Library Update 2/24/21
Hello!!!
I didn't mean to go missing again this week, but it's been nuts. Big program Thursday night and not enough time to plan it!
You are going to want to get a snack and a cup of tea. This is a long list. I am ready to start reading for my award committee, but I haven't got any of the books yet. I decided to put them on hold at the library so I could get started. But there is a small problem.
I did it at night. In bed. After I had taken my medication. There is a thing that happens in this scenario, where I mindlessly click things. Earlier this week, I bought a Coach bag this way. I wake up the next morning and there is a confirmation email. The good news is, it's way cheaper to overbuy on the library than on the Coach website. Anyway, that's why this list is stupid long.
CHECKED OUT
Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh - This is not an award book. This is just for fun because I love her cartoons. Allie Brosh does comics about introverts and anxious, awkward folks trying to live. They are so relatable. Also, it won't take but an hour or two to read. I'm four books behind on my reading goal.
What We Talk About When We Talk About Books - by Leah Price - I've started this one and put it aside to finish some other things with higher priority. I did enjoy what I read, though and plan to finish it. Luckily, no one has it on hold, yet, so I can keep renewing it.
When You Look Like Us by Pamela N. Harris - Ok. Now we're getting into the actual award books. Jay is tired of covering for his sister who is hanging out with the wrong crowd. When she goes missing and the police don't bother to look for her, he feels guilty: if he hadn't kept her secret, she'd be home now.
Separate No More: The Long Road to Brown v. Board of Education by Lawrence Goldstone - Goldstone is a powerhouse of YA non-fiction chronicling the Civil Rights Era. School desegregation is one of my favorite topics, randomly.
The Awakening of Malcolm X by Ilyasah Shabazz - This book is about Malcolm Little's time in prison where he read every book in the library, finds the Nation of Islam, and becomes Malcolm X.
The Meet-Cute Project by Rhiannon Richardson - Mia's friends are trying to set her up to find the perfect date to her sister's wedding.
ON HOLD
Passing by Nella Larsen - After I read The Vanishing Half, I realized I wanted to read this classic on the same theme.
The Cousins by Karen M. McManus - This is a YA book, but it's not on the award reading list. This one came out last year and I never got it. I love McManus' work so I'm trying to wait patiently for my turn with it. I feel like I've been 6th on the list for forever.
Every Single Lie by Rachel Vincent - On to the award books! This is about a high school girl who finds a dead baby in the school locker room. Yikes!
Yesterday is History by Kosoki Jackson - Ok. This one sounds super interesting. Andre has had a liver transplant and now he can time travel. But he might be in love with two boys, one now and one in 1969.
If I Tell You the Truth by Jasmin Kaur - This book has all the issues in it! A girl is raped in Punjab and moves to Canada to heal and have the baby the rape left her with. In Canada, she outstays her visa and is now undocumented.
Girl on the Line by Faith Gardner - Oooh! Big mental health stuff in this one. Journey's suicide attempt fails and now she's trying to live a life she never planned to live. She volunteers at a mental health help line.
Glimpsed by G. F. Miller - Fantasy Romance in this one. Charity is a Fairy Godmother in high school who is being blackmailed by the boy she has a crush on. I think it's going to be about finding your voice and your power.
Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant - Here is a light romance to plug in between all the heavy ISSUES novels that invariably turn up on these lists. Tessa is a brown girl who only sees people like herself in the romance novels she writes. Not the ones on the shelves. She goes to a writing conference and her muse disappears. Her friend decides she needs to write from experience, but she needs experience. Cue romantic capers.
The Obsession by Jesse Q. Sutanto - The summary of this one is vague, but it appears there is a parent in an abusive relationship and some other kind of toxic relationship going on.
One of the Good Ones by Maika Moulite - Happi's sister was killed after a social justice rally. She and her other sister take a road trip following the map in the original Green Book for black travelers in the 60s and 70s.
The Valley and the Flood by Rebecca Mahoney - This is a weird one. Rose appears to be a prophesied "Bringer of the Flood". Sounds like a cult novel maybe? Maybe eco-futurism?
The Wide Starlight by Nicole Lesperance - We got another missing mother book here. Eli's mother disappeared from a fjord in Norway under the Northern Lights. (I just like the word fjord) Eli is going there to find out what happened. I love the Northern Lights.
Amelia Unabridged by Ashley Schumacher - Amelia's best friend died and Amelia follows a trail from a rare edition of her favorite book to find the author? Another vague summary.
Be Dazzled by Ryan La Sala - Raffy is a clothing artist. He is planning to get major attention at the Cosplay contest this year, but his biggest rival is his ex. Now they're forced to work together.
Cast in Firelight by Dana Swift - Honestly, I don't love this new cover design. This particular artist is all over YA fantasy right now, and I just think it looks weird. The story appears to be a hate-to-love fantasy romance. I like hate-to-love. Hopefully, I'll like it more than I like the cover.
A Complicated Love Story Set in Space by Shaun David Hutchinson - Pretty sure this one is just what it says on the tin.
Destination Anywhere by Sara Barnard - Here we have a young woman living the dream. She's walking away from her whole life with a one-way ticket to anywhere. Where will she end up?
Like Home by Louisa Onomae - A vandal destroys the neighborhood bodega and Chinelo is devastated. I'm confused by the name of the character. If it's a hispanic name, wouldn't a girl's name end in a? Oh wait. The author is Nigerian-Canadian. Maybe it's a Nigerian name. NVM.
Love in English by Maria E. Andreu - The summary of this one doesn't even tell us our main character's name, but she is a poet from Argentina, who now lives in New Jersey. She has a crush on a white boy in her math class and a Greek boy who understands the immigrant situation.
This is Not the Jess Show by Anna Carey - When strange things start happening in Jess Flynn's hometown of Swickley, the high-school junior suspects reality isn't as it seems and seeks to uncover the truth about her family, her friends, and her town
This Will Be Funny Someday by Katie Henry - This is about an accidental standup comedienne. I've heard it's actually really funny.
As Far as You'll Take Me by Phil Stamper - Marty goes to London to play the oboe and find the man of his dreams, but homesickness and loneliness take a toll.
Muted by Tami Charles - This is about a girl making it big in the music industry. It's hard I guess. Lol.
Ok. We're about halfway through the list, and I can't do it anymore. I'm sure you're pretty well done, too. I will take this back up tomorrow.