Oh Hey, It’s November

Hi all,

It has been a whirlwind of September/October/November and now it’s nearly Thanksgiving and we haven’t posted our reviews for some time! Thanks for waiting, but here’s what we’ve read these past few months.

Nominations

Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry

This story is about two girls who are lesbians in a very conservative and homophobic town. when they are caught, they are sent to a conversion camp. Our main character Raya resolves to take her[self] and her best friend and escape the camp.

–Sarah Nominates

 

Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry

Brynne Rebele-Henry paints a harsh picture of the reality of life in a conservative Texas town. Raya, the main character, is sent to a conversion camp after she is caught kissing her best friend Sarah. The book reveals the cruel realities of life in these kinds of places, telling a story that needs to be told.

–Nicole Nominates

 

Dig by A.S. King

An intricate mystery about deep roots that connect a strange yet relatable cast of characters. The book expertly weaves paranormality with a cryptic visualization of the mind while explaining the very real problems of the physical world. The author easily gives each member of the ensemble cast a distinct voice to keep the story fresh while also connecting the characters with common themes to keep the reader curious. Dig was a wonderful journey through the tunnels of the mind that I would be happy to nominate.

–Caleb Nominates

 

Recommendations

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

This fairy-tale retelling of Twelve Dancing Princesses captured my attention quickly. The magical elements were not worked in very well, but otherwise the story was intriguing and fun.

–Nicole Recommends

Butterfly Yellow by Thanhha Lai

It is about a girl who is finding her lost brother. Plot twist when she realizes that her brother is right in front of her [a] completely different person. I think it was a good book, it was funny at some points. It should be recommended because it was overall a good book with a great plot.

–Gania Recommends

 

Impossible Music by Sean Williams

A guy becomes deaf and can’t hear anything, especially music. He loves to play music and once he becomes deaf, his whole life turns upside down. He starts to lose meaning in life until a girl helps him find himself again. I liked the plot and the detailed descriptions. Also, I like how they use sign language in the book. In all, I recommend this book, because it’s a great book but not Newbery [Printz]-worthy.

–Gania Recommends

 

Black Enough Edited by Ibi Zoboi

Black Enough is an excellent anthology featuring multiple different black kids living their lives. I really enjoyed all the stories and would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of anthologies.

–Nicole Recommends

 

The Disasters by M.K. England

The Disasters tells an excellent, twist-rich tale about four rejects from a space academy teaming up to solve a crime–while being framed for said crime. It is a fun wild ride of a read. I enjoyed it very much and definitely intend to read more of M.K.’s books.

–Nicole Recommends

 

Final Nomination List

So our last meeting is this upcoming Friday and I have assembled a list of all the books that have been nominated for the Printz by our Mock-Printz club. The list is in alphabetical order by title, and the place in line in no way indicates the standing or number of nominations that a book has.

1. Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Sacanna Ganucheau
2. The Cold is in Her Bones by Perernelle Arsdale
3. Dig by A.S. King
4. Fear of Missing Out by Kate McGovern
5. Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett
6. The Hummingbird Dagger by Cindy Anstey
7. The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan
8. The Lovely War by Julie Berry
9. The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg
10. Orpheus Girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry
11. Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson
12. Slay by Brittany Morris
13. The Things She’s Seen by Ambelin Kwaymullina and Ezekiel Kwaymullina
14. The Trans-Human Project by Erin Rhew
15. Voices: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc by David Elliot
16. You Owe Me a Murder by Eileen Cook

 

May the best book win!

 

 

Second September Meeting

Hi all,

Bit of a delay between the meeting and the posting, but things have been pretty crazy at the library and I’ve only now gotten all the reviews together and sat down to type them all up.

Our second September meeting had a pretty low attendance because school is back in session and the readers are a studious bunch, but the books have been read and reviewed and here’s what we have:

Girls With Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young

Suzanne Young’s “Girls With Sharp Sticks” is a sci-fi novel set in an all-girls school designed to morph teen girls into the ideal wives for men. The main character, Mena, begins to realize that the school is much more twisted than it seems. I like the poems featured in the book, and how accurately it depicts and amplifies how damaging misogyny can be. The writing style was a little dull, which made some parts more difficult to get through, but the plot and theme overall was interesting, and I’d recommend it to those who are interested in the dystopian side of science fiction.

Recommended by J.S.

The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis

The Good Luck Girls was an intriguing fantasy dystopian centered on five girls: Aster, Tansy, Mallow, Violet, and Clementine. They escape from the “welcome house” where they’re living and end up on a quest to find safety after a terrible accident. I loved it so much I read it in less than a day. It hooked me from the start and didn’t let go.

Recommended by N.S.

Hello Girls by Brittany Cavallaro and Emily Henry

Hello Girls was an intriguing read about two girls escaping abusive lifestyles, but I had an issue with the writing style. I can’t remember what it was right off the bat, but something about the way the two girls were written bugged me. I couldn’t even finish the book, because the thought of slogging through to the end drove me crazy. The plot idea was great, the execution, not so much.

