What Was the Most Memorable Book You Read in 2015?

As the year winds down,  award season is beginning and many best of lists are being released. Hub bloggers share their reflections on the books that have stuck with them over the course of the year.

What is the most memorable book you read during 2015? 

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Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.  Great character development and a refreshing plot.  Six of Crows had everything, including diverse characters, world building, and a romance that wasn’t the usual trope. —Dawn Abron

Ghosts of Heaven by Marcus Sedgwick is still haunting me, ten months after I read it the first time. I know I haven’t uncovered all the layers and parallels and patterns yet, but those characters and that structure compel me to keep trying. — Julie Bartel Continue reading What Was the Most Memorable Book You Read in 2015?

Take Five: What YA Novel Would Make a Great Video Game?

These days, stories often cross multiple platforms, but YA novels aren’t often adapted to the video game format even though some are idea for the format. This week, Hub bloggers imagine great books as video games.

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What YA novel would make a great video game?

Ender’s Game would make an excellent video game, with lots of mini-games thrown in. The game could mimic the game Ender and his friends played or could be the story of the book in game format. — Jenni Frencham

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.  Because if there were a video game version, you’d get to play all of the 80’s games referenced in the book (a collection of games within a game!) AND get to play the super awesome recite Monty Python game (which should totally be on the market now!). — Stacy Holbrook   Continue reading Take Five: What YA Novel Would Make a Great Video Game?

Take Five: Favorite Books for Reluctant Readers

It happens to all of us. We’re trying to help someone find a book, but they’re not interested in anything and say they hate reading. That’s when we pull out the big guns: the books that even the most reluctant of readers might give a try.

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What’s your favorite book to recommend to a reluctant reader?

Unwind by Neil Shusterman.  I read this book when I worked as a middle school librarian and the eighth graders were reading it for class.  I became obsessed with this book and thought it was completely amazing.  I remember making a book trailer to go with the book and thought it fit perfectly with Linkin Parks’ song Leave Out All The Rest.  I always recommend this book to reluctant readers because it has a fast pace and is very exciting. Unwind has an awesome storyline with amazing characters. – Kimberli Buckley

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Take Five: Teen Read Week

It’s Teen Read Week, which celebrates teens reading for fun. To commemorate, Hub bloggers spent some time reflecting on their favorite books as teens.

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What was your favorite book as a teen?

Sometime when I was 16 or so, I ordered Over the Moon by Elissa Haden Guest from a Scholastic book order form. This author is best known for her Iris and Walter readers, but I adore this teen novel that she wrote in 1987. I re-read it so many times because it was such a quiet but powerful family story, and I hadn’t read one before that was so spare and lovely — not laying on the drama for page turns, but still exciting and sad. Today you have to ignore its unbelievably cheesy cover! Certain images still float through my head, like the one about the sister having “a wild streak” in her. If I wrote a book, I’d hope it would be as good as this well-kept secret. — Rebecca O’Neil

When I was a teen my favorite book was Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.  I read this huge book (1,037 pages) and fell in love with the Civil War and all of the characters in the book.  Scarlett O’Hara was one of my favorites because she was such a strong woman.  In the beginning you might think she would give up after everything she goes through, but she never does.  I also love Rhett Butler because he is of course a bad boy and he always gets what he wants.  But in the end, I think it was Rhett who was the one that lost out on the most.  Scarlett just said “After all tomorrow is another day” and moved on to her next big thing.  Gone with the Wind is such a classic book written in 1936, but I think that teens today would still enjoy reading this book. — Kimberli Buckley Continue reading Take Five: Teen Read Week

Take Five: Favorite Book to Re-read for Fall

Days are getting cooler, leaves are turning—there’s no denying that fall is here. This week, Hub bloggers are discussing their favorite books to revisit during the fall season.

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What is your favorite book to re-read during fall?

The Westing Game has been my go-to re-read in the fall—when the mornings are cool and dark, and there is a thick fog nestled in the mountains, covering my town like a blanket.  I curl up with the excellent mystery, sip a cup of tea, and get pulled into the great puzzle of the Westing fortune. —Stacy Holbrook

I reread Tolkien’s The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy in the fall, usually around Bilbo Baggins birthday in September. —Laura Perenic Continue reading Take Five: Favorite Book to Re-read for Fall

Take 5: Scariest Books We’ve Read

It’s that time of year when readers start looking for spooky, creepy, and scary reads. As the weather turns cooler and Halloween nears, lots of people are craving a bit of horror, suspense, or psychological thrillers.

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What is the scariest book you’ve read?

Reading Long Lankin by Lindsay Barraclough was a truly haunting experience for me! Between the sing-song rhyme describing the creepy legend behind the title character and the slowly building terror of the narrative, I had to go to bed with the lights still on after finishing this one. — Kelly Dickinson Continue reading Take 5: Scariest Books We’ve Read

Take Five: Fall 2015 New Releases in Young Adult Fiction

There are lots of new books hitting shelves this fall, and it seems like some much-loved series are coming to a close or beloved authors are releasing new stand-alone titles. Check out the books some Hub contributors are looking forward to reading soon!
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What new release in YA fiction are you most looking forward to reading?

I am super excited for the new book by Patrick Ness, The Rest of Us Just Live Here.  I love the idea that in the world of the Harry Potters & Percy Jacksons there are regular kids that go to school with the “chosen ones” who are just trying to make it through the day.  Plus!  The cover glows in the dark!  – Traci Glass Continue reading Take Five: Fall 2015 New Releases in Young Adult Fiction

Take Five: Favorite Hero in YA Literature

Last week, we discussed the latest books that we couldn’t put down or had kept us up all night, and several also chimed in and said The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black and All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

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This week, we’re asking who’s your favorite hero in YA literature?

Bean from Ender’s Game is my favorite. He figures out that he’s smarter than Ender, and he understands the seriousness of “the game” they’re playing at command school, so he stands ready to take Ender’s place if Ender should fail. He’s willing to stay in the shadows and get little or no recognition because he knows how high the stakes are. – Jenni Frencham

I’m going to say Jace Wayland from Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments series.  I love this character because he has so much heart.  He fights for the ones he loves and he would even die to save his own kind – the Shadow Hunters.  He loves Clary Fray with a fury and an uncontrollable passion.  There’s even enough love in his heart to care for Clary’s best friend Simon.  And he even saved Simon from dying by offering him his own blood.  There are times where he is led astray, but that is because the annoying Valentine is constantly messing with his life.  Through all of his disadvantages, Jace always seems to prevail.  He also rides a motorcycle and wears black leather, and can draw runes on his body so what else could you ask for?  – Kimberli Buckley Continue reading Take Five: Favorite Hero in YA Literature

Take Five: Favorite Heroine in YA Literature

The Monday Polls were a ton of fun, but as part of the new, expanded coverage on The Hub, we are making a few changes. Instead of just inviting readers to pick their favorite on a topic out of a pre-determined list, we’re going a little more in depth. In addition to sharing five perspectives from Hub bloggers on a topic, we also want to hear what you have to say!

Our inaugural Take Five question is: who is your favorite YA heroine, and why?

Take Five The HubI  loved (and still love) Enola Holmes (from the series of the same name by Nancy Springer)!  She is so smart and quick witted (and figured out how to use her corset to hide a dagger in case she ran into baddies).  Plus she could solve any puzzle and disguise herself so that even her brother, the famous Sherlock Holmes, wouldn’t recognize her.  She’s a pretty awesome chick (and I totally wanted to be like her)! — Stacy Holbrook Continue reading Take Five: Favorite Heroine in YA Literature