All Things Debut YA: Morris Awards & November/December Releases

December 14, 2015 |

Did you catch the latest round of Morris Nominees? These are the top debut YA novels as selected by librarians, and when the ALA awards happen in mid-January, one of the five books from this list will be named the winner. Out of the five books on the short list, I’ve read three of the titles: The Weight of Feathers, Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda, and The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly — the last one perhaps being one of my favorite reads of 2015 and the one I’d love to see walk away with the ultimate win.

What I love about the Morris every year is how it’s such a nice mix of titles. These are books that have teen appeal, and these are also books that are imperfect. Unlike the Printz, which rewards the greatest of literary achievement in a book in a given year, the Morris is about potential. What authors are we eager to see more from in the future, based on the potential they show in their first book?

This year’s slate of five short list authors is all female. What’s fascinating is that they’re not all girls’ stories though. In fact, of the five books, only one is told entirely through a female point of view; that would be Minnow Bly. Every other story is entirely from a male point of view or, as is the case with The Weight of Feathers, split points of view.

It’s not a criticism of the committee nor their work — this list is really thoughtful, diverse, and features so many interesting stories — but it’s another example of what I mean by how some stories are privileged over others, even if it’s not in any way intentional. The bias is so deep that we are unable to see it until we step back and see it happening again and again and again.

I’m excited to see what title walks away with the gold sticker next month.

Because November and December tend to be lighter when it comes to new book releases, they also tend to be slower months for debut YA novels. I’m including both last month and this month’s titles in this round up.

Like always, this round-up includes debut novels, where “debut” is in its purest definition. These are first-time books by first-time authors. I’m not including books by authors who are using or have used a pseudonym in the past or those who have written in other categories (adult, middle grade, etc.) in the past.

All descriptions are from WorldCat, unless otherwise noted. If I’m missing any debuts out in these last two months of 2015 from traditional publishers — and indie presses are okay — let me know in the comments. As always, not all noted titles included here are necessarily endorsements for those titles.

All the Major Constellations by Pratima Cranse: After Andrew’s best friend is hit by a drunk driver and ends up in a coma, his enigmatic crush invites him to find comfort with her fundamentalist Christian group.

For the Record by Charlotte Huang: Gaining instant celebrity after being discovered on a TV talent show, rock singer Chelsea endures the disdain of her bandmates and ambivalently pursues a relationship with a teen heartthrob during a summer tour that could make or break her career.

Forget Tomorrow by Pintip Dunn: On Callie’s seventeenth birthday, she receives her vision of the future–a memory sent back in time to sculpt each citizen into the person they’re meant to be. But Callie’s vision shows her murdering her younger sister, and she is arrested and sent to a prison for those destined to break the law. Callie escapes and, on the run from the government and from her future, hoping to change her fate and protect her sister.

How to Be Brave by E. Katherine Kottaras: Georgia has always lived life on the sidelines: uncomfortable with her weight, awkward, never been kissed, terrified of failing. Then her mom dies and her world is turned upside down. But instead of getting lost in her pain, she decides to enjoy life while she still can by truly living for the first time. She makes a list of ways to be brave–all the things she’s always wanted to do but has been too afraid to try: learn to draw, try out for cheerleading, cut class, ask him out, kiss him, see what happens from there.

Rules for 50/50 Chances by Kate McGovern: Seventeen-year-old Rose Levenson must decide whether or not she wants to take the test to find out if she has Huntington’s disease, the degenerative disease that is slowly killing her mother.

The Sister Pact by Stacie Ramey: Allie is devastated when her sister Leah commits suicide–and not just because she misses her. The two teens made a suicide pact so that they’d always be together, and Allie can’t understand why she was left behind.

All We Left Behind by Ingrid Sundberg: Marion is hiding a secret from her past and Kurt is trying to figure out how to recover from his mother’s death as they both find solace in each other.

Did I Mention I Love You? by Estelle Maskame: Eden Munro spends the summer with her father and his new family in Santa Monica and quickly finds herself thrust into a world full of new experiences and the more time she spends breaking the rules with them, the more she finds herself falling for the one person she should not–her stepbrother, Tyler.

Gateway to Fourline by Pam Brondos: Strapped for cash, college student Natalie Barns agrees to take a job at a costume shop. Sure, Estos—her classmate who works in the shop—is a little odd, but Nat needs the money for her tuition.

Then she stumbles through the mysterious door behind the shop—and her entire universe transforms.

Discovering there’s far more to Estos than she ever imagined, Nat gets swept up in an adventure to save his homeland, an incredible world filled with decaying magic, deadly creatures, and a noble resistance of exiled warriors battling dark forces. As she struggles with her role in an epic conflict and wrestles with her growing affection for a young rebel, Soris, Nat quickly learns that nothing may go as planned…and her biggest challenge may be surviving long enough to make it home. (Description via Goodreads).

