YOUTH MEDIA AWARDS 2014 ANNOUNCED!!!

Baaaahhhhhh I'm SO EXCITED!!! The Youth Media Awards were just announced this morning and I can't wait to dig in to the winners!

I'm super, super excited because I have most of the Printz AND Newbery honor books in my library's collection, PLUS I got the Printz winner too!

Here are the big winners. See the complete list here.

Michael L. Printz Award (excellent in literature written for young adults)
Winner: Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick
Honors: Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal, Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner, Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, and Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool

John Newbery Medal (most outstanding contribution to children's literature)
Winner: Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo
Honors: Doll Bones by Holly Black, The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes, One Came Back by Amy Timberlake, Paperboy by Vince Vawter

Randolph Caldecott Medal (most distinguished American picture book for children)
Winner: Locomotive by Brian Floca
Honors: Journey by Aaron Becker, Flora and the Flamingo by Molly Idle, Mr. Wuffles! by David Wiesner

William C. Morris Award (debut book written by a first-time author writing for teens)
Winner: Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn
Finalists: Sex & Violence by Carrie Mesrobian, Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos, Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross, In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

So this year I am going to make a concentrated effort to read as many of the Printz and Morris titles as I can. I will also attempt to read books that end up on the rest of the YALSA lists, which will be announced in the coming week or so, I think. I will also do my very very best to review them here! I promise I am going to try to post more often, and this is a perfect opportunity.

Were you surprised by any of the winners? How many have you read?

Best of 2013

I know I've been pretty bad with keeping up this blog (what else is new), but I wanted to stop by to let all of you who continue to subscribe/read this know that I'm still here. I have kind of slipped with my reading a bit, but thank God for audiobooks.

I'd like to try to review a few books in the coming days and weeks, so stay tuned for those. In the meantime, here are my top picks from this year.

I realized right after I wrote this entire post that this is this coming Tuesday's Top Ten Tuesday topic, so I'll link to it then as well. Sorry I'm ahead of the game on this one!



1. The Kiki Strike series by Kirsten Miller. I was lucky enough to be chosen as a blogger to review The Darkness Dwellers, the third in the series, and the publisher was kind enough to send me the first two so I could read them all and catch up. I was a bit cowed by the amount of pages I had to read before the release date, but I needn't have worried; I flew through these. I hope there will be a fourth at some point.

2. See You at Harry's by Jo Knowles. I'm ashamed to say this is my first book I've read by Knowles, who I've met and is the sweetest person ever. This one got a rare 5-star review from me on GoodReads. It was that good. I listened to the audio, which was kindly sent to me by Candlewick Press, and which I immediately added to my library's audio collection. Heartbreaking but lovely, Kate Rudd's performance is spectacular and I'm so glad she won an Odyssey Award last year for The Fault in Our Stars (which I haven't listened to). This one is a winner.

3. Being Henry David by Cal Armistead. After requesting this through NetGalley, I was surprised and then felt stupid when I realized I had actually worked with the author at B&N years ago, and knew her daughter from the store as well. This was especially fun for me to read because of this, and because a good portion of the novel takes place in Concord, Massachusetts, which is the next town over from where I work. Cal was kind enough to make a visit to my library for a talk and signing. Thanks, Cal!

4.  Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple. I read this because it won an Alex Award, and boy am I glad I did. What a fun book! It's written in documents, emails, and first-person narration from Bernadette's teen daughter, Bea. I recommend this one to a lot of people. You should read it!

 

5. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. This got another 5-star review from me. Just a wonderful, quiet story that made me feel good. It deserved every single award it received.

6. The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy. This book is probably the funniest book I've read all year. Love the fairy tale spoofs and the humor of this. The sequel was just as good. I can't wait for the third installment!

 

 

7. The Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy. Am I ever glad I decided to  listen to these audiobooks. Great humor and action, and great world-building with great characters. These are probably some of the best audiobooks I've had the pleasure of listening to. I'm currently listening to #3, and I hope I'll be able to find the rest of the series on audio somewhere (they were originally published in the U.K. and aren't as widely available in the states).

