Month: June 2017

Booklist: Pride Month Reading

June is Pride Month and ALA’s GLBT Book Month both of which celebrate the lives and experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual (LGBTQIA) people. You can join the Pride movement yourself with this reading list to keep you busy for the rest of June and into the summer.

cover art collage for Booklist: Pride Month Reading

  1. Under the Lights by Dahlia Adler: Vanessa Park is passionate about acting and loves being on set–even with her flirty co-star Josh Chester. Van’s happy to have her new career handler, Brianna, but unsure what to do when her friendly feelings for Bri become something else.
  2. The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow (2016 Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers): Greta Gustafson Stuart, Duchess of Halifax and Crown Princess of the Pan Polar Confederation, is a seventh generation hostage. She knows to follow the rules even with her country on the brink of war. Elián Palnik is a new hostage who refuses to accept any of the tenets of the Children of Peace, forcing Greta to question everything she believes and all of the rules as she struggles to save Elián and herself.
  3. Alex as Well by Alyssa Brugman: Alex feels like her life is finally coming together when she stops hormone treatments and chooses to live life as a girl.
  4. Look Both Ways by Alison Cherry: Brooklyn expects to find her people and her niche at a summer apprenticeship at the Allerdale Playhouse. She and her roommate Zoe hit it off immediately. But as their friendship turns into something more, Brooklyn realizes that love isn’t nearly as simple as she thought.
  5. Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova (2017 Best Fiction for Young Adults): When Alex’s spell to get rid of her magic backfires and her family disappears from their Brooklyn home, she’ll have to travel to the world of Los Lagos to get them back with help from her best friend Rishi and a strange brujo boy with his own agenda.
  6. George by Alex Gino: Charlotte wants everyone to see her for who she really is and to play Charlotte in her class play of Charlotte’s Web. But for any of that to happen she has to come up with a plan to help everyone know the real her instead of the boy they see when they look at her.
  7. Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard (2017 Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2017 William C. Morris Debut Award): Caught between her traditional Portuguese parents and her friend Colby who wants loyalty for things Pen isn’t sure she should support will force Pen to find her own way through.
  8. None of the Above by I. W. Gregorio: Kristen had her life figured out until her decision to have sex with her boyfriend changes everything Kristen thought she knew about herself.
  9. Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg (2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults): When Rafe moves to a new all boys’ boarding school he decides to start with a clean slate where he isn’t “the gay kid.” Except keeping a secret like that isn’t easy. Especially when he might also be falling in love.
  10. Pantomime by Laura Lam: Gene runs away from nobility where being intersex could have Gene shunned forever. Hoping to escape her stifling life, Gene reinvents herself as Micah Grey–a performer quick to dazzle with his aerialist skills.
  11. Gena/Finn by Hannah Moskowitz and Kat Helgeson: Can fan fiction turn to true love for two superfans of a popular TV show?
  12. Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (2017 Alex Award): Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children takes in used-up miracle children who have outgrown their knack for finding hidden lands. When a new girl, Nancy, arrives it becomes clear that a darkness lurks at the home and it will be up to Nancy and her schoolmates to unravel the secrets of the Home and their own pasts.
  13. When The Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore (2017 Best Fiction for Young Adults): Can best friends Miel and Sam protect Miel and the roses that grow out of her wrists from the Bonner sisters, rumored witches, who seem intent to stealing them at any cost?
  14. Cut Both Ways by Carrie Mesrobian: Will doesn’t know why he hooks up with his best friend Angus. He doesn’t think he’s gay–especially not when he’s so into Brandy, a new girl at his school. But how can he love and want them both so badly?
  15. Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy: Ramona is six feet tall. She knows she likes girls, she loves her family, and she knows her future is going to be amazing. Her growing feelings for her childhood best friend Freddie make Ramona question everything she knows and show her that life, and love, are much more fluid than she thought.
  16. The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness (2016 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults, 2016 Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2017 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults): When it feels like every week there’s a new impending doom, sometimes the most extraordinary thing to do is live your regular not-chosen-one life. Even if your best friend is worshiped by cats.
  17. Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee: Tash doesn’t know what to think when her obscure web series skyrockets to fame and popularity. The sudden fame can take her online flirtation to IRL but first Tash has to figure out how to explain that she’s romantic asexual. Oh and there’s the whole delivering the best web series ever to her forty thousand new subscribers.
  18. If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo (2017 Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2017 Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers): Amanda’s plans to keep a low profile during her senior year are tested when she meets Grant and feels understood for maybe the first time. But she isn’t sure how to get closer to Grant and her new friends with her newly public transgender identity.
  19. What We Left Behind by Robin Talley: Dream couple Toni and Gretchen fully expect to stay together as they start college. Then Toni, who identifies as genderqueer, finds belong for the first time with a group of transgender classmates while Gretchen tries to remember who she is without Toni at her side. Can love keep them together as they start to grow apart?
  20. Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld (2015 Best Fiction for Young Adults): Interspersed with Darcy Patel’s story of trying to find herself and become a professional author is the story that brought her to New York in the first place: Lizzie’s adventures in Afterworlds. Darcy and Lizzie’s worlds blend together in this story about facing your fears and finding yourself.

