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Best Fiction for Young Adults (#BFYA2021) Nominees Round Up, December 4 Edition

Published December 4, 2020

Click here to see all of the current Best Fiction for Young Adults nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger Book Cover
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger, illustrated by Rovina Cai
Levine Querido 
Publication Date: August 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1646140053

Lipan Apache teenager Elatsoe “Ellie” Bride lives in an alternate modern world populated by ghosts and vampires and fairy rings. Ellie has inherited the power to call on animal spirits, and she is content to explore her abilities slowly and quietly. But then her cousin Trevor dies in a violent car accident, and his ghost appears in a dream to warn Ellie that he’s been murdered, begging her to protect his family. Now Ellie must tread carefully to track a killer in a seemingly perfect small town, helped by her overly-enthusiastic best friend, her ghost dog Kirby, and the stories she’s learned about the abuses suffered and powers wielded by her powerful sixth-great-grandmother.

Continue readingBest Fiction for Young Adults (#BFYA2021) Nominees Round Up, December 4 Edition

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2021) Nominees Round Up, December 3 Edition

Published December 3, 2020

Click here to see all of the current Great Graphic Novels nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen Book Cover
The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
Random House Graphic / Penguin Random House
Publication Date: October 13, 2020 
ISBN: 9781984851598 

Tiến enjoys reading fairy tales aloud with his mother. These enchanted tales—full of hope, wonder, and love—help build a bridge between Tiến and his parents. However, Tiến has a secret that he keeps from his parents, who are both Vietnamese refugees and struggling with their English. He is not sure how to tell them that he is gay. Even more, he is not sure how to say it in Vietnamese or if they will accept him. Will Tiến get his fairy tale happy ending or a tragic conclusion? 

The Magic Fish interweaves three visually stunning stories and cleverly separates them in different colors. The book focuses on Tiến’s story, his mother’s past, and fairy tales read out loud by Tiến and his mother. The readers will get a unique view of his mother’s experience as an immigrant and a glimpse of what it is like to be a child of immigrants. Author Trung Le Nguyen skillfully tackles the complexity of family ties and how stories can help build connections and understanding between people.  

Continue readingGreat Graphic Novels (#GGN2021) Nominees Round Up, December 3 Edition

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2021) Nominees Round Up, December 2 Edition

Published December 2, 2020

Click here to see all of the current Amazing Audiobooks nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

cover art

Early Departures by Justin A. Reynolds; Narrated by A.J. Beckles, Preston Butler III
HarperAudio
Publication Date: September 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-0062748409

Jamal is still reeling from his parents’ deaths two years ago, and it is affecting all of his relationships. It has been causing friction with his girlfriend Autumn, but more importantly, it has broken his relationship with his best friend and comedic partner, Quincy. Jamal even blames Quincy for his parents’ death, something that Quincy is unaware of. During a party on the beach, Jamal witnesses Quincy save a drowning girl’s life, only to lose his own. When a mysterious man offers Quincy’s mother a chance to bring him back through experimental technology, Jamal takes this as a second chance for him to heal his relationship with Quincy before it’s too late. 

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Month in Review: November 2020

Published December 1, 2020
month in review | yalsa's the hub

What happened in YA this month? Here is a quick round up of featured posts on The Hub and other links to keep you up to date when collecting for your teens.  Selected list nominations are here!

At the Hub

The feedback you provide about the Hub will help us improve and tailor this blog to the needs of its readers and the library community. Please complete by Dec. 18. 

Selected Lists Nominations:

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Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2021) Nominees Round Up, December 1 Edition

Published December 1, 2020

Click here to see all of the current Quick Picks nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

Class Act by Jerry Craft Book Cover
Class Act by Jerry Craft

Class Act by Jerry Craft
Quill Tree Books
Publication Date: October 6, 2020
ISBN: 9780062885517

In this follow-up to New Kid, familiar characters Jordan, Drew, and Liam return, but this time most of the story focuses on eighth grader Drew, one of the only Black students at the mostly white private school.  The boys wrestle with typical middle school things like puberty, and evolving friendships, but also more important, complex issues like identity, acceptance, and race and class.  Despite being friends, Jordan, Drew, and Liam live very different lives and that becomes more apparent for them in this installment. 

Continue readingQuick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2021) Nominees Round Up, December 1 Edition

Best Fiction for Young Adults (#BFYA2021) Nominees Round Up, November 27 Edition

Published November 27, 2020

Click here to see all of the current Best Fiction for Young Adults nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender Book Cover
King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender

King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender
Scholastic Press
Publication Date: February 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1338129335

When Kingston James saw a dragonfly land on his brother’s casket, he knew his brother was showing him he wasn’t truly gone. King constantly searches for his brother’s dragonfly to talk to; seeing the dragonflies always helps. Before his death, Khalid overheard King’s best friend Sandy confide a secret and pushed King to end the friendship over it. Now Khalid is gone, Sandy is missing, and King is alone and realizing he has the same secret.

Continue readingBest Fiction for Young Adults (#BFYA2021) Nominees Round Up, November 27 Edition

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2021) Nominees Round Up, November 26 Edition

Published November 26, 2020

Click here to see all of the current Great Graphic Novels nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

My Riot by Rick Spears and Emmett Helen Book Cover
My Riot by Rick Spears and Emmett Helen

My Riot by Rick Spears and Emmett Helen
Oni Press
Publication Date: September 8, 2020 
ISBN: 9781620107768

Seventeen-year-old Valerie Simmons thinks her life’s dream is to be a ballerina until her first night at her new job at an ice cream parlor. Rioters throw a brick through the window, quickly smash the store, and move on. Val is left electrified. While her ballet instructor pressures her to develop an eating disorder and take up smoking, her new friend Kat takes her to a rock show that makes her feel alive. During a two-month grounding for going to the show, Val listens to mix tapes and begins to rethink her identity. She decides to learn the guitar so she can form a band. As music replaces dance as her passion, Valerie gets into the Riot Grrrl scene, culminating in a trip to a music festival in Olympia.  

Continue readingGreat Graphic Novels (#GGN2021) Nominees Round Up, November 26 Edition

Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2021) Nominees Round Up, November 24 Edition

Published November 24, 2020

Click here to see all of the current Quick Picks nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

Lux: The New Girl by Ashley Woodfolk Book Cover
Lux: The New Girl by Ashley Woodfolk

Lux: The New Girl by Ashley Woodfolk
Workshop / Penguin
Publication Date: September 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0593096017

When Lux is kicked out of yet another school for fighting, she has one more chance to fit in and make things work at a local high school. At Harlem’s Augusta Savage School of Arts, she meets a group of students known as the Flyy Girls. Being a good friend and leaving her old life behind is hard, even with the best of intentions.

This book is less than 150 pages and is smaller in size than a regular hardcover YA novel, with straightforward text and short chapters that include diary entries and lots of dialogue. The simple but real plot is not overly complicated and readers will end up caring about and relating to Lux’s success, stress over social media, family dynamics, and everyday obstacles. 

Continue readingQuick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2021) Nominees Round Up, November 24 Edition