Jonah Tarver, a troubled Oakland teenager grappling with his parents' troubled marriage, his own mental disorder, and the weight of his best friend's death, embarks on a desperate quest to find meaning in life. On his eighteenth birthday, coinciding with his Senior prom, Jonah, along with his girlfriend Taniesha, his best friend Trevon, and a group of peers, spirals into a night of reckless indulgence in drugs and alcohol in the vibrant city of San Francisco. As tensions escalate and emotions run high, Jonah finds himself thrust into a gripping twelve-hour journey through the dark underbelly of San Francisco's nightlife, forever altering his perception of the world. Will Jonah uncover the purpose he so desperately seeks, or will he discover that life, like broken pencils, may have no point? 2025 Author Shout Reader Ready Award Winner for "RECOMMENDED READ" - 2024 Chanticleer International Book Award Shortlist for Best Short Fiction - 2024 Bestsellers World Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Young Adult Fiction - 2024 Shelf Unbound Finalist for Best Indie Book - 2024 Royal Dragon Book Award Honorable Mention for Best Young Adult Fiction - 2024 Book Viral Millennium Book Award Longlist - 2024 IAN Book of the Year Awards Finalists for Best New Adult Fiction - 2024 Pencraft's Summer Best Book Award Winner for Best Book for Young Adults - Coming of Age - 2024 International Book Awards Finalist for Best African-American Fiction - 2024 Readers Choice Book Awards Silver Winner for Best Adult Book - 2024 Literary Titan Gold Book Award Winner - 2024 Literary Global Gold Award Winner - 2024 Independent Author Award Finalist for Best African-American Fiction and Best Debut Fiction - 2024 Hawthorne Prize Finalist for Best Fiction - 2024 Speak Up Radio International Firebird Book Award 3rd Place Winner for Best African-American Fiction and Best New Fiction - 2023 Outstanding Creator Award 3rd Place Winner for Best African-American Literature "I highly recommend "Broken Pencils," and not just for a young adult audience. I think that everyone who reads this book will put it down with a heavy heart and a deeper understanding of what many people go through when grappling with bipolar disorder. J.R. Rice is a fantastic writer and I'm hoping to read more of his work." — Richard Bist, ReaderViews Kids "J.R. Rice's Broken Pencils is more than a story of a teenager's life; it's a reflection of how things from the past can unfold in a single day...At its core, the novel grapples with the theme of brokenness, portraying it not as a defect to be mended but as an intrinsic part of the human experience." - Karen Almeida, Literary Titan "Broken Pencils tackles a sensitive and difficult topic in a meaningful way that provides food for thought and allows one to become introspective about mental illness and the difficulties faced by those who live with it." — Jennie More, Readers Favorite "Filled with youthful exuberance, raucous partying, vicious truths, and heartbreaking volatility, Broken Pencils is a novel that aims for poignancy, targeting an age group where many struggle to find meaning." — R.C. Gibson, IndiesToday "Rice delves into the complex life and psyche of Jonah, a young Black man suffering from mental health issues and trauma following the death of his best friend....A gripping coming of age story and a skilful exploration of grief, the human psyche and broken relationships." — Beth Thompson, Readers' Choice Book Awards "Broken Pencils is a poignant and thought-provoking novel that explores the complexities of human relationships, the enduring impact of family dynamics, and the redemptive power of friendship and self-discovery." — Neena H. Brar, The Prairies Book Reviews "Broken Pencils is a singular feat of narrative momentum. Dauntless insight and camera angle dance sharply producing a new geometry of storytelling." — Tongo Eisen-Martin, Poet laureate of San Francisco, California, activist, and author "Broken Pencils pulls you down a complex river of identity, coming-of-age, mental illness, and issues of class and race in a way that taps into the universal experience of being human, all while couched in the skilled prose of a literary masterpiece." —M.M. Chouinard, USA Today bestselling author of The Dancing Girls "J.R. Rice drives the reader headlong through the looking glass of Jonah Tarver's soul — and oh what ride. It is both hypnotic and often hallucinatory, but ultimately a journey of devastating truth." — Andrew L. Roberts, Author of "Tears for Shulna" "Compelling and vulnerable, Broken Pencils is a poetic peek inside what it means to feel surrounded and alone at the same time. It juxtaposes the safety and simplicity of childhood against the illusion of freedom that adulthood brings." — Angela Drew, Author of ElderBerry Wine "In this visceral odyssey through a single night, the reader is enveloped in Jonah's gut-wrenching journey toward clarity and acceptance...If there ever was a flawed hero to