| Meet Our Contributor: Julie Wasmund Hoffman Dr. Julie Hoffman is an active member of NCTE and lifetime member of NAACP. She strives to be antiracist and anti-harm in all that she does. She is a Teacher Instructional Leader (TIL) with Springfield Public Schools and an adjunct professor at University of Illinois Springfield. She earned her Doctor of Education in literacy from Judson University in 2018 and currently serves as Past President of the Illinois Reading Council (IRC). Her passions and interests include equity, diversity, inclusivity, urban education, social and emotional learning, literacy, hope, and healing. She believes that children’s and YA literature can be a message of perseverance and hope and believes that we thrive when we invest in ourselves and others. |  Dr. Julie Hoffman |
Trusting Tiffany: Celebrating Books by the 2025 Margaret A. Edwards Award Recipient by Julie Wasmund Hoffman
 Tiffany D. Jackson | I'm going to start right off and admit that I'm a sucker for a good character. When I can get right into a character's shoes and see the world from their perspective, I find myself turning pages and consuming books from cover to cover. Because of this, I often take the narrator at face value. Maybe, I'm gullible. Maybe, I used to think that the narrator of a story was always a trustworthy source. It turns out that maybe that's not always the case—especially when it comes to characters written by Tiffany D. Jackson. You never really know. |
In some of her books, Ms. Jackson writes characters who take us through a plot with twists and turns, but all along, we can count on the protagonist to tell us what we need to know. In some of her books, the protagonist takes us for a ride. All of her books are clever and worth reading. That's one of the many reasons why I have read every published book written by Tiffany, and it is why I look forward to her next books coming out soon. Yes, I said books—plural. Tiffany D. Jackson is a prolific writer and was recently the recipient of the 2025 Margaret A. Edwards Award, which celebrates a lifetime of achievement in writing for young adults. That’s a prestigious award that she earned with every truth, lie, questions in between that she weaves into her crafty storytelling.
| Tiffany D. Jackson’s first book, Allegedly (Quill Tree, 2017), introduced me to the kind of thriller, page-turner that I have come to expect when I read her books. The main character, Mary, was convicted of murdering a baby (allegedly) when she was nine. After getting out of prison, at 16 years of age, Mary is in a group home. She is dealing with so many things—memories of what happened when she was 9, memories of her mom, and life in a group home where she doesn’t feel safe or cared for. Now, Mary and her boyfriend Ted have a baby on the way and the state might take the baby unless Mary is able to clear her name. Ms. Jackson braids fictional court records, case studies, transcripts from interviews, articles, autopsy reports, police reports, and psychiatrist notes through the prose to move the story forward. |  |
This book provides a great opportunity for students to study the author's craft and to participate in book club discussions. After reading, students can write their own fictional Interviews with Mary or another character, write fictional news reports covering the case, or students can select several documents from the book that make strong evidence and write an argumentative piece explaining why these artifacts are the best to use to make a case for Mary’s innocence.
 | Tiffany’s second book is Monday’s Not Coming (Quill Tree, 2018) Claudia’s best friend, Monday, did not show up on the first day of school. Or the week after. Claudia starts asking around. The grown-ups at school seem to not notice, and not care, that Monday hasn’t been showing up for school. Throughout this book, you will feel the frustration Claudia feels, wondering about her friend Monday. You also start to doubt Claudia. With the way others are dismissing her, it is easy to think that maybe there is no Monday—that she never existed. Tiffany D. Jackson writes in a way that makes the protagonist Claudia question herself, and the reader questions Claudia, too. |
Overall, it is a testament to a tough topic that we would all do well to face. This is a book that many of our high school students may choose to read independently. If however, we want to use it as a class novel or a book club selection, students can track the character, participate in fishbowl discussions about the plot(s), and pursue research about the tough topic (I’m not telling) that undergirds the story. The research can lead to student-made Public Service Announcements or White Papers about the topic. They can also do “Signature Colors” for themselves or others, based on how the protagonist Claudia did for herself and her loved ones.
Let Me Hear A Rhyme (Quill Tree, 2019) is historical fiction, if the late 90s is far enough back to call it historical. Set in Brooklyn, in the midst of the New York City hip-hop scene, Quadir, Jarrell, and Jasmine are trying to get their friend Steph’s music recognized. Steph, who was recently murdered, had stashed away some of his recorded music tracks, which Quadir, Jarrell, and Jasmine discovered. Knowing they can’t get a deal for the deceased Steph, they rename the artist Architect, and try to find a record deal. In true Tiffany D. Jackson style, this book is filled with some twists and turns, some secrets, some dips into social issues that we all need to be talking about, and this one adds a little romance, too. During and after reading this, students can sample some of the music and artists alluded to throughout the book, or analyze the lyrics from one of Steph’s songs.
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I am still contemplating Grown (Quill Tree, 2020), which I read in two days, and have re-read a few times since. 17-year-old Enchanted is a good singer—so good that when the famous singer Korey Fields invites her on his tour and hypes up the possibility of a record deal, Enchanted is ecstatic. Even her parents agree to it, with caution, of course. Once she is on tour, Enchanted experiences some things she wasn’t expecting, as she oscillates between feeling grown and sophisticated or feeling powerless and terrified. This mystery thriller addresses some of the same topics we read about during the R. Kelly trials through the lens of Enchanted.
