African-American History Month: Books for Children & Teens

February is African-American History Month! To honor this event, we've taken a page from Left Bank Books' Black Lives Matter reading list* with our attempt to compile a list of books for children and teens which provide "history and context" for issues of race in the United States. Our list, like Left Bank Books', is also not comprehensive, but reflects some of the offerings on this topic available in the library catalog. You will find more titles using a subject search of African Americans History Juvenile or Civil Rights History Juvenile. 

Is there a book you'd like to recommend for young readers?  Let us know in the comments! 

Easy 

Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins by Carole Boston Weatherford

Freedom Summer by Debbie Wiles

Seeds of Freedom: The Peaceful Integration of Huntsville, Alabama by Hester Bass

Sugar Hill: Harlem's Historic Neighborhood by Carole Boston Weatherford

Harlem Renaissance Party by Faith Ringgold


Children's

Many Thousand Gone: African Americans From Slavery to Freedom by Virginia Hamilton

One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker by Patricial Hruby Powell

My Name is Truth: The Life of Sojourner Truth by Ann Turner

Harlem Hellfighters by J. Patrick Lewis

The Girl from the Tar Paper School: Barbara Rose Johns and the Advent of the Civil Rights Movement by Teri Kanefield

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up By Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney  

Harlem Summer by Walter Dean Myers

Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles - America's First Black Paratroopers by Tanya Lee Stone

Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story by Janet Halfmann 


Young Adult


The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin

Because They Marched: The People's Campaign for Voting Rights That Changed America by Russell Freedman

Fire in the Streets by Kekla Magoon

No Crystal Stair: A Documentary Novel of the Life and Work of Lewis Michaux, Harlem Bookseller by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson


Links

A Guide to Teaching and Talking about the Civil Rights Movement With Books for Children & Teens [Scholastic]

The Black Lives Matter Reading List: Books to Change the World [MPR News]
 
Black Lives Matter: A Reading List [Left Bank Books] *

Pet peeves in young adult fiction

I recently read a post on the Teen Librarian Toolbox blog about pet peeves in young adult fiction, and I felt inspired to talk about my own, especially since I share some of the things mentioned in the post. Here are my (and two of my coworkers') top ten pet peeves in young adult books, in no particular order.

1. The phrase "I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding." I see this phrase all the time now, and the last time I saw it, I thought, "This isn't new and intriguing anymore! It's very quickly become a cliche, so writers should stop using it!" And then I wondered if it's possible to call it plagiarism, since so many authors have used it (for the record, I don't think it is; it's just a cliche, like so many other things). Every time I see it, it makes me cringe.

2. Alternating points of view. I'm actually okay with this depending on how it's used. I recently read I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios, which uses alternate perspectives, but the voices of the two characters are distinctly different, and the sections told from the male character are sparse and short, which helps with the flow of the story. I've read other novels that have three or more alternating perspectives, and that's where things get tricky. If there are too many narrators, it becomes hard for me to connect with or care about any of them, and it makes it that much harder to differentiate among the narrators.

3. Books that are all the same. This one needs a little explaining. I've noticed a trend in young adult fiction that when one book takes off, a ton of other books in the same genre will be published, and they may or may not be good. One example, of course, is Twilight: vampires were a huge trend after the Twilight books came out. This isn't limited to paranormal books, or science fiction, or mysteries. It's just a general trend with young adult books. Other trends I've noticed: characters who were in/knew someone in Afghanistan, Iraq, etc., fighting in the war; Jack the Ripper (not even just serial killers, but books specifically about Jack the Ripper); and characters living in poor towns/trailer parks/low income places. I'm not saying these trends are bad as a whole (I've loved some of the books that fall into these trends), but I would love to see more books that don't rely on trends. I understand why this happens, I just wish that it didn't.

4. Series. Okay, I get it. A series is going to make more money than a book that stands alone. But that doesn't mean I have to like them, and while there are many series that I adore, I really just wish this trend would stop. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I read a book and love it, and then find out that it just so happens to be the first book of a series. Sometimes, I just want to read a book that stands on its own!

5. Insufficient recovery time from an injury. This one actually a pet peeve of one of my colleagues. Here's what she said about it: "In books, the character is pain free too quickly, whatever the injury." I'm not sure if I've noticed this myself, but I think it's a good point. Injuries don't go away overnight, so if a character is injured, the book should accurately reflect recovery time for that injury, even if it's just a paper cut.

6. Extreme drug abuse by a parent. This is another one that my colleague brought up, and I think it's another good point. I just read two books where the mom is a single parent and has a substance abuse issue. While I know that this does accurately reflect some realities, it can border on being a cliche. With the two books I read, both narrators lived in trailer parks and were not financially stable. In these cases, writers should be very careful about how they portray the characters, especially if they give a character a substance abuse problem.

7. Giving characters a "problem" for the sake of the plot. This is something that really irks me. I read The Last Forever by Deb Caletti last year, and--spoiler alert--in the book we find out that a character is gay, not because it's who the character is and the character is represented that way throughout the book, but because its only function was to serve the plot. Any time a character is gay, or has a mental illness, or has some other characteristic and it's only for the plot, the author is doing it wrong. Characters should never have certain characteristics just to create conflict and push the plot along.

