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Category Archives: Young Adult

Top 10 of 2022: Young adult books edition

29 Dec

And rounding out the last four posts is my young adult top 10 because that’s who I spend the most amount of time reading and recommending for as a high school librarian. I’ve had the best time reviewing all of my reading this year to be able to pick out the top 10 of each target audience and from conferences to reader’s advisory, telling people to READ THESE BOOKS. So here they are!

I get chills just thinking about my reading memories with these titles which run the gamut of graphic to nonfiction, memoir and historical fiction with some of the best darn authors out there. I think in each one of these books there were lines and pages that I Post-it’ed to go back and reread and experiences that made me into a better human being. Plus, the best kinds of books lead you to other discoveries and I can say that each one of them led me to at least one other book or Google search.

Cheers to the book memories of 2022 and the new ones I’ll make in 2023!

 
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Posted by on December 29, 2022 in Authors, Cover Love, Fiction, Graphic novels, Nonfiction, Verse, Young Adult

 

Readers advisory for October ’22

31 Oct

If there ever was a month to label as “mixed bag”, it would have to be October.

This is just a smattering of the books I read either in print, digitally, or audio and they range from a true crime audiobook of two women murdered in the Shenandoah National Park to the GOAT of horror manga, Juji Ito’s Uzumaki. Then there are middle grade fiction titles like Key Player by Kelly Yang and my continued obsession with Spy x Family. All told there were sixty-three books read for the month.

It was a result of several converging events, committees, and activities:

  • With a conference presentation a few weeks ago, at the beginning of the month I was trying to squeeze in some anticipated titles of 2023 while also reading a few 2022 titles to be ready to talk books.
  • Sitting on a “Best of” books selection committee for nonfiction so I had a few nonfiction titles that I didn’t know about to read to better argue which were the best!
  • A little countdown to Halloween on my Instagram, I read a spooky book a day for the last week that included the wacky spirals of Ito’s imagination to reliving the dramatic 1990 movie The Witches based on Roald Dahl’s The Witches which I had never read and decided to listen to the audiobook of today while traveling in the car. Plus I discovered the delightful Ghoulia.
  • And of course, fitting in the general love of certain series or titles that sit on my endless TBR that I pick up based on length, topic, and format.

November is my birthday month, so I’m planning a few personal reading challenges and organizing my own readathon. Any suggestions?

 
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Posted by on October 31, 2022 in Adult, Audiobooks, Authors, Book of the Month, Childrens, Comics, Cover Love, Fiction, Graphic novels, Manga, Middle grade, Nonfiction, Young Adult

 

New semester

22 Aug

Celebration is always a good thing, for little or big events alike. It’s why Christina Tosi’s Dessert Can Save the World spoke to me; the takeaway is that we should all spend time enjoying life and if there’s dessert it is even better.

So it’s with this post that I’m celebrating the start of a new semester teaching graduate students about young adult literature (with a cup of masala chai): not only because I love the topic (it’s my favorite part of being a school librarian) but because it’s a chance to update and adapt both to changes in young adult literature and to previous students’ experiences in the course and my own learning about online learning for a new crop of would-be librarians. Not all of them will end up working with teens but if I can instill a love of the depth and breadth that young adult literature has to offer, I’ve done my job.

We start off talking about their own reading lives before transitioning to understanding how that affects how we encourage teens in their own reading journey. The video reflection has the benefit of feeling confessional, for better and worse, around what preconceived notions they have about YA lit but also how much time they spend reading for pleasure themselves. This is used to get to know them but also guide the discussions moving forward.

The only thing that makes me nervous going into the fall semester? I have not cleared any of my TBR piles which means my already deep stack of books to be read will only get deeper. As my students read and evaluate books I haven’t read (but now I want to!), I borrow them almost instantaneously thus making my stacks larger.

Here’s just a few in my currently reading pile: Fractured Path (A Mirror novel) by J.C. Cervantes, The Feeling of Falling in Love by Mason Deaver, and A Duet for Home by Karina Yan Glaser. Though there’s plenty more where those came from.

 
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Posted by on August 22, 2022 in Upcoming Releases, Young Adult

 

Readers advisory for July ’22

31 Jul

This past week I saw a tweet that had been passed around in which the question was “how do you read so many books?” and the response was “I avoid all other responsibilities.” For as humorous as it is and how much I’d love for that to be true, everyone has responsibilities, so my waking hours aren’t spent solely on reading (however glorious that would be), but I do try to squeeze in every opportunity to read that I can.

