2017 Nonfiction for YA and Middle Grade Readers, Part Two.

May 15, 2017 |

Late last year, I put together a round-up of nonfiction for young adult and middle grade readers that covered books hitting shelves through May. It’s time to revisit and update that list, this time with titles hitting shelves from now through the end of the year (as best as possible). This won’t be comprehensive, in part because not everything through the end of the year is set in stone with publishing. It also can’t be comprehensive because it’s so easy to miss nonfiction from smaller publishing houses, from university presses, and other institutions where information isn’t as readily available as it is on Edelweiss. Please do feel free to drop additional titles into the comments.

A couple of notes: an interesting aspect of nonfiction for young readers is that divisions between middle grade and YA aren’t as clear-cut as they are for fiction. Many nonfiction titles go for the 10-14 age range, which cuts through both the YA and middle grade field. Thus, some of these titles will certainly fall on the younger side while others, the older side. I know I’m going to miss titles, and I’ve purposely left off the series titles that libraries purchase (you know the kind — they’re 80 pages, full color, good for reports and not so much on the narrative).

All publication dates are via publisher catalogs on Edelweiss and all descriptions are from Goodreads.

Choose To Matter: Being Courageously and Fabulously YOU by Julie Foudy (May 2)

In Choose to Matter, Julie Foudy, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and former captain of the US National team, takes you on a journey to discover your authentic self. This book is a roadmap to unleash that courageous YOU and have you singing your dreams out loud. Along with sharing stories from her playing days and personal experiences, Julie taps into the wisdom of other incredible female leaders including “Good Morning America” anchor Robin Roberts, soccer stars Mia Hamm and Alex Morgan, and Facebook superwoman and Lean In founder Sheryl Sandberg. In her Leadership Academy, Julie encourages young women to find the leader that exists in all of them, whatever their personality or vocal chord strength might be. Complete with fun exercises and activities, Choose to Matter guides readers in all aspects of their lives. Julie believes every young woman has the power to be a leader who makes a positive impact. And it all starts by choosing to matter. So go ahead, start now. Because you can.

Deep Water by Katherine Nicols (May 2)

A group of teens traffic drugs between Mexico and California in this start to the brand-new Simon True series.

It’s 1971 in Coronado, a small southern California beach town. For seventeen-year-old Eddie Otero, a skilled waterman and avid surfer, life is simple. Then a friend makes him an offer: Swim an illicit package across the border from Mexico. The intense workout is dangerous. Thrilling. Lucrative. And the beginning of a small business.

When the young entrepreneurs involve their former high school Spanish teacher, the smuggling adventure grows into a one hundred million dollar global operation.

Soon they become fugitives. Living on the edge, they vow to return to their normal lives—right after one last run…

One Cut by Eve Porinchak (May 2)

A backyard brawl turned media circus filled with gang accusations turns a small, quiet town upside down in this second book in the new Simon True series.

On May 22, 1995 at 7 p.m. sixteen-year-old Jimmy Farris and seventeen-year-old Mike McLoren were working out outside Mike’s backyard fort. Four boys hopped the fence, and a fight broke out inside the dark fort made of two-by-four planks and tarps. Within minutes, both Mike and Jimmy had been stabbed. Jimmy died a short time later.

While neighbors knew that the fort was a local hangout where drugs were available, the prosecution depicted the four defendants as gang members, and the crime as gang related. The accusations created a media circus, and added fuel to the growing belief that this affluent, safe, all-white neighborhood was in danger of a full-blown gang war.

Four boys stood trial. All four boys faced life sentences. Why? Because of California’s Felony Murder Rule. The law states that “a death is considered first degree murder when it is commissioned during one of the following felonies: Arson, Rape, Carjacking, Robbery, Burglary, Mayhem, Kidnapping.” In other words, if you—or somebody you are with—intends to commit a felony, and somebody accidentally dies in the process, all parties can be tried and convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life without parole, even if nobody had any intention of committing a murder.

What really happened that day? Was it a case of robbery gone wrong? Gang activity? Or was it something else?

Girling Up: How To Be Strong, Smart, and Spectacular by Mayim Bialik (May 9)

Growing up as a girl in today’s world is no easy task. Juggling family, friends, romantic relationships, social interests and school sometimes it feels like you might need to be a superhero to get through it all! But really, all you need is little information.

Want to know why your stomach does a flip-flop when you run into your crush in the hallway? Or how the food you put in your body now will affect you in the future? What about the best ways to stop freaking out about your next math test?

Using scientific facts, personal anecdotes, and wisdom gained from the world around us, Mayim Bialik, the star of The Big Bang Theory, shares what she has learned from her life and her many years studying neuroscience to tell you how you grow from a girl to a woman biologically, psychologically and sociologically.

Be The One: Six True Stories of Teens Overcoming Hardship With Hope by Byron Pitts (May 16)

Emmy Award–winning ABC News chief national correspondent and Nightline coanchor, Byron Pitts shares the heartbreaking and inspiring stories of six young people who overcame impossible circumstances with extraordinary perseverance.

Abuse.
Bullying.
War.
Drug Addiction.
Mental Illness.
Violence.

None of these should be realities for anyone, much less a young person. But for some it is the only reality they have ever known. In these dark circumstances, six teens needed someone to “be the one” for them—the hero to help them back into the light. For Tania, Mason, Pappy, Michaela, Ryan, and Tyton, that hero was themselves. Through stirring interviews and his award-winning storytelling, Byron Pitts brings the struggles and triumphs of these everyday heroes to teens just like them, encouraging all of us to be the source of inspiration in our own lives and to appreciate the lives of others around us.

How Dare The Sun Rise: Memoirs of a War Child by Sandra Uwiringiyimana (May 16)

This profoundly moving memoir is the remarkable and inspiring true story of Sandra Uwiringyimana, a girl from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who tells the tale of how she survived a massacre, immigrated to America, and overcame her trauma through art and activism.

