Review: My Heart and Other Black Holes

My Heart and Other Black Holes
By Jasmine Warga
Expected publication February 10, 2015 by Balzer + Bray

Aysel is planning her death - she just can't live like this anymore. But she's not sure she can go through with it alone. So, she finds a partner, Roman. But the more time they spend together, the less sure Aysel is about their plan. Will she change her mind? And, if she does, can she change Roman's, too?

If I had known that every YA contemporary 2015 novel I would read in the first two months of this year would deal with suicide and mental illness, I probably wouldn't have requested this ARC. I'm not sure I can really give this book a fair shake; I'm a little burnt-out on books about suicide right now. That's not to say that these books aren't important; in fact, I think the abundance of these books is part of a larger movement to talk more openly about mental illness in general and that's a great thing. But, personally, I'm not sure I can handle another one of these books anytime soon.

I'm not sure I'll be able to give this book a fair shake. I guess, for me, of all the suicide novels I've read lately, this is one of the more forgettable ones. I actually finished it just a couple days ago and am having trouble remembering many of the details. But my major problem with this book is actually the ending. I get that the story is supposed to be sweet, that readers are supposed to root for the romance, and believe in the healing power of love. But it's a dangerous message to be sending to teens, especially coupled with Roman's indignant refusal to talk to someone professionally. I'd love to believe that love really does heal, but I know it's just not true. And it's not okay for a novel for teenagers to posit that all it takes is falling in love and one person truly understanding you to make your sadness go away.

But, once again, maybe this book just comes on the heels of too many others like it. This book has received a number of positive reviews elsewhere, so take that for what it's worth. This book just wasn't for me.

Thanks to the publisher for a digital advance reader's copy, provided via Edelweiss.

ETA: The brilliant and much more eloquent Kelly at Stacked discusses this very topic here. Head on over and join the conversation.

Picture Book Saturday

My Teacher is a Monster! (No, I Am Not.)
By Peter Brown
Published 2014 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
So, I love Peter Brown. When I met him a few years ago, I was actually impressed with myself that I was able to hold a normal conversation with him. As you can imagine, this means I'm constantly anticipating his next book. This one was a bit of a let-down for me. It has some of the charm of his earlier books, and definitely his signature style, but I wonder if the story is one that won't resonate with children as deeply as his previous titles. To me, this is a book that will certainly appeal to adult readers, particularly to teachers or those in similar professions. It may do well with elementary readers, but I think it will be a bit lost on preschoolers. It's fun and, as always, the illustrations are genius. Not my favorite, but I'll continue to anticipate each new Brown book.

A Perfect Place for Ted
By Leila Rudge
Published 2014 by Candlewick Press
Ted is an adorable little dog in a sweater at the pet store. Unfortunately, he keeps being left behind - no one chooses Ted. So, Ted decides to take matters into his own hands. Kids will enjoy his adventures as he tries to figure out which place will be best for him and, though the ending is predictable, it's also sweet, guaranteed to charm the preschool audience. The illustrations are soft and lovely, making this a quiet kind of story. This will definitely please young readers as well.


A New Friend for Marmalade
By Alison Reynolds, illustrated by Heath McKenzie
Published 2014 by Little Simon
I thought the previous book about Marmalade and his people was absolutely charming, so I was pleased to see a new adventure for the friends. In this book, a new boy arrives in the neighborhood. Ella and Maddy, Marmalade's human friends, are not so keen on this new boy, but Marmalade doesn't seem to mind him much. But when Marmalade gets into some trouble, who will help him out? I love the illustrations - they look a bit like a coloring book that someone has started on but then walked away from (I mean this in a good way). I think the message is cute as well and would work in a storytime about friendship. Very sweet.

More and More
By Emma Dodd
Published 2014 by Templar Books
I don't have a whole lot to say about this one. I think a lot of Dodd's books fall into the same category - a sweet tale about love - and this is no exception. In this version, a monkey learns that a parent's love only grows more and more with each passing day. It's very sweet and the illustrations are perfect for very young readers, but it's nothing terribly unique. If you like one Dodd book, chances are you'll like them all. I like them, so I liked this one. As a bonus, this one has some gold sparkles on the pages, adding a bit of glimmer to the story.