8. Characters who wear glasses because they're smart. One of my colleagues mentioned this one to me, too. Her point, which is a good one, is that not all intelligent people wear glasses, so for that to be a defining trait for an intelligent character in a young adult novel is not okay. I have to add to this and say that similarly, not all geeky or nerdy people wear glasses, and not all people who wear glasses are geeky or nerdy. These cliches in young adult novels need to stop.

9. Girls who like boys who have no appeal. Both of my colleagues and I agree with this. Frankly, we just don't get it. If there's a boy who isn't appealing (usually because he's not a good person), why do all the female characters love him? I'd also like to argue that the opposite can happen, though I don't think it's talked about nearly as much--boys can like girls who aren't appealing. I don't think I can say much about this except it baffles us.

10. When the romance aspect of a book takes over the novel. I just finished reading Miranda Kenneally's new book, Jesse's Girl, which is scheduled to come out this July, and I was so disappointed by it. I enjoyed the story to an extent, but where I had problems was with the romance. It overwhelmed the book, and became the main focus of the story, when I felt that the real story was about the narrator's journey toward becoming a professional musician. This book could have been amazing, but it went from being about the narrator as a musician to the narrator as the love interest of a super-famous country singer. Not all books need to be about the romance.

That's it for my list. What are your pet peeves in young adult books? Let me know in the comments!

Writers and Their Readers

A few days ago, I finished reading Veronica Roth's Allegiant, the conclusion to her Divergent trilogy. After I finished it, I wanted to know what other people thought about the ending, since I knew there was controversy surrounding it. I want to talk about the controversy without giving away what happened, so I'll say this: Some people were upset to the point of making death threats. Now, it is possible that the people who said things like, "I've never wanted to do bodily harm to an author before. If I was to see Ms. Roth on the street right this minute, I’d prob punch her in the throat. Really I would" could just be exaggerating. Maybe none of the people who reacted that way or in a similar way actually meant it. Does it make their responses appropriate? I'd have to say no.

It's fine to not like the way Allegiant ended. I hated what Roth did with the characters; I was attached to them and didn't want them to end up where they did. But it's important to note that while I didn't like what happened to the characters, I felt like it was completely true to the story and who the characters were.

What really strikes me with this controversy is the discussion about what responsibility writers have to their readers. In a blog post about Allegiant, Roth said that while writing Allegiant, "I've said before that this ending was always a part of the plan, but one thing I want to make clear is that I didn't choose it to shock anyone, or to upset anyone, or because I’m ruthless with my characters—no, no, no. I may have been ruthless with other characters, in the past, but not with her, never with her. And I wasn't thinking about any readers when I wrote this book; I was thinking about the story, because trying to meet the expectations of so many readers would be paralyzing. There’s no way to please everyone, because that mythical book with the ending that every single person wants can’t exist—you want different things, each one of you. The only thing I can do, in light of that fact, is write an honest story as best I can."

I think that Roth did the right thing in thinking about her story, not her readers, while she was writing Allegiant, because she's right in that you can't create a perfect ending that everyone will be happy with. If she was thinking about her readers, the story could have had a vastly different ending, and I don't think it would been the right one. I disagree with readers who think the ending was unrealistic and/or lazy. I thought the ending was the opposite of lazy; it was very difficult to read, and I imagine that means it was also very difficult to write. More than that, I think it was completely realistic. Tris's and Tobias's actions seemed to be perfectly in line with who they were throughout the series, and if they had acted any differently, then the story would have been unrealistic. Caleb Graves of the blog Bibliofiend said in a post, "There is something that we, as readers, need to remember when we become so attached to books. First off, the author does not owe us anything. It is that author's story, to do with how they see fit - or really, as they see is right for what they are trying to capture with that story. Similarly, readers do not owe authors unlimited devotion. They are free to disagree and even dislike an author's choice."

It's so easy to feel like a book belongs to you after you've read it. I feel that way often, and it's why I sometimes struggle with recommending books to others (my thought process when this happens: that book is mine, and no one else can have it!). I think it's fair to say a novel becomes ours when we read it, and I love what Roth said about it in her blog post about the whole controversy: ""You are allowed—encouraged!— to continue to feel however you want to feel, or think however you want to think, about the ending, no matter what this blog post says. I’m the author, yes, but this book is yours as
well as mine now, and our voices are equal in this conversation."

Roth is right. There isn't always one right way to read a book. Are the people who think Allegiant had a lazy ending that was unrealistic wrong to think that? No. Are the people who think the ending was realistic and satisfying (but devastating) wrong to think that? No. Even when those disagreements happen among readers and authors, there's no right or wrong. Roth can say she ended the book the way she did for certain reasons, and we don't have to agree with what she did. Even though she's the writer, our opinions are not any less valid, and they aren't wrong. That's the beauty of the relationship between writers and readers, but perhaps in some ways, that's the danger of it, too. Being able to disagree is a wonderful thing, but feeling that authors owe us something (or authors feeling that readers owe them something) because we become so attached to their books is not.

Have you read the Divergent series, or kept up with the controversy? If so, tell me your thoughts on it--the books, the controversy, everything!--in the comments below.

