The Book Search

 I don't often read YA but two showed up on my Netgalley list this week, how lucky!  They couldn't be more different, but they were both terrific! The first one is called Mere Mortals written by Erin Jade Lange.  It's about two vampires, Charlie (Charlotte) and Reg, sister and brother, who have been expelled from being vampires because of an unfortunate incident.  They are dropped off at a halfway house of sorts, where they can learn to be human again.  Charlie and Reg are very unhappy about this, particularly since the town where they've landed is a small town in Iowa that seems completely empty of culture or shopping or any of the things that Charlie and Reg think are fun.  They are staying with a man named Sal, who is meant to help them with the transition and they have been registered to attend the local high school.  They send out appeals to different groups of vampires to try to get their punishment cancelled but either get a negative response or...

After having plunged into the dark heart of middle grade fantasy fiction for the past few months, I'm coming out on the other side, ready to read some new things!  I happened to get a hold of some realistic fiction for upper middle grade or YA, bigger than what I've been reading and what a treat.  Here are two I read this week. The first one is a graphic novel called "Illegal" by Eion Colfer and Andrew Donkin.  I find graphic novels are not usually my first choice.  I read really fast and I love creating my own mental images.  I find the graphic novels require me to slow down, read the text and interpret the pictures because they are usually a big part of the story.  This one was worth slowing down for.  It's about a boy named Ebo.  It's told in two different parts and it flashes between the two parts of the story.  The story begins with Ebo finding that his brother, Kwame, has left the family home (which is pretty short on family-their par...

I've been reading a lot of picture books lately so it felt good to read some books that are definitely meant for bigger kids from Netgalley.  Bigger themes, bigger ideas, I do love picture books, but it's good to read lots of different things, right? The first one is a dystopian future novel called "The List" by Patricia Forde.  It has a completely horrifying premise-in the future, a group of people survive an apocalyptic event and the leader decides the big thing that needs to change is language.  People use words carelessly or ineffectively and so the words must be eliminated.  The wordsmith, Benjamin has an apprentice, a girl named Letta who helps him craft the lists of words that people ARE allowed to use.  But one day Benjamin goes out on a word finding mission and doesn't come back.  Letta is frightened by his disappearance, but more alarmed by a handsome young man who turns up on her doorstep.  The young man is clearly fleeing from the local m...

I don't usually read YA books.  I've gotten onto kind of a jag with middle grade fiction, so it felt good this week to break into the YA realm.  Some of it is very similar to the middle grade fiction (SO MUCH DEATH) and a lot of it is much, much bigger than the middle grade fiction.  Hence, the YA categorization. The first one is called "The Monster on the Road is Me" by J. P. Romney.  It's about a 15 year old boy named Koda.  He lived in a small town in Japan with his elderly parents who are shiitake mushroom farmers.  Koda can not imagine a fate worse than being a mushroom farmer, but it looks like that's where he's headed.  He loves video games, doesn't like school and he doesn't have many friends, mostly the kids at school pity him.  Koda was diagnosed with narcolepsy awhile back and so his parents insist that he wear a helmet so when he rides his bike, if he falls asleep, at least his head will be protected.  One day, a girl at Koda's ...

Since I've basically read nothing but middle grade fiction since October, I'm glad to be reading something else.  I fell with a thump into the YA books that have made all the "awesome" lists for this year and lucky for me they were all available at my local library!  I lead a charmed life. The first one I read was called "Everything, Everything" by Nicola Yoon.  It's about 18 year old Madeline who leads a very sheltered life because she has a rare immune deficiency which leaves her vulnerable to air and food borne pathogens.  Picture Bubble Boy as a girl.  Madeline is a kind, thoughtful, smart girl who is mostly obedient and makes the best of her situation (no whining or complaining for our girl!).  Madeline's mom is Japanese and her dad was African American but there aren't too many cultural references (other than to her hair)  there so I'm not sure that it matters.  Madeline's world is rocked when a new family moves in next door.  The...

I got to go to Books and Books in Coral Gables (squee!!!)  a couple of weeks ago and I read several awesome pictures books while I was there but I also picked up the Indie Next newsletter and have been begging my local library to loan me the books on the list.  I got three this weekend and they were terrific. My favorite one (so far) is called Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headly.  I'd never read anything by her, but I am SO glad I found this one.  I hesitate to write about the plot of this one because part of what I liked so much was the completely amazing plot twists.  It starts off about a 16 year old girl named Aza Ray.  She has been sick most of her life and has (what felt like to me) the usual suspects-the quirky best friend (Jason), the supportive family, and a really fresh attitude about being sick and being treated like she was sick.  There have been many predictions about her demise, each one scarier than the last and although I could sort of se...