If you see me in Seattle, please say “hi”. Remember, unlike how I look in my photo, I wear glasses. Also, I have these snazzy new business cards! Because I’ll be busy, I’m not sure when my posts about the ALA Media Awards or the various ALSC and YALSA lists will go up, but they [...]
Review: Kiki Strike The Darkness Dwellers
By on January 24, 2013
Kiki Strike: The Darkness Dwellers by Kirsten Miller. Bloomsbury USA. 2013. Review copy from publisher. Sequel to Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City and Kiki Strike: The Empress’s Tomb. The Plot: Kiki is back, along with Ananka (the narrator) and the other Irregulars: Luz, Oona, Betty and DeeDee. Inside the Shadow City told how the gang got [...]
YALSA ENYA Finalists
By on January 23, 2013
The YALSA’s Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults is one of two awards where YALSA announces a list of finalists, and then announces the winner in January. Edited to add: the Award went to Bomb by Steve Sheinkin. This year’s committee released it’s shortlist in December. Here are the titles, from YALSA’s the Hub: Titanic: [...]
Morris Finalists
By on January 22, 2013
This past December, YALSA announced the shortlist for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award. Edited to add: The Award went to Seraphina by Rachel Hartman! You can get more information on the Morris Award at the YALSA website. I’ve had the chance to read and review all the books, and let me say, it’s going to [...]
Review: Steve Jobs
By on January 21, 2013
Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different by Karen Blumenthal. Feiwel and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan. 2012. Review copy from publisher. Finalist for the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award. It’s About: A biography of Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, Inc. The Good: Reading books like Bomb, Titanic or We’ve Got a Job [...]
Review: The Brides of Rollrock Island
By on January 20, 2013
The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan. Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House. 2012. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. The Plot: Misskaella Prout is the witch of Rollrock Island, so ugly and disagreeable and witchy that no man would have her for a wife. Misskaella has her revenge on those who keep her [...]
ALA Midwinter 2013
By on January 19, 2013
I’m leaving soon for ALA Midwinter Meeting 2013 in Seattle! Most of my time will be spent in the committee meetings for YALSA’s Fabulous Films Committee. By the end of the meeting, we will have 25 films about “survival.” Stay tuned to see what t hose films are! I also hope to be able to attend the YALSA Board [...]
Review: My Life Next Door
By on January 18, 2013
My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick, Dial Books, an imprint of Penguin. 2012. Copy provided for review. The Plot: Samantha Reed’s mother explained to her about the family next door: “There’s one in every neighborhood. The family that never mows their lawn. The toys scattered everywhere.” The message to Sam is clear: stay away from [...]
Review: Love And Other Perishable Items
By on January 17, 2013
Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo. Alfred A. Knopf, Random House. 2012. Review copy from publisher. YALSA Morris Award Finalist. The Plot: Amelia, fifteen, is in love with Chris. Chris is her co-worker at the local supermarket. Chris is twenty-one years old. Chris is finishing up university, trying to get over Michaela, figuring out what [...]
Flashback January 2007
By on January 16, 2013
A flashback to what I was reading in January 2007. Please note, a lot of picture books! Crazy Cars for Crazy Kids by Mark David. From my review: “Cars. Crazy cars. Cars that should be made; but never will. . . . These cars are very Caractacus Potts and Rube Goldberg-esque, full of details that are bizarre, impossible, and fun.” [...]
Teaser: Quintana of Charyn
By on January 15, 2013
Quintana of Charyn by Melina Marchetta (Candlewick Press, 2013) will be published April 2013. My full review will appear then; in the meanwhile, my tease — and tease it is — is I loved Quintana and loved this conclusion to the Lumatere series. You’ll be seeing this as a Favorite Books Read in 2013. Reviewed from [...]
Review: Titanic
By on January 14, 2013
Titanic: Voices From The Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson. Scholastic 2012. Review copy from publisher. Finalist for the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award. It’s About: The sinking of the “unsinkable” Titanic on April 15, 1912, resulting in the loss of over 1,400 men, women and children. The Good: I believe the first Titanic movie I [...]
It’s That Time of the Month
By on January 13, 2013
How often do characters in young adult books get their periods? Kelly at Stacked and I were discussing this the other day, in the context of the people who live in dystopias who never have to worry about this, apparently. I imagine the arguments on the other side: not every detail of life is shown, [...]
Talking 2012 Books
By on January 12, 2013
Review: After the Snow
By on January 11, 2013
After the Snow by S. D. Crockett. Feiwel & Friends, an imprint of Macmillan. 2012. Review copy from publisher. Finalist for the YASLA Morris Award. The Plot: Willo is watching and listening and waiting. Willo was born after the weather changed, after the seas dried up and the snow kept coming and coming, and people got [...]
Review: Kiki Strike The Empress’s Tomb
By on January 10, 2013
Kiki Strike: The Empress’s Tomb by Kirsten Miller. Bloomsbury USA. 2007. Review copy from publisher. Sequel to Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City. The Plot: In Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City, Kiki assembled the Irregulars, a group of disgraced former Girl Scouts who all have extraordinary talents and skills. Together, these fourteen year olds discovered [...]
Flashback January 2010
By on January 9, 2013
A flashback to what I was reading in January 2010: All the World by Liz Garton Scanlon and Marlee Frazee. From my review: “The poem itself is deceptively simple; describing a day in the children’s lives, but also describing all of us. It shows what we share and have in common. The illustrations (pencil and watercolor) [...]
Review: Paper Valentine
By on January 8, 2013
Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff. Razorbill, an imprint of Penguin. 2013. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. The Plot: It’s summer. It’s hot. A mosquito virus is going around. And the body of a teenage girl has been found in Muncy Nature Park. It’s the summer before eleventh grade for Hannah Wagner. The summer after the [...]
Review: We’ve Got a Job
By on January 7, 2013
We’ve Got a Job: The 1963 Birmingham Children’s March by Cynthia Levinson, Peachtree Publishers 2012. Review copy from publisher. Finalist for the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award. It’s About: In May, 1963, African Americans marched for freedom in Birmingham, Alabama. The marchers were school children. Just as with adult protesters, they were met with police resistance; [...]
New Adult, a Recap
By on January 4, 2013
Just a quick recap of my recent posts about “New Adult” Books. What is New Adult? examines the different definitions of “New Adult.” New Adult, Where Does It Go? considers what category, genre, shelf or aisle “New Adult” is found at. Books That May Or May Not Be New Adult compiles resources about where to [...]
