I am actually at the AASL19 Conference in Louisville right now. This is my third AASL conference and I love the energy and camaraderie. Of course, there is an Exhibit Hall and I will try and show some restraint as I'm flying home. I packed my carry-on inside a bag I will check; but the last conference had me scrambling at check-in to take off some weight! I will highlight those next Saturday. Stay tuned.
A box arrived recently from Penguin.
For review:
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| Image: Penguin Random House |
Publisher synopsis: Part poignant cancer memoir and part humorous reflection on a motherless life, this debut graphic novel is extraordinarily comforting and engaging.
From before her mother’s first oncology appointment through the stages of her cancer to the funeral, sitting shiva, and afterward, when she must try to make sense of her life as a motherless daughter, Tyler Feder tells her story in this graphic novel that is full of piercing–but also often funny–details. She shares the important post-death firsts, such as celebrating holidays without her mom, the utter despair of cleaning out her mom’s closet, ending old traditions and starting new ones, and the sting of having the “I’ve got to tell Mom about this” instinct and not being able to act on it. This memoir, bracingly candid and sweetly humorous, is for anyone struggling with loss who just wants someone to get it.
I actually read this Wednesday evening while waiting for my plane and blubbered. I will be reviewing it later in December but, it is a 2020 favorite!
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| Image: Penguin Random House |
A Flicker of Courage by Deb Caletti. 246 p. G.P. Putnam's Sons/ Penguin Young Readers Group, January 7, 2020. 9781984813053.
Publisher synopsis:Printz Award Honoree and National Book Award finalist Deb Caletti debuts in middle grade with a tongue-in-cheek hero's journey set in a town full of magic, mayhem, lighthouses... and evil.
The story takes place in a world much like ours, but at the same time not at all like ours, in which Vlad Luxor—a capricious, vain, infantile tyrant—rules over a town with an iron fist. He's an emperor with no clothes, but woe is the person who points that out—they could wind up turned into a squirrel or lizard or who knows what! For in this world, the evil leader also has magic, which he uses to punish anyone who speaks out against him.
But in every classic tale with a despicable villain, there must also be a truly noble hero—in this case, four of them! Henry, Apollo, Pirate Girl, and JoJo must be their most brave and clever to break the spell Vlad Luxor has cast on Apollo's brother, Rocco. For we can't have Rocco remain a naked lizard for the rest of his life, now can we?
I've been reading a bit online about this middle grade novel from a favorite YA author of mine. Kind of excited about this.
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| Image: Penguin Random House |
Raise Your Voice: 12 protests that shaped America by Jeffrey Kluger. 216 p. Philomel Books/ Penguin Young Readers Group, March 10, 2020. 978052551830.
Publisher synopsis: Rise up! Speak out! March!
Protests and demonstrations have spread throughout the United States in recent years. They have pushed for change on women’s rights, racial equality, climate change, gun control, LGBTQI+ rights, and more. And while these marches may seem like a new phenomenon, they are really the continuation of a long line of Americans taking to their feet and raising their voices to cry out for justice.
From the Boston Tea Party to the suffragists, from the Montgomery Bus Boycott to Stonewall, peaceful (and not-so-peaceful) protest has been a means of speaking up and enacting change from the very founding of America. This new collection recounts twelve of the major protests throughout the country’s history, detailing the people behind them, the causes they marched for, and the impact they had.
From the award-winning and bestselling author of Apollo 13 comes a book perfect for today’s new generation of activists.
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| Image: Penguin Random House |
Publisher synopsis: A hilarious and heartwrenching story about surviving middle school–and an unthinkable diagnosis–while embracing life’s weirdness.
Ross Maloy just wants to be a normal seventh grader. He doesn’t want to lose his hair, or wear a weird hat, or deal with the disappearing friends who don’t know what to say to “the cancer kid.” But with his recent diagnosis of a rare eye cancer, blending in is off the table.
Based on Rob Harrell’s real life experience, and packed with comic panels and spot art, this incredibly personal and poignant novel is an unforgettable, heartbreaking, hilarious, and uplifting story of survival and finding the music, magic, and laughter in life’s weirdness.
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| Image: Penguin Random House |
All the Days Past, All the Days to Come by Mildred D. Taylor. 483 p. Viking/ Penguin Young Readers Group, January 7, 2020. 9780399257308.
Publisher synopsis: The saga of the Logan family—made famous in the Newbery Medal-winning Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry—concludes in a long-awaited and deeply fulfilling story.
In her tenth book, Mildred Taylor completes her sweeping saga about the Logan family of Mississippi, which is also the story of the civil rights movement in America of the 20th century. Cassie Logan, first met in Song of the Trees and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, is a young woman now, searching for her place in the world, a journey that takes her from Toledo to California, to law school in Boston, and, ultimately, in the 60s, home to Mississippi to participate in voter registration. She is witness to the now-historic events of the century: the Great Migration north, the rise of the civil rights movement, preceded and precipitated by the racist society of America, and the often violent confrontations that brought about change. Rich, compelling storytelling is Ms. Taylor's hallmark, and she fulfills expectations as she brings to a close the stirring family story that has absorbed her for over forty years. It is a story she was born to tell.
I read many, not all of the Logan family books and look forward to this personally; but I have an eighth grader who plowed through most of the series since fifth grade. When I told him there was a new one, his face just lit up.
Purchased: Nothing!
If you leave a comment, I will definitely stop by and try to comment back - unless commenters have to sign onto Discus or Wordpress or FB or anything that makes commenting difficult and gives my data to miners. But, I will definitely check your stack!
Holy flashback to seventh grad English class batman! Roll of Thunde, Hear My Cry was one of my favorite books and I an so intrigued!
ReplyDelete-Haley @ stuckinthestacks.com