Category Archives: Format

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust

Look!  I read one of the books on my missed-from-2017 list.  This is a lovely Snow White retelling for a teen audience with an LGBT spin. Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust. Narrated by Jennifer Ikeda. MacMillan … Continue reading →

Posted in Audiobook, books, Fantasy, Reviews, Teen/Young Adult | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Bad Luck Kids: Nevermoor: the Trials of Morrigan Crow and Book of Boy

Here are two stories of children in very different worlds, but both considered to be bad luck. The first was all over the blogs I read in the middle of Cybils season last year.  It’s just as delightful a few … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Print | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

“What to Read after Black Panther” part 3. It’s not quite Afrofuturism because it’s decidedly mythic past without even the alternate technology of Everfair, and it came out after I made my display. It still belongs here. Continue reading →

Posted in books, Fantasy, Print, Reviews, Teen/Young Adult | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

#Afrofuturism from my “What to Read after Black Panther” list part two: a full-length adult novel from Nnedi Okorafor, whose books for younger readers I had aggressively sought out while putting off this intense book.  Not for the faint of … Continue reading →

Posted in Adult, books, Fantasy, Print | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Everfair by Nisi Shawl

It’s summer reading time at the library.  I love crowds of kids excited about reading, but it does make it challenging to get anything else done.  But waiting patiently in my own review queue, I have a trio of African-based … Continue reading →

Posted in Adult, Audiobook, books, Fantasy, Historical | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

3 Great Graphic Novels for Kids

This weekend is the A2CAF, the Ann Arbor Comic Arts Festival, which I used to love helping out with back when it was still Kids Read Comics.  Naturally, I’m at work at my regular library rather than there right now, … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Middle Grade, Realistic | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess by Shari Green

Last time, I reviewed this year’s Schneider Family Teen award winner, You’re Welcome, Universe.  Here’s the middle grade winner. Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess by Shari Green. Pajama Press, 2017 Macy is in sixth grade and struggling.  She’s horrified … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Middle Grade, Print, Realistic | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

You’re Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner

Once again, a book winning an award – in this case the Schneider Family Award – pushed me from meaning to read it someday to actually doing so. You’re Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner. Random House Teens, 2017. Julia believes … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Print, Realistic, Teen/Young Adult | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

3 Great Middle Grade Realistic Picks

If you’re looking for some contemporary realistic fiction, here are three solid titles for a range of tastes from full-on adventure to more introspective. To Catch a Cheat by Varian Johnson. Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, 2016. The officially-ended Greene Gang … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Middle Grade, Print, Realistic | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. Harper Teen, 2018. “My parents probably wanted a girl who would sit in the pews wearing pretty florals and a soft smile. They got combat boots and a mouth silent until it’s sharp as … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Print, Realistic, Teen/Young Adult | Tagged , , | 1 Comment