 

8. The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera. A beautiful little gem of a novel. This is a great crossover book too; it has both teen and adult appeal.

9. Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford. I'm not sure this would have been so fantastic if I hadn't listened to Nick Podehl's narration, but I absolutely loved this. Extremely funny and entirely entertaining.

 

10. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. The only reason this is on the list is Wil Wheaton. His narration really made this for me. I tried to read it when it came out, but I just couldn't get past the sheer amount of '80s-ness and the absolute cynicism of the narrator. I was able to get through all of the exposition (there was a lot) with Wheaton telling me the story. And when it got going, boy did it get going.

I know the year isn't quite over, but I doubt the few books I'll be able to get in before January 1st will top these. I'll let you  know if I'm wrong, though.

Which books were your favorites from this year?

Book review: "Will in Scarlet" by Matthew Cody

Title: Will in Scarlet
Author: Matthew Cody
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2013

Will Shackley has grown up in a life of privilege, the son of a lord and sole heir to his father's household and keep. He spends his free time causing mischief, but must grow up quickly when he is forced to flee the only life he knows for one of uncertainty, danger, and revenge. Luckily, he is captured by a band of outlaws known as the Merry Men, who hope to gain a ransom for the young lad on such a fine horse.

Will, who renames himself Will Scarlet after a childhood nickname, manages to extend his life long enough to convince Much (a girl disguised as a boy), John Little the giant, and Rob, the band's drunk, to join him on a raid of his former home with the promise of a treasure. Of course, things don't go according to neither Will's nor the Merry Men's plan, and life gets even more interesting.

You really have to go into this book not expecting a straight-up Robin Hood retelling. This is much more of an origin story, before Robin was heroic and confident, before Will Scarlet was part of the Merry Men, before the Sheriff of Nottingham was the low and dastardly man we know. It really gives us a different way of looking at the characters, and as an adventure story it's very good, though a bit slow in the beginning. If some of the part about Will in his childhood home (also a castle) were trimmed a bit, I think it would be easier to get into. Yet once the action started I flew through it. 

I'm hoping there will be a follow up, since I'd like to hear more about these characters and their history. Plus, we haven't gotten to Friar Tuck just yet, and Maid Marian only has a not-even-really-passing mention. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a good medieval adventure tale with swords and trickery and good-hearted thieves. Knowing the Robin Hood tale is a plus, but if you're a huge fan just keep an open mind and stick with it because it won't be what you expect.

Disclosure: I received this e-galley from Edelweiss as a librarian reviewer. NetGalley rejected my request, boo.

Book review: "If I Ever Get Out of Here" by Eric Gansworth

Title:  If I Ever Get Out of Here
Author: Eric Gansworth
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books, 2013

If I Ever Get Out of Here opens right before Lewis Blake begins seventh grade. He is used to being one of the only Indian kids in his class at school, but he is tired of the loneliness; despite his attempts to fit in, he still struggles to be noticed and accepted. Then he meets a new kid from the air force base, George, and things start to change a bit.

George is Lewis's new connection to the white world, though he knows he can't invite his new friend to his home (his mother forbids it, as they live in poverty), and that he still has to deal with all kinds of prejudices at school and in town. Set in the late 1970s in upstate New York, Lewis tells his story about life growing up on the Tuscarora Reservation, going to a mostly white school, and trying to balance out two worlds in a place where loyalties are expected on one side or another. This is a book about friendship and acceptance of self and culture, especially when faced with extremely difficult and unfair situations.

I'm guessing that because this is a book about a boy on an Indian reservation who is one of the few non-white people in his class, it's inevitable that it will get comparisons to Sherman Alexie's The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. But that, I think, is selling both works short. Gansworth's novel focuses on racism, injustice, and a semi-forbidden friendship, all wrapped up together with music (mostly Wings, The Beatles, and Queen). Alexie's is not presented as historical fiction and has more humor and tragedy than Gansworth's work. If I Ever Get Out of Here is more middle-school-friendly in terms of language and content, though it is still a bit hard to read emotionally speaking.

