February 17, 2013

Review: Wonder Show

Wonder Show by Hannah Barnaby. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2012. Review copy from publisher. Morris Finalist. The Plot: Portia Remini has not run away from home to join the circus. First, its’s a carnival, not a circus, and it’s called Mosco’s Traveling Wonder Show. Second, it was not home, not a home with parents or family. Parents [...]

Flashback December 2005

Flashback December 2005

I’m flashing back to reviews from years past. Here is what I was reviewing in December 2005. The Sacrifice by Kathleen Benner Duble. From my review: “Abigail Faulkner is ten years old, living in Andover, Mass. The year is 1692. She’s high spirited and speaks her mind, sometimes a bit too much, especially since she [...]

Review: Listening for Madeleine

Listening for Madeleine: A Portrait of Madeleine L’Engle in Many Voices by Leonard S. Marcus. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2012. Review copy from publisher. It’s About: Madeleine L’Engle, beloved author of A Wrinkle In Time (Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1962). The Good: How to write a biography of Madeleine L’Engle, especially when so many people [...]

Review: Kiki Strike Inside the Shadow City

Back in 2006, I reviewed Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City by Kirsten Miller (Bloomsbury USA 2006). The sequel, Kiki Strike: The Empress’s Tomb, was published in 2007. The third book, Kiki Strike: The Darkness Dwellers is coming out January 2013. Bloomsbury is reissuing the first two books, with new covers (first image is the original, the [...]

Books That May Or May Not Be New Adult

Books That May Or May Not Be New Adult

I say “may or may not be” New Adult because as we’ve seen, there isn’t a general consensus on definition.  Also, the books that have already been published that may meet the reading interests of those wanting New Adult are to be found in many different aisles of the library or bookstore. See my previous [...]

New Adult, Where Does It Go?

New Adult, Where Does It Go?

Now that we’ve figured out a definition for New Adult, what does it mean, really? OK, maybe a definition is still up in the air and being worked out. (And right now, I’m going to assume you read yesterday’s posts and remember who was saying what about New Adult.) I’ll give my short answer up [...]

What is New Adult?

What is New Adult?

A pretty active topic on blogs, twitters, and even newspapers is something called “New Adult” books. What is “New Adult,” exactly? As I’ve thought about this — and don’t worry, I’m getting to it — I’ve decided to split this into multiple posts. This first post is about the definition of “New Adult,” with links [...]

And We’re Back in the Game!

Welcome back! As you can see, things are different yet the same. So you can be excited but not threatened! Among the new stuff: that snazzy logo. I can’t wait to get some new cards printed up with this! It’s also a cleaner, crisper look all around. Look down below: a box highlighting my recent [...]

Good News

Good News

I know, I know, change can be scary but change can also be good. This is one of the “good” times. As you may have noticed, sometimes the blog has been a bit slow. This blog (along with some of the other SLJ blogs) are on a server that is past its prime. The blogs [...]

Flashback December 2007

Flashback December 2007

I’m flashing back to reviews from years past. Here is what I was reviewing in December 2007. Overall, the end of 2007 as well as 2008 will be light on flashback titles. I had started reading for the Printz (so 2008 will be light), and had personally decided not to mention any 2008 titles. I explain this [...]

A Little Pop

Yes, I confess to having a google alert set up for Pop Goes the Library: Using Pop Culture to Connect With Your Whole Community (InfoToday 2008, co-written with Sophie Brookover). As you can see from the InfoToday website , Pop has been available in ebook format since this past summer. Yay! Fun fact: it’s the [...]

Review: Moonbird

Moonbird: A Year On the Wind with the Great Survivor B95 by Phillip Hoose. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2012. Review copy from publisher. Finalist for the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award. It’s About: B95 is a rufa red knot, first tagged in Argentina in 1995. Since then, B95 has been seen again and [...]

At Smugglivus 2012

As I blogged about earlier this week, Book Smuggler’s is having their annual Smugglivus posting extravaganza. My post is up today; I use the opportunity to force myself to pick my five favorite books of 2012. What are they? Go to Book Smugglers and find out! Edited to add: Fixed the links to go directly [...]

At Beyond the Latest Buzz

As I explained earlier this week, Nova Ren Suma’s Beyond the Latest Buzz series is going on at her blog.
Today, I’m the guest blogger!
What books do I talk about? You’ll have to go to Nova’s blog to find out! Please let me know …

Flashback December 2010

Flashback December 2010

I’m flashing back to reviews from years past. Here is what I was reviewing in December 2010. You can see a lot of Morris and Nonfiction finalists! Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride. From my review: “Sam is your typical slacker – college drop out, working at a fast food restaurant to pay the [...]

Beyond the Latest Buzz

Nova Ren Suma is the author of one of my favorite books from last year, Imaginary Girls. When she asked me to be part of of her latest blog series, Beyond the Latest Buzz, I couldn’t say yes quick enough.

As explained at her blog, Distraction No. 99, for this series Nova “asked YA and children’s librarians and [...]

Beyond the Latest Buzz

Nova Ren Suma is the author of one of my favorite books from last year, Imaginary Girls. When she asked me to be part of of her latest blog series, Beyond the Latest Buzz, I couldn’t say yes quick enough. As explained at her blog, Distraction No. 99, for this series Nova ”asked YA and children’s librarians [...]

But What Do The Rules Say?

Yes, I am that person, and I suspect that when I’m talked about behind my back, this is one of the things that causes eye-rolls (or worse) directed at me.
Blame it on my personality; or blame it on law school. A couple of things that really matter to me: how we define the words we use; [...]

But What Do The Rules Say?

Yes, I am that person, and I suspect that when I’m talked about behind my back, this is one of the things that causes eye-rolls (or worse) directed at me. Blame it on my personality; or blame it on law school. A couple of things that really matter to me: how we define the words we [...]

Smugglivus 2012

The Book Smuggler‘s Smugglivus runs from December 1 to January 7 and is an “end of the year celebration. Back in our first year of The Book Smugglers in 2008, we wanted to do something special at the end of the year leading up to our blog anniversary in early January. So, we came up [...]