LAURA RENNERT'S
REPRESENTATIVE BOOKS
Some client books Laura feels best represent her tastes
ljrennert@mac.com
REPRESENTATIVE BOOKS
Some client books Laura feels best represent her tastes
ljrennert@mac.com
FANTASIES AND THRILLERS WITH UNDERREPRESENTED TRADITIONS, HISTORIES, OR CULTURES AS THE BASIS FOR THEIR WORLD-BUILDING: Romina Garber’s LOBIZONA builds on important questions regarding immigration and gender, and weaves together Argentine mythology with contemporary political struggles. When her mother is arrested by ICE, a teen who thinks she's hiding in Miami because she's an illegal immigrant discovers it's not just her U.S. residency that's illegal—it's her entire existence. Bestselling author Toni Adeyemi calls it, “a timely tale of identity and adventure that every teenager should read.” (Wednesday Books/Macmillan, 2020)
YA WITH A DIVERSE PERSPECTIVE AND MASTERFUL STORYTELLING: Set in America yet rich with Bengali culture, Mitali Perkins’ YOU BRING THE DISTANT NEAR is an elegant, intricate exploration of a multi-generational Indian-American family. Told in alternating teen voices set across three generations, the novel is an exploration of sisterhood, first loves, friendship, and the inheritance of culture — for better or worse. (FSG/Macmillan, 2017)
MIDDLE GRADE WITH CAPTIVATING CHARACTERS AND RICH WORLD-BUILDING: Shannon Messenger’s ongoing NYT bestselling series, Keeper of the Lost Cities, wherein a girl with strange telepathic powers must discover her true identity and why she is the key to her brand new world. In books 7 and 8, she and her friends discover that the dark conspiracy they've been fighting stretches far back into the Lost Cities' history, and the more they uncover, the more horrors they unleash. In the words of Lisa McMann, “A delightful and dangerous adventure with complex characters and relationships you'll root for to the end of time.” (Aladdin/S&S, 2012-ongoing)
EMOTIONALLY COMPELLING UPMARKET WOMEN’S FICTION: Catherine Ryan Hyde’s BRAVE GIRL, QUIET GIRL, wherein after a single mom is carjacked and her daughter is kidnapped, she'll stop at nothing to find her child. Out of one terrible moment, her path converges with a homeless teen and an unlikely friendship across generations and circumstances forms. A gripping and emotional novel about friendship, motherhood, and the journey toward finding a place to call home. (Lake Union/Amazon, 2021)
COMPULSIVELY READABLE THRILLER WITH STRONG VOICE, SURPRISING AUTHENTICITY, AND RICH CHARACTERS: Barry Eisler's Avenger-style THE KILLER COLLECTIVE: “In this crackling-good thriller from bestseller Eisler, Seattle PD sex crimes detective Livia Lone, assassin John Rain, and former Marine sniper Dox form a testy alliance to combat a vile conspiracy involving corrupt and toxic government agencies…The feisty interplay among these killer elites is as irresistible as if one combined the Justice League with the Avengers, swapping out the superhero uniforms for cutting-edge weaponry and scintillating spycraft…This is delightfully brutal fun.” — Publishers Weekly's starred review. (Thomas & Mercer/Amazon, 2019)
HONEST AND EMOTIONAL CONTEMPORARY MIDDLE GRADE THAT PERFECTLY BALANCES VOICE AND FORMAT: Ellen Hopkins’ CLOSER TO NOWHERE, told in-verse, an autobiographically inspired tale of a boy with PTSD who comes to live with his popular cousin and tells whopper lies to cope with his trauma and how, despite their differences, they find out that a little bit of understanding can go a long way. (Putnam/PRH, 2020)
FICTION WITH RICH WORLD-BUILDING, EMOTIONAL DEPTH, AND A FRESH POINT OF VIEW: Shelley Parker Chan’s SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN is an epic re-imagining of the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty as an iron-willed peasant girl who steals her brother's identity and great fate, and, defying the bounds of gender, rises from monk to leader of the rebellion against China's Mongol rulers. Award-winning author Zen Cho says, “Parker-Chan unrolls the painted scroll of her epic tale with the control of a master storyteller, revealing a dazzling world of fate, war, love and betrayal. Fantasy will never be the same.” (Tor/Macmillan, 2021)
GRAPHIC NOVELS WITH HUMOR AND HEART: Deborah Marcero's HAYLEE AND COMET about a girl who unexpectedly befriends a comet and navigates the ups and downs of interstellar friendship and what it truly means to be a friend. (Roaring Brook/Macmillan, 2021)