Some readers have rituals. For a lot of my reading librarian friends specifically there was a lot of late 2019 chatter about their last book of 2019 and/or their first book of 2020. I fall into the same category whereby I strategically plan specific books around occasions. I fall into the latter category of planning both my last book and my first book, both of which ended up being five stars.

Last book of 2019

Marie Lu’s Rebel, the fourth book in the Legend world that takes place in the future in which Daniel’s brother, Eden, is attending university in Antarctica where they’ve settled while June is still working in the Republic. The story, like Lu’s others, have two narrators that are differentiated by the text color as they pace the book out with the developing conflict as it switches fluidly back and forth. The  world she creates is superb and the futuristic action is heart-pounding.

First book of 2020

Monica Hesse’s yet-to-be-released They Went Left that’s anticipated for an April release. Not only have I read Hesse’s other YA historical fiction titles, but her adult nonfiction book American Fire. All showcase her skillful writing. This one fits in a newer focus of YA books on the liberation of Jews after World War II like the Morris finalist from last year, What The Night Sings by Vesper Stemper. Hesse dives into this world with Zofia, who has lost most of her family but still holds out hope that her younger brother Abek has survived. Shifting to several places before settling into a relocation camp where she meets a brooding boy, Josef, she is reunited with Abek but questions about what both boys have been through since the war broke out provide the riveting content of the book’s second half. Put this at the top of your list for April.

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