Best Young Adult Books of 2014

2014 has ended, and people have started making their top ten lists for a variety of topics: the top ten best books they've read this year, the top ten best songs of the year, and the top ten worst songs of the year, just to name a few. One of my favorite lists is the End of the Year Book Survey, hosted by Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner. While I'm not going to do her survey, I've been thinking a lot about the best books I read in 2014, and that's what this post is about. The best books I read last year aren't limited to books that were published in 2014, though most of them did come out last year. My list also doesn't include books that I had re-read in 2014.

It's not easy to say what makes a book so amazing that it's one of the best books you've read. Looking at my Goodreads account, I gave 38 books five star ratings last year, but I realized that I don't actually remember a whole lot about most of those books. A handful of them did stand out, though, and those are the books I've picked as the best books I read.

Prisoner of Night and Fog, by Anne Blankman. Prisoner of Night and Fog is terrifying, but not in the typical sense. It's not a horror story; it's historical fiction. But because it's about a girl whose family is close friends with Adolf Hitler, it's terrifying, particularly when that girl realizes what Hitler's beliefs truly are.

Love Letters to the Dead, by Ava Dellaira. Dellaira is from Albuquerque, and the book is set in Albuquerque. I loved every word of it, and because of the connection to Albuquerque, I recommended it to everyone I possibly could.

Of Metal and Wishes, by Sarah Fine. I like retellings, and going into the book, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I definitely didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did. What I loved the most was the combination of a Phantom of the Opera retelling set in a meat-packing industry, inspired by The Jungle. It sounds like a strange combination, but the setting lent itself perfectly to the story.

Blood of My Blood, by Barry Lyga. I knew I was going to love it, since it's the last book in the I Hunt Killers trilogy, which is one of my favorite trilogies. What I wasn't expecting was for Lyga to take the story where he did, and even though it was disturbing, it also had a wow-factor that worked perfectly.

I'll Give You the Sun, by Jandy Nelson. Nelson's first book, The Sky is Everywhere, was published in 2010. I wasn't sure if Nelson would publish another book, but then I heard about I'll Give You the Sun, and I knew I had to read it. Four years is a long time to wait for an author's second book, but in this case, the wait was well-worth it. I'll Give You the Sun was so much more than I thought it would be. It was family and heartbreak and romance and love and self-discovery. It was beautiful and sad and hopeful. I'll Give You the Sun is the type of book that you will be fully immersed in, from beginning to end.

The Beginning of Everything, by Robyn Schneider. I read it while I was on vacation, and after I finished it, it took me a good day before I could even start another book. The Beginning of Everything has one of the best opening chapters I've read. The book made me rethink so many things and gave me a new perspective on my life.

Dreams of Gods and Monsters, by Laini Taylor. It might be a cliche to call this book a stunning conclusion to a trilogy, but really, it was. The more I read, the less I wanted it to end, because I knew the ending was going to break my heart.

What were the best books you read this year? Let us know in the comments!

On Reading Young Adult Fiction as an Adult

Every now and then, an adult patron will tell me, "I actually really like young adult books. They're so good," in a hushed, embarrassed way, as if admitting that they enjoy young adult fiction is a problem.

This happens more often than I'd like, but let's be honest: when you're an adult, it can be hard to admit that you enjoy fiction written for teens, particularly when online essays talk about all the reasons why we should be embarrassed to like young adult fiction. In June, Ruth Graham posted an essay called Against YA, in which she stated that while it's okay for people to read whatever they want, adults should be embarrassed when they read books written for young adults. To summarize, here are some of Graham's key points:

• Her essay isn't about books like Twilight and Divergent, which she calls "transparently trashy," and which "no one defends as serious literature."
• She is, however, writing about realistic fiction, which can also be called contemporary fiction or contemporary realism. Examples of realistic fiction include The Fault in Our Stars, and according to Graham, "These are the books that could plausibly be said to be replacing literary fiction in the lives of their adult readers. And that's a shame."
• Graham wonders if her reaction to The Fault in Our Stars (she apparently said, "Oh, brother," out loud, more than once, while reading it) makes her heartless or if it makes her an adult.
• And then there's this: "But crucially, YA books present the teenage perspective in a fundamentally uncritical way. It’s not simply that YA readers are asked to immerse themselves in a character’s emotional life—that’s the trick of so much great fiction—but that they are asked to abandon the mature insights into that perspective that they (supposedly) have acquired as adults."
• Graham then goes on to say that all young adult books have satisfying endings, which are created for readers who like things to be wrapped up nicely by the end of a book.
• Finally, Graham says that adults are "better than this" and that if we're reading young adult fiction instead of "the complexity of great adult literature, than we're missing something."