As I was reading this, I kept thinking how important it is to see how others are treated because of heritage or class. It might not be as blatant in our country as it was 30 or 40 years ago, but it still exists and it's important to see it through the target's eyes. It's also important if the reader has been a target him- or herself to see someone else in their same situation and how they handle it.

Lewis also has to deal with a pretty brutal bully, and coupled with the way the adults treat him because he is from the reservation, the situation turns from one of physical assault to that of abject hostility from every corner, especially school teachers and administration. The amount of strength and gumption Lewis has just astounds me, to be so brave and demand justice even when it seems so utterly hopeless.

I hope If I Ever Get Out of Here is widely read, though I'm not sure younger readers will stick with it long enough to finish. I hope I'm wrong about that, because there's a lot in here, and it might just have been me having trouble getting through it because of how sad it made me. Still, I'm really glad I read it and bought it for my library. We'll see if I can get a few kids to pick it up!

Disclosure: I received an e-galley from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

 

I finally try out Audible.com

Recently, there has been a huge surge in audiobook use. This is largely because of the easy access to the medium via smartphones and MP3 players and other devices (hooray technology!), and as a result, productions are getting better and better. For me, this is excellent news; I have been a long-time lover of audiobooks, ever since I would make the 6-hour drive to and from Ithaca during my college years. Back then my best (and really one of my only) audiobook friends was Bill Bryson, who is a wonderful narrator of his own works, but now I've expanded my use even more.

With a 40-minute commute to and from work, I don't know what I would do without my stories, and on my long training runs for my first half marathon (coming up in October), books help the time and the miles pass quickly. This is why I was excited to have the opportunity to try Audible.com for free, after someone from their team reached out to me.

Audible is a subscription service available through Amazon.com that is expressly for audiobooks. You sign up for one of their plans, the most basic of which starts at $14.95/month, and in return you get one credit per month to spend on any audiobook available. One credit is usually equal to one audiobook, so basically you are paying the member fee for one book per month, plus you get member discounts on every other book. You can purchase however many books per month you want this way. I know that sometimes they have member sales and free titles for members, but as I only used the service for the free trial period, I haven't seen what those sales look like myself.

Audible has some other great perks that come with your membership. You can exchange any audiobook you buy, whether you pay for it in credits or with your credit card, for any other book if you don't like it, no questions asked (as a side note, this service disappears if you cancel your membership). There is also this mystical thing called Whispersync, which is super cool if you have a Kindle. Basically, if you are reading a Kindle book and are listening to the same audiobook, you can sync the two up so that if you put one version down, the other device will bring you right where you left off. Crazy new technology, I tell ya.

Once I bought my books using the credits I was given during my free trial, I just had to click "Download" to put them on my Mac and they automatically went to iTunes. I did have some trouble figuring out how to get them onto my iPod, since they didn't automatically sync with it, but after asking Twitter I figured it out (thanks Kimberly!). Turns out all I had to do was click and drag the files from iTunes to my iPod while the latter was connected to my computer. My first choice was Dad Is Fat by Jim Gaffigan, which was very funny and worth listening to on audio.

I loved my experience with Audible, and their selection is huge. If I wasn't a librarian and didn't get all my audiobooks for free through my library and Overdrive, I would definitely consider becoming a member. As it stands, though, I am able to get most of the books I want without having to pay for them, and my budget doesn't have enough wiggle room right now to pay for a service like this. Maybe one day!

I would like to say, though, that canceling was extremely easy and no-hassle. The best part is, I get to keep the audiobooks I bought with my credit even after cancellation—they are still available on my account when I sign in. And if I decide one day to rejoin, I can use that same account. It's all attached to your Amazon account, so if you already have one of those, you don't even need to give a separate credit card.

Interested? You can try it out for free for one month! Just click here. You'll get one credit to use, no obligations. If you decide to keep it, it will charge your credit card after one month and give you another credit. If not, it's easy to cancel.

I know I sound like a long commercial, but I really did like the service, and I love audiobooks. I think it's wonderful that this medium has gained so much popularity, and as a result, more people are reading.

Disclaimer: Audible.com sponsored this post by providing me with credits to try their service. This in no way affected my review, and any opinions expressed here are my own.

Top Ten Things That Make Blogging Easier/Better

Another Tuesday, another Top Ten list. This week's topic: things that make blogging easier/better! Since I'm not the best blogger in the world, I might not make it to ten, but at least now I have access to a bunch of other ideas. Maybe I will stop slacking so much. Though you will see both of my choices from the original post over at The Broke and the Bookish, natch.

1. My nook. I love having an e-reader, not only for all the beautiful space it saves me, but for making it so easy to cart around over 100 books with me at all times. Too bad it feeds a nasty book-buying addiction, but hey, sacrifices. The good news: I don't spend money on e-books unless they are less than $3, $5 if it's a book I really want. I also like those Free Fridays B&N likes to do. As a result, I will never ever read all my e-books.

2. NetGalley and Edelweiss. Yes, these two sites are a Godsend for people who do not like paying for books and who don't like physical ARCs and galleys taking up valuable apartment space. Obviously, since I love and use my nook, this was the next step. The best part is, these are all books that haven't even been released yet. Win-win if I've ever heard one. Side note: I only just figured out how to get e-ARCs on Edelweiss (I KNOW) and I have to say, the selection is pretty awesome. Bonus points for me being a librarian and using "collection development" as a reason for reading ARCs, thus saving me from the pressure of feeling like I have to review every one. Because I definitely won't.

3. Blogger. Because there is no way I would be able to create a website from scratch and update it nearly as regularly (stop laughing) as I do now.

4. Goodreads. Ah, old reliable. How else would I have met all my online reading friends? It keeps all my books in order and organized, and I never would have even thought to start a blog if Jamie hadn't suggested we start a joint one on the College Students group three years ago.

5. The library. Remember how I was talking about not paying for books and saving space? Yeah, the library is awesome because I can take out e-books for my nook, physical books, audiobooks, and whatever other kinds of media I want really, for free. It helps that I'm a librarian, of course, and have all the know-how to find and get what I want. Side note: Ask your librarian if you want something and can't find it. They can most likely get it for you even if it's not in your library system.

6. Audiobooks. I get audiobooks from the library, thought I'd totally use Audible if I didn't have the library. Again, free. I love audiobooks. I love to listen to them during my 40-minute commute, while I run, and sometimes when I'm cooking. They are awesome and I get so much more reading done by listening than by actually sitting down to read, though I do a lot of that too. Side note: Did you know you can probably download e-audiobooks from your library's website?

7. Memes. Really, just Top Ten Tuesday. Because it gives me an excuse to post something without actually thinking about what I've read recently.

8. Bloglovin'. At the demise of Google Reader, I felt a little lost. But then I found Bloglovin', which changed my blogging world. It is SO MUCH EASIER to keep up with the blogs I follow, and I love it. (This is your cue to go click the button at the top of my page to follow me.)

9. Twitter. Because how else am I going to keep in touch with the reading world? Or really, the world at large for that matter. Yay Twitter!

That's really it for me at the moment. I know this kind of turned into an advertisement for libraries, but whatever, they are the best. Obviously no bias here. (Get your library card today!)

What things are on your top ten list? Head over to The Broke and the Bookish to share!

My review of audiobook "Three Times Lucky" by Sheila Turnage is on The Broke and the Bookish

Title: Three Times Lucky
Author: Sheila Turnage
Publisher: Penguin Audio, 2012 (print available from Dial)
Narrator: Michal Friedman 

I really liked listening to this audiobook, the print version of which nabbed a Newbery Honor this year. Mo LoBeau, rising sixth grader and our narrator, finds herself and her small NC town of Tupelo Landing in the middle of a murder mystery that ends up being years in the making.

To see my full review, visit The Broke and the Bookish here.

Hint: I liked it! And the audio was really great.