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Middle School Monday: Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky: The Graphic Novel by Kwame Mbalia, adapted by Robert Venditti, illustrated by Olivia Stephens 
One bus accident completely changed Tristan’s life, because he survived while his best friend Eddie died. When Tristan goes to stay with his grandparents in Alabama, he brings Eddie’s journal, but he has no idea that the journal is going to put his life in danger. Tristan is filled with anger and guilt, but soon he is distracted by some of the strange things happening around him. When Tristan meets characters from African and African American folklore, like Anansi the spider and John Henry, this is just the beginning of a very dangerous adventure.
This book is part of the “Rick Riordan Presents” series, and it will definitely inspire Riordan fans to explore a different kind of “ordinary kids meet mythological characters” story. Give this book to older kids and younger teens who love imaginative adventures, and any readers who want to expand their understanding of mythology and folklore!
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theboyatthebustop · 23 days
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Would you believe me if I said all of these graphic novel adaptations (except for the whatever after one) came out in 2022?
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oliveoilcorp · 2 years
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Some old character sheets from my art test for the Tristan Strong GN.
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mikeymagee · 2 years
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Black Panther PSA
To whomever it may concern...you guys know it’s possible to mourn and be upset about Chadwick/T’challa WITHOUT disparaging Black women...right? 
Because I can’t go onto ANY T’challa thread without someone throwing shade at Black women or saying that little Black boys don’t have any heroes to look up to any longer and it’s making me avoid all the places I used to go to for nice T’challa discussions. 
And for anyone who thinks little boys don’t have any positive Black superheroes to look up, here’s a list of future MCU films/shows that are starring Black men:
1. War Machine film
2. Nick Fury’s Secret Invasion
3. Sam Wilson’s Captain America: New World Order
4. Blade starring Mahershala Ali (and yes, this film is still happening)
5. Into The Spiderverse Sequel with Miles Morales
Not to mention plenty of the previous movies/Shows that star Black men such as Luke Cage, Cloak and Dagger, Black Lightning, Static Shock, Wesley Snipes’s Blade, Spawn and the films where Black men are still important parts of the narrative like Batwoman, Supergirl, Eternals etc...
AND we still have the various books/comics/graphic novels that star Black men. Anyone who wants more T’challa should consider reading Ronald L. Smith’s YA series Black Panther: The Young Prince. There are 3 books in total. And even outside of Marvel and DC there’s tons of YA books such as Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky or the Imaro series.  There are PLENTY of outlets for young Black boys to see empowering images of themselves
I’m just kind of sick of this whole misogynoir that has reared its ugly head in the Black Panther/MCU fandom. Yes, I am heartbroken about Chadwick but that does not give ya’ll permission to shit on Shuri, Romanda, Nakia, Okoye and the entire Dora Milaje. 
If your pro-Blackness does not include Black women, Black Queers, Black Neurodivergent people, Black people with disabilities, etc, then it’s not pro-Blackness. 
ALSO: WTF IS WRONG WITH LITTLE BLACK BOYS LOOKING UP TO BLACK WOMEN AND BLACK GIRLS? 
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brerrabbit-comics · 1 year
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Recommended reading.. 🦊🐰
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Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky (The Graphic Novel)
Kwame Mbalia
Robert Venditti 
Olivia Stephens 
Rick Riordan Presents
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semper-legens · 1 year
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69. Tristan Strong Punches A Hole In The Sky, by Kwame Mbalia
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Owned: No, library Page count: Unknown/not numbered My summary: Tristan Strong is going through it. He lost his friend, he lost his first boxing match, and he’s been sent to live with his strict grandparents in the middle of nowhere. So when a strange little creature sneaks into the window and steals the last thing he has to remember his friend by, he’s determined to get it back. Soon he finds himself drawn into a mystical world where myths are true and a deadly war is waging. But he can’t do anything to help...right? My rating: 3.5/5 My commentary:
This was another random impulse pull, albeit one that I totally would have picked up if it existed when I was a kid. It's published under Rick Riordan's label, and it lives up to the implicit promise of the Riordan name by being primarily based around folklore. In this case, African-American folklore - specifically stories about Anansi, John the Conqueror, the Flying Africans, the Gum Baby, and more. This is a graphic novel adaptation of the original book, which I have not read, so I'm going to judge it on its own merits rather than as an adaptation. And how does it fare? Pretty well, by my estimation!
