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Early 2020 Nonfiction For Young Readers

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It’s the season of lists in the book blogosphere, isn’t it? We’ve moved from favorites and bests of the last year and we’re all now onto the most anticipated of the new year. That’s not a slight on either, but rather an opportunity to see what sorts of books get attention and which ones fall a bit through the cracks.

Nonfiction for young readers — that 10-18 range, which spans both middle grade readers and teen readers — always seems to be one of the categories that doesn’t land on a whole lot of lists. I suspect part of it has to do with the fact these books are still not as widely publicized or reviewed as their fictional counterparts, part of it has to do with the fact it’s a bit of a strange age-range, part of it has to do with the stigma around nonfiction for young readers being “report books” still, and part of it has to do with the fact that many YA-centric reviews/blogs/publicity avenues ultimately cater to the adult reader of YA, as opposed to the young reader. Again, not a slight.

Young readers are the target market of nonfiction for young readers. How the word about these books spreads is just different.

One of the things that makes this category of books so special and has for the better part of the last decade is that they’re inclusive. They showcase a wide range of stories, of insights, and of perspectives.

Let’s take a look at some of the nonfiction for young readers hitting shelves in the early part of 2020. This won’t be a comprehensive list. It’s challenging to know where these books are published, and it’s also challenging to differentiate between books which are meant to help students with research projects and those meant to be more leisure reading without looking at them first hand.

All descriptions are from Goodreads, as are publication dates. As always, publication dates can shift and change. Note, too, that these books cover a slightly different age range that typical YA books. Some will skew a little younger and encompass middle grade readers. I have also included nonfiction comics on the list.

Early 2020 young adult nonfiction to put on your TBR. book lists | YA books | nonfiction books | nonfiction for teen readers | 2020 ya nonfiction | #YALit

Early 2020 Nonfiction For Young Adults

January

Almost American Girl by Robin Ha (1/28)

For as long as she can remember, it’s been Robin and her mom against the world. Growing up in the 1990s as the only child of a single mother in Seoul, Korea, wasn’t always easy, but it has bonded them fiercely together.

So when a vacation to visit friends in Huntsville, Alabama, unexpectedly becomes a permanent relocation—following her mother’s announcement that she’s getting married—Robin is devastated. Overnight, her life changes. She is dropped into a new school where she doesn’t understand the language and struggles to keep up. She is completely cut off from her friends at home and has no access to her beloved comics. At home, she doesn’t fit in with her new stepfamily. And worst of all, she is furious with the one person she is closest to—her mother.

Then one day Robin’s mother enrolls her in a local comic drawing class, which opens the window to a future Robin could never have imagined.

 

 

Flowers In The Gutter by K. R. Gaddy (1/7)

Flowers in the Gutter is told from the points of view Gertrude, Fritz, and Jean, three young people from working-class neighborhoods in Cologne, beginning with their pre-school years at the dawn of the Third Reich in the 1930s. Gaddy shows how political activism was always a part of their lives and how they witnessed first-hand the toll it took on their parents–and how they still carried the torch for justice when it was their turn.

Once the war began, Gertrude, Fritz, and Jean and their friends survived and even resisted in one of the most heavily bombed cities in Germany. Gaddy includes tense accounts of fights with Hitler Youth and the Gestapo, of disseminating anti-Nazi pamphlets, of helping POWs and forced laborers, and even of sabotaging Nazi factories.

Ultimately, the war ended tragically for several young pirates, and Gaddy shows how post-war politics and prejudices led to these young men and women being branded criminals for decades after the war.

 

 

Say Her Name by Zetta Elliott (1/14)

Say her name and solemnly vow

Never to forget, or allow

Our sisters’ lives to be erased;

Their presence cannot be replaced.

This senseless slaughter must stop now.

Award-winning author Zetta Elliott engages poets from the past two centuries to create a chorus of voices celebrating the creativity, resilience, and courage of Black women and girls. Inspired by the #SayHerName campaign launched by the African American Policy Forum, these poems pay tribute to victims of police brutality as well as the activists championing the Black Lives Matter cause. This compelling collection reveals the beauty, danger, and magic found at the intersection of race and gender.