Reviewed by N.S.

 

We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with more books read and reviewed. Until then,

 

Happy Reading!

September Meeting 1

Hi All,

School has begun! We’re working on reading potential Printz books between working on school work, homework, and our jobs and these are the ones we’ve reviewed so far.

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

• Stepsister is the story of Cinderella’s step sisters. The story starts when Cinderella leaves with Prince Charming. After that moments the stepsisters’ lives turn upside down. They start to change into different people and face many challenges
• One of the stepsisters talks to monkeys and has amazing talent in fighting
• I think it was a great book with a lot of character development and a lot of adventure.

Recommended by Gania

Fever Year by Don Brown

• It is about the killer flu that killed many people in 1918.
• More than 3,000 people died in America in 1918 [from the flu].
• “I think it being a graphic novel helped make the story more interesting because you weren’t just reading a bunch of information” (approximated quote)

Recommended by Gania

Lovely War by Julie Berry

When Aphrodite is caught committing adultery by her husband, she begins telling an intricate tale following four individuals in World War II in hope that the tale will show her husband what she is going through. The novel is written in different perspectives and really captures human nature beautifully. This romance/historical-fiction fusion was a page turner and I highly recommend it for all history fanatics.

Recommended by Shreeya

Unnatural Disasters by Jeff Hirsch

A girl tries to rebuild after DC is bombed and her world falls apart. I found the way the story skips ahead to be a little annoying, but other than that it was an enjoyable read.

Recommended by Caleb

Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett

A story of a black, questioning teen girl with HIV struggling to navigate high school. It focuses on her relationships with her friends and fellow classmates, and attempting to keep her HIV a secret. A liked how well the main character was written and developed, and her story is one that needs to be told. It was an excellent book, I would highly recommend.

Nominated by Jackie

 

We have another meeting coming up this Friday and some more books to review then, so stay tuned.

 

Happy Reading!

Two More Reviews

Hi All,

With the last 3 meetings being only a week apart, it’s been harder to finish books, but we still got two done and here are the reviews!

Slay by Brittney Morris

An intriguing story about a black coder and a murder. Kiera invents a[n online] game, but then someone is murdered. Her game is called racist, then a troll invades [it]. I thought it was really intriguing and would recommend.

–Recommended by Nicole

((For those of you not familiar with internet culture, a ‘troll’ in this context refers to someone on the internet who deliberately causes trouble and tries to ignite arguments and animosity between others. Trolls often cause trouble for the enjoyment of the chaos and anger it brings. A popular internet saying is “Don’t feed the trolls,” meaning that you should not encourage these types of people by paying attention and responding to them.))

The Kingdom by Jess Rothernberg

Jess Rothenberg’s ‘The Kingdom’ takes place ina high tech theme park that features cyborgs. It follows Ana, one of the park’s “hybrids” (cyborgs). One of the park’s employees is missing and Ana is suspected of murder. This book was well-written and I would definitely recommend it.

–Recommended by Anonymous

 

We’ve got another meeting Friday, so hopefully we can crank a few more reviews out then!

 

Happy Reading!

August 2019–Meeting 1

Hello all,

We’ve been reading and reading so here are our reviews!

Stepsister by Jennifer Donelly

Stepsister by Jennifer Donelly is a retelling of Cinderella from the point of view of one of the “ugly” stepsisters. Told through the eyes of the stepsister, Isabelle, and the Greek god Dionysus, the story follows Isabelle after her stepsister Ella became queen. I like this book because it has themes like the meaning of ‘beautiful’ and redemption as well as changing your fate. The only reason I wouldn’t nominate this book would be the ending. However, the rest of the book was well worth reading.

–Recommended by Anonymous

The Things She’s Seen by Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina

A dead girl helps her father solve crimes and move past his own grief. A surreal yet heartfelt story for mystery lovers and supernaturalists alike.

–Nominated by Caleb

Lovely War by Julie Berry

“Lovely War” by Julie Berry is a romance taking place in World War I as told by Aphrodite. The book starts with Hephaestus catching Aphrodite and Ares in an affair in a golden net. He then puts them on trial and Aphrodite tells two stories of romances she helped to build during the war. I loved the writing style, the dialogue, and the perspective on Aphrodite’s work. This was a beautifully written book and I would highly recommend it, especially to those interested in Greek mythology.

–Nominated by Jackie

Slay by Brittney Morris

“Slay” by Brittney Morris is a story of a teen girl who developed an online video game celebrating black history and culture. She develops this came called Slay to create a safe space for black players, but after a murder over a Slay dispute occurs in the real world, the game is debated all over the media. I liked the character development and how the plot was developed. This was a good read and I would highly recommend it.

–Nominated by Jackie

 

We’ve got one more meeting in August and then school will start again so our reading habits might drop as we are inundated with schoolwork, extracurricular activities, jobs, and balancing our lives this year. We’ll keep at it though, and post again after the second August meeting.