Our hero, Tristan Strong, is eminently likeable. In the early pages, we learn that he's failing to live up to his family's expectations of becoming a boxer, and mourning the death of his friend Eddie, who was collecting folklore and mythology in a journal. Poor Tristan is hurting - he's full of survivor's guilt that makes him reluctant to engage with anything beyond finding the journal, which has been stolen by Gum Baby. (Who is, by the way, ridiculously likeable.) In trying to get it back, he releases a haint from a bottle tree, then falls into the world of Alke where these myths are true. Tristan's a very sympathetic hero. He's got that core of strength and resilience, but has realistic human flaws and failings. His reluctance to get involved and grief over his friends are very real emotions, and his arc from discouraged kid to hero is both engaging and satisfying. Tristan is an Ananseem, a storyteller who can affect reality with his words. Longtime readers of this blog will know that I just love stories about stories, and this one does not disappoint. It's particularly relevant given how African and African-American stories were forbidden by the white captors of enslaved people; Tristan is both connecting with his dead friend by telling the stories, and connecting with wider African-American culture.
Speaking of, the stories! The folklore used in this book will be familiar to anyone with a passing knowledge of African-American myth and legend - Brer Fox, Anansi, Gum Baby, haints - with some new additions to build the world of Alke. These include the Fetterlings, living chains that attempt to capture the heroes, brand flies, which burn those around them, and Uncle Cotton, who leads the Bone Ships. Yeah, this isn't exactly subtle, but I don't think it's to the story's detriment. After all, it's aimed at younger readers, and it still makes the point well enough. The horrors that enslaved people experienced are memorialised as much as the gods and heroes of their culture; both sides of the experience are represented here.
My only real criticism of this one is that the pacing felt a bit too fast in most places - the narrative didn't really have a lot of room to breathe. I wonder, though, if that's a result of the adaptation more than a fault of the original. Graphic novels have fewer pages to work with, after all. The art, however, was stunning, a realistic style that reminded me of modern superhero comics while still being able to carry the more fantastical or emotional beats. It's a good little read! I might see if I can track down the original at some point, just to compare.
Next up, back into history, and to my historical problematic fave Charles I.
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writingsbylarissa · 2 years
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A List of My Favorite Books + Graphic Novels
Books
Young Adult
Vinyl Moon by Mahogany L. Browne
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia
You Should See Me In A Crown by Leah Johnson
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim
Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta
This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron
Wings of Ebony by J. Elle
Middle Grade
Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor by Xiran Jay Zhao
Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi
Maya and the Rising Dark by Rena Barron
Pahua and the Soul Stealer by Lori. M. Lee
Cameron Battle and the Hidden Kingdoms by Jamar J. Perry
The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer
Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B Alston
Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger
Graphic Novels
Magical Boy by The Kao
The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag
The Girl From The Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag
Bingo Love by Tee Franklin
Heartstopper by Alice Oseman
Nubia: Real One by L.L McKinney
Girl On Fire by Alicia Keys
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Winnie-the-Pooh Piglet Reads
(explanatory post) The third prompt was a spell-out of Piglet’s name.
Pixels of You/Ananth Hirsh, Yuko Ota and J.R. Doyle-A graphic novel that needed a lot more development.
The Long-Distance Dispatch Between Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang/Amy Ignatow-The second in a series I read the first of as a kid without knowing it was a series. I really enjoyed it. It’s good fun and there are things to learn from it or remind yourself of.
The Golem and the Jinni/Helene Wecker-I reread this after reading the new sequel, which I did not enjoy. Still so fun to see two non-humans learn how to be themselves.
Short Stories: 1904/Lucy Maud Montgomery-I am currently reading all of L.M. Montgomery’s short story collections in order to avoid reading the last to Anne Shirley books I haven’t read yet. She was definitely struggling with her womanhood in this collection, which unfortunately came off as sexist.
Ellen Tebbits/Beverly Cleary-I loved this. Beverly Cleary is so good at writing characters with non-dramatic struggles that are still interesting to read about.
