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Many adults say that reading Judy Blume’s novels was a rite of passage during their adolescence. Her books are known for being authentic to the experiences of children and teens. She has never shied away from writing about real issues, and she has won numerous prestigious awards throughout her career. Blume is a cultural icon whose books have sold more than 80 million copies and have been translated into 31 languages, but they had never been adapted into a feature film. That will change this June when a film version of Tiger Eyes, which was originally published in 1981, is released in theaters. After 15-year-old Davey’s father is killed in a convenience store robbery, her mother decides to move the family to New Mexico. There, Davey meets a mysterious boy named Wolf, who seems to be the only person who understands Davey’s anger and pain. Slowly, Davey begins to deal with her grief and learns to live this new life. At its heart, Tiger Eyes is a story about the Davey facing the sudden loss of someone she loves. Blume, who related to the story because of the sudden loss of her own father, brings authenticity to Davey’s experience.

The film version of Tiger Eyes was directed by Blume’s son Lawrence, who also co-wrote the screenplay with his mother. Both Judy and Lawrence were recently interviewed by Chelsea Clinton on NBC’s Rock Center with Brian Williams. Fans will be excited to learn that in that interview Blume revealed that she is currently working on a new novel for adults.

Finalists for the 2012 National Book Awards were announced yesterday. In the category of Young People’s Literature, three teen novels earned nominations. All three center around conflict and struggle, sometimes due to outside forces and sometimes from within.

Endangered by Eliot Schrefer examines the complexities of parent-child relationships with a unique twist. Sophie does not understand her mother’s dedication to the bonobos of the Congo, and she resents her life of forced compliance. When the sanctuary is attacked by armed revolutionaries, they must flee into the jungle with the apes. Sophie finds herself a surrogate mother to an infant bonobo named Otto, and she understands for the first time the worries of being a parent as they struggle to survive. View the author’s introduction to Endangered as well as footage from his trip to the Congo.

Family strife also figures prominently in Out of Reach, the lyrical debut by Carrie Arcos. Rachel’s idol has always been her big brother Micah; however, there is a darkness in him that threatens to engulf them both. Micah is a drug addict, albeit a “high-functioning” one, and he has always been able to control himself long enough to win the battle with his addiction. When he fails to come home one night, Rachel blames herself. As she searches for Micah, her own inner darkness rises to the surface and the lies that have woven through the fabric of their family begin to unravel. View the emotional book trailer.

Patricia McCormick earns her second National Book Award nomination with Never Fall Down, a novel based on the true story of a young survivor of the Cambodian Killing Fields. Read the previous Between the Covers review.