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“The Art of Being Normal” Booktalk

Williamson, L. (2016). The Art of Being Normal. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Hardcover; ISBN: 9780374302375; $12.59.

Awards: North East Teenage Book Award (2016), YA Book Prize Nominee (2016), Leeds Book Awards for 14-16 (2016)

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“The Hate U Give” Booktalk

Thomas, A. (2017). The Hate U Give. New York, NY: Balzer + Bray. Hardcover; ISBN: 9780062498533; $11.39.

Awards: National Book Award Nominee for Young People's Literature (2017), Odyssey Award (2018), Los Angeles Times Book Prize Nominee for Young Adult Literature (2017), Edgar Award Nominee for Best Young Adult (2018), Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee (2019) Coretta Scott King Award Nominee for Author Honor (2018), Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis for Preis der Jugendjury (2018), Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award (2018), Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction (2017), Lincoln Award Nominee (2019), Kirkus Prize Nominee for Young Readers' Literature (2017), Goodreads Choice Award for Young Adult Fiction & for Debut Goodreads Author (2017), Carnegie Medal Nominee (2018), NAACP Image Award Nominee for Youth/Teens (2018), Michael L. Printz Honor Award (2018)

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“They Both Die At the End” Booktalk

Silvera, A. (2017). They Both Die At the End. New York, NY: HarperTeen. Hardcover; ISBN: 9780062457790; $15.63.

Awards: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction (2017)

In a near future New York, there’s a company called Death Cast that knows exactly when everyone is going to die. No one knows how they know, but they do. Twenty-four hours before you’re going to die, you’ll get a call from Death Cast so you can live your last day to the fullest. Of course, there’s also an app to help with that. Last Friend is like Meet Up but for “deckers,” people who are about to die so they can find a last friend to enjoy their final day with.

Mateo and Rufus both get the call everyone dreads. They’re going to die in 24 hours. Mateo is a shy shut-in who is afraid to go out into the world and try new things. His father is in a coma, and his biggest regret is that he’ll never get to say goodbye. Finding Rufus on Last Friend is the only way Mateo is able to come out of his shell enough and venture out into the world despite his many fears. When Rufus got the call, he was beating up his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend, one of a string of bad decisions that he hopes to rise above on his final day. Rufus is an orphan who lost his family after they received their calls; he was the sole survivor. He doesn’t want to burden his foster family and foster brothers with witnessing his end so he goes on Last Friend and meets Mateo.

Rufus and Mateo are opposites in many ways, but they complement each other perfectly. Rufus is open about his bisexuality, but Mateo is closeted. They find love on their final day, as Mateo is finally able to accept himself for who he is and face his fears to do all the things he wished he could’ve done before but was too afraid. Pick up this book today if you want to know if they both die at the end.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33385229-they-both-die-at-the-end?ac=1&from_search=true

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“A List of Cages” Booktalk

Roe, R. (2017). A List of Cages. New York, NY: Disney-Hyperion. Hardcover; ISBN: 9781484763803; $12.59.

Awards: Lincoln Award Nominee (2019), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction (2017)

Adam Blake is a normal, well-adjusted teen living his best life. Everything is fine until one day he’s assigned by the guidance counselor to assist a troubled freshman boy, a boy he realizes is the foster brother his mother took in for a while and he hasn’t seen for five years. Julian is much quieter than he was before, and Adam senses something is wrong. When he finally finds out what exactly is happening in Julian’s lives, it puts both boys’ lives at risk, but Adam will do anything to protect the boy he’s come to love as his brother.

This is an incredible book about friendship and finding one’s family and coming to terms with grief. However, it also deals with very dark themes that may not be appropriate for younger readers, themes such as neglect and abuse. Adam and Julian discover that life can be a list of cages from which you have to learn to set yourself free.

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“The Serpent King” Booktalk

Zentner, J. (2016). The Serpent King. New York, NY: Crown Books for Young Readers. Hardcover; ISBN: 9780553524024; $11.19.

Awards: William C. Morris YA Debut Award (2017), Rhode Island Teen Book Award Nominee (2018), Milwaukee County Teen Book Award Nominee (2017), Amelia Elizabeth Walden Award Nominee (2017), Lincoln Award Nominee (2018) Great Lakes Great Books Award for 9-12 (2018), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Debut Goodreads Author & for Young Adult Fiction (2016)

Dill is an outcast. He’s the son of a preacher who handled snakes and is now in prison. His mom can’t see any life for him outside of their shadowy home. While his friend and crush Lydia dreams of college, Dill sees a black hole where his future should be. All he has are his two fellow outcast friends, Lydia and Travis, but it’s senior year, and Lydia will be leaving for college and chasing her dreams. People think of high school graduation as a new beginning, but all Dill feels is an end.

