#Young Adult Lit

[chardwic]

Books I’ve Read in 2023: Circe by Madeline Miller

“Humbling women seems to me a chief pastime of poets. As if there can be no story unless we crawl and weep.”

#booksociety #booknet #dailylit #circe #madeline miller #books i’ve read #ya lit #na lit #ya lit meme #young adult lit #new adult lit #greek myth retellings #read in 2023 #*mine

[richincolor]

Nature and Young Adult Lit

This may be a strange slightly rambling post, but one thing led to another. As I bicycle to work each day, there are several oak trees to pass which means that lately there are many, many acorns to dodge. Recently on Threads, author Jen Ferguson [Those Pink Mountain Nights] mentioned having a load of acorns raining down on the roof. This got me thinking about the chapter in Braiding Sweetgrass when the author's grandfather gathers up pecans during a year with an extraordinarily large crop. That story is a good one and may be found here. From there I leapt to thinking about nature and young adult lit because that's what my brain does.

Obviously, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer and Monique Gray Smith was the first young adult book that came to mind. It's a beautiful memoir with a look at Indigenous science and the natural world. The illustrations by Nicole Neidhardt are fantastic and make it an excellent book to pour over. See our review here.

This led me to thinking about Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley. In it, the main character has learned about nature through Indigenous teachings, but also through schooling and texts. There were parallels between Kimmerer's lived experience and the fictional account of Daunis. You can learn more about the book in our Group Discussion.

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert is a book that that involves the outdoors and romance. We had a Group Discussion for this one too. In that discussion, Jessica mentioned Alexis Nicole Nelson, also known as The Black Forager. Looking at the acorns around me I wondered if she had done a video about them and yup, that is a thing she's collected and talked about. I don't know if she will be writing a book for young adults anytime soon, but for now, there is an incredible amount of video content on Tiktok, Instagram, and YouTube including the relatively new Crash Course Botany class.

Reflecting on nature, there is an awful lot of things that can go wrong so there are also quite a few dystopian and sci-fi books that are concerned with the environment, disasters, and climate change.

The Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation is based on Octavia E. Butler’s novel of the same name and is by Damian Duffy and John Jennings. The story follows a young girl as she navigates a world that is in severe distress. She is not only trying to survive, but she is contemplating faith and what it means to her and what it could look like for others.

The Ones We're Meant to Find by Joan He is another survival type of story in the midst of natural disasters due to climate change. The story revolves around two sisters.

Want by Cindy Pon really digs into the economic disparities in relation to climate change and environmental issues. It's set in Taipei not too far in the future. You can read more about this awesome book in our Group Discussion.

Orleans by Sherrie L. Smith is an older title, but also delves into some of these issues of the environment and economic disparities. Here is our review.

Are there other books about nature and the environment that you think we've missed or should watch for in the future?

#nature #young adult lit

[improbable-implosions]

Need something to do tonight? Try my stream!

We're taking another bold step outside the public domain on Paper Cuts tonight, this time with Marion G. Harmon's Wearing the Cape!

I absolutely loved this book from the first time I read it in high school, it's got an absolutely fascinating take on superheroes and how they'll enmesh with celebrity culture in a world not unlike the one we knew then. The series at large poses some fascinating questions about duty, legacy, and just what it means for these cities to court powerful superteams, and this first book in particular focuses on the difficulty of "coming out" into hero society.

Want to hear more? Need specifics on some of what I pointed out there? Come drop by tonight, 8pm pacific time, and I'll be reading it aloud, live!

(That's April 5th, 8pm pacific, and if you miss it, there'll be a VOD, too!)

And if you want to grab the book to read along, you can find it here:

Last but not least, if you like the sound of a live audiobook, go check out the podcast, available in your favorite podcatcher! I'd suggest looking for titles that sound interesting, I name the first episode of each book after the title!

#live audiobook #Paper Cuts #Public Domain #Podcast #Live Stream #Superheroes #Wearing the Cape #Marion G. Harmon #YA Novel #Young Adult Lit #modern fantasy #speculative fiction #linky link #shameless self promotion #(don't mind those last two that's just me categorizing the post) #i heartily suggest you come watch! this'll be a really good read

[libertyreads]

Book Review #90 of 2023--

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee. Rating: 3 stars.

Read from July 14th to 16th.

I feel like I need to be careful with how I review this one since this series is beloved by one of my mutuals here on Tumblr dot com. This is a middle of the road novel for me. I would say it has more to do with my preferences than with this writer or writing style. This is a historical fantasy novel that follows the Montague siblings and their friend as they have their Grand Tour through the continent. They run into some dastardly Dukes, some kind pirates, a pair of creepy siblings, and an island sinking into the sea.