Graham's essay resulted in a lot of talk among the community about why adults shouldn't feel embarrassed to read young adult literature. It's a topic that comes up again and again in the online book community, because we are told again and again that we should be embarrassed to read young adult literature. And I disagree--I don't think we should be embarrassed at all. So, if you're an adult and you're embarrassed to read young adult literature, here's why you don't need to be ashamed of it:

• Adult fiction has just as much "trash" as Graham thinks young adult fiction has. Would anyone argue that 50 Shades of Grey or Danielle Steele is good, literary writing? Probably not. All genres will have books that people consider fluff or trash, whether it's young adult fiction, adult fiction, or even non-fiction. That's just the way it is, and there's nothing wrong with reading and enjoying things that can be described as fluff--sometimes, it's a nice break from the more intense books that are out there.
• Contrary to what Graham says, young adult fiction might not be replacing adult fiction for readers at all. I read a small amount of adult fiction (mainly Stephen King and a few of the classics). But what about non-fiction? Graham didn't talk about that at all, and while I don't read as much non-fiction as I do young adult fiction, I still read a decent amount of it.
• Adult fiction isn't always that interesting. Of course, young adult fiction isn't, either, but that's why I don't read certain young adult titles, just like I don't read every adult fiction book that's published.
• Plenty of young adult books do present the teenage perspective in a critical way. It happens all the time, as the characters in young adult books look at themselves critically. Books like I'll Give You the Sun, The Beginning of Everything, The Girls of No Return, and Dangerous Girls are just a few examples of books that take on a critical teenage perspective, whether the narrators are looking at themselves or other characters in a critical manner.
• Not all young adult books have satisfying endings. If you've read Atlantia or Dangerous Girls, you'll know that not every ending is satisfying. Also, what's satisfying to one person might not be satisfying to someone else, so it's hard to use an objective argument for something like this.
• Are we really missing something if we read young adult fiction instead of adult fiction? Sure. I suppose, after all, that I'm missing the unhappiness I would have if I were reading something like Cloud Atlas or Ayn Rand. I'm missing the misery I would be putting myself through if I forced myself to read a book I didn't like. Do I feel like I'm missing out on something amazing by not reading books I don't enjoy? Not really.

What it comes down to is, I'm not a fan of book shaming, and I'm not a fan of telling people why they should be ashamed to read young adult fiction when the argument is based on generalities, especially when some of those generalities also hold true for adult literature.

Do you read young adult fiction? If so, tell me what your favorite young adult books are in the comments!

Swoon Reads: Publication By Crowdsource

The Swoon Reads site could be the cheeriest site we know. "Swoon" means "to be overcome by joy", and Swoon Reads seems bursting with joy already,  from the opening tagline "Fall in love with falling in love" to "Thank you for visiting Swoon Reads.  We hope you found something that made you swoon!"

What is Swoon Reads, you ask?  It's a novel idea from Macmillan: a crowdsourced romance imprint for teens. It's a community of writers and readers; both can make a Swoon Reads account and sign in, either to upload their manuscript to the site or to read uploaded manuscripts. Submissions should be 50,000-70,000 word romances written for readers aged 14 and older, in any sub-genre (historical, dystopian, mash-up, etc.), and gay and lesbian romances are welcome. Readers can rate (0-5 hearts, from "Did Not Finish" to, you guessed it, "Swoon-Worthy") and comment on the manuscripts they read, and the submissions that have the highest ratings will be passed to an editorial board - if the board concurs that the manuscript is "SW♥♥N-worthy", it gets published!

Swoon Reads' first title, A Little Something Different: Fourteen Viewpoints, One Love Story is in the library catalog, so place your holds now! Written by Sandy Hall, a librarian from New Jersey, it's a romance with an interesting twist - the novel's 14 viewpoints don't include the love story's protagonists, Lea and Gabe! Instead, the reader learns about their "meet-cute" and all that follows from viewpoints that include a roommate, a professor, a brother, a classmate, a friend, a barista, a bus driver, a squirrel, and a bench. Reviewers have called it "a sweet, quick romance" [VOYA Reviews] and a "good choice for reluctant readers" [School Library Journal]. "Swoonworthy Extras" include "A Coffee Date" with the author and editor,  discussion questions, and a short preview of the next title to be published. Watch for more from this new imprint!


Links

Swoon Reads: The Next Romance Bestseller, Selected by You [NPR]

Swoon lets YA readers choose which books get published [CNN]

Quote Roundup: A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall [Mac Teen Books]

Swoonworthy Manuscripts Selected for Publication [Swoon Reads]

Young adult books to look forward to in 2015

Even though it's only November, I've already started making a list of the 2015 young adult releases I can't wait to get my hands on. We don't have all these books in the catalog, since some of them don't come out until later in the year, but we do have some of them.

Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke by Anne Blankman

The Cemetery Boys by Heather Brewer

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

The Devil You Know by Trish Doller

Playlist For the Dead by Michelle Falkoff

Of Dreams and Rust by Sarah Fine

I Was Here by Gayle Forman

The Racket by John Green

The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand

Making Pretty by Corey Ann Haydu

Ensnared by A.G. Howard

The Forgotten Crown by Julie Kagawa

Jesse's Girl by Miranda Kenneally

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

Things We Know By Heart by Jessi Kirby

Our Brothers at the Bottom of the Bottom of the Sea by Jonathan Kranz

The Start of You and Me by Emery Lord

Forget Me Knots by Emily Murdoch

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler

Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

Kissing in America by Margo Rabb

A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd

Survive the Night by Danielle Vega

What You Left Behind by Jessica Verdi

Dietland by Sarai Walker

My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls by Lynn Weingarten

The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson

What books are you looking forward to reading the most next year? Let us know in the comments!