 

 

Stolen Justice: The Struggle For African American Voting Rights by Lawrence Goldstone (1/7)

Following the Civil War, the Reconstruction era raised a new question to those in power in the US: Should African Americans, so many of them former slaves, be granted the right to vote?

In a bitter partisan fight over the legislature and Constitution, the answer eventually became yes, though only after two constitutional amendments, two Reconstruction Acts, two Civil Rights Acts, three Enforcement Acts, the impeachment of a president, and an army of occupation. Yet, even that was not enough to ensure that African American voices would be heard, or their lives protected. White supremacists loudly and intentionally prevented black Americans from voting — and they were willing to kill to do so.

In this vivid portrait of the systematic suppression of the African American vote, critically acclaimed author Lawrence Goldstone traces the injustices of the post-Reconstruction era through the eyes of incredible individuals, both heroic and barbaric, and examines the legal cases that made the Supreme Court a partner of white supremacists in the rise of Jim Crow. Though this is a story of America’s past, Goldstone brilliantly draws direct links to today’s creeping threats to suffrage in this important and, alas, timely book.

 

 

Where’s My Stuff? by Samantha Moss, Lesley Martin, and illustrated by Michael Wertz (1/7)

Helps to learn how to organise your school stuff, your time, and your room. This book includes: notebook systems; backpack maintenance tips; practical pointers for managing your schedule; a template for your own personalised daily planner; and, interior design-inspired techniques to make your room your favourite place to be.

 

 

 

 

You Too? edited by Janet Gurtler (1/7)

A timely and heartfelt collection of essays inspired by the #MeToo movement, edited by acclaimed young adult and middle-grade author Janet Gurtler. Featuring Beth Revis, Mackenzi Lee, Ellen Hopkins, Saundra Mitchell, Jennifer Brown, Cheryl Rainfield and many more.

When #MeToo went viral, Janet Gurtler was among the millions of people who began to reflect on her past experiences. Things she had reluctantly accepted—male classmates groping her at recess, harassment at work—came back to her in startling clarity. She needed teens to know what she had not: that no young person should be subject to sexual assault, or made to feel unsafe, less than or degraded.

You Too? was born out of that need. By turns thoughtful and explosive, these personal stories encompass a wide range of experiences and will resonate with every reader who has wondered, “Why is this happening to me?” or secretly felt that their own mistreatment or abuse is somehow their fault—it’s not. Candid and empowering, You Too? is written for teens, but also an essential resource for the adults in their lives—an urgent, compassionate call to listen and create change.

 

 

February

Jane Against The World: Roe v. Wade and The Fight for Reproductive Rights by Karen Blumenthal (2/25)

Tracing the path to the landmark decision in Roe v. Wade and the continuing battle for women’s rights, Blumenthal examines, in a straightforward tone, the root causes of the current debate around abortion and repercussions that have affected generations of American women.

This eye-opening book is the perfect tool to facilitate difficult discussions and awareness of a topic that is rarely touched on in school but affects each and every young person. It’s also perfect for fans of Steve Sheinkin and Deborah Heiligman.

This journalistic look at the history of abortion and the landmark case of Roe v. Wade is an important and necessary book.

 

 

 

The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh by Candace Fleming (2/11)

First human to cross the Atlantic via airplane; one of the first American media sensations; Nazi sympathizer and anti-Semite; loner whose baby was kidnapped and murdered; champion of Eugenics, the science of improving a human population by controlled breeding; tireless environmentalist. Charles Lindbergh was all of the above and more. Here is a rich, multi-faceted, utterly spellbinding biography about an American hero who was also a deeply flawed man. In this time where values Lindbergh held, like white Nationalism and America First, are once again on the rise, THE RISE AND FALL OF CHARLES LINDBERGH is essential reading for teens and history fanatics alike.

