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DANGEROUS PLAY
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press | Macmillan
Editor: Mekisha Telfer
Publishing Date: August 3, 2021
ISBN: 9781250750488
272 Pages, Ages 14+
High Resolution Photo | Cover Design: Aurora Parlagreco | Cover Art: Laura Callaghan
Zoe Alamandar has one goal: win the State Field Hockey Championships and earn a scholarship that will get her the hell out of Central New York. She and her co-captain Ava Cervantes have assembled a fierce team of dedicated girls who will work hard and play by the rules.
But after Zoe is sexually assaulted at a party, she finds a new goal: make sure no girl feels unsafe again. Zoe and her teammates decide to stop playing by the rules and take justice into their own hands. Soon, their suburban town has a team of superheroes meting out punishments. But one night of vigilantism may cost Zoe her team, the championship, her scholarship, and her future.
From debut author Emma Kress comes a novel that is propulsive, electrifying, and high-stakes. Dangerous Play is perfect for fans who loved the female camaraderie of Jennifer Mathieu's Moxie and the bite of Courtney Summer's Sadie.
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High Resolution Photo | Photo credit: Erin Summerill
Emma Kress uses she/her pronouns.
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Emma Kress is an author and educator living with her family in Saratoga Springs, NY. DANGEROUS PLAY is her debut novel.
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Emma Kress is a writer and educator living with her family in Saratoga Springs, NY. A graduate of Vassar College and Columbia University’s Teachers College, she also earned her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is a long-time teacher and was one of four finalists for New York State Teacher of the Year. DANGEROUS PLAY is her debut novel.
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Emma Kress is a writer and educator living with her family in Saratoga Springs, NY. A graduate of Vassar College and Columbia University’s Teachers College, she also earned her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts.
A long-time educator, Emma has worked as a teacher, a learning specialist, and an administrator in three distinct settings: a private school in Park Slope, Brooklyn; a public charter high school in the heart of Philadelphia, PA; and a large public suburban high-school in Central New York State. Emma has taught students from all skill sets and backgrounds in grades five through twelve. She was a finalist for New York State Teacher of the Year.
Now, she teaches workshops in schools and writes for the teen she was and for the teens she teaches. DANGEROUS PLAY is her debut novel.
Dangerous Play Specific
Emma Kress taught High School English in Central New York. She is a graduate of Vassar College, Columbia University’s Teachers College, and the Vermont College of Fine Arts’ Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA program. Before her teaching career, Emma worked at the Victim Services Agency (now known as Safe Horizon), the NYC Rape Treatment Consortium, and as a sexual violence peer counselor who also facilitated workshops on sexual assault and consent with teens. Now, she lives with her family in Saratoga Springs, NY. DANGEROUS PLAY is her debut novel.
Please visit the News and Events page to access media links featuring Emma and Dangerous Play. Highlights include a featured review from Publisher’s Weekly, a guest post on School Library Journal’s Teen Librarian toolbox “A Case for More Girls’ Sports Teams in YA,” an interview on a local ABC morning TV show, guest on Truer Words podcast, and feature interviews in both the Schenectady Gazette and the Albany Times Union.
Emma enjoys speaking about writing across all media—radio, podcasts, TV, and print.