, 2013) REALISTIC, NONLINEAR YA: Tom Leveen's third contemporary-realistic novel MANICPIXIEDREAMGIRL, following PARTY and ZERO, an insightful, creatively structured (unrequited) love story, featuring the most likable two-timing jerk that readers will ever meet. (Random House, 2013) SWEET, TIMELESS MIDDLE GRADE: Kate Hannigan's CUPCAKE COUSINS, about fifth-grade "cousin-sister-best-friends" who spend their Michigan summer vacation plotting to impress their Aunt Rose with their baking skills . . . hoping to be named caterers (instead of babyish flower girls) for her upcoming wedding. (Disney-Hyperion, 2014) FUNNY, CHARACTER-DRIVEN MIDDLE GRADE: Jenny Meyerhoff's THE BARFTASTIC LIFE OF LOUIE BURGER, to be illustrated by Jason Week, about a fifth-grade aspiring stand-up comedian who faces crippling stage fright (and his best friend's apparent betrayal), told in a mix of first-person narrative and sidebars from Louie's hilarious comedy sketchbook. (FSG/Macmillan, 2012) HILARIOUS, WARM-HEARTED PICTURE BOOK: Dave Keane's WHO WANTS A TORTOISE?, about a birthday girl who feels underwhelmed when she receives a tortoise instead of a dog from her parents, but over time, realizes that a tortoise can be a kid's best friend, too. (Knopf/Random House, 2015) VERSE PICTURE BOOK WITH A HOOK: Kim Norman's THIS OLD VAN, a clever reboot of "Knick Knack Paddywack" starring a minivan and the other vehicles it meets on a rollicking highway journey. (Sterling, 2015) SPARE, INNOVATIVE PICTURE BOOK: Linda Ashman's 35-word, graphic-novel-influenced RAIN!, to be illustrated by Christian Robinson, about a spirited little boy, a crotchety old man, and their very different responses to a rainy day. (Houghton Mifflin, 2013)