Award Name American Indian Youth Literature Award Award category Young Adult Winner of an American Indian Youth Literature Award New York Times best-selling author Cynthia Leitich Smith turns to realistic fiction with the thoughtful story of a Native teen navigating the complicated, confusing waters of high school -- and first love.
She lives in Austin, Texas..
She is an enrolled member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and is on the advisory board of We Need Diverse Books.
In trying to protect her own heart, will Lou break Joey\'s?About the Author Cynthia Leitich Smith is the best-selling, acclaimed author of the Tantalize series and the Feral series.
As tensions mount at school, so does a romance between Lou and Joey -- but as she\'s learned, "dating while Native" can be difficult.
From the newly formed Parents Against Revisionist Theater to anonymous threats, long-held prejudices are being laid bare and hostilities are spreading against teachers, parents, and students -- especially the cast members at the center of the controversy, including Lou\'s little brother, who\'s playing the Tin Man.
The editors pair her up with Joey Kairouz, the ambitious new photojournalist, and in no time the paper\'s staff find themselves with a major story to cover: the school musical director\'s inclusive approach to casting The Wizard of Oz has been provoking backlash in their mostly white, middle-class Kansas town.
It\'s her senior year, anyway, and she\'d rather spend her time with her family and friends and working on the school newspaper.
When Louise Wolfe\'s first real boyfriend mocks and disrespects Native people in front of her, she breaks things off and dumps him over e-mail.
Award Name American Indian Youth Literature Award Award category Young Adult Winner of an American Indian Youth Literature Award New York Times best-selling author Cynthia Leitich Smith turns to realistic fiction with the thoughtful story of a Native teen navigating the complicated, confusing waters of high school -- and first love
