Sugar Rodgers – The Hub

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 They Better Call Me Sugar: My Journey from the Hood to the Hard Wood by Sugar Rodgers

They Better Call Me Sugar: My Journey from the Hood to the Hard Wood by Sugar Rodgers
Black Sheep/Akashic Books
Publication Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1617759710

WNBA All-Star Sugar Rodgers shares her story of growing up, poverty, family life, school, sports, friends, and how she eventually shaped a successful career as a professional basketball player for herself.

The author’s writing style is clear and direct, and events happen chronologically. Tough issues are covered with a matter-of-fact tone. The book is less than 200 pages and Sugar’s voice is engaging and relatable. Basketball is central to Sugar’s story but she also talks about golf, meeting Tiger Woods, and the integral role of coaches in her life.

Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2022) Featured Review of The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass
G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: July 13, 2021
ISBN: 978-1984812537

Seeing ghosts is just a fact of life for Jake Livingston. He is stuck seeing people in their last moments of life, their deaths looping over and over. So far life has been weird and somewhat complicated, but bearable. That is until the ghost of Sawyer, a school shooter from a neighboring high school, breaks free from his death loop and starts stalking Jake. Sawyer wants something from Jake and figuring out what exactly that is will put Jake in more danger than he has ever experienced.

This is a short and fast paced read with a definite creepiness that horror and thriller lovers will like. The story is told from the dual perspectives of Jake in present time and Sawyer’s journal from before the shooting event, which adds more depth to the story and the characters’ motivations.