Budhos to launch new book at Words Bookstore

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Award-winning Maplewood author Marina Budhos will be celebrating the publication launch of her latest young adult novel, “Watched,” at Words Bookstore on Saturday, Sept. 17, at 5 p.m. Budhos will be joined in conversation with Maplewood resident Helen Wan, author of “The Partner Track,” and, following the presentation, Budhos will be signing copies of her book.

This event is free and open to the public with no advance purchase necessary.

“Watched,” a follow-up to “Ask Me No Questions,” tells the story of Naeem, a teenage boy who thinks he can charm his way through life. One day, his mistakes catch up with him, and the police pressure him into spying on his friends, family and community.

“My hope is to tell the human story behind the headlines; the complicated choices and pressures teenagers face — especially Muslim teenagers — when their world is so riven and made precarious by violence, extremism, intolerance and mistrust,” Budhos said on her website.

Budhos is the author of the young adult novels “Tell Us We’re Home” and “Ask Me No Questions,” which are taught in school districts throughout the country. In addition she has published both adult novels and nonfiction, co-authored with her husband, Marc Aronson. Budhos has received an Exceptional Merit Media Award, a Rona Jaffe Award for Women Writers and has twice received a fellowship from the New Jersey Council on the Arts. She has been a Fulbright Scholar to India, given talks throughout the country and abroad, and is a professor of English at William Paterson University.

Event host Words Bookstore is located in the heart of downtown Maplewood at 179 Maplewood Ave.

  Words Bookstore