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Category Archives: Young Adult

Eighth day, please

21 Feb

Winter break is nearing it’s end and I’ve coveted the time needed to do random household chores, update the last pieces of the spring semester for the college course I teach, complete odds and ends work on other projects, and READ.

I read daily. It’s a core element of my daily routine for personal and professional reasons, so it’s work even when it’s not work and it’s not work even when it is work. And Lena Dunham’s quote popped up in my head after thinking about the week that included quite a bit of reading

I couldn’t agree more. I will never get out from under my TBR pile and I spent a few days drinking from my “Death by TBR” mug gifted by my friend, Stacey. So if I could lobby the powers that be for an eighth day dedicated entirely to reading, I would. I am. Please, add an eighth day to the week so that I may read… while drinking tea.

What was I reading during break? What wasn’t I reading is the more apt question.

Picture books like Every Peach Is a Story by Masumoto, Masumoto, and Tamaki, The Octopus by Guojing that is a wordless picture book not yet released, and I’m So Happy You’re Here: A Celebration of Library Joy by Threets and Nam to name a few.

Middle grade graphic novels like Deepwater Creek by Regina and the adapted One Crazy Summer by Williams-Garcia and illustrated by Miller.

Young adult like Leave It On The Track by Fisher, Red Flags and Butterflies by Azzam, I Love Amy by Unni, and the forthcoming Corpse de Ballet graphic novel by Kearney.

Adult books like much-talked about The Correspondent by Evans and the dark manga called Confession by Kawaguchi.

 
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Posted by on February 21, 2026 in Adult, Audiobooks, Authors, Childrens, Fiction, Graphic novels, Illustrators, Manga, Middle grade, Upcoming Releases, Young Adult

 

Love is in the air

14 Feb

I’ve written several posts about romantic books so I’m making this one short and sweet– two books to look forward to publishing in 2026 that I’ve had the pleasure of reading already and want to share with you to put on your radar:

One is by Aida Salazar and features two kids exploring a life outside of screens and out of the country with realism and delight. The other is the third in Kristy Boyce’s delightful “Gaming and Romance” series which is nerdy and the perfect friends to enemies to lovers. Be on the lookout for these two this year!

 
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Posted by on February 14, 2026 in Authors, Fiction, Upcoming Releases, Young Adult

 

The day after the Youth Media Awards

27 Jan

With a snowstorm hitting much of the eastern seaboard, it was to be expected that Monday would be a snow day. For colleagues like my friend Stacey Rattner who builds a fever pitch of excitement about the Youth Media Awards at her elementary school, it was disappointing to not have the day together in the gym, but she pivoted. For me, I was happy to have uninterrupted time to watch it (with a glass of champagne in celebration) at home. I could make my notes, I could tag favorite books and authors who won, and text colleagues on committees to cheer on their work.

And there was plenty of notes, tags, and texts!

While it runs a bit long when publishers and imprints are listed along with titles and creators and committees select a handful of honor titles that deepen the bench for celebration, my happiness was elevated throughout. Highlights included three celebrations of Candace Fleming- two for career achievement recognition and one for winning the Excellence in Nonfiction award for Death in the Jungle. A second was a sustained recognition of Cynthia Leitich Smith’s editing of Legendary Fry Bread Drive-In is worth noting. With its recognition in the Odyssey category, I might have to go back and listen to it because it was magical the first time in print, so I might want a second experience as an audiobook now.

An early favorite to see was Arriel Vinson’s new talent award for her debut Under the Neon Lights. I had the pleasure of moderating a panel for School Library Journal last year for which she was a shining part. And I have catching up to do in categories like Stonewall and Schneider Family because there were some titles that hadn’t come across my desk that I will be on the search for. Similarly, I pay special attention to the Batchelder awards because I’ve found them to be particularly moving or fun (in the case of John the Skeleton by Laan last year)

And last, all the love to the Coretta Scott King illustrator award to R. Gregory Christie for The Library in the Woods and written by Ramsey whose message and moving art is a must-read and happiness that Insectopolis: A Natural History by Kuper that I had on my year-end top ten list for adult nonfiction was recognized by the Alex Award as a book with special teen appeal. To validate that, we had it in our high school collection already and I enthusiastically shared it with a girl who was looking for a book about insects and bugs- I told her I had the perfect book for her.

I’ll ride the high of the celebration of all of the committees’ work to get to this point and recognize the talent of all of the creators of these amazing books by adding more to my endless TBR and looking out for new content by them as well.

And the first book on my list to read that I hadn’t heard about before that was a Stonewall honor will be He’s So Possessed With Me by Liu.

Was there a moment that you were jumping up and down about? Or a book that is now at the top of your list to read?