Sandra was just ten years old when she found herself with a gun pointed at her head. She had watched as rebels gunned down her mother and six-year-old sister in a refugee camp. Remarkably, the rebel didn’t pull the trigger, and Sandra escaped.

Thus began a new life for her and her surviving family members. With no home and no money, they struggled to stay alive. Eventually, through a United Nations refugee program, they moved to America, only to face yet another ethnic disconnect. Sandra may have crossed an ocean, but there was now a much wider divide she had to overcome. And it started with middle school in New York.

In this memoir, Sandra tells the story of her survival, of finding her place in a new country, of her hope for the future, and how she found a way to give voice to her people.

She’s So Boss by Stacy Kravetz (May 16)

Whether you already have an idea for a business or you’re mulling how to turn the things you enjoy into a self-sustaining enterprise, this book will connect the dots. From inspiration to execution, there are concrete steps every young entrepreneur, creator, or leader needs to take, and this book shows you how.

Packed with information and with the profiles of more than a dozen real-life girl bosses who have turned their passions into business, She’s So Boss is about thinking big, aiming high, and becoming the boss of your thing, whether it’s a blog about baking organic treats or playing guitar and putting your music videos on YouTube.

Queer, There and Everywhere: 23 People Who Changed The World by Sarah Prager (May 23)

This first-ever LGBTQ history book for young adults will appeal to fans of fun, empowering pop-culture books like Rad American Women A-Z and Notorious RBG.

World history has been made by countless lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals—and you’ve never heard of many of them. Queer author and activist Sarah Prager delves deep into the lives of 22 people who fought, created, and loved on their own terms. From high-profile figures like Abraham Lincoln and Eleanor Roosevelt to the trailblazing gender-ambiguous Queen of Sweden and a bisexual blues singer who didn’t make it into your history books, these astonishing true stories uncover a rich queer heritage that encompasses every culture, in every era.

By turns hilarious and inspiring, the beautifully illustrated Queer, There, and Everywhere is for anyone who wants the real story of the queer rights movement.

How To Write Good by Ryan Higa (May 30)

An unconventional, irreverent, yet heartfelt memoir by Ryan Higa, one of the top creators on YouTube. With pictures! And illustrations! And, y’know, words.

The Factory Girls: A Kaleidoscope Account of The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire by Christine Seifert (May 30)

The twentieth century ushered in a new world filled with a dazzling array of consumer goods. For the first time in American history, fashion could be mass produced. Even the poorest immigrant girls could afford a blouse or two. But these same immigrant teens toiled away in factories in appalling working conditions. Their hard work and sacrifice lined the pockets of greedy factory owners who were almost exclusively white men. The tragic Triangle Waist Factory fire in 1911 resulted in the deaths of over a hundred young people, mostly immigrant girls, who were locked in the factory.

That fire signaled a turning point in American history. This book will examine the events leading up to the fire, including a close look at how fashion and the desire for consumer goods—driven in part by the excess of the Gilded Age—created an unsustainable culture of greed. Told from the perspective of six young women who lived the story, this book will remind us why what we buy and how we vote really matter.

Seven Wonders of The Solar System by David Aguilar (May 30)

Ready for a wondrous celestial journey? How about a trip to our close neighbor Mars, home to the largest volcano in the solar system? Or to Europa, a watery lunar world with a really deep ocean? Or beyond the beyond to mysterious Planet 9, an unseen giant lurking in the far outer regions of space?

This extraordinary book puts you right there: breaking through colorful gaseous hazes; exploring the surface of red-hot or ice-cold planets; hurtling through rings of flying, frozen ice chunks; and rocketing on out to deep space. Astronomer David Aguilar is our navigator on these seven wonderful trips through our solar system–journeys that someday may actually happen!

Our Story Begins edited by Elissa Brent Weissman (July 4)

From award-winning author Elissa Brent Weissman comes a collection of quirky, smart, and vulnerable childhood works by some of today’s foremost children’s authors and illustrators—revealing young talent, the storytellers they would one day become, and the creativity they inspire today.

Everyone’s story begins somewhere…

For Linda Sue Park, it was a trip to the ocean, a brand-new typewriter, and a little creative license.
For Jarrett J. Krosoczka, it was a third grade writing assignment that ignited a creative fire in a kid who liked to draw.
For Kwame Alexander, it was a loving poem composed for Mother’s Day—and perfected through draft after discarded draft.
For others, it was a teacher, a parent, a beloved book, a word of encouragement. It was trying, and failing, and trying again. It was a love of words, and pictures, and stories.

Your story is beginning, too. Where will it go?

Far From The Tree: Young Reader’s Edition by Andrew Solomon, Laurie Calkhoven (July 25)

The old adage says that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, meaning that children usually resemble their parents. But what happens when the apples fall somewhere else—sometimes a couple of orchards away, sometimes on the other side of the world?

In this young adult edition, Andrew Solomon profiles how families accommodate children who have a variety of differences: families of people who are deaf, who are dwarfs, who have Down syndrome, who have autism, who have schizophrenia, who have multiple severe disabilities, who are prodigies, who commit crimes, and more.

The Life Heroic: How To Unleash Your Most Amazing Self by Elizabeth Svoboda (September 1)

Heroes are superhuman. Or, at least, it’s easy to assume that when you read ripped-from-the-news stories of derring-do. But in reality, almost anyone who’s motivated can be a hero, and the heroes who make the biggest impact aren’t always the ones who make headlines. This approachable, research-backed guide will equip kids with the tools they need to become an everyday hero. Along the way, you’ll hear from real heroes living out the truth of psychologist Phil Zimbardo’s words: “Most heroes are ordinary. It’s the act of heroism that’s extraordinary.”

