Anna Tschetter
This was amazing in both the original story and the way that the authors constructed the found poems to make it more accessible to modern readers. I found all of the historical context and explanations to be very well done. I hope we see more accessible and interesting nonfiction for teens like this!!
A sweet graphic novel about growing into yourself and coming out. Plus a sweet talking cat!
I've seen the picture and knew a little bit of Smith and Carlos' story but not the whole thing. An incredible work - I'm sobbing.
A good primer to start with if you're an adult working with trans and nonbinary students. Or if you just might encounter a trans or nonbinary person (you will!). While geared toward educators, there is a lot to learn and use for everyone.
Science comics are just so great! They have INCREDIBLE amounts of information packed into slim volumes that is fun and easy to read. I learned about some whales that I hadn't heard of before and also that whales' closest relative are hippos! Fun!
This was really lovely! I really appreciated how Farid weaved in the many threads of Ava's life: her culture, her dad, music, surfing, and the expectations of being a teen in an immigrant household.
I think Ryan North should be allowed - or possibly - required to continue writing Lower Decks comics for all time. He gets the humor and loves Star Trek so the writing feels just like an episode.
This is an extremely clever choose your own adventure comic that is just perfect. All of the choices work so well and by the end it really does feel like you’ve watched and participated in the Lower Decks version of TNG’s “Cause and Effect!”
Props to Renata for being like, “This book is extremely for you and you will love it!” As usual, she was correct!
This is a gorgeous book. The way Higuera works in Lita's stories and Petra's memories is genius. The message is important - differences are good, beautiful, and necessary! - but not done in a preachy or age-inappropriate way. It's also just a great story that I think kid readers will like? Sometimes books are beautiful and important and yet I wonder if they will become widely read. This is dystopian without despair and science fiction with spaceships but not in an alienating way.
Well done to the Newbery Committee for choosing such a wonderful winner!
I think this was a very realistic portrayal of OCD: not every person with OCD has issues around cleanliness and intrusive thoughts aren't just like weird thoughts that pop into your head for a laugh, but can be really distressing and destablizing. To that end, this could be triggering for some folks!
I read most of this while getting tattooed and it was so good it distracted me from the discomfort and pain!
I loved Lee's bitterness and disenchantment with love and the conclusions and peace she makes with it by the end of the book. I also don't think I've read a teen book that has a teen figuring out that she wants to be non-monogamous/poly so that was exciting. It was nice to see!
This is a great pick for Raina Telgemeier fans and captured the experience of getting chickenpox so well! It's weird to think that many kids don't get chickenpox anymore because of the vaccine. YAY VACCINES!
I thought it was a little strange to have the author herself be the side character but it still mostly works. I think kids will like reading about the sibling chaos and dynamics!
This was so sweet! Another great pick for the Raina crowd and for those who feel the pain of pet allergies.
Fun! I love to see the big flirt/commitment phobic person fall head over heels in love!
This is was so heartbreaking. I'm glad the author spent a lot of time talking about climate change and the California environment because it's so crucial to understanding. It gave context to the residents' lives and made it all the sadder because some parts of it could have been prevented (in a way).
It's interesting to wonder how this book would be received if it had been published in today's YA market instead of 25 years ago. (25 years!!) Some clues lie in the reprint covers with the large charter symbols that give it a more Hunger Games or Divergent feel to it. Would it get an updated title like “A Path of Bells and Spirits” or I even wonder if it would be a multiple POV book split between Sabriel and Touchstone? I even wonder if an editor today would encourage Nix to put more emphasis on the alternate history facet of the books.
I loved these books as a tween/teen and still do. I think they hold up well despite being a bit of a hard sell for kids. The old covers - though I love them and think they are beautiful - are VERY different from the kind of YA covers you see today and the new ones look like generic fantasy.
Anyway, it's fun to think about. I still feel strong emotions towards these books. I think I still want to be Sabriel and Lirael when I grow up. (I wrote about them a few years ago for WWAC if you want more emotions: https://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2015/09/books-shaped-sabriel/)
I reread this now because I wanted something comforting and I wanted someone saying to me, “This is all hard and I'm scared and unprepared. But you can do it.” Sabriel does that for me.
Finally, if you haven't listened to the audiobook versions, I HIGHLY recommend them. They're read by Tim Curry and you haven't lived until you've heard him voice Mogget, an extremely bitchy cat.
Another attempt to expand my reading horizons with some sci-fi short stories. I don't know why I always think, “I don't like short stories/novellas/essays” but then I read them and enjoy them? Who knows.
Anyway, this is weird and delightful, sweet and biting.
This was wonderful! I'm not much for short stories but the title intrigued me. I'm glad I got a glimpse into these complicated women's lives and loves.
A fast-paced mystery with a kickass lesbian protagonist who secretly runs a true-crime podcast. What more do you need?!
This was really great! I don't know much of anything about the history of South Korea (thanks mediocre American education!) and now I'm interested to learn more. Though dealing with serious issues like police brutality, political persecution, and censorship this manages to be inspiring and at times, funny. Suji always ready to punch a cop was played for laughs but also dead seriously. A great work for teens and adults about the power of protest and the importance of staying in it for the long haul.
I enjoyed but didn't love this. It feels bad to ask someone to share in depth about traumatic stuff but . . . it felt very surface level. :
Beautifully written and illustrated!
This is my favorite section and favorite page:
“for there is love inside of me
true love deep down inside of me
i am in love with
my people
all people
plus
tress
sparrows
sunlight
& the rain
that falls like a blessing from above”
This was lovely! I didn't know anything about the Martha's Vineyard Deaf community and how it contributed to the creation of ASL. Very interesting and Mary was a great character.
A perfect middle school friendship book! Colbert really nails those insecurities we've all been through - am I cool? Why does everyone seem older and better? Why is my friend hanging out with someone I hate? So so good.
Man, nuclear power just seems . . . like a bad idea? (I am intrigued by the thorium reactors Higginbotham mentions at the end but I'm not a scientist!!) I admit that I thought I would understand nuclear power more after reading this and I definitely don't. I do know that a “positive void coefficient” is very, very bad. How you get there or what it actually MEANS is still beyond me.
What was super interesting was the Soviet propaganda machine and the way the USSR handled - or mishandled - the disaster. One of the points the author posits is that Chernobyl contributed to the fall of the Soviet Union which I never really thought about.