Featured Author: Caitlin Moran

'What art should be about,' they will say, 'is revealing exquisite and resonant truths about the human condition.' Well, to be honest - no, it shouldn’t. I mean, it can occasionally, if it wants to; but really, how many penetrating insights to human nature do you need in one lifetime? Two? Three? Once you’ve realised that no one else has a clue what they’re doing, either, and that love can be totally pointless, any further insights into human nature just start getting depressing really.
~Caitlin Moran

Caitlin Moran is an English journalist, TV presenter, and author.  The oldest of eight home-educated children, she wrote her first novel, The Chronicles of Narmo, at age fifteen. Caitlin (once you read her books, you'll feel like you can be on a first name basis with her as well) has had a checkered career after that - working for Melody Maker, presenting a TV show, Naked City - before joining the staff of The Times, a British daily newspaper. Caitlin writes regular columns for The Times, one about television and the other is "the most-read part of the paper, the satirical celebrity column ‘Celebrity Watch’". A comedy series written by Caitlin and her sister Caroline and loosely based on their youth, Raised by Wolves, is currently running on British TV.

Her first adult book, How To Be a Woman, brought her international attention in 2012. Vanity Fair called it "the U.K. version of Tina Fey’s Bossypants" - it's a fresh and funny take on feminism today, interspersed with memoir. Caitlin followed that up with Moranthology, a collection of her columns which gives us her uncensored views on pop culture. Her latest, How To Build a Girl, which Helen Fielding (author Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy) described as "[b]rilliantly observed, thrillingly rude and laugh-out-loud funny", is the coming-of-age story of a 14-year old girl in 1990 who reinvents herself.

Looking for a smart, saucy, hilarious read?  Look no further.  Caitlin is beloved by Jenny Lawson (The Bloggess), Peggy Orenstein, Ayelet Waldman, Zoe Heller, Alexandra Heminsley, and Lena Dunham.  If you like to read Laurie Notaro, Sloane Crosley, Mindy Kaling, and Nora Ephron, do give Caitlin a try!

Links

Not a Feminist?  Caitlin Moran Asks, Why Not? [NPR]

How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran review - a Portnoy's Complaint for girls [Guardian]

Raised By Wolves - TV review [Guardian] 

Atrocious mess, precocious mind: Meet Caitlin Moran, newspaper columnist, TV presenter, pop music pundit...and typical teenage slob [Independent, 1994] 

Caitlin Moran: my letter to the future - video [Guardian]

Spooky Young Adult Reads

It might only be September, but as I've been preparing one of my October young adult book displays, I've been thinking about all the things I love about fall, and all the spooky books I want to read during October. Some I've read before, but there are plenty I haven't read yet. Today, I have a list of my favorite scary young adult books (whether they're actually horror novels or just mysteries/thrillers), and the ones I can't wait to read.

What I've read

Long Lankin by Lindsey Barraclough

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Christine by Stephen King (This isn't a YA book, but Stephen King truly is the master of horror, and he certainly appeals to young adults.)

I Hunt Killers and Game by Barry Lyga

What I can't wait to read

Blood of My Blood by Barry Lyga

MARY: The Summoning by Hillary Monahan

Another Little Piece by Kate Karyus Quinn

Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves

Feral by Holly Schindler

Do you like to read scary books during October? If so, which are your favorites?

Crime Fiction For Youth

Got a mystery-minded kid at home?  Here are some titles from our Children's and Young Adult collections that they might enjoy, if you are not ready for them to jump into adult mystery fiction just yet. If you want to test the waters with mysteries written for grownups, try Alan Bradley and Lisa Lutz.

All books in this list are from our Children's collection unless otherwise noted.


Al Capone Does My Homework by Gennifer Choldenko

The Art of Secrets by James Klise

Complicit by Stephanie Kuehn [YA]

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein

From Norvelt to Nowhere by Jack Gantos [YA]

The Ghosts of Tupelo Landing by Sheila Turnage

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

The Mystery of Meerkat Hill: A Precious Ramotswe Mystery for Young Readers by Alexander McCall Smith

Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff [YA]

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart [YA]

She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick   [YA] 

The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes [YA]

Spirit and Dust by Rosemary Clement-Moore [YA]

Burning Blue by by Paul Griffin [YA] 

The Edge of Nowhere by Elizabeth George [YA]  

Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City by Kirsten Miller 

The End of Everything by Megan Abbott [YA]

How to Fall by Jane Casey [YA]

       

Links

Top 10 Crime Fiction for Youth [Booklist]

Edgar Awards -  choose Juvenile or Young Adult as category

Mystery Books for Pre-Teens [Cozy Mystery List Blog]

Two Boys and a Body: Mystery Fiction for Teenage Boys [NoveList]

When Books Inspire Art

Several months ago, I stumbled across a photographer, Margot Wood of The Real Fauxtographer, whose blog includes many photos (or as she calls them, fauxtos) that were inspired by young adult books. Because she allows sharing her photos, as long as she's given credit for them, I'm going to share my favorite images of hers.

Courtesy of Margot Wood

This image was inspired by Shatter Me, by Tahereh Mafi. I haven't actually read the book (I tried, but I just couldn't get into it), but I love this image.

