Nothing but Your Skin and the Pool Was Empty - 9781554512331

Two fearless explorations of the depths of teenage passion.

Louella hates her name, is obsessed with colors and yells herself hoarse when she gets upset. People call her "slow," but Lou knows one thing for sure: she wants to be with her boyfriend -- no matter what her parents or doctors think. Poignantly and sensitively told, Nothing but Your Skin chronicles the aftermath of a mentally challenged girl's decision to have sex.

In The Pool Was Empty, 16-year-old Celia's boyfriend, Alex, dies after falling into an empty swimming pool -- and his mother accuses Celia of his murder. As Celia tries to clear her name and move on from her devastating loss, she reveals that the shocking events of that fateful day may not be what they seem.

The intensity of first love is laid bare in these strikingly emotional stories.

Annick Press is pleased to announce the launch of Single Voice, a groundbreaking and provocative new young-adult fiction series in which no subject is off limits. These tightly paced stories deliver blow after powerful blow with their unflinching honesty, original subject matter and startling twists. Told in the voice of teen narrators at crucial moments in their lives, each story explodes with the urgency, drama and confusion of adolescence.

Most importantly, these short yet finely honed literary works will appeal to both avid and less experienced readers. Each book consists of two separate but thematically connected stories with distinct inverted covers in an alluring "flip-book" format.

Under the guiding hand of series editor and award-winning author Melanie Little (The Apprentice's Masterpiece, Confidence), the series is comprised of works from distinguished writers whose fiction has been recognized internationally.

"There's an urgency to the stories -- they read in one go. Like a punch in the stomach. In your head. In your heart." -- Le Vif / L'express