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Book reviews by library staff and guest contributors
The American Library Association (ALA) announced the top books, video and audio books for children and young adults, including the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Newbery and Printz awards at LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience in New Orleans today.
A list of 2023 award winners follows:
Elizabeth Acevedo’s Inheritance: A Visual Poem weaves themes of identity, self-love, generational trauma, and beauty standards into a lovely poem. Beautiful illustrations by Andrea Pippins work in tandem with Acevedo’s words to create an immersive experience that pulls the reader further into the poem. Though it is a short read, it is touching and rousing in ways that other longer books may fall short.
"The United Nations General Assembly designated January 27—the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau—as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this annual day of commemoration, the UN urges every member state to honor the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and millions of other victims of Nazism and to develop educational programs to help prevent future genocides."
When I think of an atmospheric novel from here on out, I'm going to be thinking of Spells for Forgetting. The story of Saiorse Island off Puget Sound and the residents who live there and listen to her calling weaves together magic, belonging and longing, loss and betrayal, and good and evil. On the surface, Saiorse Island is a lovely ferry ride from Seattle with an apple orchard that attracts a tourist crowd through spring, summer, and fall.
Lola's house is always filled with music--as she says, "If you want to hold on, you gotta sing your songs"! When Lola starts to seem quieter, more uncertain, it's up to her granddaughter to help fill in the silences. This beautiful picture book features a young girl matter-of-factly supporting her grandmother through memory loss while reflecting on and continuing all the meaningful (and multi-sensory) experiences they have shared over the years.
When Georgie was a teenager no one in her small home town expected much of her. She was flaky and aimless. But somehow, after leaving home for California, she managed to make a life as the the personal assistant to a Hollywood power player. The problem is, her boss has suddenly picked up sticks and retired and now Georgie is at a loss. She's used to taking care of every little aspect of someone else's life and has no clue how to do the same with her own. And so she does what all big city gals, who are at a crossroads, do in rom-coms.
Unicorns, human bats, and two-legged beavers have been discovered on the moon!! Really? Well no… but I made you look? Sorry, librarians are supposed to be dispellers of fake news, not shouting ridiculous headlines for the sake of humor in their book reviews. But fake news is everywhere, and if you don’t have a handy, humorous librarian around to help identify truth from fiction - don’t despair! Elise Gravel’s hilarious new graphic novel for kids breaks it down into bite size, understandable concepts: What is fake news? Why do people spread it? How can it be dangerous?
I was looking for some graphic novels to read over the holidays and placed a hold on this book, but even as I did I wondered if it would be too horse-y for me. I never really went through a horse phase as a kid beyond a couple trail rides at summer camp, but I shouldn't have worried. Yes, this book is about horses, but it's really about evolving friendships, growing up, changing interests - and fandoms!
To say that Maxine Justice (fka Eufemia Kolpak), Attorney-at-Law, is struggling would be a severe understatement. She's not had a paying case in forever, her struggling law practice's one employee hasn't been paid in weeks and she's not even sure she has enough money to feed her stray cat. All of which is why she takes a shift rotation in the lower court acting as a public defender - think night court, but even more desperate.
Have you ever wondered what you would do if you saw something suspicious? Best friends, Abbi and Skylar, think they’re having an adventure à la Nancy Drew spying on two strangers meeting under their tree fort. So when a woman is later found dead in the woods, they realize they may hold the key! As much about relationships as it is about solving a crime, this fast-paced thriller is sure to grab the attention of school age through middle school readers. Do they decide to keep a secret? Or expose a life-altering truth?