For me, I enjoyed the characters (who are the true highlight of the story) and felt they all had things they had to overcome in order to be who they want to be, but I felt pretty distant from them. It felt like I couldn’t really get to dive into the characters and know them well enough to feel a connection. The plot itself was pretty bland for me from page to page despite having an amazing sounding premise. I think it was just how the characters got from each plot point to the next that felt like it dragged on for me. I wanted to like this one so much but it didn’t hit in a way that I could really dive in and feel immersed. I think part of that was the way the characters felt removed, but also I’m just not a historical fiction kind of girl. I love Fantasy novels that can feel historical because of the setting, but anything grounded in our actual history just doesn’t jive with me. That part is totally a me thing and not a novel thing at all.

Actually, this novel was a quick and easy read for me. The pages were so quick to get through each day and the plot would keep you moving through the story (for the most part), but I couldn’t get grounded into the world and I never felt like I absolutely had to read the next chapter. I had page count goals for each day of the read and when I hit it I would stop. I guess my biggest take away here is simply that I needed to either feel more immersed in the world or I needed a better connection to the characters. I’m still unsure about reading the next one but the next one has more piracy and a lady wanting to do work she’s not supposed to be doing in the 18th century. So, we’ll see.

#book review #book reviews #the gentleman's guide to vice and virtue #Mackenzie Lee #booklr #bookblr #bookstagram #bookish #book #books #books read in 2023 #2023 reading challenge #goodreads challenge #goodreads #ya #historical fantasy #historical #Young Adult #Young Adult Lit #Young Adult Literature

[jessread-s]

✩🏃‍♀️🏞️Review:

Ally Condie’s mystery novel is chilling and thought provoking.

“The Only Girl in Town” is told from the perspective of July Fielding, the only person remaining in her small town of Lithia after everyone else mysteriously disappears. Her only chance at unraveling the mystery and getting back her friends and family is a series of objects and cryptic messages that serve as reminders of her past.

One of my favorite aspects of this novel are the short, lyrical chapters. Each chapter is around 1-2 pages in length, resulting in a fast paced novel that builds suspense. The cliffhangers and climactic moments in conjunction with the central mystery of “The Only Girl in Town” were gripping, making it impossible for me to put it down.

I also like how Condie organized the novel’s timeline. The reader jumps back and forth between July’s past and present, trying to piece together the events leading up to her loved ones’ disappearances. I found myself trying to solve the mystery behind their vanishing using the clues that Condie sprinkled throughout and she successfully had me guessing at every turn!

Unfortunately, when the pieces finally came together, I didn’t fully understand what Condie was going for with her big reveal at the end. There were timeline inconsistencies that threw me for a loop and too many elements left up for interpretation. Still, I did resonate with the novel’s commentary on love, loneliness, and letting go of the past.

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

@penguinteen

#booklr #book blog #book blogger #book review #the only girl in town #ally condie #july fielding #ya mystery #mystery books #mystery thriller #thriller books #ya contemporary #ya romance #ya books #ya literature #ya reads #young adult literature #young adult lit #bookaholic #bookish #bibliophile #book recommendations #book rec #bookworm

[litandroses]

ARC Review: Stateless by Elizabeth Wein

Rating: 3 ★ of 5

Release date: March 14, 2023  

I wouldn’t call myself a patient reader, unless I know my patience will pay off. Having read Wein’s other works and having been familiar with her style of storytelling, I expected the pay off to be good. And it was!

Out of all her books I’ve read, this was probably the most thrilling. I had so much fun, I couldn’t put it down. I say this as a cat-and-mouse and car chase scene enjoyer in action movies. If you are one too, imagine that in the air. It had me on the edge of my seat. The mystery was carefully laid out, I was aware of how Wein wrote her twists and I tried my best to pay attention to details so I could guess the “culprit” or anticipate events but I was still left surprised. I felt the need to stare at the wall for a few minutes and think about the things I’ve missed and brushed off as unimportant. At the start of this book, I thought this was the type of book that had the protagonist alone against the world but I was wrong in that regard, too. I loved how Wein wrote platonic relationships and was very glad to see it here again. Aside from that - and as expected - there was still something to learn from this book, such as the Nansen passports, which could explain the title.

My rating stands between to a 3 and a 4 star (I am thinking about raising it; we shall see). Endings could make or break a rating for me, and the way this book ended was fitting but somehow felt too abrupt. I still had questions, which I won’t be putting on here because of spoilers. To say the least, I thought there was a whiff of convenience. Brushing that aside though, I’d still call this a thrilling page-turner. Stella North was a another good addition to Wein’s brave heroines.

