“Jason Reynolds’ first love story could not be more pitch-perfect. Neon and Aria are fully-developed characters with lives, school, families, friends, responsibilities, and aspirations. Start the clock, sit down, and read this book.”
— Gemma Speight, Changing Hands, Tempe, AZ
Description
A Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner A New York Times Bestseller Seven starred reviews!
“Jason Reynolds has done it again!...Fresh from start to finish…This is what it could be, should be, if only we were all as lucky as Aria. Girls (and everyone) wait for your Neon!” —Judy Blume, New York Times bestselling author of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. and Forever...
#1 New York Times bestselling author Jason Reynolds tackles it—you know…it—from the guy’s perspective in this stream of consciousness story of a teen boy about to experience a huge first. “Reynolds’s foray into romance is as spectacular as expected…Undoubtedly, a story for everyone” (Booklist, starred review).
Twenty-four months ago: Neon gets chased by a dog all around the parking lot of a church. Not his finest moment. And definitely one he would have loved to forget if it weren’t for the dog’s owner: Aria. Dressed in sweats, a t-shirt, hair in a ponytail. Aria. Way more than fine.
Twenty-four weeks ago: Neon’s dad insists on talking to him about tenderness and intimacy. Neon and Aria are definitely in love, and while they haven’t taken that next big step…yet, they’ve starting talking about…that.
Twenty-four days ago: Neon’s mom finds her—gulp—bra in his room. Hey! No judging! Those hook thingies are complicated! So he’d figured he’d better practice, what with the big day only a month away.
Twenty-four minutes ago: Neon leaves his shift at work at his dad’s bingo hall, making sure to bring some chicken tenders for Aria. They’re not candlelight and they definitely aren’t caviar, but they are her favorite.
And right this second? Neon is locked in Aria’s bathroom, completely freaking out because twenty-four seconds from now he and Aria are about to…about to… Well, they won’t do anything if he can’t get out of his own head (all the advice, insecurities, and what ifs) and out of this bathroom!
About the Author
Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, recipient of the MacArthur Genius Grant, a Newbery Award Honoree, a Printz Award Honoree, a two-time National Book Award finalist, a 2024 MacArthur Fellow, a Kirkus Award winner, a UK Carnegie Medal winner, a two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, an NAACP Image Award Winner, an Odyssey Award Winner and two-time honoree, and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors, a Coretta Scott King Author Award, and the Margaret A. Edwards Award. He was 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, Lu, and Coach); Look Both Ways; Stuntboy, in the Meantime; Stuntboy, In-Between Time; Miles Morales Suspended; Ain’t Burned All the Bright (recipient of the Caldecott Honor) and My Name Is Jason. Mine Too. (both cowritten with Jason Griffin); Twenty-Four Seconds from Now...; and Long Way Down, which received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and a Coretta Scott King Honor. His debut picture book, There Was a Party for Langston, won a Caldecott Honor and a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor. He lives in Washington, DC. You can find his ramblings at JasonWritesBooks.com.
Praise For…
"Reynolds uses a stream-of-consciousness style to showcase Neon’s creativity and intelligence. Lockard’s deep, resonant voice is expressive and full of humor that fits Neon’s youth and the bright banter between Neon and his friends. This contemplative novel is a joyful celebration of young love." — AudioFile magazine
"Reynolds and Lockard have become one of those stellar author/narrator pairs inextricably linked in listeners' minds as well as in award-contender lists. This title has an innovative structure that hearkens back to Reynolds' other explorations with form like Long Way Down (2017); here, the plot moves backwards in time by a measure of 24. Twenty-four seconds, minutes, hours, days, months ago, as Neon falls in love with Aria, the two form a relationship, and the two contemplate sex for the very first time. Lockard's narration is beautifully tapped into Reynolds' writing. He knows these characters backward and forward, and not just and Aria and Neon, from whose perspective the story is told. Everyone from lunch-table companions to parents to a hall-monitor-vigilante-styled teacher comes through loud and clear as a fully-voiced individual. It's a touchy topic, but Lockard evokes the tenderness between the central couple, Neon's deep love, his trepidation, his self-consciousness, and his internal depths. This notable and realistic look at young love and romance hits all the right notes in Lockard's impeccable and intuitive narration. Twenty-Four Seconds should find a ready audience with teens who love Reynolds' writing and any listeners up for a vibrant slice-of-life narration." — Heather Booth
“Jason Reynolds’ first love story could not be more pitch-perfect. Neon and Aria are fully-developed characters with lives, school, families, friends, responsibilities, and aspirations. Start the clock, sit down, and read this book.”