Kyle Lukoff with Tae Keller — 'A World Worth Saving'

Third Place Books is thrilled to welcome back children's book author Kyle Lukoff to our Ravenna store for the release of his new middle grade novel, , which Rick Riordan calls “Rare and beautiful—a novel that combines wondrous fantasy, searing real-world relevance, and a frank empathetic understanding of the adolescent experience...The way Lukoff combines these elements in a page-turning adventure is nothing short of magic!” Lukoff will be joined in conversation by local children's author Tae Keller. This event is free and open to the public.

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A groundbreaking, action-packed, and ultimately uplifting adventure that intertwines elements of Jewish mythology with an unflinching examination of the impacts of transphobia, from Newbery Honor-winner Kyle Lukoff
“Rare and beautiful—a novel that combines wondrous fantasy, searing real-world relevance, and a frank empathetic understanding of the adolescent experience...The way Lukoff combines these elements in a page-turning adventure is nothing short of magic!” —Rick Riordan, author of Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Covid lockdown is over, but A’s world feels smaller than ever. Coming out as trans didn’t exactly go well, and most days, he barely leaves his bedroom, let alone the house. But the low point of A’s life isn’t online school, missing his bar mitzvah, or the fact that his parents monitor his phone like hawks—it’s the weekly Save Our Sons and Daughters meetings his parents all but drag him to.
At SOSAD, A and his friends Sal and Yarrow sit by while their parents deadname them and wring their hands over a nonexistent “transgender craze.” After all, sitting in suffocating silence has to be better than getting sent away for “advanced treatment,” never to be heard from again.
When Yarrow vanishes after a particularly confrontational meeting, A discovers that SOSAD doesn’t just feel soul-sucking…it’s run by an actual demon who feeds off the pain and misery of kids like him. And it’s not just SOSAD—the entire world is beset by demons dining on what seems like an endless buffet of pain and bigotry.
But how is one trans kid who hasn’t even chosen a name supposed to save his friend, let alone the world? And is a world that seems hellbent on rejecting him even worth saving at all?

Kyle Lukoff is the author of many books for young readers. His debut middle-grade novel, Too Bright to See, received a Newbery Honor, the Stonewall award, and was a National Book Award finalist. His picture book When Aidan Became a Brother also won the Stonewall. He has forthcoming books about mermaids, babies, apologies, and lots of other topics. While becoming a writer he worked as a bookseller for ten years, and then nine more years as a school librarian.

Tae Keller is the Newbery Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Jennifer Chan is Not Alone, When You Trap A Tiger, and The Science of Breakable Things. She was born and raised in Honolulu, where she grew up on purple rice, Spam musubi, and her halmoni's stories. After high school, she moved in search of snow, and now lives in Seattle. Visit her at TaeKeller.com, follow her monthly love letters at bit.ly/lovetae, and find her on Twitter and Instagram. (Photo Credit: Saavedra Photography)

Founded in 1998 in Lake Forest Park, Washington, Third Place Books is dedicated to the creation of a community around books and the ideas inside them. With locations in Lake Forest Park and Seattle's Ravenna and Seward Park neighborhoods, Third Place Books is proud to serve the entire Seattle metro area. Learn more about their event series at thirdplacebooks.com/events

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Third Place Books, 6504 20th Ave NE, Seattle, United States