An arc was granted in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Thanks to Netgalley, Edelweiss and the publisher for the arc!

#stateless #elizabeth wein #young adult lit #historical fiction #book blogger #reviews #book blog #litblr

[avesseloflanguage]

Tomorrow, Yesterday — Chapter 2

you can read it now! i’m so excited to continue publishing this fic and that i can successfully do so weekly for this summer :) 

read it on Wattpad !!

read it on AO3 !!

and, because it’s relevant to this chapter, some resources for anyone struggling with sexual harassment and abuse. please know that i do not condone Dally’s actions toward Cherry and Marcia in this chapter (i'm just working with what i got in canon), and i promise he gets put in his place over it later in the fic.

bonus: my favorite screencap from the movie

#the outsiders #outsiders #s e hinton #dallas winston #dally winston #johnny cade #dally x johnny #johnny x dally #jally #ponyboy #ponyboy curtis #soda curtis #sodapop curtis #darry curtis #steve randle #two bit mathews #gay #queer #young adult lit #young adult literature #ya lit #ya literature #tomorrow yesterday

[abitoflit]

Wilder Girls

“It's been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty's life out from under her. It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don't dare wander outside the school's fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything. But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there's more to their story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true,” (Rory Power).

This novel was a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it was fast-paced and it felt like there was always something going on. On the other, it felt like Hetty’s selfishness and stupidity was the only thing pushing the plot at times. What a surprise in a YA novel. Eye Roll. Examples include Hetty’s need to find Byatt ending the school’s support by breaking quarantine and how Hetty’s inability to close the gate led to the trouble with the bear and more woes. On that note—I found it strange that Hetty got upset with the Headmistress for trying to kill everyone, but later, knowingly sacrificed the other girls in the hopes that she, Byatt, and Reese could survive... within a few pages. Isn’t this a bit... hypocritical? And cold? And generally rude? Also, why didn’t the girls try to leave the island earlier? Perhaps, during the quarantine in secret or just after it ended when they realized they would no longer receive help? Finally, I felt as though the novel was unnecessarily icky at times.

Rating: 3/5 stars

#Raxter School #Raxter #Tox #Hetty #Wilder Girls Book Review #Book Review #Review #Wilder Girls Review #Wilder Girls #YA Lit #Young Adult Literature #YA Literature #Young Adult Lit #Reese #Byatt #Original Post #Opinion #Book

[wttnblog]

"The Jump" is an Action-Packed, Emotional Achievement in YA Literature

Brittney Morris, an absolute powerhouse in YA literature, is back at it again with The Jump. This contemporary novel explores themes of gentrification, abuse of power and capitalistic greed through the eyes of a group of teenagers who join a dangerous scavenger hunt to gain influence and power.  This group, which calls itself “Team Jericho”, is composed of Jax, Yas, Spider, and Han. Their…

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#book review #Books #books to read #brittney morris #by Maxx #reading #the jump #young adult books #young adult lit

[astrainclinantsednonobligan]

omfg just finished reading Renegades by marissa Meyer and AHHHHHH that has to be the BEST epilogue i've ever read.... i never saw that coming

#Renegades #marissa meyer #superheroes #ya #young adult lit #sci-fi #fantasy #books #reader #book recomendations

[chardwic]

Every Book/Series I’ve Ever Read: Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

"We are all children of blood and bone. All instruments of vengeance and virtue."

#children of blood and bone #tomi adeyemi #yalitedit #legacy of orïsha #zelie adebola #ya lit meme #young adult lit #booksociety #*mine

[richincolor]

[The six images above are the covers of the books that are featured in the post and are described below after each of the titles.]

Disability Pride Month

For Disability Pride Month we gathered a few titles that we have enjoyed and/or hope to read in the near future. If you know of others that shouldn't be missed, please let us know. 

The Secret Summer Promise by Keah Brown Levine Querido [Cover is painted and shows three young people sitting near water with a bright sun up above. They're wearing shorts and have long dark hair.]

THE BSE (Best Summer Ever) LIST!

1. Blueberries 2. Art show in ShoeHorn 3. Lizzo concert 4. Thrift shop pop-up 5. Skinny Dipping at the lake house 6. Amusement Park Day! 7. Drew Barrymarathon 8. Paintball day

Oh, and ….

9. Fall out of love with Hailee

Andrea Williams has got this. The Best Summer Ever. Two summers ago, she spent all her time in bed, recovering from the latest surgery for her cerebral palsy. She’s waited too long for adventure and thrills to enter her life. Together with her crew of ride-or-die friends, and the best parents anyone could ask for (just don’t tell them that), she’s going to live it up.