Inherit the Stars by Tessa Elwood: Three royal houses ruling three interplanetary systems are on the brink of collapse, and they must either ally together or tear each other apart in order for their people to survive.

Asa is the youngest daughter of the house of Fane, which has been fighting a devastating food and energy crisis for far too long. She thinks she can save her family’s livelihood by posing as her oldest sister in an arranged marriage with Eagle, the heir to the throne of the house of Westlet. The appearance of her mother, a traitor who defected to the house of Galton, adds fuel to the fire, while Asa also tries to save her sister Wren’s life . . . possibly from the hands of their own father.

But as Asa and Eagle forge a genuine bond, will secrets from the past and the urgent needs of their people in the present keep them divided? (Descriptions via Goodreads).

Not If I See You First by Eric Lindstrom: Blind sixteen-year-old Parker Grant navigates friendships and romantic relationships, including a run-in with a boy who previously broke her heart, while coping with her father’s recent death.

This Raging Light by Estelle Laure: Seventeen-year-old Lucille is struggling to get through each day, paying bills and looking after her little sister, Wren, while her father is institutionalized after a breakdown and her mother is “on vacation,” but nothing else seems to matter when she is with Digby Jones, her best friend’s twin brother.

Comics and Graphic Novel/Memoir Round-Up

November 9, 2015 |

When I began working in libraries, comics and graphic novels puzzled me to no end. I didn’t know what to get or how to stay on top of things, and even more challenging for me was not understanding why I could or could not acquire certain titles. It wasn’t until I took a continuing education class in comics and graphic novels for the library, offered through the University of Wisconsin’s LIS program, that it all made sense to me. I’d always been a casual reader, but I’d primarily read graphic memoirs; being forced to read beyond that really helped me learn that there’s a lot out there that’s totally up my alley, and it taught me the most basic and most crucial component about comics: there’s a difference between single issues and trades. For comics readers, this is a no brainer. But for those who aren’t, it’s this little clarification that makes the entire process of finding, acquiring, and reading comics so much easier.

I tend to read comics in trade format. This means multiple issues of a comic are bound together into a larger, more study edition. These are the ones you can find in most standard chain bookstores. Not everything ends up in trade, and trades come out after a run of singles are out. Single issues are, as the term suggests, one-off issues. These are released on a schedule, and they’re just one installment of a larger comic story arc. Think of it sort of like a serialized novel in a magazine. Single issues are flimsy and really not great for library purchasing, as they tend to be made of even cheaper, less durable material than a standard magazine is.

Besides wanting to make that distinction for anyone approaching comics without the familiarity, I thought it worthwhile because this post is a round-up of my recent comic reads. Most of what I read, again, are in the trade format; however, a couple weeks ago I picked up a single issue of a brand new comic and loved it to bits and pieces — enough that I’ll keep buying it in single issues to stay with the story as it progresses. It’s kind of fun to have that anticipation.

All of these comics are fine for teens. Some are more graphic/violent than others, but they’ll all have teen appeal in some capacity. More, and the thing that excites me most about my recent comic binge, is that they all feature fantastically drawn female characters (and yes, I mean drawn in all senses of the word there).

Trade

Lady Killer by Joelle Jones and Jamie S. Rich

This one is going to appeal to readers who love noir and who are totally all-in on a story about a woman who murders for hire. It’s completely compelling and engaging and a big reason is because it messes with what we think about when it comes to hitmen.

But more — and the thing that made this particular comic really work for me — was that it’s stylized in a very vintage manner. The cover image is pretty perfectly representative of the comic as a whole. Josie is a housewife and a mother, and her job doing the dirty work for others is unknown to her family. She looks one way but the actions tell a completely different story, and it’s this tension of image and perception against reality that make this unique and a lot of fun.

I have a hard time finding dark comedy in my reading that works for me, but Lady Killer absolutely killed it. Josie is unapologetically violent woman who is “just doing her job” during a time when that was totally unacceptable. And realistically? It’s still totally unacceptable, so the social commentary on gender roles here resonates strong. I’m eagerly awaiting more in this story because there’s so much here to juice. You can check out some of the panels here.

You need no backstory, set-up, or history to jump into this comic. It’s brand new, and this first trade will get you into it right away.

Black Widow #1 by Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto

I’ve actually got all three of the Black Widow trades on my shelf, but I’ve only had an opportunity to read the first one. It was far from disappointing, and it was absolutely worth the effort it took to find — for some reason, snagging the first trade of this one was a challenge, as it was sold out everywhere for a long time.

