Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2022) Nominations Round-Up, Summer

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.


Across the Tracks: Remembering Greenwood, Black Wall Street, and the Tulsa Race Massacre. By Alverne Ball. Art by Stacey Robinson. Abrams/Megascope, $15.99 (9781419755170).

Greenwood—also known as Black Wall Street—was a bustling district in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with many successful Black-owned businesses. In 1921, a white mob descended on Greenwood, destroying businesses and devastating the community. One hundred years later, Across the Tracks pays homage to Greenwood.

Alone. By Megan E. Freeman. 2020. Penguin Random House/Crown, $17.99 (9780593176399).

Maddie finds herself completely, totally alone when she wakes up from a secret sleepover and discovers that everyone was evacuated overnight from her town, her state, and maybe her whole half of the country. She has to survive natural disasters, the elements, looters, wild animals, and her own crushing loneliness.

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Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2022) Featured Review of The Canyon’s Edge by Dusti Bowling

The Canyon’s Edge by Dusti Bowling
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 10, 2020
ISBN: 9780316494687 

Nora and her father are haunted by the death of Nora’s mother one year ago. Through what is meant to be an enjoyable day trip hiking in a canyon, we learn about the circumstances surrounding her death, and how Nora and her father have dealt with their trauma. When a flash flood separates Nora from her father and their supplies, she must rely on her wits and physical and emotional strength to survive alone in the harsh desert environment.

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Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2022) Featured Review of Noelle: The Mean Girl by Ashley Woodfolk

Noelle the Mean Girl Cover Art

Noelle:The Mean Girl by Ashley Woodfolk
Penguin Workshop/ Penguin Random House
Publication Date: March 9, 2021
ISBN: 978-0593096079 

Noelle is losing control of her life. First, she has a crush on her friend Tobyn. Next, her younger brother Pierre keeps getting beat up. Then when her father loses his job, she decides to work more hours at her grandparent’s Chinese restaurant, an obligation which interferes with school and practicing her cello for the upcoming showcase. Can Noelle figure out how to handle all of these changes without letting her temper get the best of her and lashing out at those who love her most?  

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