Poison: Deadly Deeds, Perilous Professions, and Murderous Medicine by Sarah Albee (September 5)

For centuries, people have been poisoning one another–changing personal lives and the course of empires alike.
From spurned spouses and rivals, to condemned prisoners like Socrates, to endangered emperors like Alexander the Great, to modern-day leaders like Joseph Stalin and Yasser Arafat, poison has played a starring role in the demise of countless individuals. And those are just the deliberate poisonings. Medical mishaps, greedy “snake oil” salesmen and food contaminants, poisonous Prohibition, and industrial toxins also impacted millions.
Part history, part chemistry, part whodunit, Poison: Deadly Deeds, Perilous Professions, and Murderous Medicines traces the role poisons have played in history from antiquity to the present and shines a ghoulish light on the deadly intersection of human nature . . . and Mother Nature.

42 Is Not Just A Number: The Odyssey of Jackie Robinson, American Hero by Doreen Rappaport (September 12)

Baseball, basketball, football — no matter the game, Jackie Robinson excelled. His talents would have easily landed another man a career in pro sports, but such opportunities were closed to athletes like Jackie for one reason: his skin was the wrong color. Settling for playing baseball in the Negro Leagues, Jackie chafed at the inability to prove himself where it mattered most: the major leagues. Then in 1946, Branch Rickey, manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, recruited Jackie Robinson. Jackie faced cruel and sometimes violent hatred and discrimination, but he proved himself again and again, exhibiting courage, determination, restraint, and a phenomenal ability to play the game. In this compelling biography, award-winning author Doreen Rappaport chronicles the extraordinary life of Jackie Robinson and how his achievements won over — and changed — a segregated nation.

Obsessed: A Memoir of My Life With OCD by Allison Britz (September 19)

Until sophomore year of high school, fifteen-year-old Allison Britz lived a comfortable life in an idyllic town. She was a dedicated student with tons of extracurricular activities, friends, and loving parents at home.

But after awakening from a vivid nightmare in which she was diagnosed with brain cancer, she was convinced the dream had been a warning. Allison believed that she must do something to stop the cancer in her dream from becoming a reality.

It started with avoiding sidewalk cracks and quickly grew to counting steps as loudly as possible. Over the following weeks, her brain listed more dangers and fixes. She had to avoid hair dryers, calculators, cell phones, computers, anything green, bananas, oatmeal, and most of her own clothing.

Unable to act “normal,” the once-popular Allison became an outcast. Her parents questioned her behavior, leading to explosive fights. When notebook paper, pencils, and most schoolbooks were declared dangerous to her health, her GPA imploded, along with her plans for the future.

Finally, she allowed herself to ask for help and was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder. This brave memoir tracks Allison’s descent and ultimately hopeful climb out of the depths.

Shaken: Young Reader’s Edition by Tim Tebow (September 19)

The Heisman Trophy winner and New York Times best-selling author of Shaken shares a vision for young Christians still forming their identity and finding their God-given purpose–even when life doesn’t go as planned. Tebow is the beloved college football champion who was drafted in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft, but after a miracle season and playoff appearance with the Denver Broncos, he experienced a disappointing end to his pro career with three other teams. In his life Tebow’s won big victories and felt the depths of failure. In Shaken: The Young Reader’s Edition, Tebow writes about how neither the highs nor the lows of his life define him. Ultimately, only God can do that. Tebow’s goal in this writing is to inspire young people to find their identity and purpose in God too.

Shoe Dog: Young Reader’s Edition by Phil Knight (September 26)

In this young readers edition of the New York Times bestseller, Nike founder and board chairman Phil Knight “offers a rare and revealing look at the notoriously media-shy man behind the swoosh” (Booklist, starred review), opening up about how he went from being a track star at an Oregon high school to the founder of a brand and company that changed everything.

You must forget your limits.

It was only when Nike founder Phil Knight got cut from the baseball team as a high school freshman that his mother suggested he try out for track instead. Knight made the track team and he found he could run fast and even more he liked it.

Ten years later, young and searching, Knight borrowed fifty dollars from his father and launched a company with one simple mission: import high quality running shoes from Japan. Selling the shoes from the trunk of his car to start, he and his gang of friends and runners built one of the most successful brands ever.

Phil Knight encountered risks and setbacks along the way, but always followed his own advice. Just keep going. Don’t stop. Whatever comes up, don’t stop. Filled with wisdom, humanity, humor, and heart, the young readers edition of the bestselling Shoe Dog is a story of determination that inspires all who read it.

Earth Hates Me by Ruby Karp (October 3)

Earth Hates Me presents a look inside the mind of the modern teenager–from a modern teenager’s perspective. Fifteen-year-old Ruby Karp addresses the issues facing every highschooler, from grades to peer pressure to Snapchat stories, and unpacks their complicated effects on the teen psyche. With dashes of humor throughout, Ruby advises her peers on the importance of feminism (“not just the Spice Girls version”), how to deal with jealousy and friend break-ups, family life, and much more. The book takes an in-depth look at the effect of social media on modern teens and the growing pressures of choosing the right college and career. With Ruby’s powerful underlying message “we are more than just a bunch of dumb teenagers obsessed with our phones,” Earth Hates Me is the definitive guide to being a teen in the modern age.

More Girls Who Rocked The World by Michelle Roehm McCann (October 3)

From the inspiring author of Girls Who Rocked the World comes another comprehensive collection of true, inspiring profiles of successful young women throughout history who made their mark on the world before turning twenty.

Young women today crave strong, independent role models to look to for motivation. In the follow-up to the bestseller Girls Who Rocked the World, More Girls Who Rocked the World offers a fun and uplifting collection of influential stories with forty-five more movers and shakers who made a difference before turning twenty.

From Annie Oakley and Queen Victoria to Malala Yousafzai and Adele—each with her own incredible story of how she created life-changing opportunities for herself and the world—you’ll get to know these capable queens of empires and courageous icons of entertainment. Also included are profiles of gutsy teenagers who are out there rocking the world right now and personal aspirations from today’s young women.