Natasha Romanov, aka Black Widow, for those who don’t know, is a member of The Avengers, and more, she’s a former KGB assassin who is out to seek atonement for it. Readers who have zero knowledge of The Avengers, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., or Black Widow can absolutely jump in on this first trade to get the entire story. You’ll get the arc immediately, and you’ll find out the history and the current space of Black Widow right here.

What’s really great about the first trade is that it’s entirely about Natasha. She’s not sharing the spotlight with any other people at this point. It’s violent, it’s rough, and we’re immediately thrown into her unstable world and learn why it is she lives with her fists raised.

The story is compelling and really a solid superhero to start with for the uninitiated, but what really sings in this is the art. It’s gorgeous — Noto does a spectacular job using the pages, of using color, and of rendering the heroine here on her own strong terms. So many people have trouble with the idea of “strong female character” as a descriptor, but Nato creates that in his art. In a culture that continues to erase or “forget” about the female characters in superheroland, it’s refreshing to see Black Widow standing here on her own and doing so powerfully. I’m excited to see her story continue, which is why I bought the next two trades immediately after finishing this. I never thought I’d be interested in a superhero movie, but when a Black Widow film happens, I will absolutely want to see it because her story is so fascinating.

Single

Paper Girls #1 by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, and Matt Wilson

One issue of this was not enough. I’m chomping at the bit for #2 because this introduction to a new story of rad newspaper delivery girls in the 1980s hooked me immediately and ended in a wonderful cliffhanger.

The night after Halloween, a group of 12-year-old newspaper girls discover what appears to be a machine created in honor of the 50th anniversary of War of the Worlds. This is the cliffhanger, but the big takeaway from the comic isn’t just the fact it’s a compelling hook, but it’s wildly feminist. There are instances of hateful language used, but it’s called out and expressed as inappropriate, and more, the girls are there working side by side in their delivery.

The dialog in this issue works, as the girls all sound like teenagers. We don’t get a terrible amount of development, but that’s because this is still the first issue, so there’s a lot of room for growth. I think that’s what makes this a really promising new series — Vaughan sets up a lot of space for these girls and their arcs to grow and mold, but we know, too, that they’re going to be smart but not too-smart-for-12-year-old-girls, which is a thing I find distracting and inauthentic in stories.

The art is, as the cover shows, a lot of fun. It’s definitely stylized and it’s definitely 80s-tastic, but that’s part of the appeal. And the references and allusions are a blast:

I’m ready for issue #2, which will hit comic stores later this month.

Graphic Memoir

A Year Without Mom by Dasha Tokstikova

Rounding out this round-up of recent comics reads is a graphic memoir that I didn’t necessarily love, but that I see the appeal and interest for.

It’s the early 1990s in Russia, during the Cold War, and Dasha’s mother decides that in order to better herself and her own education, she needs to leave Russia for America for a year. Dasha is living with her grandmother during this time, and we see what a year in this very specific time and place look like for her as a young girl.

There’s friendship squabbles, crushes, tension with family, and then, of course, the Russian politics of the early 90s. It’s very relatable, which I think is the key selling point of this particular memoir — while we know that there’s a lot of historical baggage (which is underexplored here, in part because it’s from the perspective of Dasha’s 12-year-old self and in part because there “grounding” in this book is about a year without mom, not the year without mom while the government is unstable), the take away is that Dasha’s life isn’t dissimilar from any other 12-year-old in the world. She’s on that precipice of being a child and being a teenager, and it’s the absence of her mother that causes her more challenges than normal. I really wish we’d gotten more of the political climate here, though, because I’m not as familiar with this time and place as I’d like to be, and I suspect this will hold even more true for today’s tween readers.

More, though, I found some of the choices in design on this completely frustrating — why would you lay black text on gray coloring? It’s easy to overlook and miss and it’s even more challenging to read. I’m also curious why so many reviews don’t point this out. It’s a flaw, not a feature. I think the lack of color use in this memoir is effective, particularly for capturing place, setting, and mood, but the choices in layout were not reader friendly, especially for anyone who may be less familiar with reading graphic stories. There’s not an immersive experience to be had here.

This slice-of-life graphic memoir is worth a read, though it’s one you don’t have to buy or own because the challenges don’t make it entirely stand out. I do think it’s interesting that it’s another title set during the Cold War in Russia, a trend that’s popped up a few times in recent YA. I think it speaks to the authors more than it might to today’s teen readers, if only because the understanding of what growing up with that climate means might be a bit lost on them.

Black Girls Matter: A YA Reading List

November 5, 2015 |

I have thought a lot recently about black girls.

Earlier this year, a piece on NPR highlighted how black girls are pushed out of schools at higher rates than their white counterparts. Discipline toward black girls is harsher and handed out in ways that aren’t equitable to white girls. We have seen this front and center, too, thanks to the horrific and heart-shattering video of a school police officer assaulting a black girl in school. We saw it front and center this summer as a police officer in McKinney, Texas, manhandled a black teen girl.