Continue reading Booklist: Pride Month Reading

2017 Hub Reading Challenge June Check-in

Today it’s time for one last Hub Reading Challenge Check-In before the challenge comes to a close.

the hub 2017 reading challenge

How is everyone doing in the final days of Challenge reading? This year, as always, there a lot of great options eligible for the Challenge. As a big fan of graphic novels and illustrated works more generally, one thing I really appreciate is that there are so many of these that are part of the Challenge and that they appear across so many awards and lists (plus they are a good option if you are looking for some quicker reads in the last couple of days).

This year’s Challenge includes something for absolutely everyone, from a picture book biography entitled Ada Lovelace, Poet of Science: The First Computer Programmer by Diane Stanley and Jessie Hartland to the full-cast audio adaptation of Nimona. The diverse set of illustrated works (or graphic novel adaptations in the case of the Nimona audiobook) shows the broad appeal of these works, but I do have my own personal preferences.

As a fan of graphic memoirs and autobiographies, I’m excited to see a classic like Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood on the Popular Paperbacks list. This book not only tells the story of Satrapi’s life, but also gives readers a glimpse of life in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, a time period that many teens may know little about. Though it focuses on a very different historical time and place, March: Book 3 by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell similarly brings alive a significant period, the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. It is a powerful story and a very worthy addition to the March series, so it is no surprise that it is on the Great Graphic Novels list and also won the Excellence in Nonfiction, Printz and Coretta Scott King Book Awards. If you haven’t yet had an opportunity to read March, I highly recommend moving it up on your list!

Though also a graphic autobiography, Becoming Unbecoming by Una (a pseudonym) offers a very different but equally engrossing reading experience. This book, set in 1977 in the north of England, combines artwork, photo-based illustrations, and press clippings to create an intense reading experience about sexual violence. Set at a time when a serial killer was murdering prostitutes, the book touches on these events, but also on the violence and bullying that Una experiences at school.

The Challenge has also offered an opportunity to read some great and diverse fiction. Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze is both a great superhero story and a perfect introduction to the character for any patrons who are intrigued after Black Panther’s appearance in Captain America: Civil War. From the world of manga, this year’s Great Graphic Novels also included Orange: The Complete Collection 1 by Ichigo Takano, which is a very engaging science fiction romance that touches on questions of time and changing the future. Though this one makes for a very different read than Black Panther, it is also a fun read and a great book to recommend to manga lovers. The final book on my list, Romeo and/or Juliet: A Choosable-Path Adventure by Ryan North, might not be fully illustrated, but it does have enough artwork to make it interesting to graphic novel fans. It also has a great deal of humor and a very unique take on the classic story of star-crossed lovers. Reading (or in some cases re-reading) these books has reminded me of how broad and wonderful the world of illustrated books is. There truly is something out there for everyone!