 

Happy Reading!

July 2019 Meetings

Hello again,

The summer seems to be flying by and we’ve got a few more recommendations and nominations of 2019 YA books. We’ve had some really great discussions about what we do and don’t like in books, what characters we like and why, and what pacing we prefer as readers. Here are our reviews:

We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Mieja

An interesting dystopian society with complex characters.

Recommended by Anonymous

Lovely War by Julie Berry

An interesting and unique story about love in times of war and told through the eyes of Greek gods and goddesses. A long read, but completely worth it.

Recommended by Anonymous

The Transhuman Project by Erin Rhew

A really unique story with memorable and interesting characters that keeps you captivated from beginning to end.

Recommended by Anonymous

The Cerulean by Amy Ewing

A unique fantasy with relatable characters.

Recommended by Anonymous

Genesis Begins Again by Alicia Williams

A heartwarming story about a girl’s hard life.

Recommended by Nicole

Dig by AS King

I loved the funky uniqueness of this book and the way the various plot lines foil and converge in the end. The characters are deep and authentic and the writing is amazing.

Nominated by Anonymous

Fear of Missing Out by Kate McGovern

A wonderfully written, yet sad story of a girl with astrocytoma, AKA brain cancer. Along with her best friend a boyfriend, she goes on a road trip for her last chance to live.

Nominated by Anonymous

Our next meeting is on August 9th and we all took home plenty of reading material to share our thoughts next post. Stay cool, it’s getting hot out there.

Happy Reading!

June Week 1

Hello again friends,

We’ve just finished our exams and are starting up summer jobs, summer internships, summer adventures, and of course, summer books! Below are a few books we read during exams and enjoyed!

 

Wicked Saints by Emily Duncan

A great world with interesting characters and wonderful magic.

Lauren Recommends

 

The Devouring Grey by Christine Lynn Herman

A strong mystery with realistic characters and an interesting monster.

Caleb Recommends

 

Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds

It was alright, the plot was interesting, and there were scenes between the characters that felt raw and real, but other than that, the writing style was dull. It was okay so I put recommend, maybe someone else can read it and see if it’s interesting to someone else?

Anonymous Recommends

(Further review with spoilers below)

 

We have another meeting this Friday and with our members travelling, working, interning, and more, hopefully we’ll have a few reviews for you then.

 

Happy Reading!

 

After this there are spoilers for ‘Opposite of Always, so please stop reading now if you don’t want to spoil the book!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

May Meeting 2

Hello again,

Summer approaches as the school year comes to an end for most of our bookclub members. As this is the case, we’re all pretty swamped with upcoming exams, final projects, AP testing, and general end-of-school chaos. We have been reading, but don’t have a ton of time to do it right now. We should get into gear in June, but for now here are 2 reviews!

Bloom by Kevin Panetta (Author), Savanna Ganucheau (Illustrator)

It was very gay and cute. Recommend.

–Caleb

 

 

The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

A profound look into what makes us human.

–Caleb

 

Short, sweet and to the point! We have our digital review submission form up now, so hopefully that will allow us to get some reviews done in between exams, papers, projects, and tests. It’s hard to get recreational reading done when school is throwing all of this at you!

 

Happy Reading!

May Meeting #1

Hi again all,

We talked a lot this meeting about how many books we still had to read on the ever-growing list of Mock-Printz books. Because it’s been a month, many of the books we read in April didn’t get reviewed until just now, so our memories were a little fuzzy. The librarian is working on a submission system that would make submissions easier for us to do from home, so hopefully by next meeting we should be able to get more reviews on the blog.

Today, we have just one review, a nomination.

Bloom by Kevin Panetta & Savanna Ganucheau

Literally the cutest, most natural romance I’ve ever read and the characters are so relatable. It has a boy who wants to leave a small town falling for a boy who’s hired to work in the bakery owned by the first boy’s family and their progression from friends to lovers is so adorably natural.

–Nominated by Ash

‘Bloom’ has gotten a lot of positive buzz in our club and I think we’ll be getting more reviews of it as the summer goes on. We’ll have more for you next time, but for now, welcome back and happy reading!

March 15 & 22 Meetings

Hello Everyone,

April is an ‘off’ month so no Printz meetings until May, but we have the last 2 weeks’ meetings and our reviews.

Before we get to that, however, let’s talk about our most recent book that sparked a discussion. On a Scale of One to Ten by Ceylan Scott is a story about a teen in a psychiatric hospital following the disappearance of her best friend. It is at least partially based on the author’s experiences as a teen with Borderline Personality Disorder. We received an Advanced Reader’s Copy from the publisher. The first person who read it had a lot of critiques, including the lack of people of color. The teen passionately declared that “Mental illness does not discriminate,” and we discussed how in the setting (London), it didn’t make a lot of sense for there to be no people of color, especially since London has a large immigrant population. The teen also disliked how the teen characters interacted with the hospital staff and the effect that one of the more chaotic characters had on the rest of the cast. I took it home to read and we discussed the book again at the meeting on the 22nd and I offered my thoughts as well. We have another teen reading the book over April so I’m looking forward to having another discussion. Throughout our discussions about On a Scale of One to Ten, the book club members had a really good talk about mental illness, how it is depicted, and how different people react to experiencing it and reading about others experiencing it.

