I've really enjoyed reading translated children's books, as they are so interesting and different than what you might typically expect from a picture I've really enjoyed reading translated children's books, as they are so interesting and different than what you might typically expect from a picture book. Take Okchundang Candy, for example. It's cataloged in my library system as a YA graphic novel, but that doesn't seem quite right. The illustrations could be for elementary school, but the subject matter is pretty morose (the decline and death of grandparents). I also wouldn't classify it as a graphic novel, since there aren't any panels in the book. BUT it is over 100 pages!
There's also something so unapologetically Korean about the book (and other translated works I've read). It's hard to truly translate these books since there's a lot of cultural context necessary. But it was an interesting, thought provoking read that tells an intimate portrait of grief and loss.
I think that The Hunger Games is the book that started off my love of YA books as a young adult in my twenties. I remember how excited and in awe I waI think that The Hunger Games is the book that started off my love of YA books as a young adult in my twenties. I remember how excited and in awe I was when someone booktalked it in a Young Adult and Children's services group meeting when I was in library school, and I was hooked. I introduced it to all my other twenty-something friends. I watched all the movies, and loved the world and social commentary that Suzanne Collins brought to the table. I didn't read or watch The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes because I didn't really think that a book about President Snow interested me (plus, movie version: there's no WAY President Snow was that hot as a teen), so I wasn't planning on reading Sunrise on the Reaping, which takes places 24 years before the first Hunger Games book (and 40 years after TBOSAS) until I started getting FOMO. Pro tip/shamless plug: SotR is available on Hoopla, so you don't have to be in a 1k+ waitlist!
I almost gave SotR a five star review, because I think this might be the book that gets me back into YA fiction. I was so absorbed into the story, I fell asleep listening to it multiple nights in the row and tried to find work to do that didn't require a lot of thought so that I could keep listening to the audiobook on my airpods. But the thing is, it's quite clunky, especially the romance aspects. The story structure is pretty similar to The Hunger Games, where Haymitch is established as a character, gets reaped, goes into training/interviews/etc, goes into the arena for The Hunger Games, and then goes on a victory tour (although that part happens in Catching Fire, I believe). Since we already know from the other books that Haymitch will win the Hunger Games, and that he becomes an alcoholic recluse, the story is more of a "how will it happen" then a "what will happen." We learn that Haymitch's birthday is on July 4, or Reaping Day, and that he has a girlfriend named Lenore Dove, who is related to the main character from TBOSAS (which I didn't read). This may just be a personal preference here, but my comfort zone lay more in Katniss' romantic feelings of confusion than in the "I love you like allfire" that Haymitch and Lenore Dove share. There are also many appearances, big and small, of characters from the original trilogy (and first prequel), and I can't decide if these are fanservice or canon, but there are some that felt excessive (Effie) and some that felt rewarding (Mags).
It's been many years since I've read the original trilogy (and this reading experience makes me want to dig them out of storage), but these felt especially shockingly gory. I do remember being aghast at a few things in the original book, such as the existence of Avoxes, but I truly felt sick to my stomach over two plot points: (view spoiler)[Lou Lou, the District 11 body double for fallen-before-the-Hunger-Games Louella, and the death of Ampert (hide spoiler)]. I am very much wondering how they will depict that last thing while keeping it PG-13 rated in the movie, which by the way, is coming out at the end of 2026, despite not even being cast yet.
I know I'm making this sound like a two star review, BUT it was truly an immersive book that had me addicted to reading in a way that I haven't been in a while. It had its flaws, but it's something I'm still thinking about and probably will be for a while.
Ages 15+ but I do wonder if this is mainly being read by the 20 and 30 somethings who loved the original series....more
This story about grief was very very good. All the Blues in the Sky is a short (2 hour audiobook) but impactful book about Sage, who lost her4.5 Stars
This story about grief was very very good. All the Blues in the Sky is a short (2 hour audiobook) but impactful book about Sage, who lost her best friend on her (Sage's) 13th birthday to a horrific hit and run. Ren茅e Watson touches on all of the elements of grief, from never saying her best friend's name (spoiler?) until the end, making it that much more powerful when she does, to those moments of rage-filled grief exploding out publicly and privately. I wasn't surprised at all when I listened to the author's note and that Ren茅e Watson lost many loved ones in a short time period, because you can feel how authentic and real this is. A substory is the police brutality that affects Sage's community (they have a memorial for the one year anniversary of her friend's brother being murdered for reaching for his inhaler when he was pulled over for expired tags).
I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by Bahni Turpin. If you listen to a lot of middle grade and YA audiobooks, particularly featuring black narrators, you will have listened to Bahni Turpin A LOT, and every time, I'm struck by how young her voice sounds. I kept thinking the character was 9 or 10 years old so when she (spoiler?) kisses a boy I was like whaaaaat? Then she reminds us that she's 13 years old. I would say that it's a middle school book for upper middle grade or younger YA audiences. It's definitely really sad, so it's not for every kid or every life situation, but it's a great book to have for teachers, youth workers etc. to know about and recommend.