Secrets Of The Sea by Kate Baker, Eleanor Taylor (October 3)

This book takes you on a journey to discover an incredible and rarely seen world. From the rock pools along the shoreline to the deepest, darkest depths of the ocean, breathtaking illustrations reveal the sea’s creatures–from the microscopic and the bizarre to the fragile and the deadly–in all their startling beauty. Welcome to the secrets of the sea.

Witches and Witchcraft: A History by Richard Faulk (October 3)

The witch is an indelible part of our cultural imagination, but what do we really know about her? Is she a hapless victim of history or symbol of female resistance? What’s really the difference between a wise elder and an old crone? Witches and Witchcraft sifts through the rich and contradictory evidence to trace the development of the witch as a cultural phenomenon. Ultimately, the changing face of the witch is a mirror of our constantly changing ideas of spirituality, magic, creativity, gender, and the human relationship with the natural world. The witch’s story is far from over.

Sinking The Sultana: A Civil War Story of Imprisonment, Greed, and a Doomed Journey Home by Sally M. Walker (October 10)

In 1865, the Civil War was winding down and the country was reeling from Lincoln’s assassination. Thousands of Union soldiers, released from Confederate prisoner-of-war camps, were to be transported home on the steamboat Sultana. With a profit to be made, the captain rushed repairs to the boat so the soldiers wouldn’t find transportation elsewhere. More than 2,000 passengers boarded in Vicksburg, Mississippi . . . on a boat with a capacity of 376. The journey was violently interrupted when the boat’s boilers exploded, plunging the Sultana into mayhem; passengers were bombarded with red-hot iron fragments, burned by scalding steam, and flung overboard into the churning Mississippi. Although rescue efforts were launched, the survival rate was dismal — more than 1,500 lives were lost. In a compelling, exhaustively researched account, renowned author Sally M. Walker joins the ranks of historians who have been asking the same question for 150 years: who (or what) was responsible for the Sultana‘s disastrous fate?

Silent Days, Silent Dreams by Allen Say (October 31)

James Castle was born two months premature on September 25, 1899, on a farm in Garden Valley, Idaho. He was deaf, mute, autistic and probably dyslexic. He didn’t walk until he was four; he would never learn to speak, write, read or use sign language.

Yet, today Castle’s artwork hangs in major museums throughout the world. The Philadelphia Museum of Art opened “James Castle: A Retrospective in 2008.” The 2013 Venice Biennale included eleven works by Castle in the feature exhibition “The Encyclopedic Palace.” And his reputation continues to grow.

Caldecott Medal winner Allen Say, author of the acclaimed memoir Drawing from Memory, takes readers through an imagined look at Castle’s childhood, allows them to experience his emergence as an artist despite the overwhelming difficulties he faced, and ultimately reveals the triumphs that he would go on to achieve.

Becoming Kareem: Growing Up On and Off The Court by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Raymond Obstfeld (November 7)

Like many kids in elementary school, Kareem (then Lew Alcindor) struggled with fitting in, pleasing a strict father, and severe shyness that made him socially awkward. Unlike most kids, he also had to grapple with a sudden growth spurt that shot him up taller than pretty much everyone around him, including students, teachers, and even his own father. His increasing fame as a basketball player throughout high school brought new challenges as this shy boy was shoved into the national spotlight. At the same time, social unrest in the country, particularly involving the growing civil rights movement, tugged at his conscience as he tried to find his place in it. After all, he was just a kid. What could he do?

Recruited to UCLA, his fame as an unstoppable center made him a college superstar. But as his fame rose, so did the social turmoil in the country: Vietnam War protests, Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., large-scale riots, the Women’s Movement. He could have hidden from all the turmoil as a sports celebrity, but he chose to join in the social evolution. The result was converting to Islam and changing his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The public backlash was blistering, but he didn’t waver.

Victoria: Portrait of a Queen by Catherine Reef (November 7)

Catherine Reef brings history vividly to life in this sumptuously illustrated account of a confident, strong-minded, and influential woman. Victoria woke one morning at the age of eighteen to discover that her uncle had died and she was now queen. She went on to rule for sixty-three years, with an influence so far-reaching that the decades of her reign now bear her name—the Victorian period. Victoria is filled with the exciting comings and goings of royal life: intrigue and innuendo, scheming advisors, and assassination attempts, not to mention plenty of passion and discord. Includes bibliography, notes, British royal family tree, index.

A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 by Claire Hartfield (January 2018…but this looks so good I’m putting it here anyway!)

On a hot day in July 1919, three black youths went swimming in Lake Michigan, unintentionally floating close to the “white” beach. An angry white man began throwing stones at the boys, striking and killing one. Racial conflict on the beach erupted into days of urban violence that shook the city of Chicago to its foundations. This mesmerizing narrative draws on contemporary accounts as it traces the roots of the explosion that had been building for decades in race relations, politics, business, and clashes of culture.

Decelerate Blue by Adam Rapp and Mike Cavallaro

May 10, 2017 |

In Rapp’s and Cavallaro’s dystopian near-future, everyone lives their life at high-speed. There’s no time taken for reflection and everything is always go-go-go. In fact, everyone is supposed to say “go” when they’re done talking to indicate that it’s time for the person they’re talking with to reply. It’s not strictly illegal to leave out the “go,” but it’s more serious than a social faux pas (like forgetting to say “please,” for example). Everyone reads abridged versions of classic novels in school, and beds are made upright. This world is more than just annoying, though: it’s a surveillance state, and the government punishes people for not living up to the hyper-efficient ideal, seen most alarmingly when protagonist Angela’s grandfather is sent to a “reduction colony” when his heart rate drops too low for too prolonged a time.

Angela is tired of living this way – and she learns a few others are, too, when she’s recruited into a resistance whose sole purpose is to deliberately slow things down, to dismantle this enforced way of life. The resistance lives underground, unplugged, and they have their own speech patterns, too – they refuse to use contractions, creating an immediately recognizable difference when reading the resistance sections versus the above-ground sections. The resistance, now with the help of Angela, are hatching a plan to make this sort of life possible for others on the outside, too.

