Maggie Stiefvater

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2023) Featured Review of The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas

The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas

Narrated by André Santana

Macmillan Audio

Publication Date: September 6, 2022

ISBN: 9781250866189

In the world of Reina del Sol, the Sun’s power must be recharged every decade in order to continue traveling the skies and keeping the evil Obsidian gods at bay. Sol selects ten semidioses (children of the gods) to compete in the Sunbearer Trials: the winner will carry light to the Sol temple and the loser of the Trials will sacrifice themselves. Teo, the 17 year old semidiós child of the god of birds, is preparing to observe the coming Trials. Since he is the child of a lesser Jade god, he isn’t worried about being chosen by Sol to compete. His best friend Niya however, is a Gold semidiós and a sure bet as a competitor this year. But when Sol selects not one but two Jade semidioses to compete with the Golds in the Trials, things get complicated for Teo. Beyond the strange choices for competitors, something seems off during the Trials. Can he manage to keep from being at the bottom of the rankings during the Trials? And can he help Xio, the newly turned 13-year-old semidiós child of the god of bad luck?

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2022) Featured Review of Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell

Any Way the Wind Blows Audiobook by Rainbow Rowell - cover art

Any Way the Wind Blows by Rainbow Rowell; Narrated by Euan Morton
Macmillan
Release date: July 6, 2021
ISBN: 9781250803122

Simon and the gang are back in London after their American adventures, and there’s trouble in the world of mages. After Simon’s downfall new ‘Chosen Ones’ keep popping up, Baz’s stepmum is missing, and Penny is dealing with a demon-cursed “normal”. Furthermore, Simon, Baz, Penny, and Agatha need to decide how to move forward in the aftermath of their trauma regarding events of the first two books. Any Way the Wind Blows takes a complicated and honest look at healing and moving forward.

Euan Morton masterfully narrates the many different points of view in Any Way the Wind Blows. He captures Simon’s confusion, Baz’s angst, and Smith’s mania perfectly. His accents are spot on and bring the world of mages alive.

Fans of One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston and books by Maggie Stiefvater will enjoy Any Way the Wind Blows.

-Abby Lance

Other Nominated Titles

White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson; narrated by Marcella Cox (September 14, 2021)

The Selected Lists teams read throughout the year in search of the best titles published in their respective categories. Once a book is suggested (either internally or through the title suggestion form), it must pass through a review process to be designated an official nomination.
Each week, the teams feature a review of one of the officially nominated titles. Additional titles to receive this designation are listed as well. At year’s end, the team will curate a final list from all nominated titles and select a Top Ten. The previous years’ lists are available on The Hub.

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 Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon

Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon
HarperCollins / Quill Tree Books
Publication Date: June 22, 2021
ISBN: 978-0063088092

It’s a hot, muggy summer day in New York City. When the power goes out, sparks fly. All across the city, an interconnected group of Black teens finds love. Bitter exes cross paths at a competitive internship before they’re forced to walk home together. Old friends reconnect on the subway and at the library. New attractions bloom at a nursing home and in a rideshare. Everyone is on their way to the same block party in Brooklyn, and who knows how their stars will have realigned when the lights finally come back on…

Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2021) Nominees Round Up, March 25 Edition

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

145th Street: Short Stories Anniversary Edition by Walter Dean Myers; Narrated by Brandon Gill, Almarie Guerra, Johnny Heller, Dominic Hoffman, Sullivan Jones, JaQwan J. Kelly, Adenrele Ojo, Paula Parker, Heather Alicia Simms, Bahni Turpin
Listening Library
Publication Date: January 14, 2020
ISBN: 9780593119662

This book of short stories follows the residents of 145th Street in Harlem as they live their daily lives and face a variety of conflicts. While they could be read and enjoyed as individual stories, they are interconnected to be read as fluidly as a novel. The characters learn about family, love, and community. Some face situations that could be pulled out of modern headlines, like gang threats and police brutality.