In our March 22 meeting, we also discussed if we should add award categories as well as voting for our Printz nominees. Some suggested categories were ‘Best of’ and ‘Worst of’ heroes, villains, and supporting characters. We’ll talk some more about adding other categories in May.

Reviews

Bloom by Kevin Panetta & Savanna Gancheau

“It was a sweet idea, but I felt like the characters were kind of annoying and weak. I also didn’t like the consistently blue coloring, it didn’t show much and I felt like it was mainly for the aesthetic attempt but it got old very quickly. The story also got kind of boring as it went on and I really lost interest.”

–Anonymous (Recommended)

 

Nominations

Voices by David Elliot

“A wonderfully styled story in verse with a natural flow that carries the book well.”

–Caleb

 

Nocturna by Maya Montayne

“An amazing story for any fantasy-lover, it follows a thief and a prince’s journey to save their kingdom from a dark magic [that] they accidentally released. The story takes place in a well-described Latinx kingdom, this novel is a page turner!”

–Shreeya

 

The next month will not have any new posts or reviews but we’ll be reading and should have plenty for you come May.

Happy Reading!

Reviews from March 3rd Meeting

Hello Again,

Our past meeting was certainly an interesting one. In addition to several new reads and reviews, some of our members had an intense debate about ‘Four Dead Queens’ by Astrid Scholte. One of the teens who read it was a fan, the other had lots of critiques of the book. Another person took it home at the end of the meeting, so we’ll see what they think! A book that gets people riled up and arguing is always a fun thing to have in a book club and I’m looking forward to future debates about it!

Our Recommendations

In the Neighborhood of True by Susan Kaplan Carlton

“Intriguing and meaningful historical fiction story with a good balance of romance, humor, and teenage fun.” –Shreeya

96 Words for Love by Ava Dash

“An amazingly written coming-of-age story including traveling to another country, falling in love, and finding yourself.” –Nicole

Spectacle by Jodie Lunn Zdrok

“Nathalie Baudin’s life is turned upside down when she begins having visions of a serial killer murdering their victims. This book is wonderfully written and the characters are greatly developed.” –Lauren

Our Nominations

The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

“A heartwarming and moving story of a Muslim teenager and her journey to stay with the girl she loves despite the conservative wishes of her homophobic parents. This book and its characters are incredibly real and well-written”–Shreeya

The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg

“A wonderful story of two guys navigating the world around them together and helping each other find themselves.” –Jacqulyn

We’re meeting again on March 15th, but because it’s only been a week since our last meeting, there might be a few less reviews in the next post. Less time between meetings means less reading gets done!

Happy Reading!

Reviews from February 8th and 15th

Hello Again,

We’ve had a couple of meetings and read a few more books. Here are the ones we’d like to recommend!

Two Can Keep a Secret–Karen McManus

A wonderful murder mystery, it’s fast-paced and a great read for anyone who loves mysteries.

–Shreeya Recommends

Romanov–Nadine Brandes

A wonderfully intriguing story about Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov. Tragic and beautiful and magical all at the same time.

–Nicole Recommends

The Next Great Paulie Fink–Ali Benjamin

Hilarious and impossible to put down. A great read for anytime you need something hilarious and light.

–Nicole Recommends

The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali–Sabina Khan

An inspiring story about a girl who fights to overcome gender inequality and homophobia in her house, to get an education, and to be with the girl she loves.

–Tanvi Nominates

The Cold is in Her Bones–Peternelle van Arsdale

A haunting book that follows Milla, a young woman who wants to see the world beyond the tiny farm she lives on. The book is beautifully written and genuinely terrifying.

–Lauren Nominates

 

We’re still in the early part of the year when we’re reading a lot of Advanced Readers’ Editions of books that haven’t come out yet so if there isn’t a link embedded in the title it’s because the Wake County Library hasn’t bought or ordered it yet, or it is unavailable for order because it has not yet been published. To make a purchase request through Wake County Libraries to get some of the books our club recommends, follow this link and fill out the form to request that the library system order books you’d like to read!

We’ll be back in two weeks with more reviews for you. Until then,

 

Happy Reading!

 

 

2019 Printz Awards Announced

The Printz awards were announced on January 28th and here they are!

Winner:

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

 

Honor Books:

Damsel by Elana K Arnold

 

A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti

 

I, Claudia by Mary McCoy

 

This year, none of our Mock-Printz winners were the same as the official Printz award winners. What do you think that the books we picked have that the official Printz books don’t? What do the official Printz books have that our picks didn’t?

Feel free to share your thoughts, we’ll certainly be talking about it at our next meeting!

