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Best Fiction for Young Adults (#BFYA2023) Featured Review of The Red Palace by June Hur

The Red Palace by June Hur
Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: January 25, 2022
ISBN: 9781250800558

In 1758 Joseon (Korea), 18-year-old Hyeon worked hard to become a palace nurse, one of the very few positions an illegitimate daughter can hold, with the hopes of doing a good job and earning her father’s approval, but her hopes are dashed when her mentor is accused of murdering four girls and Hyeon chooses to risk her life and position to help clear her mentor’s name.

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2022) 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.

The Apothecary Diaries, v.2. By Natsu Hyuuga. Art by Nekokurage. Square Enix Manga, $10.99 (9781646090716).

Maomao’s adventures as the official royal test taster continue! In this volume, Maomao faces the intrigues of the royal court while dealing with poisoning attempts against the Emperor’s wives.

Asadora! v.4. By Naoki Urasawa. VIZ Media / VIZ Signature, $14.99 (9781974722969).

A lighthouse has been attacked by something resembling a giant creature, and Asa is called in by the government to find the monster before the Tokyo Olympics. With the monster’s reappearance, Asa continues the search for her family.

Blue Flag, v.8. By KAITO. VIZ Media, $12.99 (9781974720941).

The conclusion of Blue Flag sees almost everyone’s secrets revealed and concludes the main characters’ romantic arcs.

Blue Giant Omnibus, v.1-2. By Shinichi Ishizuka. 2020. Seven Seas Entertainment, $19.99 (9781645058649).

Dai is graduating soon, and while his friends are all cramming for exams, he spends every day playing his sax. Dai is going to be the world’s greatest jazz musician, and to be the best, he will need more than just passion.

Great Graphic Novels (#GGN2022) Featured Review of The Leak by Kate Reed Petty and Andrea Bell

The Leak by Kate Reed Petty and Andrea Bell
First Second / Macmillan
Publication Date: March 16, 2021
ISBN: 9781250217950

Middle school student Ruth Keller is an aspiring news reporter who questions authority at every turn. When she discovers a strange black substance on the banks of her favorite lake, she throws herself into an investigation. As the pieces of the puzzle start to come together, Ruth thinks she has all the answers, but this story is going to put everything she thinks she knows about journalism to the test. When the spotlight finally shines on Ruth, she is forced to consider tough decisions that may impact her reputation as a reporter and even her closest relationships.

The Leak is a compelling title for younger readers with strong middle school appeal. The narrative is excellent at both showing and telling the reader how to evaluate information without sacrificing the story. While Ruth’s investigation is at the heart of the book, she is also navigating changing relationships with family, friends, and a possible romantic interest. She is dismissed and lectured to by some adults, and readers will relate to her frustrations when it seems like no one is listening to or respecting her.

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2022) Featured Review of Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron; narrated by Bahni Turpin
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Release date: September 4, 2020
ISBN: 9781547605590

In Mersailles, Cinderella is more than just a fairy tale: her story is a guide for how women should behave. All girls are required to attend the annual ball where they are either chosen as a wife or sent away, never to be heard from again. Sophia would much rather marry her childhood best friend, Erin, and makes the decision to flee. She ends up at Cinderella’s mausoleum, where she meets the last descendent of one of Cinderella’s stepsisters and learns the real truth behind the fairy tale while becoming entangled in the movement to topple the monarchy.

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2021) Nominees Round Up, May 27 Edition

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

The Gentleman’s Guide to Getting Lucky (Montague Siblings, Book 1.5) by Mackenzi Lee; narrated by Christian Coulson
HarperAudio
Release date: 11-26-19
ISBN: 9780062968883

Best Fiction for Young Adults (#BFYA2021) Nominees Round Up, March 27 Edition

Click here to see all of the current Best Fiction for Young Adults nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi
Henry Holt and Co. Books for Young Readers / Macmillan
Publication Date: December 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1250170996

Zélie, Amari, and Tzain are back with a vengeance in part two of the Legacy of Orïsha series. Now that magic has been unleashed again inOrïsha, Queen Nehanda has found a way to defy laws of magic and draw from the powers of the tîtáns to form her own legion of guards. With the rightful heir at her side, the pace intensifies as the twisted Nehanda instigates chaos and commands attention at any cost.

#ALAMW19 Recap: Best Fiction for Young Adults 2019 Top Ten

During the Teen Feedback Session at ALA Midwinter, teens from Seattle and Oregon shared their opinions about the books on the Best Fiction for Young Adults 2019 list. With their input, the BFYA 2019 Blogging team determined the BFYA 2019 Top Ten:

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#BFYA2019 Nominees Round Up, August 3 Edition

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
Balzer & Bray/HarperTeen
Publication Date: April 3, 2018
ISBN: 9780062570604

Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to rise at Gettysburg and ended the war- not due to one side’s victory, but instead due to both sides’ fear. The compromise that ended the Civil War abolished slavery in the South, but introduced the Negro and Native Reeducation Act, which allows former slaves, and their children, two options- either fight shamblers on the frontier, or attend special combat schools, in training to protect the lives of right white Southerners. Even though she’s the daughter of a white plantation owner and former slave, Jane can’t escape the future that has been preordained for her—she has spent her entire life learning the arts of combat and Southern society in order to take up the mantle as an Attendant. As Jane’s education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore nears its end, and her future looms closer, a close friend asks Jane to search for his lost sister as entire families also begin to go missing. Jane, along with another Attendant who also straddles both worlds, ends up in the West, where they must battle both the undead—and the living—for their very existence.

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#QP2019 Nominees Round Up, April 3 Edition

The Wood by Chelsea Bobulski
Imprint / Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: August 1, 2017
ISBN: 9781250094261

Winter’s family has been sworn to protect the Wood for generations. The Wood holds secrets, including portals to other time periods that people accidentally fall through sometimes. There are only three rules to protect the Wood: Do not travel from the paths. Do not linger after dark. Do not ignore the calling. A few years ago Winter’s father strayed from the path and was lost to the wood. Now a strange boy named Henry has fallen through one of the portals. Unlike other travelers, he knows about the Wood and Winter’s father. She must work with this boy to solve the mystery of what happened to her father, and why it appears the Wood is dying.

Continue reading #QP2019 Nominees Round Up, April 3 Edition