Please Pay Attention is a novel in verse that tells the story of Bea Coughlin, a girl with cerebral palsy who survives private Christian school shootiPlease Pay Attention is a novel in verse that tells the story of Bea Coughlin, a girl with cerebral palsy who survives private Christian school shooting, based on the Covenant School shooting in Nashville. The story, while fictional, is a personal one, as author Jamie Sumner, was close friends with Covenant School Head of School Katherine Koonce and her son has cerebral palsy. There have been more books about school shootings in recent years, but one element that makes this one a little different is Bea's wheelchair, and the helplessness that's amplified during the shooting when she's unable to flee and hide quickly like the school shooting drills tell the students to do. In the aftermath of the shooting, Bea goes to equine therapy to help deal with her PTSD as well as empower her feelings in her disability.
The use of poetry to tell this story was really effective in exploring these deep emotions in an approachable way. There were a lot of other layers to the themes of PTSD, trauma, and disability. It's a bit of a cliche to say that it's a "necessary" book, but sadly it's very appropriate for the times.
Ages 10-12 I received this book as an ARC at ALA LLX in January 2025. Publication date is April 15, 2025....more
Is a book about COVID-19 considered historical fiction? Although it's only five years out, the markers of the pandemic seem so far removed from our cuIs a book about COVID-19 considered historical fiction? Although it's only five years out, the markers of the pandemic seem so far removed from our current reality. Also, especially coming from a middle-class perspective, sometimes there's a tendency to romanticize the period--getting to stay home and enjoy a slower lifestyle, for example. In multiple voices, a diverse group of black and brown teens (and a couple of adults) share their experiences during the pandemic. Because it's a novel in verse, it's a relatively short audiobook that reflects on the systemic injustice experienced during lockdown and brings the reader to reflection on the reverberations that are still felt today.
Like other books told from multiple perspectives, some stories are told more successfully than others. As mentioned earlier, the story is primarily told through New York City teens' perspectives, so it's a little jarring when there are adult perspectives in there (social worker, bodega owner). While uneven, I'm sure it will be an appreciated novel.
I can absolutely see why How the Boogeyman Became a Poet won the Odyssey award. It was such a top notch production. There isn't music, or a full cast,I can absolutely see why How the Boogeyman Became a Poet won the Odyssey award. It was such a top notch production. There isn't music, or a full cast, and it's read by the author. But the subtle touches, like the slight echo/feedback of a mic when Tony is participating in an open mic, really added to the realism of this late teen/new adult memoir told in verse.
This memoir follows author Tony's coming of age, from expressing himself through spoken word poetry to exploring his sexuality, to thinking about going to college and how to pay for it. It was a funny, moving, and interesting listen.
4.5* 2025 Odyssey Award winner Ages 14 and up...more
After reading The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet, I wondered if John Green would ever return to the YA novels that made him After reading The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet, I wondered if John Green would ever return to the YA novels that made him famous. I had no idea that he was even working on a new book until I saw the ARC at ALA LLX, because although I've read all of his books, I don't follow him on YouTube or any of his other socials, but it was obvious that it was an adult nonfiction book from the cover design and title. It seems like Green, like his formerly teen audience (I think I was in my mid twenties when I read my first John Green book), has moved past YA romances and manic pixie dream girls.
The story begins when Green visits a hospital in Sierra Leone and meets Henry, a teen who has suffered from tuberculosis so that it has stunted his growth and, maddeningly, shortened his life expectancy. The history of tuberculosis is explored, as well as the injustices of having readily accessible treatments where they aren't needed and the inaccessibility where it is very much needed. I haven't read a long-form work of nonfiction in a long time, and I kept thinking about this book for a long time. It really is true that once you learn more about tuberculosis, you start seeing it everywhere. I even went back to read some of my favorite childhood books (Anne of the Island) to re-read the depictions of tuberculosis. I also thought a lot about the people in the book, particularly tuberculosis researcher Alan Hart, a trans doctor who pioneered the use of chest x-rays in early detection of tuberculosis. Another theme explored is the formerly held idea that consumption (aka tuberculosis) was tied to beauty and being upper class, since it makes you thin and pale (both beauty ideals), then how that notion was discarded as it became a disease associated with poverty due to unclean living conditions and close quarters.
In the book, Green talks about a woman who died of tuberculosis who was a huge fan of his biggest book, The Fault in Our Stars. She deeply related to the story of two teens with difficulty breathing. In Everything Is Tuberculosis, Green's platform, or "megaphone" is put to good use, educating and giving a call to action about a disease that has shaped the world.