 

 

Happy Reading!

January 18th Meeting

Hello again everyone,

It’s been a hectic week, but I do have 4 new reviews from our Printz readers! We got four books read that we’d like to recommend.

A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

A wonderfully nostalgic retelling of Beauty and the Beast. The book follows Harper, a teenage girl who was dragged into a fairy tale world, and Rhen, a prince who must fall in love in order to break the curse.

–Lauren

Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte

An interesting murder mystery with well developed characters and world. 

-Jacqulyn

Voices: the Final Hours of Joan of Arc by David Elliot

This book follows Joan of Arc through her life and death. The book has wonderfully flowing poetry and is emotionally gripping as Joan struggles to prove her worth.

–Lauren

White Rose by Kip Wilson

A non-fiction book written in poetry follows the story of Sophie, a German university student who rebelled against the Nazi regime. A fast-paced page-turner.

–Shreeya

 

Books in verse seem to be growing in popularity; we saw more of them towards the end of 2018 and started 2019 off with two. We are also only 4 days away from the 2018 Printz award winners being announced and our club seeing how our picks measured up against the Printz Committee.

Our next meeting is February 8th and we’ll be back then with more reviews and recommendations.

Happy Reading!

2019 Printz Has Begun!

Welcome to 2019! We had our first meeting of the year last Friday and shared some of the 2019 Advanced Readers Copies we’d read over the winter break. Here are our reviews of our winter reads!

These books have been recommended by their readers:

Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith

Jacqulyn says, “A fascinating fantasy filled with conspiracy and mystery.”

 

You Owe Me a Murder by Eileen Cook

Nicole says, “Good storyline with plenty of action to keep readers on their toes.”

 

Dissenter on the Bench by Victoria Ortiz

Sarah says, “An excellent introduction to an extraordinary woman. A great place to start if you don’t know anything about RBG [Ruth Bader Ginsburg].”

 

This book has been given a nomination:

The Transhuman Project by Erin Rhew

Nicole says, “One of the most intriguing dystopians I’ve read. Full of plot twists and turns, action and in intriguing world.” 

We have another meeting this Friday and we’ll (hopefully) have more reviews and opinions for you then!

 

Our 2018 Mock-Printz Books

We’ve had a fun and interesting year, but after some discussion and debate, here are our 2018 Mock-Printz Books.

Winner:

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan

 

First Honor Book:

When Light Left Us by Leah Thomas

 

Second Honor Book:

MunMun by Jesse Andrews

 

Third Honor Book:

Bridge of Clay by Marcus Zusak

 

Bridge of Clay by Marcus Zusak, Dry by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman, and Hey Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka were all released a little later in the year and thus many of the teens in Printz didn’t get to read them, but the teens that did were loudly supportive of them and had we gotten more readers, this year’s vote might have been even more intense than it already was.

Some 2019 ARCs have already been handed out to read over winter break and my Printz teens are welcome to come knock on the office door if they want to pick some up to read before the next meeting. Coming in January, expect more opinions, more reviews, and until then,

Happy Reading!

 

More Reviews!

We have two weeks left in the Printz session and one meeting to go–it’s crunch time! Everyone has been busy in school and with reading, so here are a couple more reviews!

The History of Jane Doe by Michael Belanger

Burgerville is a quiet, uneventful town until Jane moves in from the city and introduces her eccentric personality to everyone present. The book is an emotional rollercoaster that stays true to the interactions of real-life teens.

–Lauren Nominates

A well-written romance that deals with depression in an elegant fashion. The realistic characters and avoidance of cliches make this a delightful read.

–Caleb Recommends

Sawkill Girls by Clare Legrand

An interesting fantasy/horror story with complex, well-written characters and an engaging plotline. Three characters unite to fight a monster that has been the cause of disappearing girls on Sawkill Island.

–Jackie Recommends

Hey Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

A graphic novel memoir written by Jarret J Krosczka, a graphic illustrator who grew up with a drug-addicted mother and no father in the picture. The dark art style fits perfectly with the somber tone and makes it a very touching and affecting book.

–Daniel Nominates

Our next meeting will be when we duke out which book deserves the Printz award! With several contenders on the list and everyone having strong opinions, this should be an intense meeting!

 

 

Our Club Recommends…

Hello everyone,

We’ve only got 3 meetings left in our Mock-Printz session before we make our final vote, but here are some teen reviews of items on this year’s Mock-Printz booklist!

 

Pride by Ibi Zoboi

A modern take on Pride and Prejudice. When a rich family moves into ‘the hood’ it shakes up Zuri Benitez’s family forever. 

–Ben 

Dry by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman

A story of four kids trying to survive the Tap-Out (when the California drought gets so bad that the water stops running). It’s a really intriguing story about survival and what happens when humankind loses something necessary to life.

–Nicole

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan

TACoA takes place after the main character’s mother committed suicide. The main character decides to fly to China with her father in an attempt to connect with her mother’s parents and unravels some truths about her mother along the way. TACoA is a beautiful, fantastically written book which perfectly captures the distress of grief and treads the thin line between reality and hallucinations.