Let us know how you are doing with the Challenge in the comments below, and don’t forget about the sortable spreadsheet! Here are the guidelines in case you don’t remember:

  • Format matters: a title that has been recognized for both the print version and the audiobook version can be both read and listened to and count as two books, but a book that has won multiple awards or appears on multiple lists in the same format only counts as one title.
  • Books must be read/listened to (both begun and finished) since the award winners and selected lists have been released and finished before 11:59pm EST on June 22. If you’ve already read/listened to a title, you must re-read/listen to it for it to count.
  • Anyone can participate, and just about everyone who doesn’t work for ALA is eligible to win our prize for Challenge finishers. Non-ALA/YALSA members are eligible. Teens are eligible. Non-US residents/citizens are eligible. (More eligibility questions? Leave a comment or email us.)
  • Once you finish the challenge, we’ll contact you with details about creating and publishing your response.
  • If you have finished the challenge, let us know here! The grand prize winner will be selected by 11:59pm EST on June 23. The winner will be notified via email.

– Carli Spina, currently reading A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass.

Month in Review: May 2017

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.

month in review | yalsa's the hub

At the Hub

Continue reading Month in Review: May 2017

Women in Comics – 2017 Eisner Award Nominees

The 2017 Eisner Award nominees are here and once again they include a number of female creators. Though there are too many to list, below are some noteworthy nominees that you may want to add to your reading list or library collection.

Beasts of Burden returns this year in a standalone story named What The Cat Dragged In, which earned a Best Single Issue/One-Shot nomination for Evan Dorkin, Sarah Dyer, and Jill Thompson. In addition to being a good new story in this universe, it is a great starting place for those who haven’t read Beasts of Burden in the past. This is also a great recommendation for any horror fans you may know.

Not surprisingly, Fiona Staples has two personal nominations (for Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team and Best Cover Artist) and a nomination with Brian K. Vaughan for Best Continuing Series all for her great work on Saga. If you don’t already have this series in your library, you should definitely consider it for your older comic fans.

Continue reading Women in Comics – 2017 Eisner Award Nominees

#QP2018 Nominees: Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson and Overturned by Lamar Giles

Questionable Convictions: Guilty, or Not Guilty?

The emergence of advanced scientific forensics has resulted in the ability to re-evaluate convictions. DNA via hair, blood, saliva and other bodily fluids have been used to overturn some guilty convictions for violent crimes. Newer technologies can pinpoint details better. Highly trained dogs can sniff out corpses or drugs. Appeals must be filed, but rarely a change in verdict results. With so many crime fiction and forensic television shows on the air, it may look easier than it is in reality.

These two Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers delve into this world of questionable convictions and their suspenseful plots and gritty topics make them great books for readers interested in the criminal justice system.

Allegedly by Tiffany Jackson book cover Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson
Harper Collins/Katherine Tegen Books
January 24, 2017
ISBN: 9780062422644

The jury said she did it. The media said she did it. Only nine years old and convicted for manslaughter, Mary B. Addison didn’t say anything. Three-month-old Alyssa was in the care of her babysitter, Mary’s mother, when she died of suspicious circumstances while sleeping in Mary’s room. Six years later Mary, now fifteen, is released from “baby jail” and is living in a supervised group home wearing an ankle monitor. The issue-oriented storyline is brought to the forefront when a pregnant Mary now finally wants to attempt to clear her name, so that her own baby is not taken away by social services.

This dramatic hook grabs the reader’s attention very quickly, and pacing intensifies throughout the saga. Although flawed in character, Mary is somewhat vulnerable and garners sympathy at times. Portrayed by the media as a baby killer with rage tendencies, Mary struggles with revealing her true self while in a group home with violent criminals as roommates. The home is a menacing place full of bullying, brutality, theft, and much verbal abuse.   Continue reading #QP2018 Nominees: Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson and Overturned by Lamar Giles

Monthly Monday Poll: Favorite Dual-Market *Nonfiction* Author

Monday Poll @ YALSA's The HubIt’s time for the monthly poll!