First published in 2000, the audiobook of this twentieth anniversary edition includes many great narrators, perfectly paired with their respective stories. The audiobook includes additional content after the stories, including a Q&A with the author about his writing, information about Harlem, and tributes to Walter Dean Myers and his legacy, written by popular children’s and young adult authors.
Fans of Jason Reynolds and Angie Thomas will enjoy these short stories, and there are echoes of Myers work in Reynolds Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks. For readers who enjoy their fiction in short, quick bursts, this audiobook will be just right, and those who want more of the community feeling might want to pick up Jacqueline Woodson’s Harbor Me next.

–Tara Williams

Best Fiction for Young Adults (#BFYA2021) Nominees Round Up, March 13 Edition

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

Black Girl Unlimited: The Remarkable Story of a Teenage Wizard by Echo Brown
Henry Holt and Co. Books for Young Readers / Macmillan
Publication Date: January 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1250309853

Echo Brown is a teenage wizard in Cleveland, Ohio. Part of being a wizard means she can stop time to manage challenging situations, secrets from the past, and the dark veil that hangs over herself and others. Her mother’s addiction means she has had to grow up quickly and develop coping mechanisms for some disturbing and emotionally intense situations.

It’s Your (Monthly) Monday Poll: May

Monday Poll @ YALSA's The Hub Happy first Monday of May, Hub readers!

Last month, we asked which series finale or next installment you’re most looking forward to this spring, and Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven King was the favorite by a landslide (48% of the vote!). Tied for second were The Crown, Kiera Cass’ final book in the Selection series, and The Last Star, the final book of Rick Yancey’s 5th Wave trilogy, with 16% percent each. A Court of Mist and Fury was a close third, with 14%, and The Rose and the Dagger had 8% of the vote.

Today we’re going to revisit a poll theme from several years ago: your favorite YA siblings, updated with some more recently-published characters. Did we leave out your favorite siblings? Tell us in the comments! Continue reading It’s Your (Monthly) Monday Poll: May

Fandom 101: The Raven Cycle

Art Print from Maggie Stiefvater's Society 6 Page

Art Print from Maggie Stiefvater’s Society 6 Page

If you’ve been anywhere near Tumblr, you have probably encountered the always growing fandom for Maggie Stiefvater’s young adult fantasy series The Raven Cycle. Particularly in the weeks leading up to the release date (today!) of The Raven King, the last book in the series, the originally small fandom has grown astronomically.

If you haven’t read the books you might be confused to say the least about what the series is actually about. The official description of the first book in the series The Raven Boys is:

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them–until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.

His name is Gansey, a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn’t believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

Continue reading Fandom 101: The Raven Cycle

Your (monthly) Monday Poll is BACK!

Monday Poll @ YALSA's The Hub Hub readers, you told us you missed the polls, and we heard you! Reinstated by popular demand, we will be publishing a new poll the first Monday of every month.

This month, we want to hear which upcoming series installment you are most excited for. Several bestselling series have new volumes out in the next few months. If your favorite YA series with a new volume due out in April or May is missing from this list, let us know in the comments!

[poll id=”215″] Continue reading Your (monthly) Monday Poll is BACK!

Media Crossovers and Fandom: Beyond the Book-to-Movie Pipeline

I’m a big series fan. I always have been, since way back in my Babysitter’s Club days. Books, tv, movies, comics; I’m not particular about format, I just love to get to know a group of characters and then follow them through their ups and downs. Whether that means high-stakes urban fantasy, or an emotionally-gripping mirror of the landscape we’re all navigating out here in the real world, I want to get invested. I want to laugh at jokes that are only funny to insiders, and cry at slights that hit deep because they’re drawing on the hundred interactions that led up to them. When I become attached to any imagined world, and all of that world’s quirks and characters, whether as a reader, listener, or viewer (or, for many people, though admittedly not me, gamer), I just want more; any medium will do, just let me stay immersed in that delightful world a little longer.

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Fan-based contributions can help to fill the void while we’re waiting impatiently for a next installment, and certainly shared work from fans can create a wonderful sense of community, but I’ll be honest – I generally want more of the world’s creator’s vision. I want canon storytelling. Continue reading Media Crossovers and Fandom: Beyond the Book-to-Movie Pipeline