 

 

 

 

 

March

Apollo 13: A Successful Failure by Laura B. Edge (3/3)

“Houston, we’ve had a problem.”

On April 13, 1970, the three astronauts aboard the Apollo 13 spacecraft were headed to the moon when a sudden explosion rocked the ship. Oxygen levels began depleting rapidly. Electrical power began to fail. Astronauts James Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise were about to be stranded in the inky void of outer space.

The mission to the moon was scrapped. Now, Apollo 13‘s only goal was to bring the crew home. With the damaged spacecraft hurtling towards the moon at roughly six thousand miles per hour, there was little hope of success. But the astronauts and mission control were fully prepared to do whatever it took to return the crew to Earth.

This space disaster occurred at the peak of the United States’ Space Race against the Soviet Union. But for four days in 1970, the two nations put aside their differences, and the entire world watched the skies, hoping and praying the astronauts would return safely. As missions to Mars and commercial space flight become a reality, the time is now to be reminded of our common humanity, of how rivals can work together and support each other towards a shared goal. Because no matter what happens or where we travel, we all call Earth home. 

 

Earth Day and the Environmental Movement: Standing Up for Earth by Christy Peterson (3/3)

On April 22, 1970, an estimated twenty million people held in a teach-in to show their support for environmental protections. This new celebration, Earth Day, brought together previously fragmented issues under the same banner. It was the largest nationwide event ever, and lawmakers took notice.

But one day didn’t change everything. Fifty years after the first Earth Day, climate change remains a dire concern. The divide between political parties continues to widen, and environmental policy has become an increasingly partisan issue. The spread of disinformation has also made climate change a debatable idea, rather than scientific fact. A new generation of advocates continue the fight to make environmental policy a top priority for the United States and for nations around the globe.

 

 

 

 

The Fire Never Goes Out by Noelle Stevenson (3/3)

In a collection of essays and personal mini-comics that span eight years of her young adult life, author-illustrator Noelle Stevenson charts the highs and lows of being a creative human in the world. Whether it’s hearing the wrong name called at her art school graduation ceremony or becoming a National Book Award finalist for her debut graphic novel, Nimona, Noelle captures the little and big moments that make up a real life, with a wit, wisdom, and vulnerability that are all her own. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fly Like A Girl: One Woman’s Dramatic Fight in Afghanistan and on the Homefront by Mary Jennings Hegar (3/3)

On July 29, 2009, Air National Guard Major Mary Jennings Hegar was shot down while on a Medevac mission in Afghanistan. Despite being wounded, her courageous actions saved the lives of her crew and their patients, earning her the Purple Heart as well as the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor Device. That day also marked the beginning of a new mission: convincing the U.S. Government to allow women to serve openly on the front line of battle for the first time in American history.

With exclusive photographs throughout, Fly Like a Girl tells the inspiring true story of Mary Jennings Hegar–a brave and determined woman who gave her all for her country, her sense of justice, and for women everywhere. Includes exclusive photographs throughout, a discussion guide, and a Q&A with the author written specifically for teen readers. 

 

 

 

 

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi (3/10)

This is NOT a history book.
This is a book about the here and now. 
A book to help us better understand why we are where we are.
A book about race. 

The construct of race has always been used to gain and keep power, to create dynamics that separate and silence. This remarkable reimagining of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning reveals the history of racist ideas in America, and inspires hope for an antiracist future. It takes you on a race journey from then to now, shows you why we feel how we feel, and why the poison of racism lingers. It also proves that while racist ideas have always been easy to fabricate and distribute, they can also be discredited. 

Through a gripping, fast-paced, and energizing narrative written by beloved award-winner Jason Reynolds, this book shines a light on the many insidious forms of racist ideas–and on ways readers can identify and stamp out racist thoughts in their daily lives.

 

April

All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson (4/28)

In a series of personal essays, prominent journalist and LGBTQIA+ activist George M. Johnson explores his childhood, adolescence, and college years in New Jersey and Virginia. From the memories of getting his teeth kicked out by bullies at age five, to flea marketing with his loving grandmother, to his first sexual relationships, this young-adult memoir weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys.