The concept is intriguing, and I think a lot of teens will immediately find it relevant to their lives. Parts of the world-building seem like a stretch (upright beds?), but people said that about The Handmaid’s Tale too, and look where we are now. The story’s rhythm takes a while to get used to, mainly because every character really does end their sentences with “go” or eliminate contractions, so no one character really talks like we talk now. Cavallaro’s art is mostly black and white, with some spots of color during particularly emotional or important sections of the story. There’s a nice romance between Angela and a fellow female resistance fighter, and the “decelerate blue” of the title comes into play in a literal and shocking way at the end.

Decelerate Blue is a good question-raiser, even if its themes aren’t explored fully. It’s not a super long graphic novel, and it packs a lot of story into its roughly 200 pages. Somewhat ironically, I wish I could have lingered a little while longer in Rapp’s and Cavallaro’s future world, both the government-controlled one and the resistance, to get a more immersive experience and feel a greater connection to the characters. It felt like the story was sped up a bit, and then it was over too quickly, though the open ending is fitting. This is a good pick for teens who aren’t tired of dystopias yet – and we may actually see a resurgence of interest in this subgenre considering the current climate in this country.

Review copy received from the publisher. Decelerate Blue is available now.

On The Radar: May 2017 YA Titles

May 1, 2017 |

“On The Radar” is a monthly series meant to highlight between 9 and 12 books per month to fit a budget of roughly $300 or less. These lists are curated from a larger spreadsheet I keep with a running list of titles hitting shelves and are meant to reflect not only the big books coming out from authors readers know and love, but it’s also meant to showcase some of the titles that have hit my radar through review copies, publicity blasts, or because they’re titles that might otherwise not be readily seen or picked up through those traditional avenues. It’s part science and part art.

This month, I’m cheating a tiny bit. I’ve picked 15 titles. A number of these are from well-known authors and entries into popular series, and a number are from authors whose reputations are either long-lasting or ever-growing (how are those for vague and specific definitions?). I also wanted to include a few titles that might be easier to overlook because of smaller budgets or publicity plans but that would certainly be important additions to a library or classroom collection.

Book descriptions come from Goodreads and reasons for putting on your radar are mine and mine alone! Titles are alphabetical, with pub dates beside them.

Always And Forever Lara Jean by Jenny Han (May 2)

Lara Jean is having the best senior year a girl could ever hope for. She is head over heels in love with her boyfriend, Peter; her dad’s finally getting remarried to their next door neighbor, Ms. Rothschild; and Margot’s coming home for the summer just in time for the wedding.

But change is looming on the horizon. And while Lara Jean is having fun and keeping busy helping plan her father’s wedding, she can’t ignore the big life decisions she has to make. Most pressingly, where she wants to go to college and what that means for her relationship with Peter. She watched her sister Margot go through these growing pains. Now Lara Jean’s the one who’ll be graduating high school and leaving for college and leaving her family—and possibly the boy she loves—behind.

When your heart and your head are saying two different things, which one should you listen to?

Why it should be on your radar: A new Jenny Han book is always going to be worth having on your radar, since her books are wildly popular. This is the final entry into her latest trilogy readers will be itching for, if they’re not already.

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas (May 2)

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit-and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.

As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords-and hunt for allies in unexpected places.

Why it should be on your radar: Another entry into the popular romantic fantasy series by Sarah J Maas is reason enough. This is a nearly 700-page book, too, which will really make readers eager for more of this story happy.

A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge (May 9)

In the underground city of Caverna, the world’s most skilled craftsmen toil in the darkness to create delicacies beyond compare—wines that remove memories, cheeses that make you hallucinate, and perfumes that convince you to trust the wearer, even as they slit your throat. On the surface, the people of Caverna seem ordinary, except for one thing: their faces are as blank as untouched snow. Expressions must be learned, and only the famous Facesmiths can teach a person to express (or fake) joy, despair, or fear—at a steep price. Into this dark and distrustful world comes Neverfell, a girl with no memory of her past and a face so terrifying to those around her that she must wear a mask at all times. Neverfell’s expressions are as varied and dynamic as those of the most skilled Facesmiths, except hers are entirely genuine. And that makes her very dangerous indeed

Why it should be on your radar: Slowly but surely, more of Hardinge’s books are making their way into the American market. Her standalone fantasy is rare in being stand alone in YA, and her work continues to build a great reputation on this side of the pond. Likewise, Hardinge was just honored with the LA Times Book Prize for her last book, and she’ll likely see more and more success come her way.

Flame In The Mist by Renée Ahdieh (May 16)

The daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko has long known her place—she may be an accomplished alchemist, whose cunning rivals that of her brother Kenshin, but because she is not a boy, her future has always been out of her hands. At just seventeen years old, Mariko is promised to Minamoto Raiden, the son of the emperor’s favorite consort—a political marriage that will elevate her family’s standing. But en route to the imperial city of Inako, Mariko narrowly escapes a bloody ambush by a dangerous gang of bandits known as the Black Clan, who she learns has been hired to kill her before she reaches the palace.

Dressed as a peasant boy, Mariko sets out to infiltrate the ranks of the Black Clan, determined to track down the person responsible for the target on her back. But she’s quickly captured and taken to the Black Clan’s secret hideout, where she meets their leader, the rebel ronin Takeda Ranmaru, and his second-in-command, his best friend Okami. Still believing her to be a boy, Ranmaru and Okami eventually warm to Mariko, impressed by her intellect and ingenuity. As Mariko gets closer to the Black Clan, she uncovers a dark history of secrets, of betrayal and murder, which will force her to question everything she’s ever known.

Why it should be on your radar: This is the first in a new duology from Renée Ahdieh, and she’s been one to keep an eye on since her debut The Wrath & The Dawn.

