Eleven Recently (ha) Read Books
The Yggyssey: How Iggy Wondered What Happened to All the Ghosts, Found Out Where They Went, and Went There
Pinkwater, Daniel
2009 adventure American booktalk California children children's cook fantasy fiction ghost stories ghosts grade 6 Hollywood humor interdimensional travel juvy neddiad Notables Odyssey parties retelling series space and time supernatural Voigts09 wishlist witches YA young adult
Ghosts, Inter-dimensional Travel, and Old Hollywood? YES. EXCELLENT TOPICS FOR A CHILDREN'S BOOK.
Delightfully strange and adventureful with lovely characters and a bit of an american-Diana Wyne Jones ascetic.
Winger (Winger, #1)
Smith, Andrew
2013 2014 boarding school boys bullying coming of age contemporary dating fiction friendship high school humor lgbt LGBTQ own read read in 2013 read in 2014 realistic realistic fiction relationships romance rugby school sports teen to-read YA young adult young adult fiction
So this book was great. GREAT! Stunning writing, interesting characters that felt very much like the teen boys they were. And who wouldn't want a book about being in the 'bad kids' dorm in boarding school while playing for your school's rugby team? Fun times!
BUT THEN THE LAST FORTY PAGES WRECK IT FOR ME WITH UNEXPECTED MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH.
What the fuck.
Zero fucking stars for fucking Death by Newberry Medal.
Adventures of a Cat-Whiskered Girl
Pinkwater, Daniel
03 2010 aliens Bildband chapter book children children's children's fiction Extraterrestrials fantasy fiction friendship humor juvenile juvenile fiction literary reference MG middle grade multiple dimensions mystery own parallel universes science fiction series to-read trade paperback trolls tween UFO youth
I may be getting diminishing returns from these books, I can't quite tell. BUT this one had UFOs, bookstores, witches, coracles, trolls and adventure all set in various parallel dimensions around the Catskills Mountains. So I liked it quite a bit.
Ancillary Sword (Imperial Radch, #2)
Leckie, Ann *
2014 adult AI American artificial intelligence audiobook Book 2 ebook female protagonist fiction gender genre goodreads Imperial Radch Kindle library military novel paperback politics read read in 2014 science fiction series sf sff space opera to-read unread war
In Ancillary Sword, Breq - the Artificial Intelligence that was once grand starship Justice of Toren, brought low to a single body, hungry for vengeance - has been given its own command and her own mission by none other than Anaander Mianaai, Lord of the Radch. On her new ship, the Mercy of Kalr, Breq makes quick use of power as Captain as it sets course for a distant star system in an “uncivilized” part of the galaxy. There are conflicts aplenty in Ancillary Sword as Breq deals with administering its power on its new ship (without becoming too enmeshed in the consciousness of said ship), the inter-personal tensions of the Radch and the Lord of the Radch’s own splintering consciousness, the tensions and conditions of colonized people on a distant planet (a parallel to the enslavement and former forced ancillary procurement of conquered peoples), and the appearance of a new external threat that can challenge Radchaii hegemony.
::small muffled scream::
SUCH GOOD SPACE OPERA. WINNER OF ALL THE DESERVED AWARDS.
Athlete vs. Mathlete
Mack, W.C.
610 2013 2014 ADL13 basketball BLUE 1 Blue 3 Bluebonnet brothers Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh competition Cook14 fiction grade 5 Jason Mr. Webster pioneers realistic fiction RF RICBA 2015 sara schools sibling rivalry siblings sports teen twins winning YA young adult
Bah. This is not a book that will grow up with you, that is for sure. This book has LESSONS to teach, and an okay story to carry it. Louisiana Young Reader's Choice 2016 nominee.
Year of the Griffin (Derkholm, #2)
Jones, Diana Wynne
children children's children's fiction children's literature college Derkholm diana wynne jones dwj family fantasy fantasy fiction fiction gryphons humor magic novel own paperback read school series sf sff speculative fiction to-read university unread wizards YA young adult
As I said on twitter, Year of the Griffin is the "go to college and find true joy in learning and friends you belong with" book of my HEART. I read and re-read it and it forever brings me joy.
