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Category Archives: Nonfiction

10 authors that I automatically add to my TBR

20 Oct

Today I saw a publisher post on Instagram highlighting Sy Montgomery’s new book What the Chicken Knows: A New Appreciation of the World’s Most Familiar Bird due out in November. Without thinking, I opened my Goodreads app and added it to my TBR. It got me thinking about those authors that automatically get added to my TBR without a second thought. They are, in no particular order:

  1. Ruta Sepetys
  2. Sy Montgomery
  3. Jason Reynolds
  4. Jeff Zentner
  5. Erik Larson
  6. Jon Krakauer
  7. James L. Swanson
  8. Mary Roach
  9. Caitlin Doughty
  10. Candace Fleming
 
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Posted by on October 20, 2024 in Adult, Authors, Childrens, Fiction, Middle grade, Nonfiction, Upcoming Releases, Young Adult

 

Six sensational Muslim stories

29 Jun

Earlier I featured stories with Jewish characters so I also wanted to feature stories with Muslim representation.

  1. I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai: The GOAT of a generation fighting for women and education specifically.
  2. Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson illustrated by Adrian Alphona: Superheroine? Sign me up.
  3. Once Upon an Eid edited by S.K. Ali and Aisha Saeed: From fashion to food, a celebration of Islamic culture.
  4. An Emotion of Great Delight by Tahereh Mafi: A Muslim girl navigating a post 9/11 world.
  5. Yasmeen by Saif A. Ahmed illustrated by Fabiana Mascolo: This is a comic you’ll never forget, not only the story but the storytelling in comic form.
  6. Huda F. Are You? by Huda Fahmy: A funny graphic memoir with the best title.
 
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Posted by on June 29, 2024 in Comics, Fiction, Graphic novels, Illustrators, Middle grade, Nonfiction, Young Adult

 

Six sensational nonfiction

28 Jun

I will always stop to read middle grade and YA nonfiction (in addition to nonfiction for any other audience). Here are some oldies that are my favorite:

  1. How They Croaked: The Awful Ends to the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg illustrated by Kevin O’Malley
  2. Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World by Sy Montgomery
  3. The Great American Dust Bowl written and illustrated by Don Brown
  4. “The President Has Been Shot!”: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy by James L. Swanson
  5. To the Moon: The True Story of the American Heroes on the Apollo 8 Spaceship by Jeffrey Kluger
  6. Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein by Linda Bailey illustrated by Julia Sarda
 
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Posted by on June 28, 2024 in Nonfiction, Young Adult

 

Six sensational books related to beauty standards

24 Jun

There can be multiple list or a super long list of books featuring conversations about beauty standards whether it deals with eating disorders, disability, fashion/style, or body positivity, however here are six that stick out to me.

  1. Hungry Ghost by Victoria Ying: Mom’s focus on body and a tragedy lead Valerie down the path of an eating disorder.
  2. Lu by Jason Reynolds: Born with albinism, Lu is the co-captain of his track team and helping other makes things right as the stellar main character in the four part series of Reynolds’.
  3. Boys Run the Riot by Keito Gaku: The transgender character finds refuge in fashion.
  4. The Skin I’m In by Sharon Flake: This classic in which a student and her teacher bond over conversations of self esteem related to colorism.
  5. A Face for Picasso by Ariel Henley: Henley details the quest to “normalize” her face having been born with Crouzon Syndrome and always comparing herself to her twin.
  6. North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley: Born with a port wine stain, the quest to cover it rather than accept it is Terra’s journey of self acceptance in this YA title.
 
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Posted by on June 24, 2024 in Fiction, Graphic novels, Illustrators, Manga, Middle grade, Nonfiction, Young Adult

 

Six sensational books featuring Judaism

21 Jun

So often books with Jewish characters center around the atrocities of the Holocaust, but there are dynamic stories of contemporary Jewish life or folklore that deserve a post.

  1. Across So Many Seas by Ruth Behar: Spanning generations, this one begins in 1492 with the Spanish Inquisition.
  2. The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum: A teen boy learning about the world having been cloistered for some time.
  3. The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R.M. Romero: A Jewish cemetery in Prague and a ghost in this atmospheric verse novel.
  4. Dancing at the Pity Party: A Dead Mom Graphic Memoir by Tyler Feder: Learning about bereavement in Judaism is second to Feder’s poignantly humorous take on losing a parent when you’re still young.
  5. The Boy In the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne: I still get chills thinking about the ending of his Holocaust novel featuring a nine-year-old protagonists view of the war.
  6. Wrath Becomes Her by Aden Polydoros: A golem created to get revenge- will she?
 
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Posted by on June 21, 2024 in Authors, Fiction, Graphic novels, Middle grade, Nonfiction, Verse, Young Adult

 

Six sensational books near/by/about water

19 Jun

With a heat index of about 100 degrees here in New York State, I figured water both to hydrate and swim in is the best way to keep cool besides air conditioning. Hence, today’s topic featuring water!

  1. The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag: Featuring a selkie.
  2. A Most Beautiful Thing: The True Story of America’s First All-Black High School Rowing Team by Arshay Cooper: Like Crossing the Line by Kareem Rosser, addressing racism in sports notoriously dominated by white people leads to a deeper understanding of the discipline of any sport and how it shapes us as humans.
  3. In Waves by A.J. Dungo: Deeply emotional, this graphic memoir is an homage to surfing and a woman.
  4. Swim the Fly by Don Calame: So stinkin’ funny and also about a boy winning the affections of a girl on the swim team by joining the swim team.
  5. Aniana Del Mar Jumps In by Jasminne Mendez: Being diagnosed with juvenile arthritis, Dominican girl Aniana conspires with her dad to swim against mom’s wishes.
  6. Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas: A middle grade graphic novel with a big heart.
 