Both a primer for teens eager to be allies as well as a reassuring testimony for young queer men of color, All Boys Aren’t Blue covers topics such as gender identity, toxic masculinity, brotherhood, family, structural marginalization, consent, and Black joy. Johnson’s emotionally frank style of writing will appeal directly to young adults. 

 

 

 

 

Dancing at the Pity Party by Tyler Feder (4/14)

Part poignant cancer memoir and part humorous reflection on a motherless life, this debut graphic novel is extraordinarily comforting and engaging.

From before her mother’s first oncology appointment through the stages of her cancer to the funeral, sitting shiva, and afterward, when she must try to make sense of her life as a motherless daughter, Tyler Feder tells her story in this graphic novel that is full of piercing–but also often funny–details. She shares the important post-death firsts, such as celebrating holidays without her mom, the utter despair of cleaning out her mom’s closet, ending old traditions and starting new ones, and the sting of having the “I’ve got to tell Mom about this” instinct and not being able to act on it. This memoir, bracingly candid and sweetly humorous, is for anyone struggling with loss who just wants someone to get it.

 

 

 

 

In Good Hands: Remarkable Female Politicians from Around The World by Stephanie MacKendrick (4/14)

Written for young women interested in running for office, this book is unlike any other, with inspiring stories of eighteen women role models along with the all the tools and resources needed to get a campaign off the ground.

Stephanie MacKendrick, a former journalist now dedicated to women’s career advancement, believes the time for women in political leadership is now. Judging by the recent wave of activism that developed into a flood of women seeking elected office, she’s not alone. 

MacKendrick has created a one-of-kind insider’s guide for young women interested in joining this movement and becoming part of the political system. It explores everything from what to expect in a campaign, to how to deal with the inevitable challenges, to why it’s A truly original book about running for office written specifically for young women, with inspiring stories of eighteen role models who took the plunge, and all the tools and resources needed to get a campaign off the ground.

No matter where you live or who you hope to represent, the experience of running for office is different if you are a woman. This one-of-a-kind insider’s guide is perfect for young women who are ready to make change. It combines uplifting stories of women from around the world who have run for office with practical advice for anyone who wants to follow in their footsteps. It explores everything from what to expect in a campaign, to how to deal with the inevitable challenges, to why it’s worth it to run. 

 

One Earth: People of Color Defending Our Planet by Anuradha Rao (4/7)

One Earth profiles Black, Indigenous and People of Color who live and work as environmental defenders. Through their individual stories, the book shows that the intersection of environment and ethnicity is an asset to achieving environmental goals. The twenty short biographies introduce readers to diverse activists from all around the world, who are of all ages and ethnicities. From saving ancient trees on the West Coast of Canada, to protecting the Irrawaddy dolphins of India, to uncovering racial inequalities in the food system in the United States, these environmental heroes are celebrated by author and biologist Anuradha Rao, who outlines how they went from being kids who cared about the environment to community leaders in their field. One Earth is full of environmental role models waiting to be found.

A Few Cybils Reads – Part 4 (2019)

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Wilder Girls by Rory Power

Power’s debut is a bestseller and I know a lot of readers have loved it, but it didn’t work for me. It’s a dystopia-type story set in the near future at a school for girls called Raxter. It’s not much of a school anymore since the island where the school is located was hit with the Tox, a mysterious illness that causes body deformations (like an extra external spinal cord) and erratic, violent behavior in its victims. The girls have been promised that the Navy and the US government are working on a cure, but in the meantime they’re restricted to the island and sent a few meager supplies every so often. When Hetty’s best friend Byatt disappears, she and her other friend/new love interest Reese team up to find her, discovering a few secrets and lies along the way.

