Being a young adult is to inhabit a complex and confusing world. When books address this phase of life beautifully, they can be breathtaking. Here are my top ten YA books of 2019.StargirlWriter: Jerry SpinelliPublisher: Laurel LeafThinking about Stargirl makes me smile, for the character of Stargirl is impossibly sweet, impossibly wonderful. Leo loves her, but unlike her, he is bound by this world. He seeks the approval and acceptance of people around him and he wants Stargirl to be normal, even though he assures her that he loves how not-normal she is.For a while, Stargirl tries, for she loves Leo too. But that is not who she is. How can Stargirl be normal? In a different context, I could ask, how do you keep a wave upon the sand?Read my review of StargirlBuy StargirlWolf CryWriter: Julia GoldingPublisher: Frost WolfFrom an author I love comes … [Read more...]
Touching Spirit Bear
I'm usually not one of those readers who sits and finishes a book in a day. Unless a story is really compelling, I get distracted easily. I have a hundred other things to do each day, and I do them without being drawn back to my book. I also usually keep track of a storyline, so I can return to a book a month later and continue where I left off.But Touching Spirit Bear drew me in and held me in the story. It moved me to tears more than once and was compelling enough to keep me reading, pushing away the guilt I usually feel when I ought to be doing something else but find myself reading instead.First off, I need to say that I am no one to talk about whether the references to Tlingit traditions are true or not. I honestly have no idea. Before this book, I had no clue about the concept of Circle Justice.I loved the story because it struck a chord. The rawness of emotion wrung … [Read more...]