Writer Stacia Tolman worked for many years as a high school English teacher at a private school in New Hampshire’s Monadnock region. Now, she’s drawn on her observations of high school social dynamics to write her debut young adult novel, The Spaces Between Us . The story centers on the relationship between Serena Velasco and Melody Grimshaw, high school students and best friends with a common goal: to escape their dull, lifeless hometown in rural New York. Serena is from a middle-class family, while Melody is from a poorer, more rough-and-tumble home. Their friendship and the forces that keep them apart are at the heart of Tolman’s novel. Tolman spoke with NHPR's Peter Biello. Read Stacia Tolman's Top Five Young Adult Reading Recommendations: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. With every police shooting of an unarmed Black American, the more relevant this powerful YA novel gets. Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera. A Puerto Rican 'baby dyke' from the Bronx invites herself to
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