Many other readers have praised the writing as well as the plot, but I found neither particularly engaging. I’m surprised this has garnered so much positive attention this long after dystopian YA’s heyday. There’s nothing especially interesting or revelatory about the girls’ situation at Raxter, and the hand-wavey explanation for the Tox at the end is almost insulting in its generality.  The only really fresh thing it offers in terms of plot is the body horror, which doesn’t do anything for me as a reader but I’m sure fascinates others. Contrary to other reviewers, I didn’t really observe anything particularly feminist about the story (though it’s not anti-feminist either). I did appreciate that Power included a romance between two girls (Hetty and Reese).

 

Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Instead of attending the draft where he would be able to handpick his team for the Aurora Legion, a futuristic spacefaring version of the United Nations, Tyler Jones followed a wayward distress signal and rescued Aurora O’Malley from the the space fold.  She had been trapped there in stasis for the past two centuries, the only survivor from a ship on its way to colonize one of the many new worlds that had been discovered thanks to fold technology. As a result of missing the draft, Tyler – the top Alpha at the Academy – was stuck with the dregs, the recruits no one else wanted. His twin sister Scarlet, the designated diplomat, stuck with him, as did his best friend and pilot Kat, but the other three members of his new team (including two aliens of separate species) are…less than stellar. Things get off to a rocky start when the team is sent on its first mission, a throwaway job that appears almost meaningless. And then Aurora shows up, an unwelcome stowaway who not only seems to have uncontrollable superpowers, but is also being hunted by a group of truly scary Earth enforcers who will stop at nothing to get to her.

This is a high-concept, high-action thriller of a space adventure that doesn’t skimp on its characters. As readers will expect, the prickly team bonds over time, eventually becoming each others’ found family. I loved a lot of the world-building touches, like the fact that just before first contact with aliens, religion on Earth had pretty much died out, but the discovery of so many different alien species (and their remarkable similarities to humans and each other – all bipedal, all carbon-based, and so on) prompted humans to create a new unified religion. Kaufman and Kristoff do a really solid job with the two main alien cultures, too, which are distinct and have their own complex culture and histories.

The audio production is pretty great. Told in rotating point of view chapters, each team member (including Aurora) is voiced by a different reader, and the voices of the masked villains are modulated so they sound mechanized and extra-creepy. One main character, Kat, is Australian, and while the reader for her does a good job with the accent (at least to my ears), the others are pretty bad at it, to the point that it drew me out of the story a lot. Other than that, though, this is an above-average audiobook, a real treat for listeners who enjoy full cast productions.

 

Cover Trend: Cross Outs, But For Faces

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In early 2018, Kimberly highlighted a cover design trend: the cross out. Words in titles specifically were being crossed out as part of the design and there were a slew of them.

That post came back to me vividly as I perused cover trends in YA for 2020, but in a bit of a different way. We’re having a lot of cross outs in 2020 YA, but rather than most of them being part of the title, they’re across a teen’s — or multiple teens’ — face. This isn’t especially new or novel, but the fact there are so many of them is worth taking a peek at (heh) if for no reason than it might be hard to distinguish among them.

The trend makes sense in many ways. As YA has grown to accommodate a significant rise in thrillers, the cross out of the face can cue to readers the type of story they’re about to pick up. It’s mysterious and it gives a sense of anonymity.

Interestingly, most of these books feature white characters with their eyes or faces crossed out. It’s interesting because we have seen a huge rise in the number of teens of color on YA book covers, which is great, but we haven’t necessarily seen thrillers become inclusive in the same way many other genres within YA have. This isn’t to say they don’t exist, but they’re much rarer here than in, say, YA contemporary or YA fantasy.

I’ve pooled the crossed out face covers for 2020 best as I can, but if you know of others, drop them in the comments. I’ve pulled descriptions from Goodreads.

All Your Twisted Secrets by Diana Urban (March 17)

Welcome to dinner, and again, congratulations on being selected. Now you must do the selecting.

What do the queen bee, star athlete, valedictorian, stoner, loner, and music geek all have in common? They were all invited to a scholarship dinner, only to discover it’s a trap. Someone has locked them into a room with a bomb, a syringe filled with poison, and a note saying they have an hour to pick someone to kill … or else everyone dies.

