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#BFYA2019 Nominees Round Up, August 17 Edition

Published August 17, 2018

Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
Nancy Paulsen Books / Penguin
Publication Date: May 8, 2018
ISBN: 978-0399544682 

Amal is a bright girl with a thirst for knowledge. Living in her Pakistani village with her family, she dreams of becoming a teacher someday, but must stop her education when her mother needs extra assistance at home after the birth of another sister. Things take a dire turn when Amal mistakenly insults a member of the powerful Khan family, and as punishment is forced into indentured servitude at the Khan estate. Surviving in a hopeless situation using her intelligence and determination, Amal begins to uncovers the corruption at the hands of the Khans and must choose to what to do about it.

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#GGN2019 Nominees Round Up, August 16 Edition

Published August 16, 2018

Iceman Vol. 2: Absolute Zero by Sina Grace and Illustrated by Robert Gill and Rachel Rosenberg
Marvel Comics
Publication Date: May 8, 2018
ISBN: 978-1302908805

Now that Bobby Drake has come out to his parents, he is figuring out how to express himself as a gay man and a mutant. These struggles aren’t any easier with time-displaced younger version of himself hanging out, a love interest in L.A., queer dating rumors, and a jealous and vengeful Daken training Bobby’s former student.

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Page to Screen: Upcoming YA Movie Adaptations

Published August 16, 2018

In between reboots of this franchise, spin-offs to that one, and vaguely worded continuations of another, Hollywood often turns back to the books for creative inspiration for new movies and television shows. While not every book gets its screen debut after the rights are purchased, those that do are immediately held to a higher standard by we book people, who hope the film or TV show will honor the original while showing us something awesome that we didn’t even know we wanted.

Here are five upcoming movie or TV adaptations of young adult books that both scare and excite me.

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
Release date: August 3, 2018

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#AA2019 Nominees Round Up, August 15 Edition

Published August 15, 2018

Circe by Madeline Miller, narrated by Perdita Weeks
Audio Publisher by Hatchet Audio
Publication Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 9781549142383

Miller’s Circe is a retelling of the mythos of the goddess and sorceress of Aeaea famed for her witchery in Homer’s The Odyssey. However, Miller’s story draws from other famous myths and ancient Greek sources to retell Circe’s legendary life from her infancy to the edges of her epic myth. Miller’s book Circe invites readers to discover the goddess’ relationships and involvement with the Titans, monsters like Scylla and the Minotaur, Daedalus and his son Icarus, the famous mortal witch, Medea, and the wily Odysseus.

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#QP2019 Nominees Round Up, August 14 Edition

Published August 14, 2018

Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin
Illustrated by Giovanni Rigano
Sourcebooks / Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Publication Date: August 7, 2018
ISBN: 9781492665823 

Ebo and his older brother, Kwame, leave Northern Africa, seeking refuge and their sister in Europe. Crossing the blazing desert by foot and rough Mediterranean seas on an inflatable boat, there is no guarantee of their  survival.

The gloomy cover image of a boat crossing a choppy sea by only the light of the moon sets the tone for this graphic novel, with the title grabbing attention in bright yellow. The ripped from the headlines topic of immigrants and refugees prevails daily on televised and internet news. Ebo and Kwame are a relatable character duo and readers will empathize with their plight. Told in alternating “then” and “now” chapters, the challenges of both the desert and the sea are depicted candidly, with devastating authenticity. The illustrator uses light, setting, and facial expressions often to reinforce the atmosphere the boys are experiencing. Readers will no doubt keep turning pages quickly to find out what happens to these courageous brothers.

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#BFYA2019 Nominees Round Up, August 10 Edition

Published August 10, 2018

Picture Us in the Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert
Hyperion Books
Publication Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 9781484726020

Danny Cheng knows what his future holds- a scholarship to RISD and a career as an artist, with the complete support of his parents. When Danny’s father loses his job as a scientist and inexplicably takes a job as a security guard instead, Danny starts digging into his parents’ past, hoping to learn more about their journey from China, and the death of his older sister before he was born.

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#GGN2019 Nominees Round Up, August 9 Edition

Published August 9, 2018

Sheets by Brenna Thummler
Lion Forge
Publication Date: August 28, 2018
ISBN: 9781549303470

Marj Glatt is a young teen struggling to run her family’s laundromat after her mom passes away and her dad has retreated into his grief. She’s also dealing with meddlesome Mr. Saubertuck, who is pressuring her into giving him the laundromat for nothing. Amidst Mr. Saubertuck’s sabotage attempts, Marj is facing off with a supernatural pest in the laundromat, Wendell the ghost.

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#AA2019 Nominees Round Up, August 8 Edition

Published August 8, 2018

Educated: A Memoir, by Tara Westover, narrated by Julia Whelan.
Audio published by Random House Audio
Publication Date: February 20, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-52805-0

“You can miss a person every day, and still be glad that they are no longer in your life.”  Tara Westover grew up in isolation with her family of nine: six siblings, an herbalist mother, and a devout Mormon father obsessed with the apocalypse and the evil, “brainwashing” federal government.  Westover did not go to school and instead spent her time canning food, stocking supplies, and preparing for the end of the world.  By the time she was eight, the family had stopped school lessons, though officially she was “home-schooled,” and Tara spent her time trying to survive her father’s junkyard where safety precautions were nonexistent because the faithful only need angels for protection.  Westover’s story is revealed as she survives her upbringing, including an abusive older brother.  At seventeen, Westover begins to fight for her education, attending college and grappling with her changing view of the world and her family.  As her mental and physical world expands, moving from Idaho to England (for a PhD), to trips to Rome and Paris, Westover educates (empowers) herself: “My life was narrated for me by others. Their voices were forceful, emphatic, absolute. It had never occurred to me that my voice might be as strong as theirs.”  This book presents a powerful look at family, education, and religion.

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#QP2019 Nominees Round Up, August 7 Edition

Published August 7, 2018

Dead Weight: Murder at Camp Bloom by Terry Blas, Molly Muldoon, and Matthew Seely
Oni Press
Publication Date: April 24, 2018
ISBN: 9781620104811 

Jesse finds herself stuck at Camp Bloom for the summer, a “get fit” camp for overweight teens. Hardly the fun summer at a fashion program she had been hoping for. When she and fellow campers, Noah, Tony, and Kate, witness the murder of a camp counselor in the woods by another staff member, Camp Bloom becomes a whole lot more interesting, not to mention dangerous.

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