Many poems take the form of ZJ talking about long-ago events and recent ones, often in the same poem, jumping backward and forward in time. Instead, the novel consists of poems, which serve as Zachariah “ZJ” Johnson, Jr.’s memories. Woodson’s storytelling is non-linear, meaning the novel does not chronicle one event after the other. This guide references the first edition, published in 2020 by Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Like these authors, Woodson’s works are known for tackling complex emotional issues in a way that young readers can readily understand, even as the characters grapple with mature topics. Woodson was also the 2018-2019 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, preceded by Walter Dean Myers, and Gene Luen Yang. The novel earned Woodson the 2021 Coretta Scott King Author Award from the American Library Association.
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