Received an ARC at ALA LLX in January 2025. Pub date March 18, 2025...more
I was quick to pick up an ARC when I saw Brian Selznick's book at ALA LLX in Phoenix. However, it wasn't until I started reading it that I realized thI was quick to pick up an ARC when I saw Brian Selznick's book at ALA LLX in Phoenix. However, it wasn't until I started reading it that I realized that Run Away with Me is actually Selznick's debut YA novel. It's hilarious that I didn't realize that because I guess my eyeballs just glossed over the passionate kiss on the cover? Anyway, I don't quite connect with YA books as much as I used to when I was in my early-to-mid-twenties, now that I'm around the same age as the parents in these books. The practical adulting side always kicks in, like with this romance, I kept thinking, why are you talking to a stranger who's obviously not giving you his real name??
The main character is a teenage boy who is living in Rome with his mother for the summer. She specializes in decoding old books and old handwriting, and their family has moved around from college town to museum town, so that it's been hard for him to make friends. He meets Angelo (they name each other, so they don't know their real names until the end of the book) and they quickly become inseparable. But Danny will eventually leave Rome at the end of the summer, and that looms over their romance.
Like many Selznick books, Run Away with Me has a beginning of 40+ pages of illustrations, a middle of 100+ pages of text, and an ending of illustrations again, all in his arresting pencil style. Because of the setting (Rome, where Danny's mother is temporarily working), there are a lot of statues and A LOT of nudity in the illustrations. I would give the first section a 4 star review, the middle a 3 star review, and the ending (text and illustrations) a 5 star review. I love a good surprise ending that provides meaning and context and emotional depth to the rest of the story, and I LOVED this ending.
Received an ARC at ALA LLX in January 2025. Pub date April 1, 2025 Ages 14 and up...more
Since I have a longer commute now, I thought I'd try Black Girl You Are Atlas, which was recently named an Odyssey Honor audiobook. What I didn't realSince I have a longer commute now, I thought I'd try Black Girl You Are Atlas, which was recently named an Odyssey Honor audiobook. What I didn't realize, however, is that this audiobook is only 45 minutes long, meaning that it really only lasts one one-way commute. This meant that I was able to listen to it multiple times, since I did not have another option queued up, and I was able to really listen to it (sometimes it's hard to listen to audiobooks when you're driving and changing lanes and the GPS interrupts randomly to tell you to exit the freeway).
Black Girl You Are Atlas is a memoir in verse by Ren茅e Watson that checks in at certain points-- ages seven, thirteen, sixteen, and seventeen. Different forms of poetry are used, from tankas to haikus to pantoums (which I'd never heard of before but are "poems of any length, composed of four-line stanzas in which the second and fourth lines of each stanza serve as the first and third lines of the next stanza." She draws inspiration from different figures (the poem about Breonna Taylor was especially moving--"like all black women, all you wanted was rest") and famous poems (George Ella Lyons' "Where I'm from").
Now that I'm marking this as "read" in 欧宝娱乐, I'm realizing that this book is illustrated by Ekua Holmes, so I missed out on the illustrations, which I'm assuming are probably collage like the cover and her other works that I've read. That's always disappointing to miss out when listening to audiobooks.
Coretta Scott King Honor Book Odyssey Honor Audiobook Ages 12 and up...more
Chooch Helped: is the 2025 Caldecott Medal (for illustration) winner, but this review is for the text. It's wonderful to see this Native American writChooch Helped: is the 2025 Caldecott Medal (for illustration) winner, but this review is for the text. It's wonderful to see this Native American written and illustrated (both Andrea L. Rogers and R茅becca Kunz are Cherokee) picture book that isn't trauma-centered. My seven year old daughter loves this book because it's a story she can relate to (toddler brother messes up everything!), she can read it by herself, the Cherokee words on each page have pronunciation directly underneath, and this is the first time she's used a glossary, which she confidently does each time!
As for the illustrations, I don't feel that I have the background to fully assess art, so I suspect that the simplicity might hide some complicated/profound technique. However, I wished that there was an illustrator's note about the techniques used and process of creating the pictures. Certainly it's much more simple than the Caldecott Honorees and other projected contenders this year.
Being a child of immigrants and/or visibly cued as a person of color but not feeling comfortable with speaking the language is such a common experiencBeing a child of immigrants and/or visibly cued as a person of color but not feeling comfortable with speaking the language is such a common experience that I'm really glad that this middle grade graphic novel, Speak Up, Santiago!, exists. Santiago is half Colombian, half white, and is spending the summer in Hillside Valley with his Abuela Emma, who doesn't speak much English. While he's been working on his Spanish in school, he wasn't raised bilingual, and feels self-conscious about not understanding his grandmother and people making fun of his language skills. This book was so relatable (see author and illustrator's notes!) and I thought the text scribbling out the parts Santiago didn't understand was done well (as well as not translating certain parts to show uncertainty)!
This is the first book of the Hillside Valley graphic novel series about all of the kids the Santiago befriends. While I'm not sure any of the characters got enough time on the page to compel me to read through the series, I do really like the idea of a suburban/small-town series centering Latinx kids of different backgrounds, because that's very much my experience (subbing Latinx for Asian American).
Received an ARC at ALA LLX in January 2025. Pub date Mar 4, 2025...more
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