Review\n"An engrossing adventure. From the moment Abe and Mitzy are swept back in time to the infamous Jack the Ripper murders, readers will clamor to find out what happens next." —Anne Blankman, National Jewish Book Award-winning author of The Blackbird Girls and Prisoner of Night and Fog\n"Vernick’s clever use of a modern voice as foil for the Ripper’s infamous murders perfectly complements the burgeoning friendship between time-displaced tweens amidst nineteenth century poverty and persecution." —Dianne Salerni, author of Eleanor, Alice, and the Roosevelt Ghosts, a Jr. Library Guild Gold Standard selection\n"Ripped Away is a rare, eye-opening novel that seamlessly blends fantasy, contemporary and historical fiction to illuminate the challenges teens face today with the horrors of the little-known blood libel brought upon London’s East End Jews during the time of Jack the Ripper. It’s a bold story few of us would ever know without Vernick’s meticulous research, masterful storytelling, and her fierce determination to share truth and make sure that antisemitism is not omitted or erased from that history." —Liza Wiemer, author of The Assignment, a 2021 Sydney Taylor Notable YA novel and 2021 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults\n"Ripped Away is many things at once: a crackingly good, gaslit, time travel mystery packed with rich historical detail that also shines an important light on a lesser-known episode of anti-Semitism. This is the sort of book that makes lifelong readers out of reluctant ones." —Jeff Zentner, Morris Award-winning author of The Serpent King\n"Charming and inventive, Ripped Away transports the reader from modern-day America to the dark and dangerous of alleys of London during the terror reign of Jack the Ripper. It’s Back to the Future through the eyes of young Abe Pearlman, a plucky, lovesick hero who doesn’t realize that he’s heroic." —Steven Mayfield, Mari Sandoz Prize-winning author of Treasure of the Blue Whale and Howling at the Moon\n"A time-bending, body-swapping, history-mystery, Ripped Away will have young readers eagerly turning pages." —David Michael Slater, Montaigne Medal/Eric Hoffer Award finalist and author of Forbidden Books and Sparks\n"This engrossing and well-paced read is perfect for those who love a combination of history and mystery."--Jessica Sender, Jewish Book Council\n"This quick page-turner will captivate young readers. Vernick mixes fantasy, a bit of mystery, and historical fiction bring middle school readers a story of Jewish life in London's East End in the late 1880s."—Rebekah Buchanan, School Library Journal\nIgnored yet again by his crush, Abe Pearlman wanders into Fortunes and Futures for a little diversion. The fortune teller reveals that Abe may be able to save someone’s life. But before he can ask any questions, he’s swept to the slums of Victorian London, where he finds that his crush, Mitzy Singer, has also been banished. Abe and Mitzy soon discover that they’ve been plunked down in the middle of the Jack the Ripper spree. To get back home, they’ll have to work together to figure out how the fortune teller’s prophecy is connected to one of history’s most notorious criminal cases. They’ll also have to survive the outpouring of hate toward Jewish refugees that the Ripper murders triggered. Ripped Away is based on real historical events, including the Ripper crimes, the inquests, and the accusations against immigrants.\nFrom School Library Journal\nGr 6-9-Abe Pearlman is just an ordinary kid. He doesn't play sports or have many friends, and he likes to walk the school track in the morning thinking of stories. He has a crush on Mitzy Singer, the blue-haired girl he has liked since fourth grade. But Abe isn't daring enough to talk to her. Then one day, things start to change for Abe. On September 22nd-Elephant Appreciation Day-Abe meets a strange fortune teller who tells him he must save a life, and soon he is transported to the slums of Whitechapel in L