Last month, a reader (and YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Honor writer!) pointed out that while I said the poll was asking about “authors,” based on the options provided, what it was really asking about was fiction authors. So true! My *personal* reading habits are heavily biased towards fiction, and it’s showing in the poll! So this month, I’m taking up the excellent suggestion to run a poll featuring nonfiction authors who write for multiple audiences. I’m sure I’ve missed some good ones; please shout them out in the comments! Continue reading Monthly Monday Poll: Favorite Dual-Market *Nonfiction* Author

Interview with Alex Award winner Ryan North

I didn’t read too many Young Adult books as a teenager because I was a fool and thought I was better than them. Obviously, the joke is on me because YA books are incredible and that’s basically all I read these days. But this is one of the reasons why I love the Alex Awards. Sometimes teens just fit better with adult books and I love that YALSA supports those teens. Maybe they’ll even come to revisit young adult books in their adulthood just like me. So when we Hub writers were offered the chance to interview Alex Award winners, I jumped at the chance. When I heard Ryan North was one of the interviewees, I LEAPT at the chance.

Image via Goodreads

If you don’t know Ryan North’s work you should get on that yesterday. North is the writer of the hilarious Dinosaur Comics as well as the Harvey and Eisner award winning writer of the Adventure Time comics. North is no stranger to the Youth Media Awards as his Adventure Time comics as well as his Unbeatable Squirrel Girl comics have won entry to the Great Graphic Novels for teens lists in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Most recently his “chooseable path adventure” Romeo and/or Juliet won an Alex Award in 2017. I was able to chat with Ryan via email. Check it out!

Anna Tschetter: You’ve done “chooseable path adventure books” with To Be or Not to Be and now Romeo and/or Juliet and even your Adventure Time comic. Did you read a lot of the classic “Choose your Own Adventure” books as a kid (or a grownup in preparation to write your versions?)

Ryan North: I did! I loved them as a kid and could not understand why adults weren’t reading them. They’re books where YOU get to decide what happens next: what is not to like?  When 30 years later I realized that if I wanted to see these books I guess I should write them myself, I had two advantage, I think: there’s not a lot of books written in the CYOA style for adults, and I could write my book on a computer.  Earlier non-linear narratives tended to be of the “put pieces of paper on a pinboard and connect strings between them for choices”, which obviously limits the scale of stories you can tell, but I could use software to keep track of all the different paths and how they interact with each other – and that really freed me up to try all sorts of new things.

Just as an example: there’s a page early on in the book where you choose your character: Romeo or Juliet.  But then if you play through the book as either of these characters and follow a certain path to its conclusion, you unlock a third playable character: Rosaline!  We figured out how to have unlockable characters in books.  Normally that’s tricky, since you can’t change the state of the book, but what I realized was that you can always change the state of the reader.  So the book tells you a secret for how to unlock Rosaline, and then on your next playthough, when you get to the character select page – which hasn’t changed, obviously – you can now see a way to play as Rosaline.  It’s a neat trick, and I was really happy that we were able to get it to work so well! Continue reading Interview with Alex Award winner Ryan North

Five Podcasts to Try for Fans of “Welcome to Night Vale”

Audio fiction podcasts are finally getting their comeuppance thanks largely to the success of the Welcome to Night Vale podcast. Serialized fiction podcasts are an engaging storytelling medium that is drawing the attention of teens and listeners of all ages. Since its start in June of 2012, this darkly funny podcast with its premise of local radio news show has been enchanting listeners. Set in the sleepy desert town of Night Vale, it has all the government conspiracies and unexplained phenomena of X Files, but are explored with a “News from Lake Wobegon” flavor ala Prairie Home Companion.

Welcome to Night Vale logo

The 2015 book Welcome to Night Vale debuted in the top ten on the New York Time’s best seller list and continues to be a teen favorite. The podcast was first produced by Commonplace Books, but is now being produced by the creators own company Night Vale Presents. Night Vale Presents also produces other podcasts “both from the Night Vale artistic team and from other artists with a similar vision for independent, original podcasting.” Be sure to check out Alice Isn’t Dead, The Orbiting Human Circus, and Within the Wires. Continue reading Five Podcasts to Try for Fans of “Welcome to Night Vale”