what i’m reading: for the win + labour book club update
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…
youth books
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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. Hmm, do you mean Keeping You a Secret? Girl:…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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,…
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…