Ripped Away

Vernick, Shirley Reva

Children's Books

Fitzroy Books

2012 Sydney Taylor Award Honor Book, 2012 Skipping Stone Honor Book. Lauren Myracle, author of Shine, calls it "a powerfuland poignantreminder that no person can live freely until all people can live freely." Blood Lie was the winner of the 2012 Simon Wiesenthal Once Upon a World Children's Book Award. September 22, 1928, Massena, New York. Jack Pool's sixteenth birthday. He's been restless lately, especially during this season of more-times-at-the-synagogue than you can shake a stick at. If it wasn't Rosh Hashanah, then it was Yom Kippur, and if it wasn't Yom Kippur, it was the Sabbath. But temple's good for some things. It gives him lots of time to daydream about a beautiful but inaccessible Gentile girl named Emaline. And if she isn't on his mind, then he's thinking about his music and imagining himself playing the cello with the New York Philharmonic. Yup, music is definitely his ticket out of this remote whistle-stop townhe doesn't want to be stuck here one more minute. But he doesn't realize exactly how stuck he is until Emaline's little sister Daisy goes missing and he and his family are accused of killing her for a blood sacrifice. Blood Lie was inspired by a real blood libel that took place when a small girl disappeared from Massena, New York, in 1928, and an innocent Jewish boy was called a murderer. "Vernick’s novel is a scathing indictment of anti-Semitismit is an important book that reminds us of the imperative need to remember lest we find ourselves repeating the horrors of the past." Booklist "Effectively mines layers of ignorance, fear, intolerance and manipulation." Kirkus Reviews Shirley Reva Vernick's interviews and feature articles have appeared in Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Ladies' Home Journal, and national newspapers. She also runs a popular storytelling website, storybee.org, which is used in schools and libraries all over the world. Shirley grew up in the town where the blood libel happened, as did her father, whose family was directly victimized by it.

The Blood Lie: A Novel

Teen & Young Adult

Historical Fiction

Cinco Puntos Press

Remember Dippy

Johnny's plans fly out the window when he finds out his single mother is leaving town for the summer. She has a breakthough job in upstate New York. He can live with his Aunt Collette but only on the condition that he "help out with" his autistic older cousin, Remember. Yup, you heard it right: Remember Dippy. That's his cousin's name—and Remember is a gawky awkward kid with some pretty strange habits, like repeating back almost everything Johnny says and spending hours glued to the weather channel. Johnny's premonitions of disaster appear at first to come to cringeworthy fruition, but when the two boys save a bully from drowning, salvage the pizzeria guy's romance, and share girl troubles, Johnny ends up having the summer of his life.
Winner of the Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award &amp; 2014 Skipping Stones Honor Award
Shirley Reva Vernick's debut novel The Blood Lie was named on the 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults list from the American Library Association. It also received the Simon Wiesenthal Once Upon a World Children's Award and Sydney Taylor Honor Book Award. Shirley lives with her husband, two daughters, and two frisky dogs in western Massachusetts. In addition to running a popular storytelling website—storybee.org—Shirley has written for Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Ladies' Home Journal, national newspapers, and the publications of Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Boston universities.

Literature & Fiction

Growing Up & Facts of Life

The Black Butterfly

Penny is furious, and who can blame her? She has to spend Christmas break alone at the Black Butterfly, an old inn at the coldest, bleakest edge of Americathe coast of Maine. This "vacation" is the brainchild of Penny's flaky mother, who's on the other side of the country hunting ghosts. Penny most definitely does not believe in spirits. Or love. Or family. Until, that is, she discovers two very real apparitions which only she can see…and meets George, the handsome son of the inn's owner…and crashes into some staggering family secrets. If only Ghost Girl didn't want Penny dead. If only George were the tiniest bit open to believing. If only she could tell her mother. Then maybe this could still be a vacation. But it's not. It's a race for her life, her first love, and her sanity.
Shirley Reva Vernick is rapidly becoming the new hot item in young adult fiction. Her first novel, The Blood Lie, won the Simon Wiesenthal Children's Book Award, was silver medalist for the Sydney Taylor Book Award, and was an ALA 2012 Best Book for Young Adults. Her second novel, Remember Dippya feel good adventure about a fourteen-year-old boy shepherding his older autistic cousin through his summer vacationwas released in spring 2013 and won the Dolly Gray Literature Award from the Council For Exceptional Children.This time around, Shirley wanted to let loose with a page-turning coming-of-age romance mixed with ghosts and adventure. Shirley is the creator of the much visited storytelling website storybee.org. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Review\nMargi Preus, author of Heart of a Samurai 
In this extraordinary story inspired by a little-known incident during WWII, Vernick brings to life the hardship, trauma, loneliness and longing of two girls enduring the same war from worlds apart, yet with hope and the resilience of the human spirit always shining through, bright as stars against the night sky.\nRobert Sharenow, author of The Berlin Boxing Club 
Combining rich historical detail and urgent emotional drama, Vernick has created a unique and powerful coming-of-age story set against a complex and little-known chapter in America's war with Japan.\nJanet Fox, author of The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle 
Falling Stars is a moving and beautifully researched story, rich with period detail, about two teen girls – one American, one Japanese – on either side of the Pacific in the latter days of World War 2. Readers will be captivated by the unique, powerful voices of Nellie and Tamiko as the girls discover through their experiences of family, tragedy, patriotism, and propaganda that hatred is not a cure for loss.\nA middle grade novel of historical fiction explores a true story of the only WWII casualties in the continental U.S. 
Nellie and Tamiko live on opposite sides of the world, on opposite sides of World War II. In rural Oregon, Nellie passes the time lying under the stars, wishing for her Pa to come back home, and for Joey, her next door neighbor to talk to her like they used to before his brother was killed in the war. In southern Japan, Tamiko passes the time writing in her diary, hoping one day she can work in the theater making costumes, and praying her brother Kyo will make it back home from fighting. Thousands of miles apart, the two girls share the same wish, for the war to be over. When the Japanese military recruits young girls for a secret project, Nellie and Tamiko’s lives become even more directly linked. 
Tamiko and her classmates are tasked with making paper balloons. The work is arduous and relentless, and no one has told the girls how the balloons will help the military, but Tamiko believes she is doing her part to help Japan win and end the war once and for all. Nellie tries to do her part by rationing and working in salvage drives―though times are lean, and she worries for her father, the war feels worlds away. Until a paper balloon makes its way to her hometown. 
Based on Japan’s Project Fu-Go during the last stretch of WWII, Falling Stars uses the alternating perspectives of Nellie and Tamiko to depict the back and forth tragedies of two countries at war. Although worlds apart, both girls understand that in a time of uncertainty and fear, blind hate for the “enemy” leaves a heavier heart and more debris. Falling Stars weaves real history with unforgettable characters who must deal with war and hatred right alongside friendship, first love, and family. 
Shirley Reva Vernick’s interviews and feature articles have appeared in Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Ladies’ Home Journal, national newspapers, and the publications of Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Boston University. She also runs a popular storytelling website, storybee.org, which is used in schools, libraries, hospitals, and homes all over the world. Shirley graduated from Cornell University, majoring in Economics and Nutrition, and is an alumna of the Radcliffe Writing Seminars. Her previous works include The Blood Lie, Remember Dippy, and The Black Butterfly. She’s won the Simon Wiesenthal Once Upon a World Children’s Book Award, the Skipping Stone Honor, Langum Prize for American Historical Fiction, Director’s Mention, the Sydney Taylor Book Award Silver Medal, and was listed as an ALA 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.

