The following is from [words] Bookstore:
Award-winning Maplewood author Marina Budhos will be celebrating the publication launch of her latest young adult novel, Watched at [words] Bookstore on Saturday, September 17 at 5:00 PM. Ms. Budhos will be joined in conversation with Maplewood resident Helen Wan (The Partnership Track), and following the presentation, will be signing copies of her book.
This event is free and open to the public with no advance purchase necessary.
Watched, a follow-up to Ask Me No Questions, tells the story of Naeem, a teenage boy who thinks he can charm his way through life. One day, his mistakes catch up with him, and the police pressure him into spying on his friends, family, and his community.
On her web page, Ms. Budhos offers insights into her inspiration. “My hope is to tell the human story behind the headlines; the complicated choices and pressures teenagers face – especially Muslim teenagers – when their world is so riven and made precarious by violence, extremism, intolerance and mistrust.”
Ms. Budhos is the author of the young adult novels Tell Us We’re Home and Ask Me No Questions, which are taught in school districts throughout the country. In addition she has published both adult novels and non-fiction (co-authored with her husband, Marc Aronson).
Marina Budhos has received an EMMA (Exceptional Merit Media Award), a Rona Jaffe Award for Women Writers, and has twice received a Fellowship from the New Jersey Council on the Arts. She has been a Fullbright Scholar to India, given talks throughout the country and abroad, and is a Professor of English at William Patterson University.
Event host [words] Bookstore is located in the heart of downtown Maplewood at 179 Maplewood Avenue.
