MOST ENJOYABLE READ OF THE YEAR
Dear Farenheit 451 by
Annie Spence - This is a series of letters a librarian has written
to books that are important to her. It is hilariously funny and also
emotionally wonderful. I wish I had written it.
EVERYONE LOVED IT SO IT MUST BE AWESOME
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor
Towles – President Obama had it on his best of the year list so who
I am to disagree? It starts slowly, but once you give in to the world
it creates, it will break your heart in the best possible way.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
– Thomas' first novel is on EVERY best of the year list and with
good reason. It's a first person account of a BLM-inspired story that
puts you in the shoes of a girl who is caught in the middle.
Spill Zone by Scott Westerfeld –
Ooh, Scott, where have you been? This graphic novel makes me remember
why I loved UGLIES so much. A weird world that has a fearless girl
making her own decisions and taking chances.
MY GOSH, THESE REAL HUMANS ARE FUNNY
Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell
by W. Kamau Bell, Sleepwalk with Me by Mike Birbigli and We
are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby are all memoirs
written by comedians that have just the right amount of pathos to
make the laughts even more powerful.
PLEASE GET OUT OF MY HEAD
Gather the Daughters by Jennie
Melamed – The story of an island community, cut off from the
outside world that has a terrifyingly disturbing secret really freaked me out. But I couldn't stop reading until I figured out the big picture.
Landscape with Invisible Hand by
MT Anderson – When the aliens land on earth, the promise a life of
ease to everyone. And yet, things go to hell anyway.
Thornhill by Pam Smy – I only
gave this one 4 stars when I read it, but I keep thinking about it.
It is the very evocative story of a bullied orphan who lives in a
group home and the curious girl who moves in to the house next door
years later and becomes obsessed with her story.
BEST GROWN-UP READS
The Animators by Kayla Raw
Whitaker – The story of two young women who meet in college and
create an animated masterpiece takes you into their process and their
lives in a fascinating way.
Young Jane Young by Gabrielle
Zevin – A Monica Lewinsky-type girl makes a mistake in judgement.
The ripples go on and on. I enjoyed Zevin's YA books, but I adore her
adult books.
THROWBACKS FIR KIDS
Eddie and his Big Deals by
Carolyn Haywood – The author of the lesser-Betsy books takes a look
at childhood chauvinism in the 1950s. I don't think she meant it as a
cautionary tale, but for the modern reader, it surely works that way.
I Go By Sea, I Go By Land by
P.L. Travers – The author of MARY POPPINS wrote this story of a
pair of siblings who emigrate to the US during WWII as the war was
raging. It is touching, funny and an interesting slice of history.
Journey to an 800 Number by E.L.
Konigsburg – Konigsburg had a great imagination. This story of a
young boy going to live with his free-spirit father and his camel one
summer was fascinating and odd.
BEST NEW MIDDLE GRADE
War I Finally Won by Kimberly
Brubaker Bradley – I didn't think I could love a book as much as
Bradley's The War that Saved My Life, but the sequal comes pretty danged close!
The Inquisitor's Tale by Adam
Gidwicz – This clever story about some magical children and a dog,
set in the middle ages is historically interesting and a grand romp.
SURE, WE'VE ALL READ IT, BUT NOT WITH
PICTURES
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of
Azkaban by JK Rowling – This was the same text that I
practically have memorized, but the new illustrated edition (and
those of the first two books in the series) add a richness that I
didn't think was possible. Get them now!
BEST PICTURE BOOK
Where's Walrus? by Stephen
Savage – Did it have a plot? Perhaps... There was probably a
missing walrus somwhere. I just remember being completely charmed by
the illustrations.
HEY GREAT NEW FANTASY WRITER!
Six of Crows, Crooked Kingdom
and Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo – Bardugo is my
favorite new fantasty writer. Her “Grisha-verse” novels feature
young people with super-human powers in a beautifully drawn world
based on Tsarist Russia. I read 6oC and CK first, although S&B
(and it's two sequals) came first in her writing process. I love the
world and the adventure is first rate.
HEY, GREAT NEW REALISTIC FICTION
WRITER!
Moxie and Devoted by
Jennifer Mathieu – Mathieu has a great feminist perspective. She
writes about girls who live in situations where their voices are not
respected. The heroine in Devoted is in a “Quiver-Full” family
and the protagonist of Moxie is stuck at a Texas high school where
chauvenistic jocks rule the school. She shows how their dawning sense
of self-worth makes them willing to question the way they have been
minimized in a fascinating way.
HEY, GREAT NEW CREEPY WORLD WRITER
Every Heart a Doorway and Down
Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire - These companion
books tell the story of what happens to young people who find doorways to
other worlds that may not be as child-friendly as Oz or Narnia, but
influence them nonetheless.
HEY, BOYS
Don't Get Caught by Kurt Dinan –
I tend to read female-perspective YA, but this story of a prank war
and the way it influences a disperate group of high school kids has a
male perspective and a humorous point of view.
Long Way Down by Jason Reynold –
Man, the hits just keep coming for Reynolds. He has been on my best
of list for the past 3 years. He doesn't disappoint with this small
yet powerful story about a young man considering murder as revenge
for his brother's death and the ghosts who help him decide what to
do.
DEFINITELY ON SUMMER READING 2018
One of Us is Lying by Karen
McManus – Five kids are in detention a la THE BREAKFAST CLUB. And
then one of them dies. When the murder investigation starts, no one's
secrets are safe!
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya
Menon – Who knew a book about two kids whose parents are trying to
arrange their marriage could be so funny and romantic. It's like a
bollywood film set in San Francisco with a sassy girl who loves
programming more than romance.
Amy, Chelsea, Stacey, Dee by
Mary G. Thompson – Yes, it's a terrifying tale of child abduction,
but when one of the girls comes back, the drawn-out process of
finding the truth of what happened is just gripping.
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