I Believe In A Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo (May 30)

Desi Lee knows how carburetors work. She learned CPR at the age of five. As a high school senior, she has never missed a day of school and has never had a B in her entire life. She’s for sure going to Stanford. But—she’s never had a boyfriend. In fact, she’s a disaster in romance, a clumsy, stammering humiliation-magnet whose botched attempts at flirting have become legendary with her friends. So when the hottest human specimen to have ever lived walks into her life one day, Desi decides to tackle her flirting failures with the same zest she’s applied to everything else in her life. She finds her answer in the Korean dramas her father has been obsessively watching for years—where the hapless heroine always seems to end up in the arms of her true love by episode ten. It’s a simple formula, and Desi is a quick study. Armed with her “K Drama Rules for True Love,” Desi goes after the moody, elusive artist Luca Drakos—and boat rescues, love triangles, and fake car crashes ensue. But when the fun and games turn to true feels, Desi finds out that real love is about way more than just drama.

Why it should be on your radar: Goo’s first novel, Since You Asked, was wildly underrated, despite being one of those lighter-hearted funny reads so many people seek. This one, which is much more romantic in nature, is surely going to hit the buttons of readers seeking good stories with romance featuring characters of color. And I suspect, from description alone, there’s going to be a nice dash of humor here. Also, that cover is excellent.

The Lines We Cross by Randa Abdel-Fattah (May 9)

Michael likes to hang out with his friends and play with the latest graphic design software. His parents drag him to rallies held by their anti-immigrant group, which rails against the tide of refugees flooding the country. And it all makes sense to Michael.

Until Mina, a beautiful girl from the other side of the protest lines, shows up at his school, and turns out to be funny, smart — and a Muslim refugee from Afghanistan. Suddenly, his parents’ politics seem much more complicated.

Mina has had a long and dangerous journey fleeing her besieged home in Afghanistan, and now faces a frigid reception at her new prep school, where she is on scholarship. As tensions rise, lines are drawn. Michael has to decide where he stands. Mina has to protect herself and her family. Both have to choose what they want their world to look like.

Why it should be on your radar: Another book from Randa, whose Does My Head Look Big In This?, remains a perennial favorite and staple on so many shelves.

Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare (May 23)

Emma Carstairs has finally avenged her parents. She thought she’d be at peace. But she is anything but calm. Torn between her desire for her parabatai Julian and her desire to protect him from the brutal consequences of parabatai relationships, she has begun dating his brother, Mark. But Mark has spent the past five years trapped in Faerie; can he ever truly be a Shadowhunter again?

And the faerie courts are not silent. The Unseelie King is tired of the Cold Peace, and will no longer concede to the Shadowhunters’ demands. Caught between the demands of faerie and the laws of the Clave, Emma, Julian, and Mark must find a way to come together to defend everything they hold dear—before it’s too late.

Why it should be on your radar: It’s Cassie Clare, and it’s a new entry into her “Dark Artifices” series. This is another fantasy series tome weighing in at 700 pages, too.

The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord (May 16)

Lucy Hansson was ready for a perfect summer with her boyfriend, working at her childhood Bible camp on the lake. But when her mom’s cancer reappears, Lucy falters—in faith, in love, and in her ability to cope. When her boyfriend “pauses” their relationship and her summer job switches to a different camp—one for troubled kids—Lucy isn’t sure how much more she can handle. Attempting to accept a new normal, Lucy slowly regains footing among her vibrant, diverse coworkers, Sundays with her mom, and a crush on a fellow counselor. But when long-hidden family secrets emerge, can Lucy set aside her problems and discover what grace really means?

Why it should be on your radar: Emery Lord’s popularity continues to grow, and she’s adding another title to the solid, feelings-heavy contemporary genre that readers who love books by Sarah Dessen will snap up.

The Pearl Thief by Elizabeth Wein (May 2)

Before Verity . . . there was Julie.

When fifteen-year-old Julia Beaufort-Stuart wakes up in the hospital, she knows the lazy summer break she’d imagined won’t be exactly like she anticipated. And once she returns to her grandfather’s estate, a bit banged up but alive, she begins to realize that her injury might not have been an accident. One of her family’s employees is missing, and he disappeared on the very same day she landed in the hospital.

Desperate to figure out what happened, she befriends Euan McEwen, the Scots Traveller boy who found her when she was injured, and his standoffish sister Ellen. As Julie grows closer to this family, she experiences some of the prejudices they’ve grown used to firsthand, a stark contrast to her own upbringing, and finds herself exploring thrilling new experiences that have nothing to do with a missing-person investigation.

Her memory of that day returns to her in pieces, and when a body is discovered, her new friends are caught in the crosshairs of long-held biases about Travellers. Julie must get to the bottom of the mystery in order to keep them from being framed for the crime.

Why it should be on your radar: This is a prequel to the Printz honor book Code Name Verity and another solid historical fiction from Elizabeth Wein.

In A Perfect World by Trish Doller (May 23)

Caroline Kelly is excited to be spending her summer vacation working at the local amusement park with her best friend, exploring weird Ohio with her boyfriend, and attending soccer camp with the hope she’ll be her team’s captain in the fall.

But when Caroline’s mother is hired to open an eye clinic in Cairo, Egypt, Caroline’s plans are upended. Caroline is now expected to spend her summer and her senior year in a foreign country, away from her friends, her home, and everything she’s ever known.

With this move, Caroline predicts she’ll spend her time navigating crowded streets, eating unfamiliar food, and having terrible bouts of homesickness. But when she finds instead is a culture that surprises her, a city that astounds her, and a charming, unpredictable boy who challenges everything she thought she knew about life, love, and privilege.

Why it should be on your radar: Readers who want something like Stephanie Perkins’s Anna and the French Kiss will be pleased to read this book, since it follows a girl forced to spend time in a foreign country and yet, manages to fall in love with one of the locals. There’s a great exploration of privilege here, as well as a lot of Being Humbled on the part of the main character.

Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy (May 9)

Ramona was only five years old when Hurricane Katrina changed her life forever.

