YALSA’s 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge Check-In #1

yalsa morris nonfiction sealsNot signed up for YALSA’s 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge? Read the official rules and sign up on the original post. If you’re finished, fill out the form at the bottom of this post to let us know!

Greetings!

Are you busy with holidays or end-of-the-year activities? It can be an intense time of year, and you may be debating about jumping into the Hub’s Morris/Nonfiction reading challenge but I am here to encourage you to DO IT!

There are two very good reasons to take part by reading as many of the 2015 finalists for the William C. Morris Award for debut YA authors, and/or the 2015 finalists for YALSA’s Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, or both between now and the Youth Media Awards on February 2:

  1. You will have a head start on the Hub Reading Challenge that starts in February and that includes PRIZES!
  2. By reading some great, informative nonfiction, and some books by hot, new authors, you will become the smartest person in the room at any holiday party you attend.

Now get started! Or, if you have miraculously already completed the challenge, won’t you please fill out the form at the bottom of this post so we can all be amazed by you?

The rest of us will leave comments talking about which titles we are most looking forward to reading. I’ll start – for the Morris, I’m excited to read Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero, and Laughing at My Nightmare by Shane Burcaw is the Nonfiction title I am most curious about. You?

~ Geri Diorio, currently reading The Alex Crow by Andrew Smith

11 thoughts on “YALSA’s 2015 Morris/Nonfiction Reading Challenge Check-In #1”

  1. I finished Gabi, A Girl in Pieces and was amazed at how Quintero packed so much into such a short book. Like you I am also excited to read Laughing at My Nightmare by Shane Burcaw, which wasn’t even on my radar. I have it on hold at the library. Here’s a link to my blog post about Gabi, which I combined with a dog adoption story

    https://booksandbassets.wordpress.com/2014/12/14/success-and-morrisnonfiction-challenge-check-in-1/

    Next up: The Carnival At Bray!

  3. I finished THE SCAR BOYS and I’m not sure how I felt about it….
    I really want to read Gabi though. :)

  4. I finished The Story of Owen, which I loved, and The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, which I thought was meh at best.

  5. Just started The Story of Owen. So far, so good! I’m really excited about this different take on dragons. It’s certainly not your typical dragon slaying story.

  6. This week I finished Popular by Maya van Wagenen. It high had been on my To Read list after seeing her speak at YALLFest in Charleston, SC in November. It didn’t disappoint!

    This morning I finished The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton. I couldn’t put this book down. It’s beautifully written magical realism. It did not, however, feel like a YA book to me. I’m really glad I read it, but would recommend it for older teens and adults.

  7. Just started The Story of Owen. And from this week’s reviews, looking forward to reading all the Morris/NF books!

  8. I finished The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim this week, and enjoyed it so much that I was able to book talk it convincingly enough that one of my freshmen boys took it for our holiday break! Hurray! I started The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender (which I would concur is beautifully written, but so far doesn’t really read like other current American YA), and I’m most excited about getting my hands on a copy of Gabi, a Girl in Pieces.

  10. I am a bit behind and off to a late start but I hope to start my first nonfiction title this week. I hope my teens will join me #simsburyct

    I encourage everyone to read Gabi, A Girl in Pieces. It is one of my favorites of the year! Happy reading!

  11. I finished The Scar Boys yesterday and had mixed feelings about it. I will post a link to my review once it’s written.

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