Courtesy of Margot Wood

This image was inspired by Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins. It's one of my favorite books, and after showing this image to one of my colleagues, we agreed that it perfectly represents Anna's character.

Courtesy of Margot Wood

This image was inspired by The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan. The picture is a little creepy, as it should be, since the book is about zombies.

And finally, the very first photo I saw in Margot's YA series.

Courtesy of Margot Wood

This image was inspired by Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo.

What I love about Margot Wood's blog is that she doesn't just post pictures inspired by young adult books. She talks about the photos, too: what books inspired them and how, how she took the photograph, the costumes that are used, and more. It's fascinating to see how books can inspire other types of art.

How do books inspire you, artistically or otherwise?

Mind-Bending YA

Pete Hautman’s The Klaatu Terminus completes a trilogy that dares to make a number of narrative and temporal shifts, each of which challenges readers to hold tight—or possibly let go?—of the sensical reins. The forefather of such mind-bending sleight of hand is Kurt Vonnegut, whose Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) has inspired generations of rule breakers. Such experimental works are rare in YA, but recent years have provided a number of worthy heirs.
~Daniel Kraus, "Readalikes: The New Vonneguts" [Booklist]


Books told entirely with images, involving magical science and travel to parallel worlds, starring a girl born with the wings of a bird and a boy who believes he is a character in a novel, part darkly comic philosophical discussion, with an experiment gone terribly wrong, a curiously powerful plant and a black mirror...  Which book's plot are we describing?  All the books on this list!  If you like the strange, the fantastical, the slightly awry, the inscrutable future, this young adult fiction booklist is here to test your grip on reality and introduce you to other realities!


Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony, Rodrigo Corral

Fade to Blue by Sean Beaudoin [eBook] 

Grasshopper Jungle: A History by Andrew Smith

Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick   

My Favorite Band Does Not Exist by Robert T. Jeschonek

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

Obsidian Mirror by Catherine Fisher

Flux by Beth Goobie [eBook] 

47 by Walter Mosley    

YA Series Books Worth Reading

It seems like these days, when a young adult book is published, chances are that it will be the first book in a series. Even books that seem like they won't be part of a series end up as a series or as having companion novels (Nantucket Blue, for example). With all the series that come out, it can be hard to decide what to read. Should I read a trilogy, like The Hunger Games, since I'm only committing to three books, or do I want to take the plunge and read a longer series, like Pretty Little Liars, and commit to sixteen books?

To help, I've narrowed the field down to my favorite YA series books--the must-read books out of all the YA series. Since there are plenty of YA series that I haven't read but that are popular, I'm also including a list of the series books I most want to read but haven't gotten to yet. In both categories, I'm skipping Twilight, The Hunger Games, and Divergent, and focusing instead on series that are popular, but maybe not as popular.

Must-Read YA Series

The Chemical Garden trilogy by Lauren DeStefano

• Wither
• Fever
• Sever

The Iron Fey by Julie Kagawa

• The Iron King
• The Iron Daughter
• The Iron Queen
• The Iron Knight

Ruby Oliver by E. Lockhart

• The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs and Me, Ruby Oliver
• The Boy Book: A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Taming Them
• The Treasure Map of Boys: Noel, Jackson, Finn, Hutch, Gideon--and Me, Ruby Oliver
• Real Live Boyfriends: Yes. Boyfriends, Plural. If My Life Weren't Complicated, I Wouldn't Be Ruby Oliver

Jasper Dent by Barry Lyga

• I Hunt Killers
• Game
• Blood of My Blood

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

• Delirium
• Pandemonium
• Requiem

The Lying Game by Sara Shepard

• The First Lie (novella; #0.5)
• The Lying Game
• Two Truths and a Lie
• Never Have I Have Ever
• Hide and Seek
• Cross My Heart, Hope to Die
• True Lies (novella; #5.5)
• Seven Minutes in Heaven

The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd

• The Madman's Daughter
• Her Dark Curiosity
• A Cold Legacy (expected publication: 2015)

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

• Daughter of Smoke and Bone
• Days of Blood and Starlight
• Dreams of Gods and Monsters

Series to Add to Your To-Read List

Graceling Realm by Kristin Cashore

• Graceling
• Fire
• Bitterblue

Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

• Burn for Burn
• Fire With Fire
• Ashes to Ashes

Defy by Sara B. Larson

• Defy
• Ignite (expected publication: 2015)

Legend by Marie Lu

• Legend
• Prodigy
• Champion

Newsoul by Jodi Meadows

• Incarnate
• Asunder
• Infinite

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

• Cinder
• Scarlet
• Cress

Is there anything you would add to these lists? Anything you would take off the lists? Let us know if the comments!