Dill’s is passionate about his music, and Lydia encourages him to go after his dreams. But Dill feels trapped, trapped in his father’s shadow, trapped by his mother. And he starts to resent Lydia for her ability to leave, and he’s too afraid to tell her how he feels. Can Dill escape the shadow of The Serpent King and begin to live his life on his own terms?

https://anchor.fm/sally-tate/episodes/Book-Talk-The-Serpent-King-by-Jeff-Zentner-e1r8t6

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“The Female of the Species” Booktalk

McGinnis, M. (2016). The Female of the Species. New York, NY: Katherine Tegen Books. Hardcover; ISBN: 9780062320896; $10.98.

Awards: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction (2016)

This is a weighty book dealing with dark themes such as rape, murder, and the prevailing injustice of rape culture in society today. McGinnis’s novel is raw and hits you like a punch. Alex Craft killed a man. She knows what it’s like to take a life, to take revenge. Numbed by the experience, she is cold and distant at school, until she begins to befriend the preacher’s daughter Peekay when the two of them volunteer at the animal shelter. And she never thought she’d fall for anyone until she meets star athlete Jack.

But Jack has a secret. He knows more about the night Alex’s sister died than he first reveals. Will Alex be able to control her darker nature? Can she control her violent urges and choose forgiveness? Or will The Female of the Species take her revenge once more?

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25812109-the-female-of-the-species?from_search=true

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“Tell Me Three Things” Booktalk

Buxbaum, J. (2016). Tell Me Three Things. New York, NY: Delacorte. Hardcover; ISBN: 9780553535648; $16.

Awards: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction (2016)

Jessie’s life has been turned upside down. Her mother passed away less than two years ago. Now her father has eloped and moved the two of them across the country to California, to a snooty high school where Jessie feels as if she doesn’t belong. Her new mom is more like a stepmonster, and her new step-brother is self-absorbed and pretentious.

Jessie wants nothing more than to run back to Chicago until she meets someone online calling themselves Somebody/Nobody or SN for short. SN helps Jessie acclimate to her new life in California. As they get to know each other, Jessie can’t help but start to fall for SN, and of course she can’t help but investigate SN’s identity. Who is this mysterious stranger, and why are they helping her?

Dealing with themes of grief and alienation, Tell Me Three Things is more than just a romance, but don’t be fooled. The romance at the heart of the book, and the twist at the end will take your breath away.

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“A Wrinkle in Time” Booktalk

L'Engle, M. (2012). A Wrinkle in Time. New York, NY: Square Fish. Paperback; ISBN: 978125000467; $9.99.

Madeleine L'Engle's classic novel tells the story of two siblings' search for their missing father with the help of another young boy they meet along the way. Fiery, impatient Meg Murry wants nothing more than to set out in search of her father. She won't let anything get in the way. Meg's father is a brilliant physicist, and he went missing during a top secret mission for the government. Meg comes from a family of brilliant scientists as her mother is also a scientist, and her younger brother, Charles Wallace, is intelligent beyond ordinary human comprehension. Their mother calls the little boy something "new."  

Meg and Charles Wallace are destined to meet another very intelligent boy named Calvin. With the help of the mysterious entities Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which, the trio embarks on a daring mission to rescue Meg and Charles' father. This mission takes them through the very fabric of time and space itself, to a dark, far flung planet afflicted by a terrible darkness. Can the Murry children aided by Calvin rescue their father from this great evil?

Awards: Newbery Medal (1963), Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (1964), Oklahoma Sequoyah Award (1965)

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“Persepolis” Video Booktalk

Satrapi, M. (2004). Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood. New York, NY: Pantheon Publishing. Paperback; ISBN-13: 9780375714573; $8.96.

Awards: Harvey Awards for Best US Edition of Foreign Material (2004), ALA Alex Award (2004), Prix du Festival d'Angoulême for Alph-art du coup de coeur (2001)

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“American Born Chinese” Video Booktalk

Yang, G.L. (2006). American Born Chinese. New York, NY: First Second Publishing. Paperback; ISBN-13: 9781596431522; $10.87.

Awards: Michael L. Printz Award (2007), James Cook Book Award Nominee (2007), Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards for Best Graphic Album - New (2007), National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature (2006), One Book One San Diego for Young Adult (2014)

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"Dear Yvette" Booktalk

Simone, N.N. (2016). Dear Yvette. New York, NY: Dafina Publishing. Paperback; $7.96; ISBN13: 9780758287762.

