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...]
Catching Up: MG and YA Books
So many wonderful, wonderful books and so little time! Here are a few middle-grade and young adult books I read in the last couple of months.Gorilla DawnI know a little about gorillas being endangered because I began to read up bits and pieces about it when I saw articles linking the fate of gorillas to the largescale use of palm oil. But even in the articles I read, I had no idea about coltan and its use in every electronic device we use. The threat that mining poses to gorilla habitat is real and frightening.(And so, first of all, all those who've been telling me I need to get a new phone, read this book.)I read Gill Lewis's White Dolphin years ago, but it stayed fresh in my mind because it is such a powerful story. I also had a fan girl moment recently when Gill Lewis retweeted a review I posted of Me and Mister P. Sky Hawk has been on my … [Read more...]