YA Horror

I keep thinking of something attributed to Alan Moore: most people think horror is a man cutting a tomato at the kitchen counter and then continuing on to slice off his fingers. But horror actually is a man cutting a tomato at the kitchen counter and then the tomato runs up his arm and bites off his ear.  
~Barry Lyga

Do all children who read Goosebumps and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark grow up to read Stephen King? Well, if you're not ready for your teen to advance to adult horror fiction just yet, but they love scary stories, here are some young adults titles to entertain them in the meantime. Or, if you're an adult who loves horror stories, consider trying out young adult versions to see if they're comparable! Several of these titles are recommendations from young adult horror authors Robin Wasserman, Brenna Yovanoff, Barry Lyga, and Daniel Kraus.*

Henry Franks by Peter Adam Salomon

Scowler by Daniel Kraus

The Diviners by Libba Bray

The Stone Child by Dan Poblocki (J)

Bliss by Lauren Myracle

I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

The Waking Dark by Robin Wasserman

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Clay by David Almond

The Monstrumologist edited by Rick Yancey

The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong


Links  

"Monsters, Murder, and Morality: A Graveside Chat about YA Horror Fiction"  (Booklist)*

"Horror in YA Lit Is a Staple, Not a Trend" (School Library Journal)

"12 Creepy YA Books That Should Be Made Into Horror Movies" (Epic Reads)

On the Big Screen

With the amount of young adult books that are being made into movies recently (Divergent, The Fault in Our Stars, The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, and If I Stay are the top movies based on young adult books that come to mind), I've started thinking about which young adult books I'd love to see on the big screen. It wasn't easy to narrow down my choices, but I came up with a list of ten books I'd love to see as movies.

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen

Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

Life by Committee by Corey Ann Haydu

Splintered by A.G. Howard

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan

Liv, Forever by Amy Talkington

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

These books have just the right amount of drama and romance to make them perfect for the big screen. What books would you love to see as movies? Are there any upcoming movies based on young adult books that you're excited about?

Celebrity Authors

It's not unusual to see autobiographies and memoir written by celebrities. What is more unusual is that more and more celebrities have started to write fiction. From picture books to chapter books and young adult fiction to adult fiction, celebrities are taking advantage of the opportunity to write and publish books. How people feel about celebrity authors varies; some people are not happy with actors, actresses, and musicians writing fiction books, while others are just fine with it. Ty Roth, author of the young adult novel So Shelly, even weighed in on the topic.

There's also always the possibility that ghostwriters are responsible for actually writing these books, and that the celebrities just come up with the idea, or just have their names published on the books. The level of a celebrity's involvement may vary, but according to the New York Times, it's highly unlikely that celebrities are completely responsible for writing their books.

Regardless of who actually writes the book and of how readers and writers feel about celebrity authors, it is unlikely that celebrities will stop publishing fiction. Curious about who some of the celebrity authors are? Here's a list of just some of the ones that are in the library catalog, broken down by category.*

Picture Books

The Blue Ribbon Day and The Brand New Kid,by Katie Couric

Big Words for Little People, My Mommy Hung the Moon: A Love Story, Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born, and Where Do Balloons Go? An Uplifting Mystery, by Jamie Lee Curtis

Man Gave Names to All the Animals, by Bob Dylan

Dumpy's Extra-Busy Day and Dumpy's Valentine, by Julie Andrews Edwards

It's About a Little Bird,by Jessica Lange

Queen of the Scene,by Queen Latifah

I'm a Manatee and Marsupial Sue, by John Lithgow

The Adventures of Abdi, Mr. Peabody's Apples, and Yakov and the Seven Thieves, by Madonna

The Alphabet From A to Y With Bonus Letter, Z! and Late For School, by Steve Martin

Freckleface Strawberry and Freckleface Strawberry and the Dodgeball Bully, by Julianne Moore

Little T Learns to Share, by Terrell Owens

Halloween, by Jerry Seinfeld

Presenting Tallulah, by Tori Spelling

Dream Big, Little Pig!, by Kristi Yamaguchi

My New Teacher and Me! and When I Grow Up, by Al Yankovic

Chapter Books

Dragon: Hound of Honor, The Great American Mousical, Little Bo in London, and Mandy, by Julie Andrews Edwards

The English Roses and The English Roses: Too Good to be True, by Madonna

Shaq and the Beanstalk and Other Very Tall Tales, by Shaquille O'Neal

Hothead and Squeeze Play, by Cal Ripkin, Jr.

Young Adult Fiction

Modelland, by Tyra Banks

The Fame Game, L.A. Candy, Starstruck, Sugar and Spice, and Sweet Little Lies, by Lauren Conrad

Devoted and Elixir, by Hilary Duff

What do you think about celebrities-turned-authors? Have you read any of the books on this list? Would you? Or do you agree with those who think celebrities should stay away from writing books?

*Please note that this is not an exhaustive list. Some of the authors mentioned have more books in the library's catalog than what is listed. This list also does not focus on adult fiction.

Top Circulating Children's and Young Adult Authors

“Knowledge is like money: To be of value it must circulate, and in circulating it can increase in quantity and, hopefully, in value.”
― Louis L'Amour, Education of a Wandering Man  

In the library, "circulation" means a lot of things.  What's sometimes called the "library card desk" is also known as "circulation".  When we look at a book's record, we count how many times it has checked out as its "circs". The library's collection floats (items checked out at one branch and returned at another stay at the branch at which they are returned), but its items circulate.

Are you ever curious about which titles get checked out the most in the library system? We've generated a couple of lists of the top circulating authors for kids and young adults in the last couple of months. If they are authors of a popular series or a currently trending title, we have noted that in brackets next to their name.

