jarrett j. krosoczka

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2022) Featured Review of In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner

In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner; narrated by Michael Crouch
Listening Library
Release date: August 8, 2021
ISBN: 9780593399040

Cash and his friend Delaney are barely surviving in their small Appalachian town. Cash is being raised by his grandparents after his mother succumbed to opioid addiction, and Delaney is running from drug dealers and an unstable home while working at Dairy Queen. A small but profound scientific discovery by Delaney gives her leverage to earn them both places at a prestigious boarding school. Cash is torn between going and leaving behind the grandparents who have raised him and grabbing the otherwise unattainable opportunities the scholarship would give him. Convinced by Delaney to go to the new school, he discovers his inner poet, and goes through many coming of age experiences.

Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2022) Featured Review of In the Shadow of the Fallen Towers by Don Brown

In the Shadow of the Fallen Towers Cover Art

In the Shadow of the Fallen Towers: The Seconds, Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, Months, and Years after the 9/11 Attacks by Don Brown
Etch/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication Date: August 10. 2021
ISBN: 978-0-358-22357-3

Award winning author and illustrator Don Brown takes a look at the infamous 9/11 attacks and explores the tragic events of that day and its far-reaching, worldwide effects. This graphic novel encompasses the story of that day and beyond, incorporating personal stories with compelling illustrations.

Brown has managed to tell a complex story in a simplified and focused way that has the reader turning the pages quickly. The emotion of the day and the immediate aftermath is felt deeply, while moving on to the hope of recovery and the investigation into the attack’s origins. This is an easily accessible way for the reader to satisfy any curiosity surrounding that fateful day in our recent American history.

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2020) Nominees Round Up, November 13 Edition

Click here to see all of the current Amazing Audiobooks nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

The Virtue of Sin by Shannon Schuren; Narrated by Erin Spencer and Kirby Heybourne
Audio Published by Listening Library
Publication Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1984890665

The Virtue of Sin by Shannon Schuren tells the story of 16-year-old Miriam and Caleb who live in a place called New Jerusalem, a haven in the desert far away from the sins and depravity of the outside world led by its founder and leader: Daniel. The events revolve around the Matrimony ceremony in which each 16-year-old boy will say the name of their wife as God has told them. But the Matrimony ceremony goes wrong, the aftermath will shake the foundations of New Jerusalem. The story follows Miriam and Caleb as they discover more about New Jerusalem, Daniel, and the truth of their world.

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#ALAMW19 Recap: Interviewing Jarrett J. Krosoczka, author of Hey, Kiddo, 2019 Nonfiction Award Finalist

Cover of Hey, Kiddo — Image courtesy of Jarrett J Krosoczka

Graphic memoir Hey, Kiddo is a finalist for YALSA’s Excellence in Nonfiction Award, as well as a nominee for multiple other book awards. Author and illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka was kind enough to answer a few questions for The Hub.

Congratulations on Hey, Kiddo being nominated for multiple awards! As a reader, I particularly loved your chapter heading pages with all their fascinating details. As the creator, do you have a favorite page or panel in this book?

Thank you so much! My favorite aspect of an illustrated book is the page turn. It’s something that you really can only experience once the book is printed and in your hands. I just love that moment when you turn the pages and watch the story visually unfold. So…my most favorite page-turn in HEY, KIDDO is that scene when preschool Jarrett is struggling with the assignment to draw his family, and then in that moment when you turn the page, a double-page spread reveals the portrait drawn in crayon.

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2019 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Finalists Announced!

And here’s the second moment you all have been waiting for! The 2019 Nonfiction Award Finalists!

The Beloved World of Sonia Sotomayor written by Sonia Sotomayor
Boots on the Ground: America’s War in Vietnam written by Elizabeth Partridge
The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler written and illustrated by John Hendrix
Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction written and illustrated by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
The Unwanted: Stories of the Syrian Refugees written and illustrated by Don Brown

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#QP2019 Nominees Round Up, October 9 Edition

Super Late Bloomer: My Early Days in Transition, An Up and Out Collection by Julia Kaye
Andrews McMeel Publishing
Publication Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 9781449489625

Some people chronicle their lives in written journals, but for artist Julia Kaye expressing her emotions on the page came in a different form. When she started her gender transition in 2016, she found a way to chronicle her journey through the art of webcomics. This inspirational true life adventure follows all the ups and downs she went through during that time.

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