–Lauren

Down and Across by Arvin Ahmadi

A book about true grit and achieving your dreams, even if you don’t know what they are. The main character, Scott (given name Saaket), escapes his pressurizing family to go to Washington DC in a not-so-classic coming-of-age tale instead of his high intensity internship that he doesn’t want. Throw in a cute girl, no money, and some livid parents, and you’ve got a recipe for a good story. 

–Tanvi

Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman

‘Tess of the Road’ follows Tess, a young adult who feels that her only escape from the ridicule of society is to set off on her own adventure. It is fantastically written novel about a girl’s struggle in a society which doesn’t accept intelligent women.

–Lauren

 

Currently the 5 books with the most nominations are: (in order)

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan

MunMun by Jesse Andrews

The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis

When Light Left Us by Leah Thomas

Blood, Water, Paint by Joy McCullough

 

Our final vote draws near!

Yours in Reading,

The Eva Perry Printz Club

 

Our Mid-Year Voting Party

EDIT: THE RESULTS ARE IN!!! Our mid-year vote goes to:

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan

And our three runners-up are:

Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card by Sara Saedi

MunMun by Jesse Andrews

When Light Left Us by Leah Thomas

We intended to pick four runners up, but the following two titles were tied for votes:

Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman

Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles

So suffice it to say that Tess and Tyler are also REALLLLLY good books.

This mid-year vote was good practice for our real vote at the end of the year, and gave us an opportunity to highlight our favorite books so far. These results will not affect which books are eligible for our end-of-year official vote, and we will not be ruling out the books that did not make it onto our mid-year voting ballot.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

On Friday we’re throwing a party to celebrate the end of our summer session, and we’re doing a mid-year vote on what our fave books this year have been, so far! This should help us focus on the best stuff during the busy fall publishing season, and will delineate some clear winners from the first half of the year.

On the ballot are books that have been nominated by at least one book club member:

Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card by Sara Saedi

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan

Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough

A Conspiracy of Stars by Olivia Cole

The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis

MunMun by Jesse Andrews

The Place Between Breaths by An Na

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman

Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles

When Light Left Us by Leah Thomas

We’re excited to recognize these talented authors (and in one case, illustrator)! We have read some seriously great books this year, and I’m sure we’ll find some more during the fall session. Stay tuned for our mid-year voting results!

 

2018 Reading List

Click the title to go to the Wake County Public Library catalog and read a summary of each book, and visit THIS LINK to view where each book stands with votes from the club!

A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena

After The Shot Drops by Randy Ribay

All Out: The No-Longer Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages

American Panda by Gloria Chao

Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card by Sara Saedi

And She Was by Jessica Verdi

Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan

“A very thought-provoking story following a girl’s journey after her mother commits suicide, where she slowly unravels the mystery surrounding her mother’s family, and comes to terms with her death.” -Daniel

The Beauty That Remains by Ashley Woodfolk

“This book is about three high schoolers, Autumn, Shay, and Logan, wha are separately dealing with the deaths of their own special someone: Autumn’s best friend passed away in a car accident, Logan’s ex-boyfriend supposedly committed suicide, and Shay’s twin sister died from cancer. Each person also has something to do with music: Logan writes it, Shay has a blog about it, and I’m pretty sure Autumn just likes to listen to it. So when death strikes, Autumn, Shay, and Logan forget about their passions for music and develop their own unhealthy and healthy ways of coping but they don’t know that music will bring them together and heal old wounds. I thought this book was okay. When I started reading this book, I was really into it and actually planning on nominating it. I changed my mind halfway through the book because it started to slow down. On the other hand, I feel like this author’s writing style was really great. Overall, it wasn’t a terrible book but some parts of the plot could have been improved or better explained.” -Ayesha

Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough

“‘I will show you what a woman can do.’ Artemisia Gentileschi is a painter in Rome in 1610–also one of the first women to take her rapist to court. This book in verse tells the historically accurate and impactful story of a wonderful painter, and a true feminist.” -Tanvi

The Book of Pearl by Timothee de Fombelle

Boots on the Ground by Elizabeth Partridge

Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Penelope Bagieu

A Conspiracy of Stars by Olivia Cole

The Dangerous Art of Blending In by Angelo Surmelis

“A very sad, tear-jerking novel, but at the same time full of hope. This book follows Evan, a closeted Greek gay [person] through his struggles growing up with an abusive mother and a dad who’s too afraid to stand up for him.” -Hailey M.

One-word reactions: “fantastic, amazing, Greek, religious, sad, emotional, depressing, stereotypes, abusive.”

Down and Across by Arvin Ahmadi

Dread Nation: Rise Up by Justina Ireland

Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All by M.T. Anderson et. al.

Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake

I Have Lost My Way by Gayle Foreman

The History of Jane Doe by Michael Belanger

A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi

Life Inside My Mind edited by Jessica Burkhart

A Lite Too Bright by Samuel Miller

Love, Hate, and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed

Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany Jackson

Moonrise by Sarah Crossan

MunMun by Jesse Andrews

“Munmun puts modern economic struggles into perspective with a humorous twist: the more money you have, the bigger you are. In this brilliant satire, Warner goes on a fabulous adventure to gain more ‘munmun’ and increase his ‘littlepoor’ status.” – Katherine M.

“[Munmun is] a wonderful brother and sister adventure that provokes you to read hours at a time.” – book club member

My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma

Picture Us In The Light by Kelly Loy Gilbert

The Place Between Breaths by An Na

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang

Pitch Dark by Courtney Alameda

Reign The Earth by A.C. Gaughen

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young

The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik by David Arnold

Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman

Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles

Twelve Steps to Normal by Farrah Penn

Votes for Women! American Suffragists and the Battle for the Ballot by Winifred Conkling

What I Leave Behind by Alison McGhee

What The Night Sings by Vesper Stamper

We’ll Fly Away by Bryan Bliss

When Light Left Us by Leah Thomas

“A heartfelt story about a family recuperating from the leaving of an alien parasite. Has extremely good characters and plot development, I would recommend it to anyone.” -Daniel H.

When My Heart Joins the Thousand by A.J. Steiger

Our 2017 Mock-Printz Votes Are In!

Congrats, Eva Perry Mock Printz Club members, on a successful voting session last night! Below are our results:

2017 medalist: 

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

2017 honors:

Midnight at the Electric by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Soldier Boy by Keeley Hutton

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez

Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Katie Ormsbee

Voting procedures: we cast our votes in person by anonymous weighted ballot (1st place = 5 points, 2nd place = 3 points, 3rd place = 1 point), and then some stalwart Printz members were in charge of tallying points and fielding disagreements as we attempted to narrow down honors. The Hate U Give won by a landslide at 46 points (the next closest was Midnight at the Electric at 31 points), but the honors were harder to suss out. You may notice we have 5 honors instead of the 4 that ALA allows–we decided all 5 were very strong contenders, and there was at least one person ready to fight for each one. Therefore…5 honors this year. Other than that, we stuck to ALA’s voting guidelines and “literary excellence” criteria, which can be viewed here.

If you want more info about what we read this year, visit this public list on our library’s catalog site to see what the club recommended or nominated: BRiAN list.

It’s Almost Voting Time!!

New nominations this week: Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson, and The Pearl Thief by Elizabeth Wein. Welcome to the big ole party, books!

We’re at just a little over two weeks til the big vote; the ALA Printz committee releases their vote February 12th, and we’ll be announcing ours just a couple days before, on February 10th. It’ll be interesting to see how our picks compare!

We meet this Friday to narrow down the list (and possibly add new nominations), but as it stands now our nominees are:

2 or more nominations:

• The Hate U Give (12 nom)
• Dear Martin (3 nom)
• Midnight at the Electric (3 nom)
• Genuine Fraud (2 nom)
• Grit (2 nom)
• Radio Silence (2 nom)
• Tash Hearts Tolstoy (2 nom)
• Vincent and Theo (2 nom)

1 nomination:

• Bull 
• Frogkisser! 
• I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
• Night Witches 
• One of Us Is Lying
• The Pearl Thief 
• Piecing Me Together
• Shadow Run 
• Soldier Boy
• Thornhill 
• Who Killed Christopher Goodman? 
• You Bring the Distant Near

And our recommended titles are:

• Beck
• Beyond the Bright Sea
• City of Saints and Thieves
• Crossing Ebenezer Creek
• Disappeared
• History Is All You Left Me
• Honestly, Ben
• Moxie
• Optimists Die First
• Posted
• Queer, There, and Everywhere
• Ramona Blue
• Release
• Saint Death
• Spellbook of the Lost and Found
• The Education of Margot Sanchez
• There’s Someone Inside Your House
• We Are Okay

We’ll update this site with whatever new adventures Friday brings!

New Nominations!

The Mock Printz Club had our first meeting in a month this past Friday, and there was a lot to catch up on. We added three new nominations: Because I Was a Girl (edited by Melissa de la Cruz), Bull by David Elliott, and Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart. Bull and Genuine Fraud have been out for a little while, but have only just started to catch the club’s interest, while the nominator said that Because I Was A Girl did what Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World (ed. Kelly Jensen) tried to do, but more eloquently.

Below are the nominations/recommendations written by our club members this week:

Genuine Fraud (nominated): “a fascinating story of crime, murder, and identity theft told backwards with a series of unexpected twists and turns.” – Lauren S.

Bull (nominated): “An awesome book about the Minotaur. Written in a poem format with very interesting characters, especially Poseidon.” – Hasana M.

Dear Martin (nominated): “I thought this book was really good at showing microagression that kids my age see today. Artistic, tragic, beautiful.” – Gracie S.

