The Lucky Kind by Alyssa B. Sheinmel. Knopf, an imprint of Random House. 2011. Review copy from publisher. The Plot: Nick Brandt, 16, doesn’t know that answering the phone will shake up his world. A strange man asks for “Sheffman Brandt,” knowing Nick’s father’s name but not knowing he goes by Rob, his middle name. A [...]
Time to discuss Voting Procedures for the YALSA Nonfiction award. Not as simple as “just vote,” but pretty darn close: “Following discussion at Annual, balloting will begin. Members must be present to vote. Proxies will not be accepted. Additional titles nominated after this point will be considered in the final voting conference calls between October [...]
Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper. Bloomsbury. 2011. Reviewed from ARC from ALA. The Plot: London, 1861. Grace and Lily Parkes, two teenaged orphans, have little and keep losing the little they have. Despite it all — despite the poverty, the hunger, the work — Grace and Lily have each other. The bond between the sisters [...]
Colleen Mondor at Chasing Ray has all the current information on KidLit Con 2011. What is KidLit Con? From my post explaining KidLit Con 2010: “Four years of planning, arranging, meeting, having fun. Where does the time go? Oh, there are other conventions and conferences in a year: booksellers have BEA, librarians ALA, teachers NCTE. Still, [...]
Tighter by Adele Griffin. Knopf Books for Younger Readers, an imprint of Random House. 2011. Reviewed from copy from publisher. The Plot: Jamie, seventeen, is spending her summer as an au pair at ritzy Little Bly, Rhode Island, taking care of eleven year old Isa McRae while Isa’s dad works in Hong Kong. The only [...]
As promised in last week’s discussion of the YALSA Nonfiction policies, and procedures, Field Suggestions: “Field suggestions are encouraged. To be eligible, they must be submitted on the official suggestion form. The form will allow for both a rationale and summary of nominated titles. Committee members will be notified of all field suggestions, which are [...]
Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman. Penguin Books. 2008. Reviewed from audiobook by Brilliance Audio provided by Brilliance Audio. 2008. Narrated by Nancy Wu. The Plot: Eon is a twelve year old boy. He has been training intensively for years to get the opportunity, along with a handful of other boys, to be selected by [...]
The librarians over at Stacked recently did a week-long love fest for contemporary young adult literature. Since this came hot on the heels of a certain newspaper saying today’s contemporary is “darker than when you were a child, my dear: So dark that kidnapping and pederasty and incest and brutal beatings are now just part [...]
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray. Scholastic Press. 2011. Reviewed from ARC from ALA. The Plot: A plane full of teen beauty queens crashes on a remote tropical island. No, really. The Good: What I’m fast appreciating about Libba Bray is that she’s always doing something different as an author; but, each time, it’s awesome. It’s [...]
Next in the YALSA Nonfiction Policies & Procedures: Nominations From the website: “Committee members suggest titles beginning in November after their election or appointment, with suggestions due each month through the end of the time period. Committee members are responsible for nominating titles throughout the process. Following this procedure allows committee members to reflect on what [...]
Recent Comments