1. Best Fiction for YA: McGinnis, M. (2021). Be not far from me. New York, NY: Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.
Blog: The novel takes readers through an unimaginable experience yet makes it realistic enough that you will never set foot in a forest again without shivers from Ashley’s story resurfacing. Throughout her grim journey in the Smokies, Ashley finds herself becoming one with nature and unapologetically enjoying life. Anecdotes from her ruthless upbringing explain how she became the tough young adult she is. Absorbed in her fight to survive, you’ll be rooting for her even when she’s not. By pulling the reader into Ashley’s heroic and action-packed survival narrative, McGinnis makes it easier to sleep at night knowing there’s a vivid page-turner to go back to in the morning.
Summary: The world is not tame. Ashley knows this truth deep in her bones, more at home with trees overhead than a roof. So when she goes hiking in the Smokies with her friends for a night of partying, the falling dark and creaking trees are second nature to her. But people are not tame either. And when Ashley catches her boyfriend with another girl, drunken rage sends her running into the night, stopped only by a nasty fall into a ravine. Morning brings the realization that she’s alone—and far off trail. Lost in undisturbed forest and with nothing but the clothes on her back, Ashley must figure out how to survive with the red streak of infection creeping up her leg.
Similar Titles: I am me by Kai Strand; Unleashed: a teen spy thriller by Susan Allred; Life before by Michele Bacon
2. Quick Picks: Anderson, L. H. (2020). Shout. New York: Penguin Books.
Blog: With this searing memoir in verse, Anderson revisits the trauma that sliced through her and her family: the father shattered by memories of serving in World War II, the mother worn down by picking up the pieces, and the rape that buried teenage Laurie in a deep depression and laid the roots for her novel Speak. Anderson's wordplay is sophisticated, disturbing imagery underscoring her pain-a girl without eyelids, a girl submerged in cement. She's as witheringly sarcastic as her protagonists, yet she possesses hard-won wisdom and a mixture of honesty and tenderness. It's as though Speak's Melinda made it through the fire, emerging as a warrior bent on combating rape culture. Though the rape devastated Anderson, she stresses that a lifetime of seemingly small injustices (entitled boys, flirtatious professors) also eroded her self-worth. Her rage on behalf of all those who have been wounded is palpable, yet she envisions a different world, where consent and respect are the norm.
Summary: Laurie Halse Anderson is known for her way that she writes about, and advocates for, survivors of sexual assault. Now, inspired by her fans and enraged by how little in our culture has changed since her groundbreaking novel Speak was first published twenty years ago, she has written a poetry memoir that is as vulnerable as it is rallying, as timely as it is timeless. In free verse, Anderson shares reflections, rants, and calls to action woven between deeply personal stories from her life that she's never written about before.
Similar Titles: Speak by Laurie Halse; Punching the air by Yusef Salaam; Dark horses by Susan Mihalic
3. Printz Honor: LaCour, N. (2020). We are okay. Waterville, ME: Thorndike Press, a part of Gale, a Cengage Company.
Blog: Her first semester of college behind her, Marin stays alone in the dorms over break, even with the threat of a snowstorm looming, rather than return to San Francisco, where bad memories lurk. Her best friend Mabel comes to stay with her, and over the next few days, Marin contemplates the events of last spring and summer and deals with her complicated relationship with Mabel. Slowly, readers learn more about Marin's life, like the surfer mother who drowned when Marin was young, the father she never knew, the loving grandfather who raised her but whose concealed secrets kept a wall between them, and the painful events that sent Marin fleeing San Francisco. Though there's little action, with most of the writing devoted to Marin's memories and thoughts, the author's nuanced and sensitive depiction of the protagonist's complex and turbulent inner life makes for a rich narrative. Marin is a beautifully crafted character, and her voice is spot-on, conveying isolation, grief, and, eventually, hope. With hauntingly spare prose, the emphasis on the past, and references to gothic tales, this is realistic fiction edged with the melancholy tinge of a ghost story. This book kept my interest due to the friendship of Marin and Mabel and the things they went through. And adding the ghost story touch just intrigued me even more!
Summary: Marin hasn't spoken to anyone from her old life since the day she left everything behind. No one knows the truth about those final weeks. Not even her best friend Mabel. But even thousands of miles away from the California coast, at college in New York, Marin still feels the pull of the life and tragedy she's tried to outrun. Now, months later, alone in an emptied dorm for winter break, Marin waits. Mabel is coming to visit and Marin will be forced to face everything that's been left unsaid and finally confront the loneliness that has made a home in her heart.
Similar Titles: The last forever by Deb Caletti; I was here by Gayle Forman; A time for dancing by Davida Hurwin
4. Excellence in Nonfiction for YA: Ogle, R. (2021). Free lunch. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.
Blog: Recounting his childhood experiences in sixth grade, Ogle’s memoir chronicles the punishing consequences of poverty and violence on himself and his family. The start of middle school brings about unwanted changes in young Rex’s life. His old friendships devolve as his school friends join the football team and slowly edge him out. His new English teacher discriminates against him due to his dark skin (Rex is biracial, with a white absentee dad and a Mexican mom) and secondhand clothes, both too large and too small. Seemingly worse, his mom enrolls him in the school’s free-lunch program, much to his embarrassment. His painful home life proffers little sanctuary thanks to his mom, who swings from occasional caregiver to violent tyrant at the slightest provocation, and his white stepdad, an abusive racist whose aggression out-rivals that of Rex’s mom. Balancing the persistent flashes of brutality, Ogle magnificently includes sprouts of hope, whether it’s the beginnings of a friendship with a “weird” schoolmate, joyful moments with his younger brother, or lessons of perseverance from Abuela. These slivers of relative levity counteract the toxic relationship between young Rex, a boy prone to heated outbursts and suppressed feelings, and his mother, a fully three-dimensional character who’s viciously thrashing against the burden of poverty. It’s a fine balance carried by the author’s outstanding, gracious writing and a clear eye for the penetrating truth. A mighty portrait of poverty amid cruelty and optimism. This book brought a lot of truth home. I teach in a very low-economic school district and we have many of these kiddos. So unfortunate that many feel the same was as Rex.