Amber Prescott is determined to get her classmates and herself out of the room alive, but that might be easier said than done. No one knows how they’re all connected or who would want them dead. As they retrace the events over the past year that might have triggered their captor’s ultimatum, it becomes clear that everyone is hiding something. And with the clock ticking down, confusion turns into fear, and fear morphs into panic as they race to answer the biggest question: Who will they choose to die?

 

Clique Bait by Ann Valett (April 28)

Pretty Little Liars meets Burn for Burn in this thrilling debut from Wattpad star Ann Valett.

Chloe Whittaker is out for revenge. Last year her best friend Monica’s life was unceremoniously ruined by the most popular students at their high school, so this year Chloe plans to take each and every one of them down. She traded her jeans and T-shirts for the latest designer clothes, deleted everything on social media that would tie her to Monica (and blow her cover), and carefully devised a way to befriend the members of the popular clique. Now all that’s left to do is uncover their deepest, darkest secrets and reveal them to the world.

Chloe has the perfect plan…that is, until she begins to fall for one of the people she’s determined to destroy.

 

Girl From Nowhere by Tiffany Rosenhan (July 21)

Ninety-four countries. Thirty-one schools. Two bullets.
Now it’s over…or so she thinks.

Sophia arrives in Montana with the promise of a normal high school experience. But after a turbulent few years abroad with her diplomat parents, forgetting the past is easier said than done. After all, “normal” high schoolers aren’t trained in several forms of combat.

Then Sophia meets Aksel and finds herself opening up in ways she never thought she could. Except Sophia’s past is about to catch up with her, and she must confront who she really is, why she was betrayed, and what she is capable of in the name of love and survival.

Full of heart-stopping action and breathtaking romance, this cinematic debut features a girl willing to risk everything to save the life she built for herself.

 

 

Girl, Unframed by Deb Caletti (June 23)

Sydney Reilly has a bad feeling about going home to San Francisco before she even gets on the plane. How could she not? Her mother is Lila Shore—the Lila Shore—a film star who prizes her beauty and male attention above all else…certainly above her daughter.

But Sydney’s worries multiply when she discovers that Lila is involved with the dangerous Jake, an art dealer with shady connections. Jake loves all beautiful objects, and Syndey can feel his eyes on her whenever he’s around. And he’s not the only one. Sydney is starting to attract attention—good and bad—wherever she goes: from sweet, handsome Nicco Ricci, from the unsettling construction worker next door, and even from Lila. Behaviors that once seemed like misunderstandings begin to feel like threats as the summer grows longer and hotter.

It’s unnerving, how beauty is complicated, and objects have histories, and you can be looked at without ever being seen. But real danger, crimes of passion, the kind of stuff where someone gets killed—it only mostly happens in the movies, Sydney is sure. Until the night something life-changing happens on the stairs that lead to the beach. A thrilling night that goes suddenly very wrong. When loyalties are called into question. And when Sydney learns a terrible truth: beautiful objects can break.

 

Jane Anonymous by Laurie Faria Stolarz (January 7)

Then, “Jane” was just your typical 17-year-old in a typical New England suburb getting ready to start her senior year. She had a part-time job she enjoyed, an awesome best friend, overbearing but loving parents, and a crush on a boy who was taking her to see her favorite band. She never would’ve imagined that in her town where nothing ever happens, a series of small coincidences would lead to a devastating turn of events that would forever change her life.

Now, it’s been three months since “Jane” escaped captivity and returned home. Three months of being that girl who was kidnapped, the girl who was held by a “monster.” Three months of writing down everything she remembered from those seven months locked up in that stark white room. But, what if everything you thought you knew―everything you thought you experienced―turned out to be a lie?

 

One Of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus (January 7)

Come on, Bayview, you know you’ve missed this.

A ton of copycat gossip apps have popped up since Simon died, but in the year since the Bayview four were cleared of his shocking death, no one’s been able to fill the gossip void quite like he could. The problem is no one has the facts.

Until now.

This time it’s not an app, though—it’s a game.

Truth or Dare.

