Related
How to Find a Missing Girl can be fun, silly, and fast-paced and defined by grief and hope. The feelings are still there. They can co-exist. I know they do.
Change will always be hard, but now I have a new mantra. If Kavi can do it, so can I.
And so can you.
The verse novel format adeptly captures Chloe's racing mind, her outbursts, and her new need for introspection. A solid read with a main character who undergoes genuine growth.
I hope the proliferation of fantasy books grounded in African societies will create familiarity for readers and a new shorthand. I hope it will inspire readers to learn more about the real places and people that underpin the stories.
Only when people feel understood and seen, not when they are shamed, can conversation and change can truly begin.
How lucky we are. So many stories out there, hiding in plain sight. Just waiting to be found.
Audio adaptation of visually reliant, multilayered storytelling is not quite like transforming any other genre for the ears. These 19 audio titles adapted from graphic novels rise to the challenge.
Over on The Yarn podcast, I interviewed Lane Smith about his latest book, Stickler Loves the World.
My roots, traditions, language and stories all come from that place, so in writing All That Shines, I was calling home. Trying to recreate those nights full of shimmering stars, meadows full of blue green grass you could get lost in and friendships that last forever.
A really great story of the lengths one teen will go to to help keep her family together. Somehow Zimmermann makes this story of neglect as hilarious as it is heartbreaking. A stellar read.
Your shelved stories won’t be lost to the dust. Rework bits of it into your new manuscript. Borrow entire chunks and passages freely (after all, it’s your own writing).
The imaginative and fantastical landscapes that horror germinates in are great fun. And when done right they are: scary, exciting, revealing, unnerving, unexpected, funny, dramatic…you know, like life.
This powerful, well-written debut is an outstanding read not to be missed. I have read 164 books this year so far and this book is definitely in my top ten reads of 2023.
Fear plays a role in life. It keeps us safe. It keeps us on our toes. And sometimes...it's just fun
Gil and his friends are looking to be heard, not just written off, not just used for good publicity whenever their school needs to show how "diverse" it is. And if no one is willing to listen? Well, Gil and company will make them.
Get out your TBR lists! Here are 32 new and forthcoming middle grade and YA books you don't want to miss!
This month’s titles allow patrons to enjoy a staycation to a variety of fantasy locales from the comfort of their own home. And, they're a great way to get kids' brains strategizing for the new school year.
Hereditary love curses, prophetic dreams, dire warnings from spirits—this is the magic I infused into my debut novel, A Tall Dark Trouble. A magic that’s steeped in Caribbean beliefs and practices, and a magic I grew up with.
Author Chris Baron takes us behind the scenes of his new book THE GRAY.
A powerful, unflinching look at the hard truths of the legacy of slavery, mental health issues, and the connection between medical neglect and racism
Graphic novels, mysteries, a grumpy/sunshine, a mental health story with a cryptozoological surprise, and more!
The heart of Forget-Me-Not Blue springs from something that happened to me in fourth grade music class when we were learning a folk dance that required girls and boys to partner.
Jarrett Lerner is on The Yarn podcast taking listeners behind the scenes of A WORK IN PROGRESS.
These 11 family music albums full of STEM and SEL topics will have kids moving to the beat and learning some important lessons while doing so.
Jett’s story grew from my wonderings of how my life would’ve been different if I’d had access to age-appropriate books featuring characters who had survived trauma. I might not have felt so alone or ashamed. I might not have waited decades to tell my secret.
In the heart of S.O.S., John embarks on an enlightening journey, discovering the true value of genuine friendships and grappling with the challenges that accompany fame
Rana Joon and the One and Only Now, my debut YA novel, was never meant to be about grief, but sometimes life has different plans in store for us than what we can imagine.
I wondered what might happen if a girl who is hell-bent on maintaining her loner status is forced to socialize with an elderly woman. That “what if” lead to the very first draft of what would eventually become All Alone With You.
Part two of our LIVE interview with Kate DiCamillo at ALA is up, and I think you're going to like it.
For those who can take the heaps and heaps of pain and trauma laid out here, they will find a devastating book beautifully written, an empowering book about speaking your truth, about solidarity, friendship, and about hope in even the very worst of times.
The Barbie movie comes out TOMORROW! If you’re on pins and needles for more Barbie content, or if your local theater has sold out, try these tween and teen graphic novels that might scratch your Barbie itch. The Sweet Valley Twins are BACK: in graphic novel format! Join Jessica and Elizabeth as they take on […]
26 new and forthcoming books for middle grade and YA readers.