While Tiffany D. Jackson writes books that delude and dismay us, she also writes historical fiction like The Awakening of Malcolm X: A Novel by Ilyasah Shabazz with Tiffany D. Jackson (January 2021). This novel takes us through Malcolm Little’s days in the Charlestown prison, where he discovers Islam and becomes Malcolm X. Though this is a work of fiction, Tiffany D. Jackson and Ilyasah Shabazz use quotations from Malcolm X in every chapter, and keep the timeline accurate.
This book, like all of Tiffany’s books, can be read as a self-selected text. If it is read in a book club, or as a class novel, students can create an historical timeline, researching the events in the United States at the time. This can also be a powerful text to generate conversations about education, self-education, literacy, and how power, privilege, justice, and liberation play a role in each.
In the same way that Tiffany can go all out on equity, power, and antiracism in a boom like the Awakening of Malcom X, she can also subtly weave important social topics into a ghost story. White Smoke (Quill Tree, 2021) features teen Marigold who moves with her recently blended family from California to the Midwest. While Mari is trying to deal with vanishing items, doors opening, strange shadows and sounds, she is also trying to deal with all kinds of changes—to home, school, life, family. Threaded through the spooky story are topics like gentrification, the criminalization of marijuna, poverty, and racism. Readers can keep track of character alibis, motives, credibility, and evidence to make a case for their thoughts as they move through the story.
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Jim Crow meets Stephen King in this modern adaptation of King’s Carrie. In Jackson’s book, The Weight of Blood (Quill Tree, 2022), Springville High is about to host their first integrated prom. While Madi is getting ready for the big event, she is also handling some bullying, some family secrets, and something just plain evil. Students can research some moments in our history around desegregation and the responses. Students can write their own retelling of a favorite story threading in a social issue they think is important to address.
Tiffany has also written a Marvel story, STORM: Dawn of a Goddess (Random House, 2024), and short stories in His Hideous Heart: 13 of Edgar Allan Poe's Most Unsettling Tales Reimagined by Dahlia Adler (Flatiron, 2019), Blackout co-authored with Dhonielle Clayton, Angie Thomas, Nic Stone, Ashley Woodfolk, Nicola Yoon (Quill Tree, 2021), and Whiteout co-authored by the same group of women (Quill Tree, 2022).
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Ms. Jackson has also written a few picture books. Santa in the City (Dial, 2021) was her first. Deja comes home from school crying, as she has spent the day thinking about how Santa might not be able to visit her in her city apartment. When Mommy sees that Deja is upset, she takes Deja through the city to show her some of the helpers in the community. Mommy also reminds Deja that Christmas is magical, and that “Nothing stops Santa from coming to town.”
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In her second picture book, Trick-or-Treating in the City (Dial, 2024), Janelle wants to celebrate her favorite fall holiday, but her dad has to run the store and her mom has to work. Janelle’s friends offer invitations to a variety of fun ways to celebrate Halloween beyond the trick-or-treating Janelle usually does with one of her parents. After listening to their stories and considering all of her options, Janelle decides on the perfect way to spend her Halloween.
Both of these picture books can be read toward a complete author study, and might inspire young adults to write their own children’s picture book stories.
Both of these picture books can be read toward a complete author study, and might inspire young adults to write their own children’s picture book stories.
 | And, now, for the news you have been waiting for. . . In just under two weeks (Scholastic Press, July 1, 2025), you will be able to read Tiffany ‘s debut middle grade novel Blood in the Water. Kaylani is on vacation with some family friends in Martha’s Vineyard, which is not like her home in Brooklyn. It’s a decent vacation—new friends, beaches, and mystery. When the community hears about the death of a teenage boy, Kaylani becomes obsessed with figuring out what happened. Like the ocean, this story is constantly in motion, with wave after wave of twists, trunks, and thrills. Though the story is geared toward middle grades, it is written in the same TDJ-style that we know and love, and will make a perfect summer read. |
| The Scammer (Quill Tree, October 7, 2025) can be pre-ordered now, and I can’t wait for this one. Jordyn is enrolled in pre-law at an HBCU (I’m getting Howard University vibes). Everything is cool until Devonte, the brother of Jordyn’s roommate arrives on campus. He is just out of prison and needs somewhere to stay . . . just until he gets something together for himself. Good thing he is charming and has lots of friendly advice to help out the young college students, right? |  |
I haven’t gotten to read The Scammer yet, and I anxiously await for my pre-ordered copy to arrive. It will be perfectly timed, a few weeks into fall and right before Halloween. I already know that I will be turning pages and experiencing another thrill. I am counting on Tiffany D. Jackson to continue her lifetime of writing young adult books that taunt us, trick us, and tantalize us. I intend to continue sliding right into the shoes of each protagonist, not knowing if I am about to lead or mislead through the next ride. I might not be able to trust all of her characters, but I can definitely trust the brilliant storytelling of Tiffany D. Jackson.
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