Friday, October 18, 2024, 7:00 PM, Twenty-Four Seconds from Now: An Evening with Jason Reynolds, Evanston Township High School Auditorium, 1600 Dodge Ave., Door 6, Evanston, IL 60201.

BONUS BOOK GIVEAWAY of Twenty-Four Seconds from Now at the event, while supplies last. No registration required.

“Reynolds astounds in a sweetly hilarious story of two Black teens preparing to take a huge first step in their relationship. In frank stream-of-consciousness prose, Reynolds rewinds the teens’ heartfelt romance to showcase its development in reverse: 24 hours before, Neon was avoiding his homework by scrolling through videos he’d recorded of his classmates. And 24 days earlier, Neon was strolling the neighborhood with Gammy and the family dog, Denzel Jeremy Washington. As events roll backward, Neon has conversations with numerous richly wrought supporting characters, including his effervescent musician friend Dodie and his open and loving sister Nat, all of whom regale Neon with their thoughts on sex and love (with varying degrees of embarrassment and enlightenment for Neon). Sex-positive messaging encourages vulnerability in personal exploration as well as open conversations about bodily autonomy and consent. Authentically tapping into the way teens think, Reynolds delivers a mighty exaltation to Black love in this moving story of one boy’s growth and the community that fosters it.” – Publishers Weekly Starred Review

FAN is thrilled to host #1 New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds in celebration of his first YA romance, Twenty-Four Seconds from Now … A LOVE Story. The book has received high praise in advance of publication for its “tender, sweet, wholesome” story that shows a “refreshingly different side to male sexuality.”

Reynolds will do a dramatic recitation of the first chapter of the book from memory and then have an in-depth discussion with the audience. Afterwards, he will pose for pictures with audience members.

Reynolds is a Newbery Award Honoree, a Printz Award Honoree, a two-time National Book Award finalist, a Kirkus Award winner, a Carnegie Medal winner, a two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, an NAACP Image Award Winner, and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors. He’s also the 2020–2022 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. His many books include All American Boys (cowritten with Brendan Kiely), When I Was the Greatest, The Boy in the Black Suit, Stamped, As Brave as You, For Every One, the Track series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu), Look Both Ways, Ain’t Burned All the Bright, and Long Way Down, which received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and a Coretta Scott King Honor.

This event is suitable for youth 12+. It will be recorded but not live streamed and will be available on FAN’s website and YouTube channel.