Plus, it’s summer! Reading is basically a requirement which means there were a lot of fabulous books for July some of which I’ve already discussed this month in other posts and on my Instagram account. Which ones were the hottest for the hottest month of the year???

  • Salt Magic by Hope Larson
  • The Weirn Books, Vol. 1: Be Wary of the Silent Woods by Svetlana Chmakova
  • The Road After by Rebekah Lowell
  • Flooded: Requiem for Johnstown by Ann E. Burg
  • Animal Architects by Amy Cherrix and Chris Sasaki
  • Space Trash, volume 1 by Jenn Woodall
  • The Blur by Minh Le and Dan Santat
  • The Obsession by Jesse Q. Suntanto
  • Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison
  • Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
  • A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga
 
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Posted by on July 31, 2022 in Book of the Month, Fiction, Graphic novels, Middle grade, Nonfiction, Upcoming Releases, Young Adult

 

All the five stars I can handle

24 Jul

There will always be the diamonds in the rough, there will also be plenty of average books when you read a lot. So it feels special when in a weekend, you get a few five-star books.

This retelling of the Medusa myth was a book I read in one sitting. Partly because the storytelling was engrossing as was the bittersweet romance between Perseus and the isolated Medusa and the unique addition of illustrations by Olivia Lomenech Gill. Without giving too much away, Burton turns the myth around and encourages deep thought about the cruelty of the gods but also about our pasts.

This is Ogle’s third memoir, the first Free Lunch was groundbreaking, the second was equally heartbreaking and hopeful, and this third one is groundbreaking, heartbreaking, hopeful, and gut wrenching. As tweeted minutes after finishing the book, of the thousands of books I’ve read I can still only count on one hand the number of times I’ve cried while reading. This is one of them by the time I got to the last page in which Ogle’s command of verse and his lived experiences collide to express the deep gratitude he has for his abuela.

I will continue to think about the book long after I’ve finished it. And thank you go Ogle for being as open and forthright about his experiences for this audience.

How did I miss this superhero graphic novel when it came out several years ago? Either way, I’m glad I read it and everyone needs to get themselves a copy of the swapped bodies trope. Two very different girls end up in each other’s bodies and have to learn to collaborate in order to both 1) fix the current situation, and 2) attain their goals as superheroes.

The entertainment factor is high as is the colors and character sketches. Also a book I read voraciously in one sitting.

 
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Posted by on July 24, 2022 in Fiction, Graphic novels, Middle grade, Nonfiction, Upcoming Releases, Verse, Young Adult

 

What I did

25 Jun

Yesterday, Friday, June 24th was the last day of school which ended with a few last booktalks to my colleagues to set them up for the professional reading groups I run over the summer for staff, moving the last few items over to the new library (where we’re still waiting for the furniture), and a picnic lunch.

Today, Saturday, June 25th was the first day of official summer vacation. There will be plenty of time for work this summer that’s generally bookish in nature. But today had to be a *little* special.

The breakfast of champions after a morning training run and sauna session included water, bagel and lox, rose cider, and tea while reading the paper. The runs usually include an audiobook (who am I? I thought I would never be the person listening to an audiobook while running- only motivating music please- but I am now that person). I was actually able to finish Nugent’s Little Cruelties this morning what a twisted piece of literary fiction.

I moved to doing some grading and prep work for the summer grad classes and picked up a flat of strawberries from our CSA which promptly turned into me making biscuits and homemade whip for strawberry shortcake after dinner.

Some more reading.

A dinner of grilled pizzas courtesy of my grill-master husband and sitting out on the patio where I started another book that I’m loving so far, an arc of All Signs Point to Yes: A Love Story for Every Star Sign short story anthology edited by Davis, Montgomery, and White. Then, the strawberry shortcake.

And last, a blog post while also plotting a personal readathon for this summer.

 
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Posted by on June 25, 2022 in Adult, Audiobooks, Blogging, Short Story, Upcoming Releases, Young Adult

 

Readers advisory from May ’22

31 May

Read As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh and The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson when they come out in September, Tin Man by Justin Madson, Dumplings for Lili by Melissa Iwai, and Soul Lanterns by Shaw Kuzki.

With dozens of books read, these sparkling gems shined the brightest.

