JAKE AND LILY

From Newbery Medal-winning Jerry Spinelli, one of the most beloved children's books authors of all time, a new novel about the year twins Jake and Lily grow up, grow apart, and figure out who they are, both together and alone.

Jake and Lily are twins. Despite their slightly different interests and temperaments, they feel exactly the same - like two halves of one person. But the year they turn eleven, everything changes. Their parents announce it is time for separate bedrooms. Jake starts hanging out with a pack of boys on the block. And Lily is devastated, not to mention angry. Who is she without Jake? And as her brother falls under the influence of the neighborhood bully, he also must ask himself - who is the real Jake? Told in alternating voices between Jake and Lily, as both twins navigate their changing interests, they come to realize even as they grow apart, their magical connection will always stay in place.

This is an often funny, poignant, and profound story of growing up, growing apart, and the difficult process of figuring out who you really are. No one writes as skillfully about the border between childhood and adolescence, innocence and experience, like Jerry Spinelli.

Jerry Spinellis novels are recognized for their humor and poignancy, and his characters and situations are often drawn from his real life experience as a father of six children. Jerry lives with his wife, Eileen, also a writer, in Wayne, Pennsylvania. You can visit him online at www.jerryspinelli.com.