There’s just one thing that could ruin it: Her best friend, Hailee, finding out Andrea’s true feelings. So Andrea WILL fall out of love with Hailee – even if it means dating the cute boy George who keeps showing up everywhere with a smile.

Do we want Andrea to succeed? No! Does she? We’re not telling!

Breathe and Count Back from Ten by Natalia Sylvester Clarion Books [Cover has a young woman swimming in water. She is wearing a bikini and there are scars visible on her back.]

In this gorgeously written and authentic novel, Verónica, a Peruvian-American teen with hip dysplasia, auditions to become a mermaid at a Central Florida theme park in the summer before her senior year, all while figuring out her first real boyfriend and how to feel safe in her own body.

Verónica has had many surgeries to manage her disability. The best form of rehabilitation is swimming, so she spends hours in the pool, but not just to strengthen her body.

Her Florida town is home to Mermaid Cove, a kitschy underwater attraction where professional mermaids perform in giant tanks . . . and Verónica wants to audition. But her conservative Peruvian parents would never go for it. And they definitely would never let her be with Alex, her cute new neighbor.

She decides it’s time to seize control of her life, but her plans come crashing down when she learns her parents have been hiding the truth from her—the truth about her own body.

The Luis Ortega Survival Club by Sonora Reyes Balzer + Bray [Cover shows four brightly dressed young people in a narrow passageway or hallway. They are leaning in towards each other to pose together for the picture.]

Ariana Ruiz wants to be noticed. But as an autistic girl who never talks, she goes largely ignored by her peers, despite her bold fashion choices. So when cute, popular Luis starts to pay attention to her, Ari finally feels seen.

Luis’s attention soon turns to something more, and they have sex at a party—while Ari didn’t say no, she definitely didn’t say yes. Before she has a chance to process what happened and decide if she even has the right to be mad at Luis, the rumor mill begins churning—thanks, she’s sure, to Luis’s ex-girlfriend, Shawni. Boys at school now see Ari as an easy target, someone who won’t say no.

Then Ari finds a mysterious note in her locker that eventually leads her to a group of students determined to expose Luis for the predator he is. To her surprise, she finds genuine friendship among the group, including her growing feelings for the very last girl she expected to fall for. But in order to take Luis down, she’ll have to come to terms with the truth of what he did to her that night—and risk everything to see justice done.

Disability Visibility Adapted for Young People edited by Alice Wong Delacorte Press [Our review] [The cover has several geometric shapes and bright colors on it along with the title.]

The seventeen eye-opening essays in Disability Visibility , all written by disabled people, offer keen insight into the complex and rich disability experience, examining life's ableism and inequality, its challenges and losses, and celebrating its wisdom, passion, and joy.

The accounts in this collection ask readers to think about disabled people not as individuals who need to be “fixed,” but as members of a community with its own history, culture, and movements. They offer diverse perspectives that speak to past, present, and future generations. It is essential reading for all.

Something More by Jackie Khalileh Tundra [The cover shows three students in uniform near a school sign. One is standing in front and the other two people are sitting on top of the sign.]

Fifteen-year-old Jessie, a quirky loner obsessed with the nineties, is diagnosed as autistic just weeks before starting high school. Determined to make a fresh start and keep her diagnosis a secret, Jessie creates a list of goals that range from acquiring two distinct eyebrows to getting a magical first kiss and landing a spot in the school play. Within the halls of Holy Trinity High, she finds a world where things are no longer black and white and quickly learns that living in color is much more fun. But Jessie gets more than she bargained for when two very different boys steal her heart, forcing her to go off-script.

Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens edited by Marieke Nijkamp Farrar, Straus and Giroux [This cover features two people hugging with their eyes closed on the cover. One has long hair and the other has very closely cut hair on one side with longer hair on the top. The one with short hair has a cane in one hand.]

This anthology explores disability in fictional tales told from the viewpoint of disabled characters, written by disabled creators. With stories in various genres about first loves, friendship, war, travel, and more, Unbroken will offer today's teen readers a glimpse into the lives of disabled people in the past, present, and future.

The contributing authors are awardwinners, bestsellers, and newcomers including Kody Keplinger, Kristine Wyllys, Francisco X. Stork, William Alexander, Corinne Duyvis, Marieke Nijkamp, Dhonielle Clayton, Heidi Heilig, Katherine Locke, Karuna Riazi, Kayla Whaley, Keah Brown, and Fox Benwell. Each author identifies as disabled along a physical, mental, or neurodiverse axis―and their characters reflect this diversity.

