Joy Piedmont
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We Need Diverse Books (Ballet Edition)
Diversity in YA has received a lot of attention recently, thanks to the #WeNeedDiverseBooks hashtag that’s evolved into a formal organization for activism and awareness. Brandy Colbert’s debut YA novel, Pointe was published just two weeks before the influential hashtag was born. Excellent timing because Pointe isn’t only a novel with a narrator of color; it’s a novel [...]
Jobs, STEAM-Style: Careers & Skills | Series Made Simple Fall 2014
Nonfiction titles provide kids with a real peek into the professional world of adults. This season’s offerings are STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and design, and math)-focused and will inspire kids to think seriously about skills and careers, from titles on learning how to program to those on engineering and biotechnology
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, Leslye Walton Candlewick Press, March 2014 Reviewed from ARC Here’s some magic realism by way of fairy tales with writing that’s often achingly beautiful. Some books engage your intellect and others grab your heart; some books, however, immerse you in a sensory experience. The Strange and Beautiful Sorrow [...]
The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia
The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia, Candace Fleming Schwartz & Wade, July 2014 Reviewed from ARC Six stars. It seems like everyone is talking about The Family Romanov*. Let’s set aside those stars though, because a discussion of what it means when a book earns full marks, ahem, stars, should be [...]
National Book Award Finalists
And we have finalists! With yesterday’s announcement of the National Book Award Finalists in the Young People’s Literature category it’s really starting to feel like awards season. Last month, Karyn wrote about the longlist, observing that social conscience seemed to be a common thread among the nominees. Now that we’re down to five titles, her [...]
Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out
Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out, Susan Kuklin Candlewick Press, February 2014 Reviewed from ARC Does literary quality mean that a writer has to have a strong authorial presence? I bring this up because Beyond Magenta is a wonderful nonfiction book. It’s easily one of the strongest contenders for this year’s YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction—but [...]
Noggin
Noggin, John Corey Whaley Atheneum Books for Young Readers, April 2014 Reviewed from ARC I need to be up front about something. I loved Where Things Come Back. I know it wasn’t a favorite ’round these parts, but I was impressed with the nuance and ambition in its debut author’s writing. John Corey Whaley’s Printz-winning novel [...]
The Undertaking of Lily Chen
The Undertaking of Lily Chen, Danica Novgorodoff First Second, March 2014 Reviewed from final copy I almost didn’t write this review. Not for a lack of quality in Danica Novgorodoff’s graphic novel–it has quality bursting out of the pages. No, I almost abandoned this one because of that pesky eligibility question. It’s an issue I [...]
The Impossible Knife of Memory
The Impossible Knife of Memory, Laurie Halse Anderson Viking, January 2014 Reviewed from final copy Addiction, depression, PTSD; these weighty problems are the main focus of Laurie Halse Anderson’s The Impossible Knife of Memory, recently longlisted for the National Book Award. There’s definitely some great writing here that is worth talking about; Anderson’s ability to sustain an [...]
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