There’s no excuse at all for any of these situations. Black lives matter, and that mattering extends to those teen black girls who deserve to be listened to, acknowledged, boosted, and treated as human beings with immense potential, perspective, and possibility ahead of them.

Because they absolutely, positively do.

I’m not sure I can say much more except that when I start feeling powerless, creating a resource list feels like a small step toward not only acknowledging the issue, but it feels like something that could, I hope, get a book into the hands of a person who desperately needs it. In this case, I hope a teacher or librarian or reader finds one of these books featuring great black female leads and understands that their story — their life — matters hugely.

All descriptions are from WorldCat, and I’m absolutely eager to hear more titles. All are YA books featuring black girls front and center and they include fiction and some non-fiction. A couple of these titles also fall into that crossover category, so while they may technically be “adult” reads, they have great appeal to teens. Several of these authors have written more than one title featuring a black girl at the center, so it’s worth checking their other titles, too. Many of these are also on-going series titles. I’ve limited to one per author.

brown girl dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson: Raised in South Carolina and New York, Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960s and 1970s, living with the remnants of Jim Crow and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line a glimpse into a child’s soul as she searches for her place in the world. Woodson’s poetry also reflects the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, despite the fact that she struggled with reading as a child. Her love of stories inspired her and stayed with her, creating the first sparks of the gifted writer she was to become.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson: When their owner dies at the start of the Revolution, Isabel and her younger sister are sold to Loyalists in New York, where Isabel is offered the chance to spy for the Patriots.

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose: Based on extensive interviews with Claudette Colvin and many others, Phillip Hoose presents the first in-depth account of an important yet largely unknown civil rights figure, skillfully weaving her dramatic story into the fabric of the historic Montgomery bus boycott and court case that would change the course of American history.

Disgruntled by Asali Solomon: Kenya Curtis is only eight years old, but she knows that she’s different, even if she can’t put her finger on how or why. It’s not because she’s Black–most of the other students in the fourth-grade class at her West Philadelphia elementary school are too. Maybe it’s because she celebrates Kwanzaa, or because she’s forbidden from reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Maybe it’s because she calls her father–a housepainter-slash-philosopher–“Baba” instead of “Daddy,” or because her parents’ friends gather to pour out libations “from the Creator, for the Martyrs” and discuss “the community.” Kenya does know that it’s connected to what her Baba calls “the shame of being alive”–a shame that only grows deeper and more complex over the course of Asali Solomon’s long-awaited debut novel. Disgruntled, effortlessly funny and achingly poignant, follows Kenya from West Philadelphia to the suburbs, from public school to private, from childhood through adolescence, as she grows increasingly disgruntled by her inability to find any place or thing or person that feels like home. A coming-of-age tale, a portrait of Philadelphia in the late eighties and early nineties, an examination of the impossible double-binds of race, Disgruntled is a novel about the desire to rise above the limitations of the narratives we’re given and the painful struggle to craft fresh ones we can call our own

Don’t Fail Me Now by Una LaMarche: Interracial half-siblings come together for the first time and embark on a cross-country road trip to confront their absentee father before he dies.

Nothing But Drama by ReShonda Tate Billingsley: Four teenaged girls from different backgrounds find faith and friendship after joining Good Girlz, an afterschool church youth group.

Endangered by Lamar Giles: When Lauren (Panda), a teen photoblogger, gets involved in a deadly game, she has to protect the classmates she despises.

Flygirl by Sherri L Smith: During World War II, a light-skinned African American girl “passes” for white in order to join the Women Airforce Service Pilots.

The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough: Antony and Cleopatra. Helen of Troy and Paris. Romeo and Juliet. And now… Henry and Flora. For centuries Love and Death have chosen their players. They have set the rules, rolled the dice, and kept close, ready to influence, angling for supremacy. And Death has always won. Always. Could there ever be one time, one place, one pair whose love would truly tip the balance? Meet Flora Saudade, an African-American girlwho dreams of becoming the next Amelia Earhart by day and sings in the smoky jazz clubs of Seattle by night. Meet Henry Bishop, born a few blocks and a million worlds away, a white boy with his future assured — a wealthy adoptive family in the midst of the Great Depression, a college scholarship, and all the opportunities in the world seemingly available to him. The players have been chosen. The dice have been rolled. But when human beings make moves of their own, what happens next is anyone’s guess.

The Good Braider by Terry Farish: Told in spare free verse, the book follows Viola as she survives brutality in war-torn Sudan, makes a perilous journey, lives as a refugee in Egypt, and finally reaches Portland, Maine, where her quest for freedom and security is hampered by memories of past horrors and the traditions her mother and other Sudanese adults hold dear. With unforgettable images, the author’s voice sings out the story of her family’s journey, and tells the universal tale of a young immigrant’s struggle to build a life on the cusp of two cultures. Includes historical facts and a map of Sudan.