Since then, it’s been Ramona and her family against the world. Standing over six feet tall with unmistakable blue hair, Ramona is sure of three things: she likes girls, she’s fiercely devoted to her family, and she knows she’s destined for something bigger than the trailer she calls home in Eulogy, Mississippi. But juggling multiple jobs, her flaky mom, and her well-meaning but ineffectual dad forces her to be the adult of the family. Now, with her sister, Hattie, pregnant, responsibility weighs more heavily than ever.

The return of her childhood friend Freddie brings a welcome distraction. Ramona’s friendship with the former competitive swimmer picks up exactly where it left off, and soon he’s talked her into joining him for laps at the pool. But as Ramona falls in love with swimming, her feelings for Freddie begin to shift too, which is the last thing she expected. With her growing affection for Freddie making her question her sexual identity, Ramona begins to wonder if perhaps she likes girls and guys or if this new attraction is just a fluke. Either way, Ramona will discover that, for her, life and love are more fluid than they seem.

Why it should be on your radar: Ignore the artificially low reviews on Goodreads, as this is a book that explores things like sexuality and the complex nature of something which is fluid and shifting. Julie’s Dumplin’ made her reputation as an author explode and this book will keep it going.

Star Wars: Rebel Rising by Beth Revis (May 2)

When Jyn Erso was five years old, her mother was murdered and her father taken from her to serve the Empire. But despite the loss of her parents she is not completely alone—Saw Gerrera, a man willing to go to any extremes necessary in order to resist Imperial tyranny, takes her in as his own, and gives her not only a home but all the abilities and resources she needs to become a rebel herself.

Jyn dedicates herself to the cause—and the man. But fighting alongside Saw and his people brings with it danger and the question of just how far Jyn is willing to go as one of Saw’s soldiers. When she faces an unthinkable betrayal that shatters her world, Jyn will have to pull the pieces of herself back together and figure out what she truly believes in…and who she can really trust.

Why it should be on your radar: A canonical Star Wars novel by a well-known author in YA is a no-brainer.

Thick As Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner (May 16)

Kamet, a secretary and slave to his Mede master, has the ambition and the means to become one of the most powerful people in the Empire. But with a whispered warning the future he envisioned is wrenched away, and he is forced onto a very different path. Set in the world of the Queen’s Thief, an ordinary hero takes on an extraordinary mission. Includes two maps, a map of the world of the Queen’s Thief, and a map of Kamet’s journey.

Why it should be on your radar: This is the long-awaited fifth and final installment in the “Queen’s Thief” series. The series has a massive fanbase, and it’s likely it’ll grow with having this final title for readers to mainline in one long go.

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon (May 30)

Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she’s more than ready for a break from her family, from Mamma’s inexplicable obsession with her finding the “Ideal Indian Husband.” Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn’t have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers…right?

Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that his future wife will be attending the same summer program as him—wherein he’ll have to woo her—he’s totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself.

The Shahs and Patels didn’t mean to start turning the wheels on this “suggested arrangement” so early in their children’s lives, but when they noticed them both gravitate toward the same summer program, they figured, Why not?

Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways.

Why it should be on your radar: A romantic comedy with Indian main characters. It’s a book that has certainly been missing from shelves, and now, there’s one here…I suspect this will be the kind of book readers will devour alongside Maurene Goo’s.

Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith (May 2)

Alice doesn’t believe in luck—at least, not the good kind. But she does believe in love, and for some time now, she’s been pining for her best friend, Teddy. On his eighteenth birthday—just when it seems they might be on the brink of something—she buys him a lottery ticket on a lark. To their astonishment, he wins $140 million, and in an instant, everything changes.

At first, it seems like a dream come true, especially since the two of them are no strangers to misfortune. As a kid, Alice won the worst kind of lottery possible when her parents died just over a year apart from each other. And Teddy’s father abandoned his family not long after that, leaving them to grapple with his gambling debts. Through it all, Teddy and Alice have leaned on each other. But now, as they negotiate the ripple effects of Teddy’s newfound wealth, a gulf opens between them. And soon, the money starts to feel like more of a curse than a windfall.

As they try to find their way back to each other, Alice learns more about herself than she ever could have imagined . . . and about the unexpected ways in which luck and love sometimes intersect.

Why it should be on your radar: It’s a new Jennifer E. Smith book, which will appeal to fans of Stephanie Perkins, Sarah Dessen, Trish Doller, and others who write about love and romance in complicated, realistic ways.

Monthly Giving: ProPublica

April 26, 2017 |

The Pulitzer Prizes were announced earlier this month, and ProPublica won the Pulitzer Gold Medal for Public Service for their work with the New York Daily News “uncovering, primarily through the work of reporter Sarah Ryley, widespread abuse of eviction rules by the [New York] police to oust hundreds of people, most of them poor minorities.” If you haven’t dug through the series highlighted on the Pulitzer Prize website, I highly recommend it. It’s an example of the ongoing importance of investigative journalism – when it’s done right. This is ProPublica’s fourth Pulitzer Prize.

Journalism is rapidly changing, and many of us have become disillusioned with the traditional news sources, particularly with the way the presidential campaign was covered. ProPublica is a bit different from the rest: they’re non-profit and independent, focusing solely on “investigative journalism in the public interest…stories with ‘moral force.'”

I donated to ProPublica this month, and if you haven’t yet given anything this month and are able, I encourage you to do so as well. With “alternative facts” proliferating, it’s more and more important that we support high-quality journalism in any way we can.

In honor of the Pulitzer prizes and ProPublica, the book list for this month features kids and teens who are journalists (aspiring or otherwise) themselves – kids and teens who may grow up to work for an organization like ProPublica one day. I’ve also highlighted a few nonfiction titles about real-world journalists. If there are any additional titles you’d like to recommend, please let me know in the comments.

