For the teen art contest at my book-launch party, I asked teens to draw or paint one of two things:

(1) A self-portrait. One of the book’s themes is about how we see ourselves. Tera, the main character, paints a number of self-portraits, and in each one, she sees herself in a different way.

(2) A secret. In the book, Tera draws a secret as “a black wad in a girl’s stomach. A black wad with tiny teeth” that gnaws at her. Teens were asked to draw what a secret looks like to them.

Party guests enjoyed viewing all of the amazing art—36 entries in all. A total of 64 people voted, and Hannah Stevens’ self-portrait was the clear winner. Second place went to Hayley Cho. We had a tie for third place between Anette Mago and Imani Bryant, and we had four honorable mentions. (See below.) First, second, and third-place winners each received a signed copy of A Work of Art and a Michaels gift card. Honorable Mentions also received a signed copy of A Work of Art. Congratulations to all the winners! South Florida has some truly talented teen artists!

First Place: Hannah Stevens, from North Broward Preparatory School, Coconut Creek, FL

Second Place: Hayley Cho, from North Broward Preparatory School, Coconut Creek, FL

Third Place (tie): Imani Bryant from Atlantic Technical HS in Coconut Creek, FL

Third Place (tie): Anette Mago from Pembroke Pines Charter High School in Fort Lauderdale, FL

Honorable Mention (1): Dylan Fox-Snider from North Broward Preparatory School, Coconut Creek, FL

Honorable Mention (2): Junyu Chen (Change), from North Broward Preparatory School, Coconut Creek, FL

Honorable Mention (4): Andres Duarte, from North Broward Preparatory School, Coconut Creek, FL