From April 2014:

Top Circulating Children’s Authors
Fiction	Non-Fiction
Dr. Seuss	Jim Davis [Garfield]
Mary Pope Osborne [Magic Tree House]	Allan Fowler
Cynthia Rylant [Henry & Mudge]	Elaine Landau [Your Pet…]
Daisy Meadows [Rainbow Magic]	Gail Gibbons
Eric Carle [The Very Hungry Caterpillar]	Simon Seymour [Simon Seymour’s…]
Marc Brown [Arthur]	Joanna Cole [Magic School Bus]
Mo Willems [Knuffle Bunny]	Jennifer L. Holm [Babymouse]
R. L. Stine [Goosebumps]	Jack Prelutsky [poetry]
Stan & Jan Berenstain [The Berenstain Bears]	Steve Parker [DK Eyewitness]
Geronimo Stilton	Sandra Markle
Carolyn Keene [Nancy Drew]	Hidenori Kusaka [Pokémon Adventures]
Ron Roy [A to Z Mysteries]	David A. Adler [Cam Jansen]
Alysa Capucilli [Biscuit]	Robert Gardner [science projects]
H. A. Rey [Curious George]	Salvatore Tocci [Experiments with…]
Laura Numeroff [If You Give A Mouse A Cookie]	David West Reynolds [Star Wars]
Erin Hunter [Warriors]	Ann Heinrichs
Bobby Lynn Maslen [Bob Books]	Stuart J. Murphy
Tomie DePaola [Strega Nona]	Darlene Stille
Jane Yolen	Melissa Stewart

From April 2014:

Top Circulating Young Adult Authors
Fiction	Non-Fiction
Suzanne Collins [The Hunger Games]	Masashi Kishimoto [Naruto]
P.C. Cast [House of Night]	Rumiko Takahashi [InuYasha]
Ted Dekker [Lost Books]	Tite Kubo [Bleach]
Melissa de la Cruz [Blue Bloods]	Brian Michael Bendis [Ultimate Spider-Man]
Stephenie Meyer [Twilight]	Hiromu Arakawa [Fullmetal Alchemist]
Lisa McMann [Visions]	Katsura Hoshino [D. Gray-Man]
Amanda Hocking [Watersong]	Naoko Takeuchi [Sailor Moon]
Kate Constable [Chanters of Tremaris]	Natsuki Takaya [Fruits Basket]
Kirsty McKay [Undead]	Toshiaki Iwashiro [Psyren]
Ellen Schreiber [Vampire Kisses]	Atsushi Ōkubo [Soul Eater]
Alyson Noël [Soul Seekers]	Rei Tōma [Dawn of the Arcana]
James Patterson [Witch & Wizard]	Kazuki Takahashi [Yu-Gi-Oh!]
Ellen Hopkins [novels in verse]	Dan Slott [The Superior Spider-Man]
Jackie M. Kessler [Riders of the Apocalypse]	Kazue Katō [Blue Exorcist]
Jessica Shirvington [Embrace]	Ken Akamatsu [Negima!]
Heather Brewer [Slayer Chronicles]	Christos Gage [Avengers  Academy]
Richelle Mead [Bloodlines]	Matsuri Hino [Vampire Knight]
Meg Cabot [Abandon]	Dana Hayward [Tsubasa]
Julie Halpern	Yana Toboso [Black Butler]
Barry Lyga [Archvillain]

From June 2014:

Top Circulating Authors
Children’s Fiction	Young Adult Fiction
Dr. Seuss	Suzanne Collins [The Hunger Games]
Mary Pope Osborne [Magic Tree House]	James Patterson [Witch & Wizard]
Eric Carle [The Very Hungry Caterpillar]	Veronica Roth [Divergent]
Cynthia Rylant [Henry & Mudge]	John Flanagan [Ranger’s Apprentice}
Daisy Meadows [Rainbow Magic]	Cassandra Clare [Infernal Devices]
Mo Willems [Knuffle Bunny]	Ellen Hopkins [novels in verse]
Marc Brown [Arthur]	Sara Shepard [Pretty Little Liars]
Carolyn Keene [Nancy Drew]	Richelle Mead [Bloodlines]
Geronimo Stilton	Joseph Delaney [The Last Apprentice]
Sue Bentley [Magic Puppy]	P. C. Cast [House of Night]
Laura Numeroff [If You Give A Mouse A Cookie]	Neal Shusterman [Unwind]
Rosemary Wells	Alyson Noël [Soul Seekers]
R. L. Stine [Goosebumps]	Darren Shan [Cirque du Freak]
Gertrude Chandler Warner [The Boxcar Children]	Markus Zusak [The Book Thief]
Megan McDonald [Judy Moody & Stink]	John Green [The Fault in Our Stars]
Stan & Jan Berenstain [The Berenstain Bears]	Meg Cabot [Abandon]
Erin Hunter [Warriors]	Scott Westerfeld [Uglies]
Jane O’Connor [Fancy Nancy]	Lisi Harrison [Clique]
Ron Roy [A to Z Mysteries]	Anthony Horowitz [Alex Rider]
David Adler [Cam Jansen]	Lauren Oliver [Delirium]

Dr. Seuss and Suzanne Collins are our clear winners, for now!