 
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Posted by on January 27, 2026 in Adult, Audiobooks, Authors, Childrens, Events, Fiction, Illustrators, Nonfiction, Reflections, Young Adult

 

A weekend threepeat

24 Jan

Last weekend was a long weekend due to the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday and I had cleared my calendar for Monday specifically to spend the day with one of the best writers and uncoverers of hidden history, Ruta Sepetys, by way of her new book, A Fortune of Sand which is due out in June. This will be her first official book for adults. That was the cherry on top of the sundae. Preceding that was Katie Bernet’s Beth is Dead, a young adult thriller twisted from Alcott’s classic Little Women; consider that the whipped cream and nuts of the sundae. And immediately before that, I finished the audiobook From Scratch by Tembi Locke. Heavily focused on food, I’d call that the ice cream and marshmallow topping (I’m not a hot fudge fan) from the perfect sundae that was my weekend threepeat. Allow me to elaborate on each book that led to my divine reading weekend.

Tembi Locke narrates her memoir. When it’s personal, it should always be narrated by the writer and because so much of the book focuses on Italian and Sicilian culture in addition to her being raised in the United States, it makes the most sense to have someone capable of navigating the languages and do is seamlessly. It’s uplifting only in that Locke looks at her time with her husband as magic even as he lay dying and she realizes she would have to parent alone but that she would have supports to bolster her when she didn’t think she could do it herself. She discusses his Sicilian roots and how he spoke to her through food and affection. For readers of food memoir, this should not be missed. It’s also a mix of romance, family, and grief. Silently moved in parts, I didn’t realize I was crying until the tears fell down my face.

I’ll start with the cover: to die for. It matches the thriller slasher vibes of most YA that has overtaken the shelves these last few years. With that, it’s hard to make them unique at this point but Bernet did it, ironically, by retelling the classic Little Women. What sets this apart is the intensity- it’s a full speed car crash that doesn’t let up for 400 pages and it’s hard to keep anyone’s attention for that long but I was glued to my couch, tea in hand, reading until the end. No doubt others will feel the same way and I’m going to make a comparison here; Tiffany D. Jackson’s The Weight of Blood is heavily recommended and has made readers again out of a teens that I give it to. And they’re choosing Stephen King’s Carrie immediately after. This could be similar as I would assume many won’t come to Beth Is Dead having already read Little Women. As someone who had both the book AND the 1994 Gillian Anderson movie to draw from to read as an adult, there’s a deeper layer of respect for what Bernet pulls off.

Women is a theme I’m realizing as well to my threepeat. Female authors, female stories and Sepetys’ first adult book is among those. She pulls from the Detroit of the 1920s, but also the framework that women should often be seen and not heard because if they are vocal, there’s real danger they’d be sent away by their husbands. With that, readers meet Marjorie, the twenty-something daughter of an industrious family making their money in the auto industry and follow her through a period of creativity, self-discovery, and retribution. This arc is intense. And Sepetys’ writing is rich and sharp. I felt like I had lived Marjorie’s life because of the immersive storytelling which is more apt because of Sepetys skill in mining hidden history and her own background in Detroit. The setting, characters, and conflict came alive and could it be a Gatsby-esque cinematic sensation? It read like one for sure.

It really couldn’t get any better than that. They were hard to top and three in a row feels like winning the reading lottery. What’s been your longest streak of starred reads?

 
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Posted by on January 24, 2026 in Adult, Audiobooks, Authors, Cover Love, Fiction, Nonfiction, Upcoming Releases, Young Adult

 

Focused on finalists

18 Jan

In a little more than a week, the Youth Media Awards will be announced in Chicago. It’s sad that there won’t be a Midwinter conference through the American Library Association to go along with it, but as the organization continues to shift, it was a necessary change that does damper (just a little) the swagger of the awards announcements that range from the Caldecott to Sibert, Odyssey to Excellence in Nonfiction.

This past Thursday, I was honored to moderate for the third year in a row, the School Library Journal webcast highlighting the five finalists for the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award which includes Ann Bausum, Nicholas Day, Candace Fleming, Gail Jarrow, and Barb Rosenstock.

Anyone can view the recorded webcast by signing up here. I took notes while I was moderating because there were plenty of morsels from each of them regarding their curiosity, their research, and their process that could help any would-be writer or educators wanting to share the love of nonfiction. And after watching the webcast, make sure you’ve read all five of these gems talking about topics like presidential medical coverups, the Fox sisters (known as the creators of the modern seance), Southern reconstruction, Mount Tambora’s explosion, and Jim Jones’s The People’s Temple.

We’ll all be watching on Monday, January 26th!

 
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Posted by on January 18, 2026 in Authors, Events, Nonfiction, Research, Young Adult

 

Last & first

02 Jan

I don’t think I’m the only bookworm who plans their last read of a year and the first read of a new year. It’s always nice when they work out to be stellar reads.

Last

I finished the year with my champagne and white cranberry and Kamome Shirahama’s artwork from the world of Witch Hat Atelier. This was a gift from my son who knows my love of the Witch Hat Atelier series and its spinoff Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen. I’ve cosplayed Coco and have the entire series on my shelf. This book is a lovely addition to that shelf.

First

I started the year with a cup of tea and Emiko Jean’s newest young adult time travel romance Love Me Tomorrow due to hit shelves in February. Her previous romances includes Tokyo Ever After and Tokyo Dreaming. Not only should those be read but this new one should be on the list as well. The character development and dialogue is delightful.

