I am delighted to share the Reading Guide for The Team here: The Team Reading Guide

I always get excited when the first review for a book comes out (unless it’s not a good review- then I’m distraught) because it means the season of the book is here; the countdown to its release day has begun. The Team is out September 1 and I’m more than read to get this ball rolling! And Publishers Weekly got it going with a lovely review that concluded with this:

“A skillful story that tackles the perils of both hero worship and sports fanaticism.”

I really enjoyed talking with Jason from the Mixed-UpFiles, a website I turn to as a librarian. Every author has a different process and I love reading about how some of my favorites craft their stories.

I am super excited to share that I KNOW YOU STARTED IT is number 18 on the Publishers Weekly bestseller list for the week April 12-19, 2026!!

I had the best time visiting Weber Elementary School where they are currently reading I Know You Started It. The mind map on the white board (in the pic where I’m reading to the 5th grade)is all their theories about who in fact started it. And the other one shows the door they made. Both of these blow me away with how awesome they are! 

I am extremely excited to share the book trailer Scholastic made for I KNOW YOU STARTED IT!

(Out April 7th and available for preorder now.)

I am thrilled that the first review for I KNOW YOU STARTED IT is on a blog both for and written by school librarians! Kiss the Book is a site I go to when I’m in school librarian mode and I love and trust their recommendations, so it’s an extra big thrill that they selected STARTED IT for review! Here are a few snippets (and please click the link for the full review that also includes a spot on synopsis of the story):

“Benedis-Grab does such a great job of building suspense and allowing tidbits of clues through at a time.”

“Even with four main characters, the story flows well and I felt I knew each student and what was going on with them.”

“All four of Benedis-Grab’s books are worth having.”

I am very excited to announce the fourth Secrets and Lies book: I Know You Started It! You can preorder it here and it will be in stores on April 7, 2026. Here is the synopsis:

Someone started a fire at the local middle school!

Was it an accident? A prank gone wrong? Arson? Someone looking for revenge? . . .

Eva, Dani, Liam, and Gabe are determined to figure out who started the fire, and why. And they each have their own reasons for wanting to be the first ones to figure out what really happened.

The administration says they’re looking into it, but evidence is scarce. It will take four students who can tap into the rumors, gossip, and hidden secrets of their school to uncover what really happened on the day of the fire. And if they don’t figure it out in time? Well, one of them could be accused of the crime.

But all their potential leads turn out to be dead ends. It’s as if the arsonist is somehow tracking their every move . . .

I’ve been busy in the library. Raul the Third video visited with our high school kiddos, sharing his journey as a writer and artist, and answering questions. And Nidhi Chanani chatted via video with our middle school. Our exuberant students were able to ask questions, taught how to illustrate a cat and then got to share their drawings with Nidhi, which they were thrilled about. Both events were terrific.

In other news, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Deborah Kalb for her Q&A Blog here. And I’m super excited to be part of Number S#gns, a poetry project organized by awesome author Jen Nails. Each participant was given a date in April with the assignment of writing a poem inspired by that number. I got 5. Each day of April a new poem will be uploaded- I’m really looking forward to reading all of them and proud to be part of such a fun project celebrating poetry.

My book recommendation of March is YA thriller WANDER IN THE DARK by Jumata Emill. It is a top notch mystery and family drama that lifts up issues of race and class. I could not put it down!

Last, I’m including this picture of I WILL FIND YOU in the Scholastic Book Fair flyer because seeing my book in these flyers never ceases to completely delight me!

With less than a week to publication, I’m super pleased to share that I WILL FIND YOU has been named an Amazon Best Books of December for Ages 9-12 and that Book Riot has selected it as one of the Best Children’s Books of December!! Book Riot is one of my top go-tos for book lists as a librarian so this makes me particularly happy!

I’m excited for the book’s “birthday” on Tuesday.  I don’t know enough people in Boulder to have a launch party here (hopefully for the next book) so after work my husband and I will celebrate with blueberry pie (blueberries to match the blue of the cover). I’ll also probably drive my students crazy talking about the book birthday all day Tuesday 🙂