Parenthetical

I wrote this review when I read the book back in the spring, but as I talk about some spoilers below, I wanted to wait until it comes out. Which is tomorrow! I think Karen Healey is one of the best current YA authors, period — up there with Melina Marchetta and John Green. Don’t [...]

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Teenie’s best friend Cherise has always been a little wild. Now that she’s accepting money from a guy she met online (who goes by the totally non-sketchy name “Big Daddy”), though, Teenie is really worried. Teenie herself is much more straight-laced and studious, but when a few new clothes get her the attention of hot [...]

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Happy second round of Nerds Heart YA! After much deliberation, Allegra of My Library Card Wore Out and I chose Toads and Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson as our winner. It was a tough call, of course, as I loved many things about Tall Story. But ultimately we decided Toads and Diamonds had more “kid appeal.” [...]

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This was the other book in our Nerds Heart YA round, against Toads and Diamonds. We ultimately selected that one to go on, but here is my review of Tall Story. Andi adores basketball, and is devastated to learn that her new London school has no girls’ basketball team. Meanwhile, in a small village in [...]

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Akata is a derogatory Nigerian word for an African-American — like Sunny, who moved from New York to Nigeria with her Nigerian parents a few years ago, when she was nine. One day she sees a frightening image of the future in a candle, and discovers that she is a witch born to Muggle parents [...]

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Tu Books, the imprint of Lee & Low devoted to multicultural MG & YA genre fiction that I’ve been all excited about revealed the covers for their first 3 books! That’s right — three, not the two I blogged about in Sept. I wasn’t especially excited about the first two, just for my own personal [...]

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Nazia wants to finish school, but she knows she’s destined to get married instead. But then her father loses his job and her mother takes work cleaning houses — the most demeaning possible job, and she needs Nazia to help. How will she get married or finish school or have any say in her life? [...]

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Tu Books, the new publisher I’ve been following that plans to focus on multicultural children’s and YA genre fiction, has bought: a “YA paranormal thriller” by Joseph Bruchac, author of Code Talker, whose description involves a “black-ops father” and an “abandoned, monster-guarded mansion.” “Galaxy Games by Greg Fishbone, a MG science fiction trilogy about an [...]

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Naomi and her little brother Owen are content living with their great-grandmother in a trailer park — Naomi carves soap into animal shapes, hangs out with the (clearly flaming, even though the text doesn’t say so explicitly) librarian at school, and watches Wheel of Fortune every night with Gram and her best friend Fabiola. But [...]

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Remember back in October, when I encouraged you to Kickstart Tu Publishing, a new independent press dedicated to multicultural YA genre fiction? Good news! Tu (now Tu Books) has been acquired as an imprint of Lee and Low! (Yes, I’m a little late to the party on this one; sorry.) They’ll publish 3 books per [...]

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