What was your last of 2025 or first of 2026?

 
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Posted by on January 2, 2026 in Authors, Childrens, Cover Love, Events, Manga, Upcoming Releases, Young Adult

 

Best of 2025: Middle grade and YA

19 Dec

And we’ve arrived at Friday, five days worth of top 10 lists from reading this year. To say that I’m a reader is an understatement. It’s a part of me in every way from my profession to my personality.

Books for teens are my bread and butter being a high school librarian, so it is hard to arrive at a top ten. Top twenty or thirty would be better. You’ll see some heavy hitters- authors like Candace Fleming, Gail Jarrow, Marissa Meyer, Kate Messner. I’ve got authors like Suzanne Collins riding a new wave of fans of the Hunger Games with the emotional wreck that is Sunrise on the Reaping. There are debut authors like Vinson writing about the skate rink (shoutout to Midstate where I spend many Saturday mornings and several birthdays and slow skating to Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You hand-in-hand with a crush). The fantasy world that Rundell built in the sequel which was exquisite and creative. And last, a thinker of a book, the dark and tragic but strong and powerful Lady or the Tiger by Herrman.

Were there favorites of yours on any of the lists? Others that you’d want to add? I’ll be writing throughout 2026 so if there’s any focus that would be beneficial, leave a comment.

 
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Posted by on December 19, 2025 in Authors, Cover Love, Fiction, Middle grade, Nonfiction, Reflections, Verse, Young Adult

 

Best of 2025: Graphic novels and comics

18 Dec

We’re close to the end! Today’s top 10 are graphic novels and comics that were my favorites of the year, graphic novels that taught me, entertained me, made me feel something, and inspired me (to cosplay that is!) I always say one of the indicators for me is whether I’d want the art on my wall and that’s the case with any of these.

It’s not a secret that graphic novels are here to stay and if these are any indication of their amazingness, they’ll be around forever. Hats off to the illustrators or the creators that do double duty as author AND illustrator.

What do you look for in great graphic novels and comics?

 
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Posted by on December 18, 2025 in Authors, Comics, Cover Love, Fiction, Graphic novels, Illustrators, Middle grade, Reflections, Young Adult

 

Best of 2025: Manga & manhwa *READ* in 2025

16 Dec

My top 10 lists each year always capture the books published in that year, however manga and manhwa are notoriously difficult to capture year by year in part because the American release of a title isn’t synchronous with the Japanese publication. And because a series can go on for quite some time, if the series is discovered after a publication date many years ago, I can obsessively read through the series without waiting for the next volume. The opposite it also true, a first volume released in 2025 where the wait may be long to see the next volume.

So this list is the only list where the specific volume I’m on may not have been published in 2025, but these were my favorites read this year. However, Maid to Skate should be on your to-be-read list and it comes out… TODAY! I read an advanced copy thanks to Netgalley which is why I am able to put it on the list and celebrate its delightfulness.

As with my adult titles from yesterday, I like dark stuff and The Strange House is no different. I also was into apocalyptic stories which is why The Color of the End and Touring After the Apocalypse make appearances. I can juxtapose that with the friendly story of Frieren and friends, the chill girls night and winter camping in Laid Back Camp and the humor of a former yakuza turned househusband.

Needless to say, I’ll endlessly fill my days with manga and manhwa new and old any day of the week.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s reveal of the top 10 picture books.

 
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Posted by on December 16, 2025 in Book Birthday, Cover Love, Fiction, Illustrators, Manga, Middle grade, Reflections, Young Adult

 

It takes all kinds of labor

01 Sep

It’s not just the unofficial end to summer, but a day that is set aside to recognize the jobs that make the world go round so I thought I’d share a few favorites from over the years.

  • Terkel’s comprehensive interviews of what people do and how they think about their jobs in Working.
  • Montgomery highlights the life and work of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman (before the term existed) who revolutionized slaughterhouses in Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loves Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World.
  • Ottaviani and Wicks paired up to focus on three women scientists working with Primates: Goodall, Fossey, and Galdikas in Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birute Galdikas.
  • The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients’ Lives is Theresa Brown’s memoir as a nurse that I had the pleasure of Zooming with during the pandemic along with an Introduction to Medical Sciences class I collaborated with the teacher on to read the book and talk about nursing to high school students.
  • Melissa Sweet pays homage to writer E.B. White in Some Writer! The Story of E.B. White.
  • A riveting story of a woman who built a business as a cleaner called in by police, fire, and families after traumatic occurrences in The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman’s Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay, and Disaster written by Krasnostein.
  • Recipes and business acumen are on display in the teen adaptation of Onwuachi’s Notes From a Young Black Chef.
  • Want a nice overview of labor? Look no further than Shift Happens: The History of Labor in the United States by Mann.
  • And my love of cemeteries also means I love Catilin Doughty, the mortician talking about her work in the crematory and beyond in Smoke Gets In Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory.
 
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Posted by on September 1, 2025 in Adult, Authors, Events, Nonfiction, Young Adult

 
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