Heaven by Angela Johnson: At fourteen, Marley knows she has Momma’s hands and Pops’s love for ice cream, that her brother doesn’t get on her nerves too much, and that Uncle Jack is a big mystery. But Marley doesn’t know all she thinks she does, because she doesn’t know the truth. And when the truth comes down with the rain one stormy summer afternoon, it changes everything. It turns Momma and Pops into liars. It makes her brother a stranger and Uncle Jack an even bigger mystery. All of a sudden, Marley doesn’t know who she is anymore and can only turn to the family she no longer trusts to find out.

High School High by Shannon Freeman: Brandi, Marissa, and Shane are excited to begin their freshman year at Port City High, but find their friendship tested by Shane’s drug addiction and Marissa’s relationship with Brandi’s ex.

The Hot Girl by Dream Jordan: Kate, a fourteen-year-old Brooklyn girl and former gang member, risks losing her first good foster family when she adopts the risqué ways of her flirtatious new friend, Naleejah.

The Kayla Chronicles by Sherri Winston: At the urging of her pushy best friend, Kayla overcomes her reticence and tries out for the school dance team in order to expose their suspected discrimination, but when she unexpectedly makes the team–and even begins to enjoy performing–she finds her assumptions, and her sense of herself, challenged.

Kendra by Coe Booth: High schooler Kendra longs to live with her mother who, unprepared for motherhood at age fourteen, left Kendra in the care of her grandmother.

Love is the Drug by Alaya Dawn Johnson: Emily Bird is an African American high school senior in Washington D.C., member of a privileged medical family, on the verge of college and the edge of the drug culture, and not really sure which way she will go–then one day she wakes up in the hospital with no memory of what happened.

Mare’s War by Tanita S Davis: Teens Octavia and Tali learn about strength, independence, and courage when they are forced to take a car trip with their grandmother, who tells about growing up Black in 1940s Alabama and serving in Europe during World War II as a member of the Women’s Army Corps.

Not Otherwise Specified by Hannah Moskowitz: Auditioning for a New York City performing arts high school could help Etta escape from her Nebraska all-girl school, where she is not gay enough for her former friends, not sick enough for her eating disorders group, and not thin enough for ballet, but it may also mean real friendships.

On The Come Up by Hannah Weyer: AnnMarie comes across a flyer advertising movie auditions in Manhattan. Four months before she’s due to give birth; she lands a lead role. For a time, AnnMarie soars, acting for the camera, flying to the Sundance Film Festival, seeing her face on-screen. But when the film fades from view and the realities of her life set in, AnnMarie’s grit and determination are the only tools left to keep her moving forward. Told with remarkable compassion and based on the real-life story of Anna Simpson.

Pinned by Sharon Flake: Adonis is smart, intellectually gifted and born without legs; Autumn is strong, a great wrestler, and barely able to read in ninth grade–but Autumn is attracted to Adonis and determined to make him a part of her life whatever he or her best friend thinks.

Pointe by Brandy Colbert: Four years after Theo’s best friend, Donovan, disappeared at age thirteen, he is found and brought home and Theo puts her health at risk as she decides whether to tell the truth about the abductor, knowing her revelation could end her life-long dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer.

Camo Girl by Kekla Magoon: Ella, a biracial girl with a patchy and uneven skin tone, and her friend Z, a boy who is very different, have been on the bottom of the social order at Caldera Junior High School in Las Vegas, but when the only other African-American student enters their sixth grade class, Ella longs to be friends with him and join the popular group, but does not want to leave Z all alone.

See No Color by Shannon Gibney: Alex has always identified herself as a baseball player, the daughter of a winning coach, but when she realizes that is not enough she begins to come to terms with her adoption and her race.

Copper Sun by Sharon Draper: Two fifteen-year-old girls–one a slave and the other an indentured servant–escape their Carolina plantation and try to make their way to Fort Moses, Florida, a Spanish colony that gives sanctuary to slaves.

So Not The Drama by Paula Chase: Mina’s plans to carry her middle school popularity over into high school do not work out just as she had imagined when her best friend Lizzie gets invited to a party with the social elite, and a class project on prejudice exposes the truth about school cliques.

Something Like Hope by Shawn Goodman: Shavonne, a fierce, desperate seventeen year-old in juvenile lockup, wants to turn her life around before her eighteenth birthday, but corrupt guards, out-of-control girls, and shadows from her past make her task seem impossible.