 
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Posted by on May 31, 2022 in Authors, Childrens, Cover Love, Fiction, Graphic novels, Upcoming Releases, Young Adult

 

The joy of vacation reading

23 Apr

… and by vacation I mean staycation,. I have no picture of a book sitting on my sunkissed thighs with a drink to my left. This past week was our spring break from school that’s typically associated with the Easter holiday however it also coincided with Passover and is the monthlong celebration of Ramadan. For me that did include a handful of religious and family obligations plus a visit from my mother-in-law, but she was going to be flying out by early in the week and I would be able to tackle some to-do items like cleaning and organizing certain parts of the house but also hang with my kids also on break, and of course, read.

I had amassed quite a few galleys via Edelweiss and Netgalley, plus I have an upcoming author panel I’m moderating, and then other print books on my shelf and from the library that I wanted to dive in to. I certainly got my reading time in with several gems in my favorite subcategories. Here were some highlights:

What in particular do I like about vacation reading? I think it’s the relaxed reading atmosphere, the deft movement between audiobooks and print or ebooks when I take a quick break to walk the dog in the middle of the day or decide it’s time to tackle that downstairs closet. The choice is all mine. And it feels extra special because it’s vacation time and it’s my choice and that’s what I choose to do. After all, Jung got it right– “you are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” I am a reader.

 
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Posted by on April 23, 2022 in Adult, Fiction, Graphic novels, Nonfiction, Upcoming Releases, Verse, Young Adult

 

Readers advisory from March ’22

31 Mar

To try to keep up with reading everything you want to read is the same analogy as trying to find information on the internet which is that it’s like trying to take a drink from a fire hydrant- more will keep coming at you. So the task is always to enjoy it. Yes there are times when I have to read certain things like for a committee or a book review for a magazine that has a deadline, but this year I’ve found I have a lot more flexibility and I’m enjoying myself.

The Only Good Indians I already posted about here. That was a highlight from this month that warranted its own post. And a few others for various reasons which I’ll share now, going backwards from audience since The Only Good Indians‘ target audience is adult.

Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz was a perfect Gothic tale to a YA audience. As I’ve shared in the conversations I’ve had since reading it is that while I knew that the subtitle was “a love story”, I think Schwartz could have kept it solely about Hazel’s pursuit of being a physician and it been solidly fabulous. I know why Schwartz included the romance and the ending relied, in part, on it’s existence, but Hazel’s strength of character was memorable all by itself.

I have a good friend who is a high school art teacher. As soon as I closed the book, I sent her a few texts asking if she knew much about Savage. Then I told her she needed to read Augusta Savage: The Shape of a Sculptor’s Life by Marilyn Nelson pronto and that I was just as taken with Nelson’s choice to write in verse but that there was historical context in addition to the biographical content and that I loved a quote that was included by Savage: “I have created nothing really beautiful, really lasting, but if I can inspire one of these youngsters to develop the talent I know they possess, then my monument will be in their work.” Immensely powerful.

And last, a picture book by Phung Nguyen Quang and illustrated by Huynh Kim Lien called My First Day. I will end up owning this book soon because the captivating artwork unlocks a reader’s imagination as much as it connects to every experience we’ve had with a “first”. Yes, the boy is on his way to his first day of school through a maze of obstacles, but perseveres. The writing matches the tone of the design and creates an all-encompassing experience. A feast for the eyes.

 
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Posted by on March 31, 2022 in Adult, Authors, Book of the Month, Childrens, Cover Love, Fiction, Nonfiction, Verse, Young Adult

 

Six for Saturday

19 Mar

… and in six words each.

  1. Magical Boy by The Kao

Brightly colored with action and heart

2. Poisoning the Pecks of Grand Rapids: The Scandalous 1916 Murder Plot by Tobin T. Buhk

True crime meets awkward family drama

3. Broken Wish (The Mirror series) by Julie C. Dao

Magical series each with separate authors

4. Dionysos: The New God (Olympians series) by George O’Connor

Is it really the end, George?

5. Manu! by Kelly Fernandez

Dark and funny for middle grade

6. Let’s Get Physical: How Women Discovered Exercise and Reshaped the World by Danielle Friedman

Curiosity meets research about exercising women

 
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Posted by on March 19, 2022 in Adult, Audiobooks, Fiction, Graphic novels, Middle grade, Nonfiction, Young Adult

 
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