A List of Cages (recommended): “Two former foster brothers reunite in high school after Julian was taken in by his uncle. Touching and heartfelt.” – Grace K.

Too Many Books, Too Little Time!

We’re approaching our voting date (February 9th), and we still have a ton of possible winners and nominees to consider. Our nominees so far are as follows:

Carve the Mark – Veronica Roth

Dear Martin – Nic Stone

Frogkisser! – Garth Nix

*Grit – Gillian French

*The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas

Night Witches – Kathryn Lasky

One of Us Is Lying – Karen McManus

Radio Silence – Alice Oseman

Shadow Run – AdriAnne Strickland

Soldier Boy – Keely Hutton

Tash Hearts Tolstoy – Katie Ormsbee

Thornhill – Pam Smy

*Vincent and Theo – Deborah Heiligman

Who Killed Christopher Goodman? – Allan Wolf

You Bring the Distant Near – Mitali Perkins

*starred items were nominated by more than one reader

Leading the pack is The Hate U Give (no surprises there), with 8 nominations–one from every reader who finished it. Across the board it has been called relevant, timely, honest, authentic, and is populated by a cast of very real characters whose stories need telling. Several books we’ve read have tried to capture the spirit of the #BlackLivesMatter movement (Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, American Street by Ibi Zoboi, and Allegedly by Tiffany Jackson, to name a few). Dear Martin looks like a close second among the members who have read it so far, but nothing has taken us by storm the way Thomas’ debut has.

On top of the 94-book longlist (yikes!) that are working through, we are keeping an eye out for those late-in-the-year show-stealers: this month we added the nonfiction tome Because I Was a Girl: True Stories for Girls of All Ages edited by Melissa De La Cruz; The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy; A Skinful of Shadows by Frances Hardinge; and What Girls Are Made Of by Elana K. Arnold. Just hope we can get through the list!

 

 

Nominees & Recommendations

Reading Corps/Mock Printz Favs Published in 2017

Nominees:

                                     

Grit by Gillian French – nominated by Lauren
A story of the girl everyone knows, although she isn’t quite what they think.  A moving story of secrets, family, and romance.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas – nominated by Hasana and Dionejala
A story that follows a 16-year old who struggles between two aspects of her life–living in a poor neighborhood and going to a prep school.  Her friend dies as a result of police brutality/misconduct and she struggles between speaking out and keeping quiet.  The book accurately portrays the harsh reality of being judged based on race and economic class.

Shadow Run by AdriAnne Strickland – nominated by Byron
A dual-perspective cosmic take on political conquest involving the discovery of telepathic powers.  From a small fishing planet yields an analysis of a rural starship captain’s plunge into a politically correct capitol city.

Soldier Boy by Keely Hutton – nominated by Lauren
A young Ugandan boy is abducted by soldiers of the rebellion. He and his brother struggle to escape while keeping a spark of hope alive.  This story, interspersed with that of the story of an escaped child soldier, creates a beautiful, depressing story that is impossible to put down.

Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee – nominated by Grace
A teenage girl deals with her sexuality, her friends, her changing family, and her sudden internet stardom.  The novel introduces readers to asexuality and what it feels like to be 17.

Thornhill by Pam Smy
A terrifying, thought-provoking, tear-jerking novel told through diary entries and visual storytelling.  The book follows a young girl in the 1980s who is left in an orphanage and is the subject of torment by her peers.  In 2017, young Ella has already lost her mother and feels unwanted by her mother, but hopes to find a friend in the shadowy figure she sees outside the old orphanage.

Who Killed Christopher Goodman? by Alan Wolf
One morning, Christopher Goodman is found dead, his body thrown unceremoniously into the woods.  The town is turned on its head, and a group of his school friends come together to share their final remarks of Christopher Goodman, leading to the answer to the question the title posed.

Recommendations:

                                        

Always and Forever:  Lara Jean – recommended by Dionejala
This is the final installation of the series To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.  It is a story about a girl in her senior year trying to hold on to her boyfriend, but also think about her future.

Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy – recommended by Dionejala
This story is about a girl named Ramona in Mississippi who has blue hair and is six feet tall.  She lives in a trailer and likes girls.  She is also trying to take care of her pregnant older sister and herself while trying to continue swimming.  She resigns herself to not going to college.  Ramona learns that not only life has surprises and lessons to teach, but also love.

The Special Ones by Em Bailey – recommended by Ashleigh
An interesting psychological thriller that combines a lot of elements in a unique way.

Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moira Fowley-Doyle – recommended by Alice
A compelling multi-point-of-view story about losing and finding.

2017 Mock Printz Awards

The Wake County Public Libraries Reading Corps/Mock Printz would like to thank the following authors and publishers for providing distinguished literature to young adults:

2017 Mock Printz Winner:

Scythe by Neil Shusterman, published by Simon & Schuster

2017 Mock Printz Honors:

The Boy at the Top of the Mountain by John Boyne, published by Henry Holt & Co.

Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter, published by Tor Teen

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A Few of Our Favorite Books in 2016: