Tagged, Hardcover

Liam is a fourteen-year-old graffiti artist living in project housing in Minneapolis with his single mother and three younger siblings. When Liam's estranged older brother coerces him to tag a graffiti symbol for a rival gang, Liam's life is threatened. Due to his apathetic attitude in the classroom and on the baseball field, Liam's private-school scholarship is also threatened. His mother decides to send him to Lake Michigan for the summer to live with her best friend, Kat, a sculptor and art teacher, Liam soon delves into the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Pablo Picasso, and his own personal aesthetics. He's encouraged to consider his art seriously and how it might contribute to a greater community. Having to decide between staying with Kat and returning home to his siblings who need him, Liam's story inspires him to reinvent himself for the better.

Diane C. Mullen's debut novel is infused with an appreciation for the myriad people and colorful urban art in her Uptown Minneapolis neighborhood. Formerly a filmmaker, Diane now works at the Walker Art Center, in the heart of the city. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University. When Diane's not spending time with her children, Kyle and Maggie, she can be found admiring and researching street art, biking around Minneapolis, or tending her plot in the Soo Line Community Garden.