Young Adult Fiction

Fallout by Gwenda Bond

Lois Lane is the new girl at East Metropolis High, and her instinct to ask questions brings her and her online friend, Smallville Guy, into conflict with some bullying video gamers called the Warheads, who are being used in a dangerous virtual reality experiment. | Sequel: Triple Threat

Payback Time by Carl Deuker

Overweight, somewhat timid Mitch reluctantly agrees to be the sports reporter for the Lincoln High newspaper because he’s determined to be a writer, but he senses a real story in Angel, a talented football player who refuses to stand out on the field–or to discuss his past.

Last Shot by John Feinstein

After winning a basketball reporting contest, eighth graders Stevie and Susan are sent to cover the Final Four tournament, where they discover that a talented player is being blackmailed into throwing the final game. | Sequels: Vanishing Act, Cover-Up, Change-Up, The Rivalry, Rush for the Gold

Hattie Ever After by Kirby Larson

In 1919, seventeen-year-old Hattie leaves the Montana prairie–and her sweetheart Charlie–to become a female reporter in San Francisco. | Sequel to Hattie Big Sky

The Secrets of Tree Taylor by Dandi Daley Mackall

In small-town Missouri in tumultuous 1963, Tree Taylor, thirteen, wants to write an important story to secure a spot on the high school newspaper staff, but when a neighbor is shot, she investigates and learns that some secrets should be kept.

Keeper by Mal Peet

In an interview with a young journalist, World Cup hero, El Gato, describes his youth in the Brazilian rain forest and the events, experiences, and people that helped make him a great goalkeeper and renowned soccer star. | Sequels: The Penalty, Exposure

The Intern by Gabrielle Tozer

Josie Browning dreams of having it all. A perfect academic record, an amazing journalism career – and for her crush to realise she exists. The only problem? Josie can’t stop embarrassing her little sister or her best friend, let alone herself. Josie’s luck changes when she lands an internship at Sash magazine. A coveted columnist job is up for grabs, but Josie quickly learns making her mark will be far from easy, especially under the reign of editor Rae Swanson. From the lows of photocopying and coffee-fetching, to the highs of celebrities, beauty products and by-lines, this is one internship Josie will never forget. | Sequel: Faking It

Middle Grade Fiction

Isabel Feeney, Star Reporter by Beth Fantaskey

In the 1920s, a ten-year-old newsgirl who aspires to be a reporter at the Chicago Tribune investigates the murder of a gangster.

Emma is on the Air: Big News! by Ida Siegal

Traces young Emma Perez’s journey into journalism, mystery solving, and fame when she investigates a worm found in a friend’s hamburger. | Sequels: Party Drama!, Showtime!, Undercover!

Meet Kit: An American Girl, 1934 by Valerie Tripp

Kit longs for a big story to write in her daily newspaper for her Dad—that is, until she’s faced with news that’s really bad. When Mother’s friends lose their house and come to stay with her family, it’s nothing but trouble for Kit. Then Kit’s dad loses his business, and things go from bad to worse. Will life ever be the same again? | Sequels: Kit Learns a Lesson, Kit’s Surprise, Happy Birthday Kit, Kit Saves the Day, Changes for Kit

Uncertain Glory by Lea Wait

Joe Wood has big dreams. He wants to be a newspaperman, and though he’s only thirteen, he’s already borrowed money for the equipment to start his own press. But it’s April 1861, and the young nation is teetering on the brink of a civil war. He has to help Owen, his young assistant, deal with the challenges of being black in a white world torn apart by color. He needs to talk his best friend, Charlie, out of enlisting. He wants to help a young spiritualist, Nell, whose uncle claims can she speak to the dead. And when Owen disappears, it’s up to Joe to save him.

Nonfiction

Yours for Justice, Ida B. Wells: The Daring Life of a Crusading Journalist by Philip Dray

Biography of Ida B. Wells-Barnett, a journalist and teacher who wrote about and spoke against the injustices suffered by African-Americans.

Reporting Under Fire: 16 Daring Women War Correspondents and Photojournalists by Kerrie Logan Hollihan

A profile of 16 courageous women, Reporting Under Fire tells the story of journalists who risked their lives to bring back scoops from the front lines. Each woman experiences her own journey, both personally and professionally, and each draws her own conclusions. Yet without exception, these war correspondents share a singular ambition: to answer an inner call driving them to witness war firsthand, and to share what they learn via words or images.

Ida M. Tarbell: The Woman Who Challenged Big Business – and Won! by Emily Arnold McCully

Biography of Ida Minerva Tarbell, arguably one of the first journalists to regularly write exposés, and through them exposed the shady business practices of businessman John D. Rockefeller.

Ten Days a Madwoman: The Daring Life and Turbulent Times of the Original “Girl” Reporter, Nellie Bly by Deborah Noyes

A biography of Nellie Bly, the pioneering journalist whose showy but substantive stunts skyrocketed her to fame.

Reporter in Disguise: The Intrepid Vic Steinberg by Christine Welldon

Over 100 years ago, Vic Steinberg was breaking ground. She was one of the New Women, a bachelor girl who pursued a career in investigative journalism–hardly the type of lifestyle for an upper-middle class young lady. But she had to be stealthy, secretive, and cunning if she wanted her scoop.

Guess The YA Book By The Catalog Subject Headings

April 24, 2017 |

Let’s shake things up this Monday and play a game. I tried this a couple of years ago and it was a lot of fun, as well as a total and complete challenge.

I’ll provide you the subject headings from WorldCat of well-known YA books — defined as best sellers, award winners, or books by authors with whom you’d be familiar — and you’ll try to guess what the book is. The answers will be at the very bottom of the post, so you can see how good your guessing is. All of the titles this round are fiction.

The challenge, of course, is thinking about the essential innards of these books and how they might be categorized by the brains behind catalog creation. Some of these might be fairly obvious but others might seem like they’re entirely out of left field.

Drop a comment and share how you did. What did you get right? Which ones tripped you up? If you mixed one up with another book, too, I’d love to know what the title was you thought originally.