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Six sensational funny books

22 Jun

Young adult can get downright dark and middle grade weaves in and out of serious topics, so where’s the funny? Here are a few favorites:

  1. Slugfest by Gordon Korman: When you have to go to a summer school gym class called PEE, then you know it’s going to be a good time.
  2. This Will Be Funny Someday by Katie Henry: I mean, it’s right in the title.
  3. The Misfits: A Royal Conundrum by Lisa Yee with art by Dan Santat: A supergroup of misfits and a mystery to solve, what could possibly go right?!?!
  4. American Panda by Gloria Chao: Mom’s voicemails for her 17 year old college student daughter.
  5. Swim the Fly by Don Calame: When you’re going to try to make the swim team for a girl and all of your “bros” have weird goals for the summer, readers are just along for the ride.
  6. Lumberjanes: Unicorn Power by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Brooklyn Allen: When aren’t the hardcore lady types from Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp entertaining?
 
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Posted by on June 22, 2024 in Audiobooks, Fiction, Illustrators, Middle grade, 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 stories with witches

20 Jun

It might not be spooky season, but that’s okay because a book with witches is immemorial!

  1. A Break with Charity by Ann Rinaldi: I devoured every book Rinaldi wrote when I was a tween and this was one of my favorites.
  2. Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama: I own the entire series and the spinoff Witch Hat Kitchen because the atelier of little witch girls is the sweetest.
  3. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare: A contemporary classic about the dangers of assumptions.
  4. The Witches by Roald Dahl: Whether in original format or the movie version which is unforgettable, I’m glad to have reread Dahl’s book to remember reading it as a child and being scared out of my mind!
  5. Garlic and the Witch by Bree Paulsen: This and its sequel featuring vegetables as characters and a mansion on the hill will delight all readers.
  6. The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner: If ever I’ve wanted a wardrobe, it’s hers.
 
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Posted by on June 20, 2024 in Authors, Childrens, Fiction, Graphic novels, Illustrators, Manga, Middle grade, 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 manga series

18 Jun

Reading a first volume of a manga series is make or break for me. I’ll know by the end whether I’d want to invest more time in the rest of the series and they typically hold strong if the storyline, characters, or setting (or all three!) are compelling. Here are some of my favorites:

  1. The Girl from the Other Side by Nagabe: A unique relationship between a fantastical creature “from the other side” that the girl calls Teacher.
  2. Blue Box by Kouji Miura: A sweet sports romance.
  3. The Way of the House Husband by Kousuke Dono: It can’t get more humorous than a reformed gangster taking care of his wife and the household.
  4. Cells at Work by Akane Shimizu: I wouldn’t want to learn about the human body any other way.
  5. Spy X Family by Tatsuya Endo: A spy, an assassin, a telepath, and a dog with premonitions create a found family for a mission without knowing each others’ true identities.
  6. Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama: A magical adventure, a delightful protagonist in Coco, and an atelier that trains witches in sigils and glyphs.
 
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Posted by on June 18, 2024 in Manga, Middle grade, Young Adult

 

Six sensational books with characters in prison

17 Jun

As with the list featuring characters dealing with sexual assault and violence, it’s hard to celebrate “six sensational” when it comes to being imprisoned, but again, it’s a necessary topic in literature.

  1. Dear Justyce by Nic Stone
  2. Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam
  3. Juvie by Steve Watkins
  4. From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks
  5. Born Behind Bars by Padma Venkatraman
  6. Hands by Torrey Maldonado
 
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Posted by on June 17, 2024 in Fiction, Middle grade, Verse, Young Adult

 

Six sensational books about dads

16 Jun

It’s Father’s Day here in the United States, so it’s natural to highlight stories featuring dad’s prominently– the good, the bad, and anything in between.

  1. Brownstone by Samuel Teer and Mar Julia: A dad wanting to teach and get to know a daughter who he hasn’t raised but wants to reconnect starting over a summer while fixing up a brownstone.
  2. The Fire, the Water, and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. Pla: A dad who doesn’t see his daughter’s autism as a hindrance for her personal growth.
  3. My Brother’s Husband by Gengoroh Tagame: Single dads raising daughters and gay culture in Japan.
  4. Spy X Family by Tatsuya Edno: How do you be your spy self, find a wife, and adopt a girl all in the name of a work assignment?
  5. Peak by Roland Smith: Pushing his son to the limits of mountaineering but maybe he has different ambitions.
  6. Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry illustrated by Vashti Harrison: It takes all types of hair to be a dad and help a daughter with hers.
 
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Posted by on June 16, 2024 in Childrens, Fiction, Graphic novels, Manga, Middle grade, 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 with sensitive content

14 Jun

Obviously a title like “six sensational” paired with books featuring a sexual assault or sexual abuse is oxymoronic. However, if you’ve been following each post this month, I’m attempting to create mini booklists for topics with the theme of “six sensational”. This topic is one that I knew I wanted to address and here are books that have both been popular with teens for lit circles and individual readers advisory and also have the capacity to show empathy and understanding.

  1. Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess: Evil that lives inside the home.
  2. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez: Historical and gutting.
  3. Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley: There are caring adults that exist.
  4. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson: A contemporary classic that can be paired with Shout by Anderson as well.
  5. Fault Line by C. Desir: Desir’s work other than writing provides a larger context for why teens need to read the book.
  6. Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott: A thin book that packs the ultimate punch.
 
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Posted by on June 14, 2024 in Fiction, Middle grade, Young Adult

 

Six sensational retellings

13 Jun

Where there’s a classic story, there’s a retelling of that classic story. Here are a few favorites.

  1. Red Hood by E.K. Arnold: Little Red Riding Hood but feminist.
  2. An Arrow to the Moon by Emily X.R. Pan: Romeo and Juliet but add Chinese mythology.
  3. The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson: Carrie but with racism.
  4. Snow & Rose by Emily Winfield Martin: Snow White and Red Rose but more woodsy and with mushrooms.
  5. Hunted by Meagan Spooner: Beauty and the Beast but with a Firebird.
  6. A Drop of Venom by Sajni Patel: Medusa mythology with more snakes.
 
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Posted by on June 13, 2024 in Fiction, Young Adult

 
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