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The ALA Youth Media Awards are just around the corner and that means that it’s redux time! Today we’re revisiting two 2014 favorites: Candace Fleming’s The Family Romanov and We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. The Hudson Valley Library Association’s book club met today for its annual Mock Printz. Karyn and I hosted some very [...]
100 Sideways Miles, Andrew Smith Simon & Schuster, September 2014 Reviewed from final copy If you were a teenager who spent at least one long night with friends discussing the future, destiny, and the fear that you can’t control the course of your life, 100 Sideways Miles probably reminded you of those moments. Finn Easton, the novel’s [...]
The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone, Adele Griffin Soho Teen, August 2014 Reviewed from final copy A few weeks ago, I reviewed How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon. It’s not immediately obvious, but that title shares remarkable similarities with Adele Griffin’s faux-nonfiction novel, The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone. Both books focus on dead teens, [...]
She Is Not Invisible, Marcus Sedgwick Roaring Brook Press, April 2014 Reviewed from ARC Marcus Sedgwick has literary chops. Here’s an author who knows his way around a sentence. Last year, Karyn and I predicted that Sedgwick’s Midwinterblood would get a shiny sticker, despite our reservations about the novel’s ability to hold up under close scrutiny. [...]
How It Went Down, Kekla Magoon Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), October 2014 Reviewed from final copy For many, the second half of 2014 will be remembered as the time when police violence against black communities sparked outrage, protest, and calls for change. This is a timely and sorrowful moment for How It Went Down to arrive [...]
I’ll Give You the Sun, Jandy Nelson Dial Books for Young Readers, September 2014 Reviewed from digital galley and final copy A lot of things make me cry. A great book, a sad movie, and occasionally, a really moving commercial*. I have a long list and I’m really honest about being particularly susceptible. But I’m [...]
The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights, Steve Sheinkin Roaring Brook Press, January 2014 Reviewed from final copy This is a difficult review to write. The reason I’m struggling has nothing to do with Steve Sheinkin’s book, and everything to do with it. My thoughts keep turning to Michael Brown, [...]
This morning, we’re looking at two novels set in boarding schools; And We Stay is Jenny Hubbard’s follow up to her 2012 Morris Award Finalist, Paper Covers Rock, and debut author Chelsey Philpot is inspired by classic literature in Even in Paradise.* Both novels feature a young woman with a traumatic past who, in her [...]
A Matter of Souls, Denise Lewis Patrick Carolrhoda Lab, April 2014 Reviewed from final copy Whenever I review a book, I try to remind myself of my personal quirks as a reader. A major one I have is that it usually takes me approximately four-to-eight pages before I feel firmly oriented in a story. This [...]