The Sky We Shared

A middle grade novel of historical fiction explores a true story of the only WWII casualties in the continental U.S. Nellie and Tamiko live on opposite sides of the world, on opposite sides of World War II. In rural Oregon, Nellie passes the time laying under the stars, wishing for her Pa to come back home, and for Joey, her next door neighbor to talk to her like they used to before his brother was killed in the war. In southern Japan, Tamiko passes the time writing in her diary, hoping one day she can work in the theater making costumes, and praying her brother Kyo will make it back home from fighting. Thousands of miles apart, the two girls share the same wish, for the war to be over. When the Japanese military recruits young girls for a secret project, Nellie and Tamiko's lives become even more directly linked. Tamiko and her classmates are tasked with making paper balloons. The work is arduous and relentless, and no one has told the girls how the balloons will help the military, but Tamiko believes she is doing her part to help Japan win and end the war once and for all. Nellie tries to do her part by rationing and working in salvage drives--though times are lean, and she worries for her father, the war feels worlds away. Until a paper balloon makes its way to her hometown. Based on Japan's Project Fu-Go during the last stretch of WWII, Falling Stars uses the alternating perspectives of Nellie and Tamiko to depict the back and forth tragedies of two countries at war. Although worlds apart, both girls understand that in a time of uncertainty and fear, blind hate for the "enemy" leaves a heavier heart and more debris. Falling Stars weaves real history with unforgettable characters who must deal with war and hatred right alongside friendship, first love, andfamily. Shirley Reva Vernick's interviews and feature articles have appeared in Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Ladies' Home Journal, national newspapers, and the publications of Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Boston University. She also runs a popular storytelling website, storybee.org, which is used in schools, libraries, hospitals, and homes all over the world. Shirley graduated from Cornell University, majoring in Economics and Nutrition, and is an alumna of the Radcliffe Writing Seminars. Her previous works includeThe Blood Lie, Remember Dippy, and The Black Butterfly. She's won the Simon Wiesenthal Once Upon a World Children's Book Award, the Skipping Stone Honor, Langum Prize for American Historical Fiction, Director's Mention, the Sydney Taylor Book Award Silver Medal, and was listed as an ALA 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Falling Stars

Cinco Puntos Pr

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Vernick, Shirley Reva. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Vernick, Shirley Reva

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Vernick, Shirley Reva. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Ripped Away

The Blood Lie: A Novel

Remember Dippy

Remember Dippy

The Black Butterfly

The Black Butterfly

The Sky We Shared

Falling Stars