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Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2020) Nominees Round Up, December 4 Edition

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

A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramée; Narrated by Imani Parks
Balzer + Bray / HarperAudio
Publication Date: March 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1982641580

Shayla is “allergic” to trouble and wants to avoid it at all costs as she starts seventh grade with her two best friends from elementary school, Julia and Isabella. But in junior high, the rules have changed, her friendships are changing and some classmates don’t think Shayla is “black enough.” Shayla’s sister, Hana, is involved in Black Lives Matter, but Shayla decides to stick with the track team instead of joining that movement. But after experiencing a powerful protest with her family, Shayla decides that sometimes you can’t avoid trouble and choosing “trouble” may be the right choice after all.

Continue reading Amazing Audiobooks (#AA2020) Nominees Round Up, December 4 Edition

Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2020) Nominees Round Up, August 20 Edition

Click here to see all of the current Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.

Belly Up by Eva Darrows
Harlequin Inkyard Press
Publication Date: April 30, 2019
ISBN: 978-1335012357

Serendipity (Sara) spends one drunk post-breakup night with a boy she meets at a party. She can’t find the boy, but does discover soon after that she’s pregnant. As a high-achieving 17 year old, Sara is faced with unexpected and challenging choices, as well as a brand new school and town. When Sara decides to keep the baby, she has to figure out how to balance her priorities, navigate dating, and finish her senior year, all in maternity jeans. Continue reading Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2020) Nominees Round Up, August 20 Edition

Best Fiction for Young Adults (#BFYA2020) Nominees Round Up, July 19 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.

White Rose by Kip Wilson
Versify / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1328594433

Based on a true story, Sophie Scholl, a young girl growing up in Germany under the Nazi regime during World War II, joins the White Rose, a resistance group that secretly distributes pamphlets opposing Hitler and the Nazi party – until she is caught and arrested by the Gestapo.

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#AA2019 Nominees Round Up, September 12 edition

After the Shot Drops by Randy Ribay, narrated by Ramon De Ocampo and J. B. Adkins
Audio Published by Listening Library
Publication Date: June 12, 2018
ISBN: 978-1984828422

Bunny and Nasir used to be best friends, but that was until Nasir found out his friend was leaving their public school to attend a nearby private school on a basketball scholarship. Bunny misses Nasir too, but is focused on his dream of playing professional basketball, mainly with the goal of earning enough money to take care of his family financially. With Bunny gone, Nasir starts spending more time with his cousin Wallace. Nasir learns that Wallace and his Grandmother are being evicted and can’t help but feel that everyone is willing to help his former basketball star best friend, but not his struggling cousin. As Wallace becomes more desperate to stop his eviction, he starts making bets on Bunny’s basketball games. With odds high in Bunny’s favor, if he lost one game, Wallace would have enough money to stay in his apartment. Nasir feels guilty that he cannot do more for Wallace, guilty enough to ask Bunny to throw a game?

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Continuing Asian Pacific American Heritage Month!

Last month was Asian Pacific American Heritage Month!

As described by the Library of Congress, this month is a “celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States” (Asian Pacific American Heritage, n.d., para. 1). It is when we celebrate the achievements and contributions, as well as the culture, traditions, and roles Asians and Pacific Islanders have played in shaping our society.

To continue celebrating past the month of May in your libraries and with your patrons, here is a list of books written by Asians and Pacific Islanders, that will take your readers on emotional journeys, fantastical adventures, romantic and hilarious moments, and into edgy and daring worlds. But most of all it will introduce readers to new cultures and diverse characters whom they can relate to.

Continue reading Continuing Asian Pacific American Heritage Month!