Awards: N/A

Sixteen-year-old Yvette Simmons is already grown. She already has a daughter of her own. She’s a motherless daughter with a child. Her own mother left six years ago; she loved getting high more than she loved her daughter. Since then the street has been Yvette’s teacher. All she wants is to survive and provide for baby Kamari and do better than her mother did for her. But a street fight turns her whole life upside down and she risks losing that which she loves most.

Yvette chooses to go to a group home instead of staying in jail, but she finds it hard to relax. She snaps at everyone and doesn’t trust anyone enough to let them in. Even though she has a daughter, she’s never been on a date, never felt loved before. But all of that changes when she meets charming Brooklyn at school. Will Yvette finally be able to let down her guard? Will she ever allow herself to be just a 16-year-old, just Yvette? Has she finally found a home? Find out in Dear Yvette.

4 out of 5 stars. I struggled a bit to get into this book, but when I did I couldn’t help but feel for the characters, especially Yvette. You have to admire her strength and determination to survive and rise above no matter how much the deck is stacked against her.

Connect with the author on Twitter! https://twitter.com/iamninisimone?lang=en

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"Dork Diaries" Booktalk

Russell, R.R. (2009). Dork Diaries: Tales From a Not-So-Fabulous Life. New York, NY: Aladdin. Hardcover; $12.59; ISBN13: 9781416980063.

Awards: Children's Choice Book Award for Fifth Grade to Sixth Grade Book of the Year (2010), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Children's Book (2009)

Nikki Maxwell just wants to fit in at her new school. There’s just one problem. She’s not one of the popular girls; she’s a dork. No matter how hard she tries to be cool, popular girls like Mackenzie look down on her. It’s a good thing she got a diary so she can write down all her secret thoughts about the dramatic happenings at Westchester Country Day Middle School.

Middle school is very dramatic, and everything feels like the end of the world, at least it does for Nikki. Everything is also very embarrassing, from her little sister’s hand puppet to the giant roach on top of her dad’s truck (he runs a pest control business). Nikki wants nothing more than to win the Avant Garde Art Competition, but of course mean girl Mackenzie entered too! Will Nikki be able to survive the perils of middle school? Find out in the Dork Diaries!

I’d rate this book a 3 out of 5 stars. It’s a very accessible read, but I think it’s weighed down by a few too many stereotypes and unrealistic dialogue and behavior from Nikki and her peers. Still, I’d hand this to fans of similar reads like Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

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"The Paper Magician" Booktalk

Holmberg, C.N. (2014). The Paper Magician. Seattle, WA: 47North. Paperback; ISBN: 9781477823835; $7.48.

Awards: N/A

Ceony Twill has just graduated top her of class from the Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined. Yet instead of being allowed to choose the material she will bond with (and thus be able to work magic with for the rest of her life), the school apprentices her to a paper magician, because so few magicians want to work with paper as their magical medium. Thoroughly depressed by this fact and yet nevertheless resigned (Ceony wanted to be a Smelter who enchants metals), she meets with her new master, paper magician Emery Thane.

Thane shows her the wonders and whimsy of enchanting paper, although Ceony mostly still thinks it's useless. Yet after she realizes it was Thane who anonymously donated money allowing her to go to the school for magic, she can't help but be grateful to him and drawn to him. After all, he did enchant paper snowflakes to fall from a ceiling just for her and even created a paper dog she names Fennel to follow her around and keep her company since she couldn't bring her own living hound.

One day a horrible practitioner of dark magic known as Excisioning or flesh magic invades Magician Thane's house and rips the still-beating heart from his body. Thinking fast, Ceony is able to save her master by enchanting a paper heart to beat for him while she embarks on a journey to chase down the dark magician Lira and win back Thane's heart. In the end, to defeat Lira and secure her master's heart, Ceony must literally travel through its four chambers and through Emery Thane's own memories, doubts, and deepest desires. As she travels through Thane's heart, she can't help but fall in love with him. When she finally catches up to Lira, a twisted woman who manipulated Thane's heart for her own wicked ends, it's a fight for life and love itself.  

This is a whimsical, romantic tale with a very creative magic system and endearing characters. I'd rate it 4 out of 5 stars.

Click here to find out what type of magician you'd be in the world of "The Paper Magician."

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"All-Night Party" Booktalk

Stine, R.L. (2005). All-Night Party. New York, NY: Simon Pulse. Paperback; ISBN: 9781417689170; $9.98.   

Awards: N/A

It's Cindy's birthday, and Gretchen and her friends have planned a surprise party to die for. Gretchen and her friends Hannah, Gil, Patrick, and Jackson, plus the soon-to-be ex that won't take a hint Marco, pretend to kidnap Cindy and bring her to an isolated island where Gil's family owns a private cabin. The usual teenage drama plays out: Cindy keeps flirting with Gil, her ex, who is supposed to be with Hannah now. Hannah hates Cindy's guts as a result. Gretchen is creeped out by Jackson, who has a habit of staring at her all the time. And of course there's Marco who has anger issues and stabbed a tree with a switchblade after Gretchen finally breaks up with him.

