From the moment Ava Carson and her ten-year-old son, Toussaint, arrive at the Glenn Avenue family shelter in Philadelphia 1985, Ava is already plotting a way out. She is repulsed by the shelter’s squalid conditions: their cockroach-infested room, the barely edible food, and the shifty night security guard. She is determined to rescue her son from the perils and indignities of that place, and to save herself from the complicated past that led them there.

Hear what Judy Blume has to say about her longtime passion for supporting our freedom to read (and listen!) and why “librarians can save lives.”

Request eGalleys of some of our favorite December titles, and if you love the books, please consider nominating them for LibraryReads! Remember, voting for the December list ends on 11/1.