Phoebe’s the first target. If you choose not to play, it’s a truth. And hers is dark.

Then comes Maeve and she should know better—always choose the dare.

But by the time Knox is about to be tagged, things have gotten dangerous. The dares have become deadly, and if Maeve learned anything from Bronwyn last year, it’s that they can’t count on the police for help. Or protection.

Simon’s gone, but someone’s determined to keep his legacy at Bayview High alive. And this time, there’s a whole new set of rules.

 

 

You’re Next by Kylie Schachte (June 30)

When a girl with a troubled history of finding dead bodies investigates the murder of her ex, she uncovers a plot to put herself—and everyone she loves—on the list of who’s next.

Flora Calhoun has a reputation for sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong. After stumbling upon a classmate’s body years ago, the trauma of that discovery and the police’s failure to find the killer has haunted her ever since. One night, she gets a midnight text from Ava McQueen, the beautiful girl who had ignited Flora’s heart last summer, then never spoke to her again.

Just in time to witness Ava’s death from a gunshot wound, Flora is set on a path of rage and vengeance for all the dead girls whose killer is never found. Her tunnel-visioned sleuthing leads to valuable clues about a shocking conspiracy involving her school and beyond, but also earns her sinister threats from the murderer. She has a choice—to give up the hunt for answers, or keep digging and risk her loved ones’ lives. Either way, Flora will regret the consequences. Who’s next on the killer’s list?

 

A Few Cybils Reads – Part 3 (2019)

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Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer

Echo Alkaev’s father has been stranded in the wintry forest, and the only way to save him is to make a deal with a talking wolf to live with him for a year, but never look upon him at night. While Meyer’s novel is predominantly a retelling of East of the Sun and West of the Moon (which might by a Cybils trend this year), it also includes a few elements of many other fairy tales, including Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella. Listening to this one so close on the heels of Edith Pattou’s West, I was concerned that I’d find it repetitive, but Meyer’s writing style is very different, and she sprinkles her story with some fresh elements. For example, the huge house that Echo is trapped in is deteriorating – as time goes by, rooms just disappear, and it has something to do with the curse laid upon the wolf. The real gem of this story, and what made it a step above the average retelling, is a magnificent twist near the end that I didn’t see coming but makes total sense in context. This is a good pick for fans of fairy tale retellings; they won’t be disappointed. Plus that cover is gorgeous.

 

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

Donnelly’s twist on Cinderella is unique among the slew of villain-POV fairy tale retellings. The stepsister referenced in the title really isn’t a good person – at least not during the traditional Cinderella story. Both stepsisters treated Ella horribly, and when Ella marries the Prince, the rest of the country learns of their behavior and reviles them. But this is a story of redemption. Donnelly shows how Isabelle, the stepsister this story centers on, came to be the way she is and how she transforms herself into a person not only other people will love, but a person she herself can love. Readers will feel sympathy for Isabelle almost from page 1, as her mother urges her to cut off a piece of her foot to win the prince, something Isabelle doesn’t want to do for multiple reasons but doesn’t see a way out of. Isabelle’s mother and the rest of the world has told her that her value lies in men’s perceptions of her, and since Isabelle is not pretty and does not have the traditional values Ella is praised for, she has been told and shown over and over again that she has no value at all.

It’s a long journey to unwind this lie she has internalized, and along the way, she makes amends for her own behavior and saves the country from a warmonger, using her own unique skills and abilities. It’s quite a moving story, one where Isabelle is held responsible for her actions while also given the space to be viewed with empathy and love by those around her, something she experienced all too rarely. It’s also really funny – Isabelle’s sister Octavia is an aspiring scientist and conducts an ill-advised cheese-making experiment one day, and the results are…unpleasant. In a perfect bit of plotting, this experiment is put to good use in a crucial moment. There’s plenty of magic and adventure in this story, which includes personified versions of the Fates and Chance wagering on Isabelle’s ability to change. Hand this one to readers who want something more than a little different in their fairy tale retellings – and want to bring down the patriarchy.

