Boston Book Festival

So many families seem picture perfect, but what happens once that camera goes away? Learn about three very different families whose teens all have secrets bubbling underneath the smooth surface, and they might just be at their breaking points! Patricia Park’s What’s Eating Jackie Oh? tells of Jackie’s desire to throw off the yoke of being your model minority while trying to keep her cool dealing with the expectations of her Korean-American parents as well as the cutthroat competition to win a cooking show. Chilling horror tale A Family of Killers by Bryce Moore depicts the cold and murderous Bender Family, alongside Warren, the teenage son of one of the Benders’ victims, determined to avenge his father. Desmond Hall’s Better Must Come follows the stories of Deja and Gabriel, two Jamaican teens aiming to find a way out for themselves while protecting the people they love most. Come hear these three authors discuss their characters’ different cultural expectations and circumstances in dealing with the funny, the treacherous, and the oh-so-real pressure to be picture-perfect. Simmons University Professor Cathryn Mercier moderates.