**Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection**

“Serious romantics will enjoy this love story set against racism, classism, colorism, and mental health stigma.”

-School Library Journal

“A nuanced and tenderly pitched story.”

-ELIZABETH ACEVEDO, NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR

“Ismée Williams has created an engaging urban romance that tackles difficult subjects such as mental health and racism, while celebrating poetry, dance, baseball, and the complexities of Latino families.”

-Margarita Engle, Newberry Honor-winning author of The Surrender Tree

“A captivating, classic story about two people who “shouldn’t” be together…readers will be cheering them on until its satisfying conclusion.”

-Booklist

**Gold Medal recipient of the International Latino Book Award for Best Young Adult Romance**

“Heartfelt and meaty”

-Kirkus

“We root for these young lovers — the self-conscious poet with the killer fastball and the shy ballerina who would take a bullet for those she loves — as they learn to let their guards down and be more honest with each other, and with themselves. When their story rolls into its final stop we’re sad the ride is over but delighted we caught this train.”

-NYTimes Book Review

“A charming #OwnVoices novel…Demanding parents, experiences of racism, mental-health challenges, gang violence, and the fallout of a lost job blend seamlessly with moments of poetry to create a realistic and complex romance.”

-Publisher’s Weekly

“YA readers will love THIS TRAIN IS BEING HELD…An excellent Book Group selection. Touching on racial inequalities and prejudices, mental disorders and a negative family life, this book is extremely up-to-date with today’s society.”

-POPSUGAR

About THIS TRAIN IS BEING HELD

I’m so excited for you to meet Isa and Alex. This story is about NYC teens from opposite sides of the tracks (literally) who fall in love while trying to manage family expectations and their highly scheduled and chaotic lives. It’s a modern retelling of West Side Story where both characters are Latinx.

Alex is a baseball player. A great one. His papi is pushing him to go pro, but Alex maybe wants to be a poet. Not that Papi would understand, or ever allow it.

Isa is a dancer. She’d love to go pro except her Havana-born mom is dead set against it. Just like she’s dead set against her daughter falling for a Latino. And Isa’s private-school-Park Avenue life, what with her dad losing his job and her older brother struggling with mental illness, is falling apart.

Fate–and the 1 train–bring Alex and Isa together. Is it enough to keep them together when they need each other most?

TEACHING GUIDE for

THIS TRAIN IS BEING HELD

This trainisbeingheld teachersguide_3p[7] from IsmeeWilliams

Download the Educator Guide

Video Archives

Book Journey Discussion with Mayra Cuevas, author of Salty, Bitter, Sweet

Author-Agent Q&A with Jim McCarthy of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret

Craft Insight: Fiction Writing for Teens

How to Diversify Your Library: for Librarians and Educators (with amazing video by Scholastic about the importance of kids seeing themselves in books)

Interview with I.W. Gregorio about THIS IS MY BRAIN IN LOVE

Ismée Williams Book Journey Interview with Zoraida Córdova

How to Plot, Structure and Outline Your Novel with Mayra Cuevas and Ismée Williams

Book Journey discussion with Jacqueline Firkins, costume designer and author of HEARTS, STRINGS, AND OTHER BREAKABLE THINGS, a modern retelling of Mansfield Park!

FLIPGRID VIDEOS

FlipGrid Video for nErDCamp CT, June 13, 2020

FlipGrid video for nErDCamp PA, July 16, 2020

INVITED TALKS

Ismée talks about the biracial/bicultural experience in the Opening Session of nErDcampCT

More Praise for THIS TRAIN IS BEING HELD

8 Books About Multiethnic Experiences

-School Library Journal

“This is a love story worth rooting for with families and friendships we can all find something of ourselves in.”

-Remezcla Reads: THIS TRAIN IS BEING HELD Is a YA Romance Novel About Latinos Unlearning Their Biases

“An emotional and heartfelt train ride, which I really enjoyed.”

-We Live and Breathe Books, In a nutshell reviews

40 New Books You Need to Read in February 2020!

-The Contented Reader

9 Books by Latinx Authors Dropping This Month

-HIP LATINA

“A modern YA love story inspired by West Side Story, This Train is Being Held by @ismeewilliams follows two NYC teens who meet on the subway: a Cuban ballet dancer from Manhattan, and a Dominican baseball player from Brooklyn. It deals with identity, racism, and mental health with #ownvoices Latinx representation.”

-Beautifully Bookish Bethany

"Because there's never only one path. Or at least, there never should be." THIS TRAIN IS BEING HELD by @IsmeeWilliams is out 2/11 !!! An #ownvoices latinx romance between a ballerina and a baseball-playing poet that all starts with a few chance encounters on the subway.