Love, fear, growing up, coming out, the pandemic, and the Orlando nightclub shooting all captured in ten full-color panels.
My brand-new emotionally complex and deeply researched historical middle-grade novel, Light Comes to Shadow Mountain, started life on the page—and in my mind—as a picture book.
I like books that show me something new, and this book presents an underrepresented storyline (young marriage/engagements) and gives the reader a lot to think about. A really good, interesting read.
In 2023, in our current era of censorship and aggressive attempts at book banning, perhaps it’s the most revolutionary thing we can do: speak. Or listen.
Check out how the two authors, from different generations, approached the classic brand and developed the different characters.
It's happening! It's really happening! I am actually making my way through some of the books I set aside in the last months of the school year! Here are quick reviews of a handful of those titles.
It's happening! It's really happening! I am actually making my way through some of the books I set aside in the last months of the school year! Here are quick reviews of a handful of those titles.
Reading the classics is hard for some people. For a lot of people. And a lot of people simply won’t pick them up. That’s okay.
Enjoy some rapid fire Q&A with Laurel Snyder, Lauren Castillo, Brad and Kristi Montague, and M.T. Anderson.
Many teenagers in this day and age not only understand that politics will impact their world, but that they can in turn, impact politics.
At times, life presents us with opportunities disguised as challenges. If we leap, we just might find solid ground and oh so much happiness.
YA author Gigi Griffis talks about her new novel THE WICKED UNSEEN and the importance of tackling tough topics for teens
To some people beginning with an image before writing the story might seem strange. But I have always been a visual person and drawing my way towards the story and solutions in my stories, works best for me.
It! is! summer! break! I have high hopes for cranking through tons of books from Mount TBR. Here are some recent additions.
Over on The Yarn podcast, Aubrey Hartman talks about her middle grade debut, The Lion of Lark-Hayes Manor.
Thank you to SLJ’s TLT, and Amanda MacGregor in particular, for allowing me to discuss several topics related to my debut, YA novel, FATIMA TATE TAKES THE CAKE. It was released June 13th, 2023, by Holiday House. The main character, Fatima, is a seventeen-year-old high school senior who aspires to become a pastry chef, contrary […]
Who are you when so much of your life is about image? When do you get to be you?
When I began to write All the Dead Lie Down, I was imagining what it would be like to have anxiety and be dropped into the middle of an actual Gothic novel.
Check out the hot titles this past year at my elementary school!
I write books about grief not to make the reader sad, I write them to give readers a safe space to heal.
I wrote a book that would please a middle school kid who wants to hear his pen cluck just one… more… time.
With offerings from Weston Woods and productions about conservation and immigration, these works both entertain and break down complex topics for educators and students.
The idea bubbled up practically overnight: the story of a young, gay, Hispanic teen (that’s me), who falls in love with a cowboy (that’s Texas), who may or may not be a killer (and that’s Jane Austen).
This companion novel allows me to tell another one of those untold stories—uncovered through videos and memoirs and articles—of a young boy yearning to, one day, reunite with his father.
Our latest video game reviews feature a vengeful god, a speedy bipedal hedgehog, a laser-wielding space bounty hunter, and a squishy pink puffball.
I’m a sucker for a good happily ever after. I believe that most people deserve one, and deserve to see people like themselves have one. Which is one of the reasons I wrote Rhythm & Muse, to fill a void that I wasn’t finding at the time. A black, teenage boy finding his.
This is my love letter to all the equestrians who haven’t seen themselves on the page. I’m going to need your help and support to get my books into the hands of kids who want and need them, so I hope you go on this ride with me.
A Podcast Experiment: SPEED ROUND w/ Marla Frazee, Dan Santat, Doug Salati, and Amina Luqman-Dawson.
Listen to our first-ever SPEED ROUND episode of The Yarn podcast!
Crilley talks about writing and illustrating a novel paying tribute to Taiwan more than 30 years after living there to teach English.
Even if the road ahead is scary, we’re optimistic for the future and grateful for how far we have come. TIME OUT, ultimately, is filled with that optimism.
Can I tell you it beautifully captures the delicate yearning that marks so much of adolescence? And will you know what I mean by that? Because it just does.
I'm down to a handful of days of school left and cannot wait to start digging into the TBR Mountain Range currently in my office.
Ever Since and When Oceans Rise are about telling stories. More importantly, they’re about the power of telling your own story, even when it’s hard, even when society pushes back.
The LIA PARK series blends Korean art, history, landmarks, mythology, and language into an action-packed middle grade contemporary fantasy, creating an easily accessible entry point into Korean culture.
