The Brimstone Journals - Tapa dura

In a series of short interconnected poems, students at a high school nicknamed Brimstone reveal the violence existing and growing in their lives. Jr Lib Guild.

Ron Koertge is the author of several acclaimed novels, including THE ARIZONA KID, WHERE THE KISSING NEVER STOPS, and TIGER, TIGER, BURNING BRIGHT, all of which were ALA Best Books for Young Adults. Of The Brimstone Journals, he says, "Usually, I choose characters and settings that are humorous and offbeat. The Brimstone Journals, however, chose me. The characters woke me up at night, the entire first draft took just three weeks. Then the voices were gone and it was time to be a writer again instead of merely taking dictation from god-knows-where." Ron Koertge lives in South Pasadena, California, and teaches English at Pasadena City College, as well as in the MFA in Writing for Children program at Vermont College.