Axie Oh – The Hub

Best Fiction for Young Adults (#BFYA2023) Featured Review of A Thousand Steps into Night by Traci Chee

A Thousand Steps into Night by Traci Chee
Clarion Books/HarperCollins Children’s Books
Publication Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 9780358469988

A broken teacup causes Miuko’s life to turn upside down when her journey to buy a new set of cups leads to a mysterious demon encounter that curses Miuko to slowly become a demon herself. Miuko’s condition is quickly discovered by her fellow villagers and she is forced to flee. In her quest to seek out the entity – god, spirit or demon – that might be capable of ridding her of the demon slowly taking over her body, she is joined by a host of new friends, many of whom are creatures inspired by Japanese mythology. Miuko revels in leaving behind the restrictions of life in her father’s inn and begins to question just how badly she really wants to remedy her current situation.

Best Fiction for Young Adults (#BFYA2023) Featured Review of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh
Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: February 22, 2022
ISBN: 9781250780867

In this retelling of a classic Korean folktale, sixteen-year-old Mina sacrifices herself to the Spirit Realm to save her brother’s beloved from the same fate. Mina then begins her quest to wake the Sea God to end the sacrifices of young women and stop the storms that are destroying her homeland. She meets many demons, gods, and spirits, both friend and foe, along the way.

Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2023) Featured Review of Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas

Swim Team
by Johnnie Christmas
Publisher: HarperCollins
Imprint: HarperAlley
Release date: May 17, 2022
ISBN: 9780063056770

Bree’s move to Florida from New York comes with all sorts of changes. Her father is working a full time job and is in a program at night to advance his career. Fortunately, Bree immediately meets a new friend in her apartment complex along with Ms. Etta, an older woman who is happy to look out for Bree. Unfortunately, the Math Puzzles class is full, leaving only swimming. With the help of Ms. Etta and Clara, Bree overcomes her self-doubt and becomes a leader on the Enith Brigitha Middle School swim team.

Best Fiction for Young Adults (#BFYA2023) Featured Review of Loveless by Alice Oseman

Loveless by Alice Oseman
Scholastic, Inc.
Publication Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 9781338751932

White, British, romcom-loving teen Georgia has always been told that she would eventually find someone she would be attracted to, but Georgia is tired of waiting. For her first year at university, she is determined to find someone that she likes in that way. But after a few revelations, it starts to become clear to Georgia that attraction doesn’t work the same way for her as it seems to for everyone else. Good thing she has some amazing friends to help her figure things out.

Best Fiction for Young Adults (#BFYA2022) Nominations Round-Up, Summer

Due to the large number of nominees, not all titles are shown here. See full list below.

Each quarter, the Selected Lists teams compile the titles that have been officially nominated to date. These books have been suggested by the team or through the title suggestion form, read by multiple members of the team, and received approval to be designated an official nomination. At the end of the year, the final list of nominations and each Selected List’s Top Ten will be chosen from these titles.

Amari and the Night Brothers. By B.B. Alston. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99 (9780062975164).

Amari’s brother Quinton has disappeared, and her only hope of finding him is to follow in his footsteps and become a Junior Agent with the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs.

Amber and Clay. By Laura Amy Schlitz. Candlewick Press, $22.99 (9781536201222).

In ancient Greece, two unlikely friends Rhaskos and Melisto find their lives intertwined in a search for freedom and purpose. As a ghost bound to Rhaskos, Melisto must help free him before she can find her own rest in the Halls of Hades.

Best Fiction for Young Adults (#BFYA2022) Featured Review of The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur

The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur
Macmillan / Feiwel and Friends
Publication Date: April 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1250229588

Five years ago, Hwani and her sister Maewol got lost in the forest and were later found unconscious, just a few paces away from the apparent suicide of a young woman. Then Hwani’s father, Detective Min, disappears in the same area, and Hwani returns to the hometown they left after the incident, following cryptic clues in her father’s journal that seem to connect the Forest Incident–as it came to be called–with the recent disappearance of thirteen girls. As she reconnects with her estranged sister and doggedly follows in the footsteps of her father’s investigation, lost memories begin to bubble to the surface — memories that someone else would like to see buried forever.