Sound by Alexandra Duncan: Ava’s adopted sister Miyole is finally living her dream as a research assistant on her very first space voyage. But when her ship saves a rover that has been viciously attacked by looters and kidnappers, Miyole–along with a rescued rover girl named Cassia–embarks on a mission to rescue Cassia’s abducted brother, and that changes the course of Miyole’s life forever

Step To This by Nikki Carter: Gia doesn’t have the hair or the clothes, but she’s got the moves and the attitude to make her sophomore year at Longfellow High unforgettable. But not everyone agrees, so Gia decides it’s time for a makeover. With her stylish new look, she scores a date with hottie football player, Romeo, snags a spot on the Hi-Steppers dance squad, and makes a ton of new friends.

Taking Flight by Michaela DePrince: The memoir of Michaela DePrince, who lived the first few years of her live in war-torn Sierra Leone until being adopted by an American family. Now seventeen, she is one of the premiere ballerinas in the United States.

Tankborn by Karen Sandler: Kayla and Mishalla, two genetically engineered non-human slaves (GENs), fall in love with higher-status boys, discover deep secrets about the creation of GENs, and find out what it means to be human.

This Side of Home by Renée Watson: Twins Nikki and Maya Younger always agreed on most things, but as they head into their senior year they react differently to the gentrification of their Portland, Oregon, neighborhood and the new–white–family that moves in after their best friend and her mother are evicted.

Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton: Gigi, Bette, and June, three top students at an exclusive Manhattan ballet school, have seen their fair share of drama. Free-spirited new girl Gigi just wants to dance — but the very act might kill her. Privileged New Yorker Bette’s desire to escape the shadow of her ballet star sister brings out a dangerous edge in her. And perfectionist June needs to land a lead role this year or her controlling mother will put an end to her dancing dreams forever. When every dancer is both friend and foe, the girls will sacrifice, manipulate, and backstab to be the best of the best.

Maya’s Choice by Earl Sewell: Maya’s summer is shaping up to be unforgettable– in both good and bad ways. First she’s sent to stay with her grandmother for a month. Living in the city, Maya is too far from her friend Keysha and her boyfriend, Misalo– and too near her rebellious cousin Viviana. When Maya finally comes home, her parents drop a bombshell– Viviana is moving in with them. Her cousin has barely unpacked before she’s creating chaos. Truth is, Maya kind of likes the way life is a whole lot less predictable with Viviana around. But her motives are up for debate– especially when it comes to Misalo. And as Maya’s little sister, Anna, grows more fascinated with her cool older cousin, Maya begins to see that following where Viviana leads has its price. And it could cost Maya her reputation, her relationship– and maybe even her future.

When The Black Girl Sings by Bil Wright: Adopted by white parents and sent to an exclusive Connecticut girls’ school where she is the only black student, fourteen-year-old Lahni Schuler feels like an outcast, particularly when her parents separate, but after attending a local church where she hears gospel music for the first time, she finds her voice.

On The Radar: 9 YA Books for November

November 2, 2015 |

One of the most popular posts I do over at Book Riot is the round-up of upcoming YA fiction titles, and one of the most popular questions I seem to get on Twitter and in my inboxes is “what should I be looking out for in YA?” For a lot of readers, especially those who work with teens either in classrooms or in libraries, knowing what’s coming out ahead of time is valuable to get those books into readers’ hands before they even ask.Each month, I’ll call out between 8 and 12 books coming out that should be on your radar. These include books by high-demand, well-known authors, as well as some up-and-coming and debut authors. They’ll be across a variety of genres, including diverse titles and writers. Not all of the books will be ones that Kimberly or I have read, nor will all of them be titles that we’re going to read and review. Rather, these are books that readers will be looking for and that have popped up regularly on social media, in advertising, in book mail, and so forth. It’s part science and part arbitrary and a way to keep the answer to “what should I know about for this month?” quick, easy, and under $300 (doable for smaller library budgets especially).

For November, here are 9 titles to have on your radar. All descriptions are from WorldCat, and I’ve noted why it should be included. Most of those reasons this time, it turns out, are “because of the author.”

All In by Jennifer Lynn Barnes: Cassie and the other members of the Naturals program of the FBI are drawn into a murder investigation in Vegas

Why: This is the third in Barnes’s “Naturals” mystery/thriller series.

Game of Lives by James Dashner: The VirtNet has become a world of deadly consequences, and Kaine grows stronger by the day. If Kaine succeeds, it will mean worldwide cyber domination. And it looks like Michael and his friends are the only ones who can put the monster back in the box–if Michael can figure out who his friends really are.

Why: This is the sequel to Dashner’s The Rule of Thoughts.

Hotel Ruby by Suzanne Young: On the way to spend a summer with her grandmother after the sudden death of her mother, seventeen-year-old Audrey, her older brother Daniel, and their father happen upon the Hotel Ruby, a luxurious place filled with unusual guests and little chance of ever leaving.