I wanted to validate any readers who might also be struggling to find the words to express their identities, or just don’t care to put themselves in a box at all.
Buttigieg wants readers to know they are never alone. He shows that you get to write your own story. A hopeful and comforting look at a life that finally feels like it fits.
We have a couple new episodes up over at The Yarn podcast. Author/illustrator Jon Agee takes us behind the scenes of his latest picture book, My Dad is a Tree: And Brad and Kristi Montague talk about their husband/wife collaboration on The Fantastic Bureau of Imagination:
It took eighteen years for this book to find its proper ending. I dedicated it to my mother who has shared her family history and the history of her country with me. Talking about Guatemalan history and listening to my mom’s stories is one of my favorite ways to spend time with her now.
This book was a joy to write – possibly the easiest one I’ve written so far. And it all came from the central idea of embracing the wildness within a girl.
I wanted to write about kids like me, who know what it feels like to grow up in a place other people spend a week or two at for vacation in the summer; a place that, for them, for me, is home all year round.
This Saturday, April 29, is Twin Cities Teen Lit Con in Mendota Heights, MN at Two Rivers High School. Check out the amazing lineup for the day!
The idea of what is universal has been on my mind a lot. Too often universal means "You must get over here" rather than "We will meet you there."
For readers who enjoy or want to explore reading novels in different formats, here are 15 titles about AAPI characters or by AAPI creators to recommend for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
If you have inherited a story from your progenitors that you think might make a book, go for it. It’s worth a little detour through hell.
Bust out those TBR lists! It's time to see what's new and forthcoming in the worlds of middle grade and YA!
The author shares how a school visit gave her a new character name and a new connection with one young reader.
A poem about the dreams and fantasies, the anticipation, the doubts and insecurities, the frustrations, and finally, the pride of seeing something that I wrote actually out there in the world for others to read.
A pandemic mystery, a speculative memoir, an anthology about periods, and so many other great new books!
Get out those TBR lists!
In every piece of art or writing, I’ve found a new truth layered in shadow, or dispelled old bitterness in an unexpected turn of phrase, or tugged an answer from a tangle of threads.
An entertaining and, certainly for Sam, illuminating read about life in the 1990s and what it's like to see someone through a different lens.
These selections celebrate dinosaurs, silliness, social justice, and more. Perfect for library programming, dancing, and exercise, these albums guarantee a rollicking good time.
Titles in verse are an especially welcoming genre, blending poetry and storytelling to create immersive experiences for any type of narrative, including fiction, history, memoir, and more. The audiobook format presents these works the way poetry is meant to be enjoyed—out loud.
We meet Celeste, our ghost, on page one. What happened to her? What's really going on in this town? And can Hughie and friends help Celeste find peace and finally help her tell her story?
Author S. A. Patrick speculates on the future of AI-written novels. "Whatever an AI creates, the human experience of reading will still be the final destination - the entire point of it, the arbiter of its success."
Through the practice of Kung Fu, Heera discovers the power of her body and learns that her body is not an object to be preyed upon but a vessel to take control of her life.
To me, this is one of the best parts of writing and reading stories—getting a chance to visit some wonderful places on earth, even (maybe especially?) if it is from the comfort of my own snuggly bed.
Here’s a look at some new YA lit releases coming out in April of 2023 that are on my TBR list. You might want to add them to yours. Blood Debts by Terry J. Benton-Walker Thirty years ago, a young woman was murdered, a family was lynched, and New Orleans saw the greatest magical massacre […]
Buckle up for another round of NEW BOOKS to put on your TBR list (or add to your TBR tower, which is how I think of mine).
Grief is weird. It’s hard. It’s a process.
When my therapist told me I was diagnosed as on the autism spectrum, I sobbed with joy and relief. There was something. Not wrong, but something that could explain why I was the way I was. I wasn’t just making it up.
In expanding my perspective to learn as much new information as I could, to listen to as many voices as I could, I became more aware than ever of how much I didn't know.
Get out your TBR lists, friends!
Quick reviews of 11 new and forthcoming releases.
Book Mail: A memory-devouring monster, a teen dating show, a Snow White retelling, and so much more!
Check out more than 25 new and forthcoming titles for all ages!
articles
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER? LOG IN
We are currently offering this content for free. Sign up now to activate your personal profile, where you can save articles for future viewing
ALREADY A SUBSCRIBER? LOG IN
Thank you for visiting.
We’ve noticed you are using a private browser. To continue, please log in or create an account.
