Cory Doctorow’s novel For the Win may have been the most unexpected title on my Labour Book Club booklist. It’s kind of science fiction (but not really), kind of YA (but not), and it doesn’t show up on most “books about unions” lists. But it is most definitely a book about
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wmtc: what i’m reading: like other girls: best youth fiction i’ve read in a long time
A girl wants to play football. That’s all. Well, not quite all. Mara wants to be herself. And that self wants to play football, among other things. Mara isn’t trying to make a statement. She doesn’t want to be political, and although she knows she’s gay, she doesn’t want to
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the bridge by bill konigsberg — important, powerful, essential teen fiction
The Bridge, by Bill Konigsberg, is the best YA novel I’ve read since Eleanor & Park in 2012. Unfortunately, I know that many readers won’t go near this book, because of its subject matter: teen suicide. This would be a terrible missed opportunity. It’s a great book that both teens
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: political graphic nonfiction: this place: 150 years retold
This Place: 150 Years Retold, foreward by Alicia Elliott. In keeping with my posts about political graphic nonfiction, here is a quote from This Place. The book is an anthology of 10 stories by 10 or 11 writers and illustrators. Each writer prefaces their story with context, including something about
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: graphic adaptation of anne frank’s diary
Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank, is many things to many people. It’s the most widely read and recognizable Holocaust narrative. It’s one of the most common ways to teach young people about the Holocaust specifically and genocidal in general. It’s a book for all ages. I read
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the marrow thieves, the glass beads
Cherie Dimaline’s The Marrow Thieves, winner of multiple Canadian awards, is a brilliant book — and a frightening one. Set in a future Canada after climate change has devastated the planet, Indigenous people are being hunted. The government believes Indigenous people are useful for survival. “Recruiters” kidnap them, and force
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the marrow thieves, the glass beads
Cherie Dimaline’s The Marrow Thieves, winner of multiple Canadian awards, is a brilliant book — and a frightening one. Set in a future Canada after climate change has devastated the planet, Indigenous people are being hunted. The government believes Indigenous people are useful for survival. “Recruiters” kidnap them, and force
Continue readingwmtc: in a youth novel about adoption, abortion doesn’t even exist
I am reading a YA novel about adopted people connecting with their biological siblings and parents. This is a topic I have written about and have an interest in, and it’s supposed to be a very good book: Far From the Tree, by Robin Benway. On page 3, the teenage
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: turtles all the way down, the new book by john green
I don’t usually write about a book while I’m still under its spell, but there are always exceptions. John Green’s Turtles All the Way Down is an exceptional book. One reason Green’s writing is so powerful is that he conjures both the specific and the universal at the same time. The
Continue readingwmtc: things i heard at the library: an occasional series: #23
Girl: Do you have this book, something like, “keeping a secret about you”? Me: Let’s take a look in the catalogue. [Stalling for time while scrolling through titles in my mind.] Hmm, do you mean Keeping You a Secret? Girl: Yes! I took a bus all the way from the
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: four realistic youth novels
Young-adult publishers’ mania for series, with the emphasis on fantasy, has finally ebbed. There are still plenty of fantasy series to go around, but the new crop of youth novels is chock full of individual titles in the realistic mode. (In YA land, “realistic” means the opposite of fantasy: set in
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: every exquisite thing by matthew quick
I recently had the pleasure of reading an advance reading copy of Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick. Quick – a/k/a Q – is the author of The Silver Linings Playbook, which I have not read, but now will.Every Exquisite Thing combines a few…
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the doubt factory, a young-adult thriller by paolo bacigalupi
A thriller about public relations? And for teens? It sounds improbable, and The Doubt Factory by Paolo Bacigalupi is an improbably terrific book. Marrying a somersaulting plot with heart-pounding suspense to an unabashed political agenda and a hot love story, Bacigalupi has delivered a stunning youth read. On the political front,
Continue readingwmtc: holden caulfield, ponyboy curtis, and my teen book club
“Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.” Recognize it? For me it’s one of the most memorable final sentences ever written. I just finished re-reading The Catcher in the Rye, possibly for the first time since reading it (twice) in high school. I remembered it
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the golden compass by philip pullman
The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman, has been on my to-read list since it was first published in the mid-1990s. Although I generally don’t read fantasy fiction, after reading an outstanding review in The New York Times Book Review, I was very intrigued. Thanks to the Teen Book Club I facilitate
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: four classic graphic novels for adults who think they don’t like graphic novels
Despite the increased attention given to graphic novels in recent years, many readers don’t consider graphic novels when thinking about what to read next. In this “what i’m reading” post, I highlight four graphic novels considered classics of the form. At least three of these books are included on high
Continue readingwmtc: coming full circle: my sixth-grade obsession meets my teen book club
Continuing on the young-adult fiction theme, it’s been about six months since I blathered about my absolute favourite part of my job: teen book club. Our monthly gathering is still going strong, a small but dedicated group of young readers who love books, and love to talk about books. My
Continue readingwmtc: the so-called "y.a. debate" rages on, but doesn’t a debate have two sides?
In June of this year, Slate ran a now-infamous piece called “Against YA,” in which Ruth Graham argued that adults shouldn’t read young-adult fiction, and should be embarrassed if they do. A flood of posts and essays were written in response; my own response is here. In the short term, as far
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: how i live now, excellent (youth) novel by meg rosoff
Last year, I wrote about an excellent, unusual youth novel called There Is No Dog, by Meg Rosoff. I recently read the author’s 2004 debut novel, How I Live Now, and I’m here to lay down a flat-out rave review. Most of How I Live Now is told from the
Continue readingwmtc: things i heard at the library: an occasional series: #15! one that makes me very happy!
The conversation was simple enough. Teenage girl: “Where is the nonfiction?” Me: “Nonfiction is upstairs, but it’s organized according to subject. There should be some nonfiction books on the Bingo display.” Teen: “I think they’re all gone.” Me: “OK, we’ll find you something. What would you like to read about?”
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