#young adult lit #disability pride month

[charliesopus]

This was a labor of love and the most complex piece I’ve ever made.

7096 stitches, 98 hours. 2-strand on 18ct.

I was just so in love with this book cover, I couldn’t not.

The book is Crush, the second installment in the Crave series by Tracy Wolff :)

#cross stitch #crave series #crave saga #tracy wolff #fanart #crush book #crave crush #book cover #cross stitching #cross stitcher #cross stich pattern #crossstitching #crossstichlove #cross stitchers of tumblr #young adult literature #ya lit #vampire #dragon #witch #werewolf #gargoyle #fandom #crafts #crafter #crafting #craftblr #art and craft #art and literature

[libertyreads]

Book Review #105 of 2022--

The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Rating: 4.5 stars.

Read on September 1st.

Okay, so it might take me a minute to get back into the real world after spending most of the day sucked into this novel. But let’s get into it. The Final Gambit is the last book in The Inheritance Games trilogy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. The first book follows Avery as she discovers that a Texas billionaire she doesn’t know has left her almost his entire fortune--disinheriting his family to do so. They follow clue after clue to try to get to the bottom of why the eccentric billionaire would do something like this. We meet the disinherited family, including the four grandsons--Nash, Grayson, Jameson, and Xander. All are pragmatic, brilliant, and extraordinary. And none of them trust her. I can’t really explain what the next two books are about because spoilers.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: J.L.B. is one of my absolute favorite authors. There is just something so wonderful in her characters that make them find a place in my heart. Especially in this series. I think a lot of it stems from the fact that we get to see so many sides of these characters which makes them feel so real. Xander can be goofy and silly and one of my favorite characters ever (truly a golden retriever in human form), but there’s also this reality that he surrounds himself and his emotions with bubble wrap because he can’t stand to get hurt. Grayson has cracks in his facade that he tries to cover with his Armani suits and raised eyebrows, but the cracks always have a way of letting the light in. Jameson is such a deeply feeling person that he tries to make everything a game, but he also has a jealous side that makes sense with the past he has. Nash is overprotective because of who his mom is and how she kept leaving him. Libby and I are practically the same person (same name and all) which was really weird when I read the first book, but I still find aspects of her that I really enjoy. And Avery is just a study on the human condition. Especially coming from such a hard background. And I love these characters. Jameson and Grayson both make decisions in this one that I really don’t approve of but they do later lead to moments that will absolutely break your heart. The settings in these books are also amazing and I can picture everything so well. I think that the plot for this one doesn’t fit as seamlessly into the series as I was expecting, but it does take dramatic turns that I never saw coming and really enjoyed reading. I do wish we had more from this book but when is that not a complaint I have about a book I love?

I have to mention that reading the bonus material from the Barnes and Noble edition made my night. I cannot believe that this exists and it makes me so fucking happy. I literally snorted like a giant dork when I read parts of it. MULTIPLE SNORTS. It was amazing. If I was just rating that story, it’s a solid 5 stars. I need so much more of this kind of Hawthorne material. If we could get a Hawthorne Christmas short story? Please, I beg of you J.L.B. Make this Christmas lover’s wish come true.

Was this basically a review ranting about my love for The Inheritance Games, its characters, and its author? Maybe. Will I ever be able to fully discuss this book without gushing? Probably not. And that’s okay.

#the final gambit #Jennifer lynn barnes #the inheritance games #the Hawthorne legacy #the inheritance games trilogy #new release #young adult #ya #young adult literature #young adult lit #books read in 2022 #2022 reading challenge #goodreads challenge #goodreads #booklr #bookstagram #books #book

[lets-get-lit]

If we don't have each other, we don't have anything. 

- S.E. Hinton , The Outsiders

#quotes #books #literature #lit #classics #academia #light academia #dark academia #chaotic academia #book #book quotes #quotation #S.E. Hinton #Hinton #The Outsiders #stay gold ponyboy #Fiction #Novel #Young Adult Books #Young Adults Fiction

[hauntingfaerie]

𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔰𝔢 𝔟𝔬𝔬𝔨𝔰 𝔰𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔢𝔡 𝔪𝔢 𝔦𝔫𝔱𝔬 𝔴𝔥𝔬 𝔦 𝔞𝔪 𝔱𝔬𝔡𝔞𝔶 🕸️🖤

#goth lit #gothic lit #goth literature #gothic literature #books #young adult books #ya fiction #goth #gothic #goth aesthetic #gothcore #gothgoth #purple goth #whimsigoth #𓆩♡𓆪