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Posted by on June 19, 2024 in Authors, Fiction, Graphic novels, Illustrators, Middle grade, Nonfiction, Young Adult

 

Six sensational school stories

15 Jun

With school coming to a close for us in New York State, I’m dedicating today’s post to six sensational stories that rely on school as a primary backdrop for the story. This doesn’t include the boarding school stories typically providing the vibe for dark academia books which will come in a future post.

  1. Assassination Classroom by Yusei Matsui: A classroom of students whose quest it is to try to surprise and kill their alien octopus teachers before he destroys the world… good luck.
  2. The Superteacher Project by Gordon Korman: How many of your teachers do you think might have been robots??!?!
  3. The Pregnancy Project by Gabby Rodriguez with Jenna Glatzer: A memoir of a girl who faked a pregnancy in her senior year of high school to capture the attitudes of teen pregnancy provides a mirror for us all.
  4. Schooled by Gordon Korman: How does a kid go from homeschool to middle school and not make a few mistakes?
  5. Invisible by Christina Diaz Gonzalez and Gabriella Espstein: The racism the students experienced being put together in the cafeteria for a service project bonds them in more ways than one.
  6. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson: Ostracized after Melinda called the cops at a summer party, it’s making her first year of high school miserable, especially when she has to see HIM; luckily her art teacher is helping her lean into her pain.
 
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Posted by on June 15, 2024 in Fiction, Graphic novels, Manga, Middle grade, Nonfiction, Young Adult

 

Six sensational books set in space

12 Jun

When done well it pulls me in because science fiction isn’t my go-to category to read from. However, these were all fantastic and of course, of course, of course, I have to highlight Saga. If you ever want to talk about Saga with me, I’m always available. I own them all AND I have reread them several times over.

  1. The Martian by Andy Weir: Survival in space alone.
  2. Crownchasers by Rebecca Coffindaffer: A reluctant rise to power and a space race.
  3. The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James: Atmospherically intense.
  4. Space Trash by Jenn Woodall: Will they ever get back to earth after it’s been trashed.
  5. Crash From Outer Space: Unraveling the Mystery of Flying Saucers, Alien Beings, and Roswell by Candace Fleming: A well-presented middle grade about all things outer space from a prolific nonfiction writer.
  6. Saga series by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples: I cannot say anything that comes close to doing this series justice (even though it’s not even finished yet), so I won’t. All I can say is, it’s a must-read and certainly adult content.
 
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Posted by on June 12, 2024 in Adult, Comics, Fiction, Middle grade, Nonfiction, Young Adult

 

Six sensational honeybee stories

10 Jun

Now that summer is in full swing, bees are a-buzzing. Last year, we put up a honeybee home by our flowers and plants and are hoping that the bees find their way soon enough. It got me thinking about a few stories that feature bees, both fiction and nonfiction.

  1. Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera by Candace Fleming illustrated by Eric Rohmann: The perfect picture book about honeybees.
  2. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd: The Black beekeeping sisters certainly make the book memorable.
  3. The Honey Bus: A Memoir of Loss, Courage, and a Girl Saved by Bees by Meredith May: Using the animal world as a mirror for the human world as she moves past her dysfunctional upbringing is an emotional journey.
  4. The Hive: The Story of the Honeybee and Us by Bee Wilson: All of Wilson’s books have been fabulous, so exploring everything from the use of honey in words like honeymoon and calling someone a busy bee to how it enhances food was a work of art.
  5. Between You, Me, and the Honeybees by Amelia Diane Coombs: An enemies to lovers YA romance about a girl who loves her apiary.
  6. A Honeybee Heart Has Five Openings: A Year of Keeping Bees by Helen Jukes: An unhurried story of learning about life through learning from bees.
 
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Posted by on June 10, 2024 in Adult, Authors, Childrens, Nonfiction, Young Adult

 

Six sensational fashion-forward characters

04 Jun

I love a good dress. I definitely notice when characters in graphic novels have style or pay attention when the character is fashion-conscious or has designs (yup, I went there) on being in the fashion industry. Here are six favorites:

  1. Any Way You Look by Maleeha Siddiqui: A fashionista Muslim girl working at her mother’s custom shop has an eye for details.
  2. 100 Unforgettable Dresses by Hal Rubenstein: Recommended by a colleague who knows I love dresses, this one paints a portrait of 100 dresses from the past and present.
  3. Dressed in Dreams: A Black Girl’s Love Letter to the Power of Fashion by Tanisha C. Ford: A collection of items and styles that absolutely meets expectations.
  4. I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn: Kimi loves fashion and sees a future in it even when others might not. She perseveres during a trip to Japan and back to her roots.
  5. The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang: Enough said!
  6. The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner: If I’ve ever loved a character’s fashion sense, it’s Moth’s. Thank you to Steinkellner for creating her fabulous wardrobe.
 
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Posted by on June 4, 2024 in Authors, Fiction, Graphic novels, Illustrators, Middle grade, Nonfiction, Style, Young Adult

 
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