Torrey Maldonado
BIO
TORREY MALDONADO was born and raised in Brooklyn, NYC, growing up in the Red Hook housing projects. He has taught for New York City public schools for around 25 years and his fast-paced, compelling stories are inspired by his and his students’ experiences. His popular novels Tight, What Lane?, and Hands are Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selections. What Lane? garnered many starred reviews and was cited by Oprah and the New York Times for being an essential book to discuss racism and allyship; Tight won the Christopher Award, was an ALA Notable Book, and an NPR and Washington Post Best Book of the Year; Hands won a starred School Library Journal review and amazing reviews from Horn Book, Kirkus, and Publishers Weekly, and is a “Best New Book of 2023”. His very first novel, Secret Saturdays, has been in print for over ten years.
HANDS
An award-winning middle-grade book that is a hit with upper elementary students and popular with high schoolers, Hands shows how Trev would do anything to protect his mom and sisters, especially from his stepdad. But his stepdad’s return stresses Trev—because when he left, he threatened Trev’s mom. Rather than live scared, Trev takes matters into his own hands, literally. He starts learning to box to handle his stepdad. But everyone isn’t a fan of his plan, because Trev’s a talented artist, and his hands could actually help him build a better future. And they’re letting him know. But their advice for some distant future feels useless in his reality right now. Ultimately, Trev knows his future is in his hands, and his hands are his own, and he has to choose how to use them.