Still, everything seems to be going as well as can be expected until Gretchen hears Cindy arguing with someone in the kitchen. When she arrives in the kitchen, Cindy's words ring true in her ears: "I'll remember this party for as long as I live." Turns out that wouldn't be long at all, because Cindy is dead. Someone killed her, and that someone is still on the island. Friends turn on friends during this all-night party as they investigate who could be the killer. What is otherwise a very bland, simplistic story with cardboard cut-out stereotypes of characters is enlivened somewhat by a surprising twist at the end that I still saw coming, but many teen readers might not.

I'd rate this 2.5 out of 5 stars.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/89798.All_Night_Party

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“Annie On My Mind” Booktalk

Garden, Nancy. (1982). Annie On My Mind. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. Hardcover; ISBN: 9780374404130; $17.

Liza Winthrop is student body president at the prestigious private school Foster Academy in New York. She dreams of becoming an architect, and she seemingly has it all: nice school and great family in a great neighborhood. Then one day she meets a girl at a museum that changes everything, that makes her feel things she's never felt before, making her question her very identity. The girl's name is Annie, and she comes from a big Italian family in a rough neighborhood and attends a public school with security guards. The two girls seemingly couldn't be more different, and yet they are drawn to each other immediately. As their relationship progresses from friends to more than friends, both girls must face censure and prejudice from the outside world. For a long time, Liza internalizes shame and guilt about her feelings for Annie. Slowly she comes to realize that there is nothing wrong with her or the love she feels for Annie, and that it is the outside world that needs to become more accepting. Liza has Annie on her mind, and in the end she is proud of her love for Annie and accepts herself for who she is.

Awards: ALA Best Books for Young Adults (1982), ALA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults (1997), Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement (2003), Capitol Choices Noteworthy Book for Children and Teens (2009)

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“The First Part Last” Booktalk

Johnson, Angela. (2003). The First Part Last. New York, NY: Simon Pulse. Hardcover; ISBN: 9780689849237; $11.80.  

Bobby and Nia are just two regular teens living in New York City until one day Nia has news that changes their lives forever. Nia is pregnant. Both she and Bobby are only 16-years-old. Bobby likes hanging out with his friends and decorating the walls of the city with his art. How can he possibly raise a baby when he still feels like a kid himself? When Bobby brings his baby daughter home from the hospital, he struggles with being a single dad at 16, a parent who still needs his parents. His mom takes a tough love approach and tells Bobby that his baby daughter is his responsibility. Sleepless nights and being responsible for a new human take a toll on Bobby, and it's harder for him to relate to his friends. In a moment of exhaustion and yearning for the innocence and freedom he once had, Bobby makes a mistake that could cost him everything. Bobby realizes he loves his daughter more than anything and that he will do anything for her, even at the cost of his own childhood. Forced to grow up too fast, Bobby wishes that all humans could age in reverse, that death would be like being born where you're warm and welcomed and loved, that people could do "The First Part Last."

Awards - Georgia Peach Book Award (2004), Michael L. Printz Award (2004), Coretta Scott King Award (2004), Lincoln Award Nominee (2006), Green Mountain Book Award (2006), Missouri Gateway Readers Award Nominee (2006), Alabama Author Award for Young Adult (2005)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/148769.The_First_Part_Last?from_search=true

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Review of "More Than Friends"

Holbrook, Sara and Wolf, Allan. (2008). More Than Friends: Poems From Him and Her. Honesdale, PA: Word Song Publishing. ISBN-13: 978-1590785874; Hardcover; $8.

This collection of poetry for teens presents the story of a boy and a girl throughout the course of their relationship, from just friends to more than friends to just friends again. The poems delve into major relationship milestones like the first kiss and meeting the parents. There are poems from both the boy's perspective and the girl's. Several shorter tanka poems act as the "small talk" between the couple as they get to know each other.

This poetry collection is short and sweet but surprisingly deep as well. It explores feelings on love, relationships, and sex that many teens will relate to, and teens will appreciate the poems are told from a teen perspective. More Than Friends also does a good job of introducing teens to several poetry forms, from sonnets to villanelles. Highly recommend this book for school libraries, especially where teens may be reluctant or uninterested in poetry. This collection may change their minds.

Awards: N/A

Check out co-author Allan Wolf's poetry jokes: http://www.allanwolf.com/poetry-jokes/