Summary: Rex Ogle recounts his first semester in sixth grade in which he and his younger brother often went hungry, wore secondhand clothes, and were short of school supplies and he was on his school's free lunch program. Grounded in the immediacy of physical hunger and the humiliation of having to announce it every day in the school lunch line, Rex's is a compelling story of a more profound hunger, which is that of a child for his parents' love and care.
Similar Titles: Feeding a hungry world by Charles Gritzner; The inker's shadow by Allen Say; Innovators feeding the planet by Robyn Hardyman
5. Great Graphic Novels for Teens: Steele, H. (2018). Dead Endia. London: Nobrow.
Blog: Trans teen Barney’s new job solves one problem but creates a series of otherworldly challenges he did not see coming. Barney’s friend Norma, a girl of South Asian descent who avoids connecting with people, helps him get a job as a janitor at Dead End, a theme park haunted house. Barney assures Norma that everything is fine at home, but once the park closes he looks around for a place to sleep. Barney and his dog, Pugsley, find out the hard way that the elevator in Dead End doubles as a portal to hell. Demons, ghosts, and angels from other planes arrive throughout the story, each with an agenda. Together, Barney and Norma (assisted by Pugsley) fight various beings while dealing with their emotions in the human realm. Norma confronts her social anxiety with the help of friend Badyah Hassan, and Barney navigates a potential romantic relationship with Logan Nguyen. The art is imaginative and engaging, with rich, evocative color schemes. With time travel, demonic possession, monsters, magic spells, and fights between creatures of pure sadness and pure happiness, there is never a dull moment. Not really my kind of book. I am not a big graphic novel type person.
Summary: Barney and his best friend Norma are just trying to get by and keep their jobs, but working at the Dead End theme park also means battling demonic forces, time traveling wizards, and scariest of all--their love lives! Follow the lives of this diverse group of employees of a haunted house, which may or may not also serve as a portal to hell, in this hilarious and moving graphic novel, complete with talking pugs, vengeful ghosts and LBGTQIA love.
Similar Titles: Dead endia: the broken halo by Steele; Watersnakes by Tony Sandoval; Dead dudes by Christopher Sebela
6. Outstanding Books for the College Bound: Stamper, K. (2018). Word by word: The secret life of dictionaries. New York: Vintage Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
Blog: While most of us might take dictionaries for granted, the process of writing them is in fact as lively and dynamic as language itself. With sharp wit and irreverence, Kory Stamper cracks open the complex, obsessive world of lexicography - from the agonizing decisions about what and how to define, to the knotty questions of usage in an ever-changing language. She explains why small words are the most difficult to define (have you ever tried to define "is"?), how it can take nine months to define a single word, and how our biases about language and pronunciation can have tremendous social influence. Throughout, Stamper brings to life the hallowed halls (and highly idiosyncratic cubicles) of Merriam-Webster, a world inhabited by quirky, erudite individuals who quietly shape the way we communicate. A sure delight for all lovers of words, Word by Word might also quietly improve readers' grasp and use of the English language. This was quite interesting to read!
Summary: Brimming with intelligence and personality, a vastly entertaining account of how dictionaries are made - a must read for word mavens.
Similar Titles: Dictionaries: a very short introduction by Lynda Mugglestone; Academy of dictionaries 1600-1800 by John Considine; Dictionary days: A defining passion by Stavans
7. NYT Bestseller: McManus, K. M. (2021). One of us is lying. London: Penguin Books.
Blog: It’s a murder mystery, Breakfast Club–style: five students from different social spheres walk into detention. Only four walk out. Simon, the outcast at the helm of the high school’s brutal (and always true) gossip app has been murdered, and he had dirt on all four students in detention with him. Brainy good-girl Bronwyn knows she didn’t kill Simon, and she doesn’t think drug-dealing Nate, everyone’s favorite suspect, did either. Simon knew something that could ruin homecoming princess Addy’s perfect relationship, but Addy’s always been so timid. And baseball superstar Cooper has a secret, but it’s not what Simon said, and everyone knows Simon was never wrong. Trailed by suspicion, the four team up to clear their names—and find the real killer—even as proving their innocence becomes increasingly more difficult. Told in alternating perspectives among the four, this is a fast-paced thriller with twists that might surprise even the most hardened mystery reader. An engaging, enticing look at the pressures of high school and the things that cause a person to lose control. I really enjoyed this book because of the murder/mystery that plays out! I'm a big ID channel, Forensic Files buff!
Summary: When the creator of a high school gossip app mysteriously dies in front of four high-profile students all four become suspects. It's up to them to solve the case.
Similar Titles: One of us is next by McManus; The girl in the park by Mariah Federicks; Trouble is a friend of mine by Stephanie Tromly
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