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Book reviews for teens by library staff and guest contributors
I'd been in a bit of a slump, reading-wise, lately, so I decided I needed something that offered adventure, magic and romance. To achieve that combo I decided to dip back into a couple of paranormal romance series I'd fallen away from to see if I could capture some of the old magic. And capture it I did (whew! big sigh of relief! - I always have a fear that I'll never get my reading mojo back when I've been stuck).
I started out reading this book in the hardcover edition the year it was published but kept thinking how great it would be to actually hear the Boss tell his story in his own words and own voice. So, when I discovered it was available as a downloadable audio, I decided to get it and then wait for a long car trip to listen to the book. I am glad I did it that way, because if ever a book was meant to be listened to, this was the one.
This novel is all the things. All the words. All the awards. All the feelings.
Celebrate National Poetry Month by reading some poetry. Throughout the month of April I'm going to feature new poetry titles. Poetry isn't everyone's cup of tea, but as with a lot of genres, sometimes it's just a matter of finding the one that works for you. So check out some of the new and upcoming poetry books listed below and let us know if you find the one.
As war overtook their home in Iraq in 2010, the al Rabeeah family sought a safe refuge. Their choice was the ancient and vibrant city of Homs in Syria. But within a year, their hope had turned into a nightmare as Homs became the epicenter of struggle against Syrian president Bashir al-Assad. Abu Bakr al Rabeeah was ten and one of eight children in the al Rabeeah family when the violence broke out, and witnessed the devastating siege of his new home before his family was able to finally escape to Canada.
This is the book I'm going to be recommending to everyone in 2019- it's the delightful, funny, and very relevant story of Alex, the First Son of the US, and Henry, Prince of England and their journey from having a PR driven "friendship" to a real relationship and love. The story takes place a kind of alternate reality where a progressive female with biracial children has won the presidency. Her son, Alex, believes that he's meant to go into politics, and behind his seemingly party lifestyle, he works tirelessly to campaign and research in preparation for his mother's hopeful reelection.
Khoury's new YA novel is a science fiction imagining that plays on the mythos created around the last Romanov, Anastasia, rumored to have escaped when the rest of her family was murdered.
The most tragic shipwreck in history may be one very few people remember. It’s not the Titanic. It is the World War II sinking of the German military transport ship Wilhelm Gustloff in January 1945. On a ship designed to carry 1,465 passengers and crew, 10,582 desperate refugees from the Balkans and Eastern Europe, fleeing the advancing Russian troops, crammed on-board. Two torpedoes fired from a Russian submarine sank the ship and 9,343 passengers drowned, including 5,000 children.
One of the awards announced Monday in Seattle is the William C Morris YA Debut Award. This is a lesser known award (compared to the big hitters like Newbery and Cadlecott), but it's the one I look most forward to. They release a list of finalists in December, so right there you have a handful of brand new YA authors you know you should keep an eye on. And the choices are always thoughtful, exciting, and fresh.
Purple and Black is brilliantly done - a gem of a book (if I may be so cliche). Tightly woven. Thought-provoking. And all of that in a slender 113 pages. This is a fantasy novel, but don't let that prevent you reading it. It's only a fantasy in that it has a made up country. Everything else about it reads like historical fiction.