The Heartbreak Messenger
Vance, Alexander
4.5 2013 ADL13 arcs best friends book booklist-series-fiction-in-brief breakups CLEAR 10-10-13 contemporary contemporary fiction F VAN fiction friendship G5 humor locya messengers middle grade read in 2013 realistic fiction relationships romance school separation STARRED to-read YA young adult young adult literature
Not exactly horrible Middle Grade book about a boy who breaks up with a high schooler's girlfriend for him (for a price) and then discovers what a lucrative operation it can be to become the 'heartbreak messenger' but of course there are complications.
Princess Academy
Hale, Shannon
adventure children children's children's fiction children's literature coming of age fairy tale fairy tales family fantasy fiction friendship girls juvenile juvenile fiction middle grade mountains Newbery Newbery Honor own princess read romance royalty school teen telepathy to-read YA young adult
Another book that doesn't quite do it for me as a grown up, but in this case I feel quite confident in saying that it would perfectly delight at the right age-range. The audiobook of this was a multi-voiced work by the same people who did the Enchanted Forest Chronicles and they have gotten better at editing.
One Came Home
Timberlake, Amy
In the town of Placid, Wisconsin, in 1871, Georgie Burkhardt is known for two things: her uncanny aim with a rifle and her habit of speaking her mind plainly. But when Georgie blurts out something she shouldn't, her older sister Agatha flees, running off with a pack of "pigeoners" trailing the passenger pigeon migration. And when the sheriff returns to town with an unidentifiable body-wearing Agatha's blue-green ball gown-everyone assumes the worst. Except Georgie. Refusing to believe the facts that are laid down (and coffined) before her, Georgie sets out on a journey to find her sister. She will track every last clue and shred of evidence to bring Agatha home. Yet even with resolute determination and her trusty Springfield single-shot, Georgie is not prepared for what she faces on the western frontier.
19th century 2013 2014 adventure award winner counterfeiters death family fiction grade 7 grief historical historical fiction jfic missing persons mystery Newbery Newbery Honor passenger pigeons pigeons pioneer life read sharpshooters sisters teen to-read western Wisconsin YA young adult
ZOMG, so SO good!
If you loved the Little House on the Prairie series and would like something of a similar tone and setting but with a touch more murder mystery I HAVE THE BOOK FOR YOUUUUUUU.
Wake Up Missing
Messner, Kate
2013 2014 adventure ALA ARC athletes booklist-review Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh crime and mystery Everglades fiction Florida friendship genetic engineering head injuries Junior Fiction kids middle grade middle school Mystery/Thriller science science fiction suspense teen thriller to-read want to read YA young adult young adult literature
I am pretty sure Kate Messner has figured out that certain parties are QUITE INTERESTED in middle grade books that are speculative fiction vaguely inspired by scientific fact. She's ... gaming the system? This is the second year in a row a book of hers on the LYRC awards list and it is not exactly a shining example of quality writing. This time: concussions! gene therapy! the Florida everglades! and inaccurate airboats!
Journey Into Mystery by Kieron Gillen: The Complete Collection, Vol. 2
Gillen, Kieron
This did not bring me quite as much joy as Volume 1, as it was light on the Loki content for like two whole issues at the beginning there. But I would rec it!
I love how COMPLEX Loki's plans are and how unreliable a narrator of the comic he is until the end when you find out how everything has settled down according to said plans.
Currently Reading:
Lord of the White Hell - a m/m steampunk boarding school adventure Goodreads is REALLY SURE I'll like. (So far I do like)
Steelheart - a Brandon Sanderson YA I expected to adore a whole lot more than I do right now at the 3/4 point. (audiobook)
Reading Next:
So many more Young Reader's Choice/Teen Reader's Choice books. Tis the season!
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comment(s) there.