Why: Young’s writing is so teen friendly, with great, authentic dialog. This is a stand alone, too.

Manners & Mutiny by Gail Carriger: In an alternate England of 1851, Sophronia Temminnick is the only hope for her friends, her school, and all of London when she must put her espionage training to the test to thwart an evil Picklemen plot.

Why: This is the fourth book in Carriger’s steampunk series.

Soundless by Richelle Mead: A fantasy adventure steeped in Chinese folklore about a teenage girl named Fei. When her village is suddenly in danger, Fei finds herself on a journey from the peak of her jagged mountain village to the valley of Beiguo, where a startling truth and an unlikely romance will change her life foreve

Why: Richelle Mead, of Vampire Academy is the author of this stand-alone fantasy.

Ten Thousand Skies Above You by Claudia Gray: As eighteen-year-old Marguerite struggles to get to the heart of the corrupt company that almost killed her father, she tries to save the boy she loves, whose soul is scattered in various dimensions.

Why: This is the second book in this space/time/fantasy adventure from Claudia Gray. I don’t think it’s exaggerating to say that this particular series has gotten one of the best cover treatments in memory.

This Way Home by Wes Moore with Shawn Goodman: Elijah, seventeen, has always been sure of just one thing–basketball–and believes it will be his way out of West Baltimore, but when gang violence knocks him down, helping a veteran repair his rickety home helps Elijah see what really matters.

Why: Wes Moore, who wrote the memoir The Other Wes Moore, has his first novel coming out. The memoir was one we named to the Outstanding Books for the College Bound, and I believe there’s also a young reader’s edition.

Traffick by Ellen Hopkins: Five teenagers struggle to find their way out of prostitution.

Why: WorldCat keeps it to the point with their description, but besides this being an Ellen Hopkins book, it’s the sequel to Tricks.

Winter by Marissa Meyer: Princess Winter, admired by the Lunar people for her grace and kindness, teams up with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and her allies, to defeat Queen Levana and find their happily ever afters.

Why: It’s the fourth and final installment in the wildly popular “Cinder” series. I believe this might be one of the most anticipated books of the year . . . as well as one of the longest. It weighs in at 800+ pages.

Covering JANE-EMILY: A Look at Design

October 26, 2015 |

This week, both of my posts will be about Patricia Clapp’s classic Jane Emily, as I’m taking part in a read and blog along with Leila Roy and Liz Burns.

It’s been a while since I’ve done a YA book cover retrospective, wherein I pull up as many of the old covers of a book as possible and look at the ways it’s evolved and what/where it might fit into the book’s story. Jane Emily was originally published in 1969, to see a few cover evolutions over the course of its early life. When it was brought back into print in 2007 by Harper, it took on another cover that, despite being new, still harkened back to the original look.

I’ve tried to pull as much information as possible about these covers, but there may be places where it’s missing or unavailable. Anyone who knows more or knows of other cover variations — foreign covers, especially — feel free to let me know. I’d also love to know what you think about these covers, whether or not you’ve read the book. I’m purposefully talking about the covers before the content because, as we know, covers are what “sell” a book. Is a novel from 1969 still able to be sold to today’s teen readers?

You might be surprised.

Original 1969 Cover

The original cover for Jane Emily is quite simple and offers surprisingly little into what the story may be about. The girl on the cover appears to be a teenager, and behind her, there’s a younger girl looking into a wishing ball. The use of flowers here is representative of something in the book, though as they’re rendered here, they don’t make a whole lot of sense to the cover. The house, of course, does play a role in the story.

Design wise, this is dated, but it’s interesting to note that it does contain representations of all the key pieces of the story. Though the fact it’s focused heavily on the older girl — Louisa — seems misrepresentative of what the story’s truly about. This is something I’ll hit on in talking more in depth about the book, but the primary focus is on Jane, who you see looking through the wishing ball in the background.

Looking at this cover wouldn’t suggest it’s a horror read. It looks a little bit like it’s the kind of story a reader who loves Anne of Green Gables might want to pick up. Sure, Louisa has a romance in it and sure, there are moments of sweetness, but the feel of the book is atmospheric and haunting and creepy.

1971 Paperback

There is nothing I do not love about the 1971 Dell paperback edition of Jane Emily. This is a cover that screams horror, that embodies atmosphere, and it puts Jane/Emily in the center of the story. There’s also a really great pull quote from the Booklist review to hammer home to readers that this is a scary read.

It’s interesting to look at the way the house is depicted here, as opposed to how it’s depicted in the hardcover above. In this one, it’s clearly Gothic and sinister. In the hardcover, the house looks like the White House — it’s stately, clean, and not menacing, but elegant. This paperback cover doesn’t have a whiff of romance to it, either.

