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