Category Archives: News and Fun

Review: Accountable by Dashka Slater

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Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka Slater

Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed
Dashka Slater
Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
Published August 22, 2023

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About Accountable

“Powerful, timely, and delicately written.” —Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times–bestselling and National Book Award-winning author

When a high school student started a private Instagram account that used racist and sexist memes to make his friends laugh, he thought of it as “edgy” humor. Over time, the edge got sharper. Then a few other kids found out about … Continue reading →

Review: Panic by Lauren Oliver

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Panic by Lauren Oliver

Panic
Lauren Oliver
HarperCollins
Published March 4, 2014

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About Panic

Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.

Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.

Dodge … Continue reading →

Review: Desert Echoes by Abdi Nazemian

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Desert Echoes by Abdi Nazemian

Desert Echoes
Abdi Nazemian
HarperCollins
Published September 10, 2024

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About Desert Echoes

From Abdi Nazemian, the award-winning author of Like a Love Story and Only This Beautiful Moment, comes a suspenseful contemporary YA novel about loss and love.

Fifteen-year-old Kam is head over heels for Ash, the boy who swept him off his feet. But his family and best friend, Bodie, are worried. Something seems off about Ash. He also has a habit of disappearing, at times for days. When Ash asks Kam to join him on a trip to Joshua Tree, the two of them walk off into the sunset . . … Continue reading →

Review: Greta by J. S. Lemon

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Greta by J. S. Lemon

Greta
J. S. Lemon
Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
Published September 10, 2024

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About Greta

J. S. Lemon’s middle grade debut is an utterly transformative, fiercely original, and surprisingly funny story about consent, friendship, healing, and a beauty that transcends all else. 

Greta Goodwin’s life is changing. On top of moving to a new neighborhood far away from her best friend, Lotti, she’s also starting middle school. Greta isn’t totally ready for boys, bras, and bad cafeteria food. She still feels like a little kid compared to those female classmates who have suddenly matured over the summer. Girls … Continue reading →

Review: Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White

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Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White

Compound Fracture
Andrew Joseph White
Peachtree Teen
Published September 3, 2024

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About Compound Fracture

Bestselling and award-winning author Andrew Joseph White returns with a queer Appalachian thriller, that pulls no punches, for teens who see the failures in our world and are pushing for radical change.

A gut-wrenching story following a trans autistic teen who survives an attempted murder, only to be drawn into the generational struggle between the rural poor and those who exploit them.

On the night Miles Abernathy—sixteen-year-old socialist and proud West Virginian—comes out as trans to his parents, he sneaks off to a party, … Continue reading →

Summer 2024 Backlist Check-In and Life Update

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Summer 2024 Backlist Reading

Summer 2024 Backlist Check-In and Life Update

This summer absolutely flew past me. My family didn’t have huge plans, but we had a lot of little things to do that kept us close to home and pretty busy. We managed to get most of those things done and still visit the beach a few times and see friends, so I feel like overall it was a successful season.

I also managed to read a pretty long list of backlist books. I listened to seven of these as audiobooks. Five of these titles are graphic novels and another two are heavily illustrated, which are also pretty quick to read. All of that combined to help … Continue reading →