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky/Kwame Mbalia-Another one I really enjoyed, just unfortunately not enough to continue the series. However, it is still great for the age range it is actually aimed at and I would still highly recommend it.
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Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, adapted by Robert Venditti, illustrated by Olivia Stephens
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, adapted by Robert Venditti, illustrated by Olivia Stephens
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky: The Graphic Novel adapted by Robert Venditti, illustrated by Olivia Stephens, based on the novel by Kwame Mbalia. Disney Hyperion, 2022. 9781368072809 Rating:  1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4 Format: Hardcover graphic novel Genre: Folklore/fantasy  What did you like about the book?  Tristan Strong is a Chicago middle-schooler sent to his…
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#SFFSummer | Day 5: Night Sky Flatlay 💙🖤💜
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I posted 3,122 times in 2022
422 posts created (14%)
2,700 posts reblogged (86%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@bunnyreads
@everythingfox
@godzilla-reads
@hammondpubliclibrary
@cheshirelibrary
I tagged 928 of my posts in 2022
#fuzzy friday - 523 posts
#awwwww - 520 posts
#nypl - 258 posts
#kingsbridge library - 212 posts
#teen programs - 60 posts
#kid lit - 53 posts
#graphic novels - 52 posts
#middle school monday - 45 posts
#reluctant reader wednesday - 42 posts
#nyc - 40 posts
Longest Tag: 58 characters
#tristan strong punches a hole in the sky the graphic novel
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
As efforts to control books continue in Tennessee, a library in Nashville is pushing back with a bold new campaign: A card that says "I read banned books."
The Nashville Public Library is issuing 5,000 of the limited-edition cards — printed in bright yellow — to readers in Davidson County for close to a month.
19 notes - Posted May 14, 2022
#4
21 notes - Posted June 9, 2022
#3
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Reluctant Reader Wednesday: Loveless by Alice Oseman 
Georgia loves the idea of romance, and she wishes that she could make that special connection with someone. But after kissing her longtime crush turns into a disaster, she thinks that maybe she’s just not meant for love. It’s not until she gets to college that she learns more about all of the ways that LGBTQIA+ people can identify, and she discovers that she fits into a category that many people can’t understand. But just because her life is complicated doesn’t mean that love is impossible.
Give this book to teens and adults who are interested in learning more about asexual/aromantic people, and any readers who love stories about characters learning to discover the truth about themselves.
23 notes - Posted April 27, 2022
#2
When Nave heard books were being challenged in school libraries across the country—a movement that eventually hit his own district—he got angry and started talking to his friends. Nave is part of a growing trend of teens responding to book challenges by creating banned book clubs.
They read books that have been historically banned, as well as the ones currently being challenged, and talk about how social context influences censorship. The clubs have become a way for students to make their voices heard in a debate usually dominated by adults. They are run through schools, bookstores, and teen centers across the country, including in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
26 notes - Posted April 13, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
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Hey, Sandman fans! What’s old is new again!
“A book is a dream that you hold in your hands.”
Here's a bookmark featuring Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, part of the American Library Association’s @ your library® series! And yes, these bookmarks are still available at the ALA store :)
61 notes - Posted August 13, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
Well, I guess it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that my top posts were about banned books, free books, Loveless by Alice Oseman, and The Sandman!
Thanks to my followers, to all the blogs I follow, and for all the other fans of books, libraries, and posts that can make your day a little brighter!
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earlymodernlesbian · 3 years
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Middle Grade Books Holiday Present Masterpost
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Hello!  Is there a young person in your life to whom you would like to gift a book as a present this holiday season?  Is this the sort of young person to whom you might have gifted Harry Potter once upon a time, but obviously no longer feel inclined to do so, but are at a loss for a suitable replacement?  Never fear!  Your local middle school English teacher is here to save the day (under the cut)!
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For Harry Potter lovers...
The Chronicles of Chrestomanci by Diana Wynne Jones
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
The Lost Years of Merlin series by T. A. Barron
The Song of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce
The Witch’s Boy by Kelly Barnhill
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For Percy Jackson lovers...
Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia
Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee
Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword by Barry Deutsch
The Storm Runner by J. C. Cervantes
Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
(Almost all of these are from the Rick Riordan Presents collection, which features own-voices stories about myths and traditions from cultures around the world presented in a similar approach as the Percy Jackson books take to Greek mythology.  They are wonderful and huge hits with my students!)
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For Warriors lovers...
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
Pax by Sara Pennypacker
Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Varjak Paw by S. F. Said
Swordbird by Nancy Yi Fan
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For mystery lovers...
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
The Harlem Charade by Natasha Tarpley
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks
Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life by Wendy Mass
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For graphic novel lovers...
The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag
Stargazing by Jen Wang
Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword by Barry Deutsch
Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson
Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier
The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
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For historical fiction lovers...
Front Desk by Kelly Yang
Ahimsa by Supriya Kelkar
How High the Moon by Karyn Parsons
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Hopefully these lists gave you some good ideas!  If there is something more specific that you want to find, go ahead and message me and tell me a little bit about who you’re looking for, and I’ll try my very best to match you with the perfect book selection!
Happy holidays and happy reading!  xo
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oliveoilcorp · 2 years
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hello again
Given the current Twitter kerfuffle, I've remade my account here for sharing art and staying in touch with friends!
My Website
Patreon
Instagram
Twitter
Newsletter
My name is Olivia Stephens and I am a graphic novelist and comics writer. I am the creator of the middle-grade werewolf graphic novel ARTIE AND THE WOLF MOON.
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I'm also the illustrator for TRISTAN STRONG PUNCHES A HOLE IN THE SKY: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL, and I'm the writer for THE TIGER'S TONGUE, a limited fantasy series from Mad Cave Studios.
Currently, I'm at work on DARLIN’ AND HER OTHER NAMES, a werewolf-western-horror-romance comic split into several parts. The first part, Marta, is 80+ pages long and will be made available for purchase as a digital PDF download in early 2023:
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That's about it for now! I'll be slowly reposting art from the past several years here, and sharing progress on my new stuff, too!
If you want to support my current project and get access to a bunch of behind-the-scenes work, you can subscribe to my Patreon for $1+/month!
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ackb · 3 years
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2020 Reading Challenge Report
I really liked it last year when I made a spread in my journal with my best of books for 2019. So here’s my best of for 2020. 
I was WAY surprised that all my favorite books this year were non-fiction. That doesn't mean I didn’t read any good fiction this year, I definitely did. But the truly outstanding, five star books were all non-fiction. This is super weird for me because I never used to read non-fiction unless it was for school. But last year I made a deal with myself that I should have a non-fiction book as at least one of my books-in-progress at all times. I continued that rule this year and wow have I read some great stuff as a result. 
Metrics:
Total books read in 2020: 87 
If you remove all the books I read with kids, that’s 64. If you remove the books I read with kids and also graphic novels (which—despite being books, goddamn it—admittedly take a lot less time to read), I read 45 books this year.  I refuse to remove the audiobooks because that’s hella insulting.  Audiobooks are books.
One thing I noticed this year is that before I counted, I was under the impression that I had read a lot of books by Black authors this year, but I hadn't. In fact, it was far fewer than last year. I think part of what was internally confusing was that because two of my books were Caste and The Warmth of Other Suns, both substantial (in the thinking sense and the length sense), at any given time this year, I was reading at least one book by a Black author. So that skewed my thinking. Still, fewer than 10% Black authors is a poor metric.
Another thing I noticed was that cancelled plans for 10 months also means cancelled car trips (yay!) and cancelled audiobook listenings (boo!) So that cut into my total a bit, not listening to books as much with the kids. But I'm looking forward to lots more reading in the new year! Including finishing a bunch of books the kids and I are reading for school and tons of stuff for work. Because I like to have things going on every burner, there are 10 books in progress at the moment, about half of them for school. 