The look of horror and shock on the girl’s face is so fantastic. This cover would have absolutely sold me on the book when I was a teen reader (or honestly, a middle grade reader wanting to “read up”) and it’d be the kind of book that I’d have scooped up if I saw it in a used book store.

1974 Paperback

The quality of this cover image is bad, but it’s the best one I could find in my searching. From 1974, we take the look in a direction that tries to marry the romantic vibes of the original hardcover with the most sinister feel of the paperback. But this particular cover doesn’t offer a feeling of either one. It’s a weird shade of bubblegum pink, with a young girl who seems to have oddly blue-green skin looking into the mirror ball. There are still flowers here,but they’re roses (which isn’t the flower in the book that matters). And rather than a house in the background, we have a forest, along with a glowing orange orb that could be either a sun or a moon. It’s hard to say, seeing the sky is an odd shade of yellow.

Without question, this cover tries to appeal to female readers. But it also doesn’t do the story justice. You know there’s something odd going on with the mirror ball, but it looks more like a Wizard of Oz type tale than it does a horror read.

I snagged this cover image from a really fascinating post about the book from Kelly R. Fineman from 2008 on Livejournal. I love how she talks about rereading this one and how much she remembers the experiences of reading it.

Portuguese Edition

Again, another poor quality image because the same one appears to be used over and over throughout the internet. This particular cover is of the Portuguese edition of Jane Emily. I’ve been unable to come up with a year for this one, as I’ve seen some sites suggest it came out at the same time as the hardcover, but I also found a glut of sites sharing reviews and discussions of this one from 2009.

The cover for this foreign edition is pretty great. It looks a lot like a horror film poster, and it’s effective in telling the reader this is about a younger girl and a house that isn’t all that it seems to be. This is a stripped down look from the others, too, as we don’t see a lot of the elements that make up the story shown. There’s not a mirror ball, nor is there a garden or flowers. Again, the focal point is on Jane, the younger girl, rather than Louisa, the teen in the story.

In a lot of ways, this cover looks like it’s aimed at an adult audience more than anything. It looks mature and complex even in its simplicity.

The font for the title reminds me a lot of Jane Eyre here. I can’t place my finger on why, other than the names looking similar. Perhaps I’ve seen an edition of the Bronte classic with this sort of font treatment.

1993 Beech Tree Books Paperback

If a cover could encompass the 1990s teen paperback aesthetic, this is it. It’s filled with clashing covers, weird illustrations, and it’s smashed together in a collage that indeed includes everything from the book. Where to begin?

First, we have Jane at the center. Kind of. But it’s not really Jane — it’s Emily through the mirror ball. Of course, unless you’ve read the book, you wouldn’t know that. Then there’s Louisa, who takes the big image in the middle of the page. She’s very “buttoned up” here, which I didn’t get the sense of from the book being her look or style. Behind her is the doctor (I believe!) that she begins to see romantically while at her aunt’s home. But that’s not a given; it could be her boyfriend from back home, Marcus. I’m betting though it’s the doctor by appearance alone.

Also included on the cover are the house, which looks more stately than ominous,as well as the flowers and garden that play a role in the story. Then there’s another weird bubble going on in the background, too. I’m not entirely sure the role of that, but I guess they needed to use something to fill the space on the cover since nothing else would bring it all together quite the same way.

The tag line for this, though, is the clincher for me: “A ghost story. And a romance.”

That makes it sound like it’s a possible romance with a ghost, doesn’t it? And yes, there is romance in here, but it’s hardly a big deal in the story and it’s not what a reader will pick this one up for. If they do, they’re going to be pretty surprised about how that all plays out.

2007 Harper Paperback Reissue

Taking bits from the Dell paperback is the Harper rerelease from 2007. I love this cover — it’s absolutely perfect for the novel, as it captures the eerie supernatural spirit. I love especially that it’s askew. We don’t see a hard-on image of Jane, but we see her on the side, holding onto the mirror ball and looking frightened by what she sees in it.

The house, which could look stately, is made to look creepy through the use of the branches and green-blue shades. It’s so simple, but there’s a sort of perfection in the simplicity.

My favorite part, though, might be the font treatment. I love how it feels old and classic, making it clear this isn’t the kind of scary story you’d pick up right now and expect today’s world to be inside. This has an old Gothic flavor to it, right down to the light yellow color on Clapp’s name. My only complaint about the choice in font, though, is that the title isn’t particularly distinct from Clapp’s name. This might not be the case were the title not also a name, which I can see causing some confusion.

While I only have seen the 2007 edition in person, since it’s the one I bought, it’s worth noting it’s also the largest in size. Jane-Emily is only about 140 pages long, so the previous editions of the book are thin. The 2007 edition, though, contains a second book within it, so it’s much more on par size-wise with traditional trade paperbacks in YA today, though it has two books inside.