A Few Cybils Reads – Part 2 (2019)

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West by Edith Pattou

Edith Pattou’s books are just not for me, I’ve concluded. I know that the first book in this (now) duology, East, made a big splash when it was published in 2003 and won all sorts of awards and critical acclaim. I read it in 2010, as an adult, and thought it was fine, but nothing more than that. Part of the problem stems from the story source: the Norwegian folk tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon. The premise of the enchanted bear forcing a young girl to spend a year with him, and the girl subsequently falling in love with him (as an animal) always rubbed me the wrong way. In most versions of the story, the bear sleeps in the same bed as the girl at night, not just in the same house. The implied assault overtones are too strong. Still, there are definitely ways to take an unsettling fairy tale and reinvent it in unique ways. I just didn’t find a whole lot that I loved in East, and my notes in Goodreads remind me that I listened to it on audio and didn’t care for the narrator.

I felt much the same about this sequel, West, with the added annoyance that it basically retold the same story as in East. The prince is kidnapped again by the Troll Queen, and Rose must travel to the ends of the earth to save him. One of my biggest annoyances in (unplanned) sequels is when the creator simply brings back the villain from the first book and expects it to feel like a new story. It doesn’t. This book in particular meandered a lot, with a lot of different points of view that didn’t contribute much to the story each time they were given page time. It felt overstuffed and slow, and once again, I didn’t care for the performance of the person who narrated Rose. Overall, this felt like an unnecessary book. I’d be interested to see what big fans of East felt about this one.

 

We Rule the Night by Claire Eliza Bartlett

Debut author Bartlett tackles the Night Witches of World War II – the Soviet women pilots who flew nighttime combat missions and were the only women to officially serve in a combat capacity in the war. Bartlett’s world is held together by the Weave, and two types of magic can control it: Spark magic and Weave magic. Spark magic is a way of producing energy and is legal in the Union; Weave magic involves manipulating the fabric of the world itself and is forbidden. Only a few people have any sort of magic at all. When Revna is caught using Weave magic to save herself and others from a bombing, she feels her life may be over. Instead, she’s sent to become a pilot, where she will be paired with a Spark magic user. Together, the two types of magic can power and maneuver war planes that might be able to compete with the magical, terrifying planes of the enemy. Revna’s Spark partner is Linné, a girl who had disguised herself as a boy in order to fight and was caught. The two don’t get along at all, in part due to class differences (Revna is working class and the daughter of a traitor, and Linné upper class and the daughter of an honored general), and in part due to personality differences (Revna is less than patriotic due to her country’s treatment of her and her family and has no experience fighting in a war, whereas Linné is overconfident and has a massive superiority complex). Worst in Linné’s mind, Revna is physically disabled, which Linné regards as a liability.

Still, the two must work together; their lives, and the lives of their compatriots, are on the line each night. They’re also fighting against their own country in other ways: aside from the pervasive sexism any reader should expect, the soldiers have to contend with the Skarov, a secretive government division whose job is to hunt traitors. In Bartlett’s Union, just as in the real-world Soviet Union, no evidence is really needed for conviction. This creates an almost unbearable tension – there is nowhere any of the girls are truly safe.

I read this soon after reading A Thousand Sisters by Elizabeth Wein, a nonfiction account of the real Soviet airwomen during World War II. Having already read the true story added greatly to my appreciation of Bartlett’s twist. I knew which bits of Bartlett’s tale were based directly on the real Night Witches of the Soviet Union and their circumstances. It’s true that Soviet fighters who were shot down in enemy territory and survived would generally be executed as traitors. It’s true that the Night Witches were provided with planes that provided no protection if shot at. Certain characters in Bartlett’s book are stand-ins for real people. I was impressed by Bartlett’s attention to historical detail and how well she integrated her magical system into these real events. I fully believed that if magic existed in World War II Soviet Union, this was how events would have played out. This is a good pick for lovers of historical fantasy and women warriors, and I’d always recommend reading it in conjunction with Wein’s book – the two interact with each other so well.