In case you might be interested, here’s my list, favorites in bold:
Non-Fiction (23)
Figuring, Maria Popova
Know My Name, Chanel Miller
*The Fire Never Goes Out, Noelle Stevenson
With Purpose and Principle, Edward Frost
Caste, Isabel Wilkerson
The Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson
Widening the Circle of Concern, COIC, UUA
Brief Histories of Everyday Objects, Andy Warner
Breaking and Blessing, Sean Parker Dennison
This Book is Anti-Racist, Tiffany Jewell & Aurelia Durand
The Library Book, Susan Orlean
My Autobiography of Carson McCullers, Jenn Shapland
Furious Hours, Casey Cep
Scrappy Little Nobody, Anna Kendrick
I'll Be Gone in the Dark, Michelle McNamara
Catch and Kill, Ronan Farrow
*Laika, Nick Abadzis
*First Year Out: A Transition Story, Sabrina Symington
* Honor Girl: A Graphic Memoir, Maggie Thrash
*Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans, Don Brown
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, Patrick Radden Keefe
*A Quick and Easy Guide to Queer & Trans Identities, Mady G., J.R. Zuckerberg
*Wait, What?: A Comic Book Guide to Relationships, Bodies, and Growing Up, Heather Corinna, Isabella Rotman
Fiction (40)
*Heartstopper, vol 1&2, Alice Oseman
When the Tripods Came, John Christopher
Empty World, John Christopher
You Should See Me in a Crown, Leah Johnson
The Pull of the Stars, Emma Donoghue
Pachinko, Min Jin Lee
My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Ottessa Moshfegh
Girl, Woman, Other, Bernadine Evaristo
*This One Summer, Mariko Tamaki
*Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, Mariko Tamaki, Rosemary Valero-O'Connell
To Night Owl, From Dogfish, Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer
* Almost American Girl, Robin Ha
Upright Women Wanted, Sarah Gailey
When We Were Magic, Sarah Gailey
Magic for Liars, Sarah Gailey
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Suzanne Collins
The Care and Feeding of Waspish Widows, Olivia Waite
The Dreamers, Karen Thompson Walker
The Water Dancer, Ta-Nehisi Coates
Less, Andrew Sean Greer
*Drama, Raina Telgemeier
The Glass Hotel, Emily St. John Mandel
Severance, Ling Ma
Once, Morris Gleitzman
Then, Morris Gleitzman
Reflections in a Golden Eye, Carson McCullers
The Future of Another Timeline, Annalee Newitz
Royal Rebel, Jenny Frame
*Sidekicks, Dan Santat
The Book of Dust, Philip Pullman
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Kate DiCamillo
*Snapdragon, Kat Leyh
Catfishing on Catnet, Naomi Kritzer
*Princess Princess Ever After,  Katie O'Neill
*The Prince and the Dressmaker, Jen Wang
*All Summer Long, Hope Larson
Children of Virtue and Vengence, Tomi Adeyemi
On the Edge of Gone, Corinne Duyvis
*Kiss Number 8, Colleen A.F. Venable, Ellen T. Crenshaw
*Queen of the Sea, Dylan Meconis
Read With the Kids (23)
Sentence Island, Michael Clay Thompson (NF)
*Hereville: How Minka Got Her Sword, Barry Deutsch
Hatchet, Gary Paulson
The Dreamer, Pam Muñoz Ryan, Peter Sis
Before Columbus, Charles Mann (NF)
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, Kwame Mbalia
In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse, Joseph M. Marshall III
It's a Feudal, Feudal World, Stephen Shapiro and Ross Kinnaird (NF)
Pedro's Journal, Pam Conrad
A Long Way from Chicago, Richard Peck
Sees Behind Trees, Michael Dorris
The Shakespeare Stealer, Gary Blackwood
The Giver, Lois Lowry (reread for me)
The Saturdays, Elizabeth Enright (reread)
Timmy Failure: Mistakes were Made, Stephan Pastis
Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth, E.L. Konigsburg
Sideways Stories from Wayside School, Louis Sachar
Wayside School is Falling Down, Louis Sachar
A Little History of Philosophy, Nigel Warburton (NF)
The Parker Inheritance, Varian Johnson
How to Think Like a Cat, Stephanie Garnier (NF)
Book Scavenger, Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
The Third Mushroom, Jennifer L. Holm
*=graphic novel
I read 87 books this year, by 80 authors
Authors of color = 14 Black authors = 7 Women or non-cis-gender men authors = 53 Graphic novels = 22 Non-fiction = 28 Queer characters = 28 Audiobooks = 26
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