Insha Fitzpatrick

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

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.

A-Okay. By Jarad Greene. HarperCollins Children’s Books/Harper Alley, $12.99 (9780063032859).

Jay deals with acne, acne medicine side effects, friend drama, and figuring out romantic feelings, during a tumultuous eighth grade year.

Blackout. By Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon. HarperCollins/Quill Tree Books, $19.99 (9780063088092).

Six distinct but connected stories highlight black resilience and love in the midst of a New York City-wide blackout.

Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2022) Featured Review of Oh My Gods! by Stephanie Cooke and Insha Fitzpatrick, Art by Juliana Moon

Oh My Gods! by Stephanie Cooke and Insha Fitzpatrick, Art by Juliana Moon
Etch/Clarion Books
Publication Date: January 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-0358299523

After her mom gets a new job, thirteen-year-old Karen moves to Greece to live with her dad Zed. Her new home and school, Mt. Olympus Junior High, seems a little strange, but fun, until people mysteriously start turning into stone statues. With her new friends Athena, Artemis, and Apollo she decides to investigate before the finger can be pointed at her. Can Karen figure out the mystery of why her classmates are turning to stone and the secrets of her new home?

Fans of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan will be interested in this fun graphic novel. With its simple and clear storyline, readers will enjoy the mythology as well as the mystery plot. In addition, the story of fitting in at a new school and making new friends (even if those friends happen to be Greek gods and goddesses) will be familiar for readers.

Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2022) Featured Review of Sunkissed by Kasie West

Sunkissed by Kasie West
Delacorte/Penguin Random House
Publication Date: May 5, 2021
ISBN: 978-0593176269

Avery is spending the summer at a camping resort with her family, which isn’t quite the “adventure” her dad promised but does give her some much-needed space from drama at home. It also allows her to focus on discovering who she is and what she really wants, as opposed to what she thinks she’s supposed to want. Enter Brooks, the good-looking and slightly infuriating camp musician, who is also completely off-limits. They seem to have perfect chemistry, but Avery needs to remember that a relationship between the two of them would get Brooks fired, which would be devastating for him and his family.