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#BFYA2019 Nominees Round Up, December 14 Edition

Published December 14, 2018

Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani and Viviana Mazza
Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins Publishers
Publication Date: September 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-0062696724 

The experiences of the Nigerian schoolgirls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014 are told through the story of one unnamed teen. She lives a quiet life with her family in a villiage and dreams of testing well enough to win the award that will send her to college. Instead, she is among a large number of girls who are kidnapped; her father is killed and her brother is also taken away by Boko Haram. The girls are taken to a camp where they are taught to behave properly and are prepared for lives as wives. Her best friend embraces this new life; other girls resist, sometimes losing their lives as a result. The girl describes her life as wife to a stranger, the challenge of fitting into her new community, and her attempts to escape.

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2019 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Finalists Announced!

Published December 12, 2018

And here’s the second moment you all have been waiting for! The 2019 Nonfiction Award Finalists!

  • The Beloved World of Sonia Sotomayor written by Sonia Sotomayor
  • Boots on the Ground: America’s War in Vietnam written by Elizabeth Partridge
  • The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler written and illustrated by John Hendrix
  • Hey, Kiddo:  How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction written and illustrated by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
  • The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees written and illustrated by Don Brown

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#QP2019 Nominees Round Up, December 11 Edition

Published December 11, 2018

Crush by Svetlana Chmakova
Yen Press
Publication Date: October 31, 2018
ISBN:  9780316363235 

Jorge has a plan worked out for surviving middle school: stay close to his two best friends, Olivia and Garrett, avoid drama, and definitely don’t crush on anyone. Quiet and studious, Jorge prefers to stay on the sidelines, but he will use his size to protect others from bullying. One day, he notices his classmate Jasmine–really notices her. Does it mean he likes her? What if she doesn’t like him back? What should he do? Suddenly Jorge’s world is turned upside down as he has to navigate his own feelings and the revelation that Jasmine already has a boyfriend.

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#BFYA2019 Nominees Round Up, December 10 Edition

Published December 10, 2018

The House of One Thousand Eyes by Michelle Barker
Annick Press
Publication Date: September 11, 2018
ISBN: 978-1773210711

When Lena’s subversive uncle disappears without a trace in Communist East Berlin, she risks everything to find out what happened to him.

Following her confinement in a mental institution due to her breakdown over the tragic death of her parents in a factory accident, Lena is released to live with her stern auntie in East Berlin. Because everyone thinks Lena is simple, she is allowed to work night shifts as a cleaning girl at the State Security Service’s headquarters; she lives a regimented, routine life and looks forward to Sunday afternoons spent with her beloved uncle Erich, a writer with subversive ideas and a loose regard for authority. One night following one of their Sunday outings, Erich disappears. Lena mounts a frantic search for him, one which leads her to dead ends everywhere she looks: his books vanished from the shelves of libraries and bookstores and all records of him purged from official files; it is as if he never existed. Desperate to discover what happened to him, Lena begins a quiet but dangerous investigation, snooping around Stasi offices in the dead of night, despite the watchful eyes of her coworker Jutta, her strict aunt at home, and who knows whom else. What she uncovers shakes up everything she thought she knew, casting new light on her parents’ deaths and making her question everything she had been told about the “Better Germany.”

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#BFYA2019 Nominees Round Up, December 7 Edition

Published December 7, 2018

Mirage by Somaiya Daud
Flatiron Books
Publication Date: August 28, 2018
ISBN: 978-1250126429

In a very harsh world, Amani likes to dream and write poetry. She is happy with her family and has just come of age in her culture. But one terrifying night, her life changes forever when the brutal Vathek Empire takes her away from everything she’s ever known to become a body double for the universally loathed and despised princess. Despite being determined to resist the lures of her new life and the charm of the princess’s fiancé, Amani soon finds herself swept up into a world of danger, intrigue, and unexpected love.

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What Would Anne and Maud Read?

Published December 6, 2018

I was incredibly excited when I first heard that Netflix and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation were creating a new series based on L. M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables. My Canadian friends and family were able to view Anne With an E before me and their reviews were mixed. Most had seen – and loved – the 1985 CBC TV series, which faithfully followed the book. It seemed that older friends and family, especially those who had read the books and/or seen the original TV series, disapproved of the “liberties” the new series took with the story line. Younger friends and family, who had less familiarity with the story, were intrigued at the way the new series explored darker themes

In addition to creating controversy, the new series, now renewed for a third season, has sparked a new interest in interest in the author and the world she created. Regardless of what you think of Anne With an E, these books are an exciting way to explore the world of Anne, and her creator, who liked to be called Maud (without an E).

   

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#QP2019 Nominees Round Up, December 4 Edition

Published December 4, 2018

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
Cormorant Books, Inc. / Dancing Cat Books
Publication Date: September 1, 2017
ISBN: 9781770864863  

In Dimaline’s future world, dreams are as defunct as the ever-degrading environment–except for one group of people.  Descendants of indigenous tribes are still capable of dreaming, and the government is hunting them for their bone marrow in order to bring dreams back to the white people. Frenchie is a survivor who has lost every member of his biological family to the hunt. It is with his new tribe of ragtag survivors that he begins to learn the stories of his people.

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#BFYA2019 Nominees Round Up, December 3 Edition

Published December 3, 2018

After the Fire by Will Hill
Sourcebooks Fire/Sourcebooks
Publication Date: October 2, 2018
ISBN: 9781492669791

Moonbeam’s entire life has been confined to the Lord’s Legion compound in the Texas desert. Citing dangerous outsiders, Father John, the self proclaimed voice of God and despotic church leader, has forbidden members to leave the compound. After federal agents storm the church and it is destroyed in a fire, Moonbeam finds herself in recovery at a hospital where she must confront the reality behind Father John’s lies and come to terms with her own actions.

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Month in Review: November 2018

Published December 1, 2018

What happened in YA last 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.

month in review | yalsa's the hub

 

At the Hub

Features:

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