Review: The Truth About Twinkie Pie

The Truth About Twinkie Pie
By Kat Yeh
Published 2015 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Galileo Galilei Barnes is ready for a new start. So, when she and her big sister move to a new town, GiGi comes up with a new Recipe for Success - starting with picking a new name. Life is more complicated than following a recipe, though, and it isn't long before GiGi's world is turned upside down and she has to uncover the truth.

Another ARC that showed up at my library, I put this in a pile to-read because of the cover - yes, really. I mean, who could resist it? I breezed through this book over just a few days and I quite enjoyed it.

To begin with, I thought GiGi was a very authentic voice - I believed her and I wanted everything to work out just the way she wanted. That doesn't mean she's perfect - there were a few times when I couldn't help but shake my head at her stubbornness or her lack of forethought. But these instances only served to make her more realistic. Similarly, I thought the other characters rang true as well. I did wonder how likely it would be that the boy she physically ran into on the first day of school would be nice and befriend her, but considering Trip's character, it felt true enough for him.

This book is set up well. The chapters are short but not too short, so the pages flew by. Interspersed throughout are the recipes that GiGi and DiDi make - and they actually sound pretty good! There is a great mix of humor and heart in this story. I laughed out loud several times and teared up once. This book is what I might call Southern-flavored; it's got enough of a Southern touch that you know it's there but it's not overwhelming.

I was actually surprised by the mystery, which is good. I didn't see the reveal coming. I was not terribly thrilled with GiGi's reaction; however, it was probably a pretty accurate one. I can only imagine. The ending is, of course, a happy one but it's not too saccharine as to be irritating. At times, it did feel that there was a bit too much crammed into the one book and it felt like the book wasn't sure which story was actually the focus. But overall, I can see this being popular with fans of Wendy Mass or Lisa Papademetriou.

Thanks to the publisher for an advance reader's copy.

Review: Seeker

Seeker (Seeker, book one)
By Arwen Elys Dalton
Expected publication February 10, 2015 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Quin has been training for years to fulfill her destiny and become a Seeker. Finally, the night of her oath has arrived. But Quin is about to discover that the noble purpose she believed in is a lie and the life she was expecting is not what she's going to get.

I'd hear a bit of buzz about this book and it sounded like something I'd be into (I've discovered exactly how much speculative fiction I read). When I spotted the e-galley available, I downloaded away.

Y'all, I wanted to like this book. I had high hopes for it. It sounded like it had potential to be a really interesting story, though not an unfamiliar one - a girl who's believed in a noble destiny instead discovers she'll be an assassin. But I just can't like this book. Flat out, it's a mess.

I would say at least 50% of the fun of fantasy and speculative fiction, at least for most people, is the world-building. Discovering the complex and unique setting the author has created, learning the rules and quirks of that world - that's part of the joy of this kind of story. And that's why this book is a complete failure. There is almost zero world-building here, and I have a hard time understanding just how Dalton got away with this. I have no sense of exactly when and where this story takes place - sure, you can tell me Scotland or Hong Kong, but is is the Scotland or Hong Kong that exists at this moment in the real world? I couldn't tell you, because apparently Dalton doesn't care to have you know. The entire premise of the book remains unexplained - readers are provided with only the barest of information about the Seekers and the Dreads and what those terms mean. I don't know why they work together. I don't know if there still exists the many different houses of Seekers or if they've died out save the two we're reading about. I know nothing because Dalton tells me nothing.

The characters are flat and uninteresting and the love triangle is, I'm sorry, just a bit icky. I would say this book is probably 75-80% dialogue and action scenes which doesn't strike me as the marks of a good writer. I managed to finish it because it reads pretty quickly, but I have zero interest in coming back for the second installment and I'm not likely to recommend this to readers.

Thanks to the publisher for a digital advance reader's copy, provided via Edelweiss.

ALA Youth Media Awards

If you are a fan of literature for young people (and I must assume you are; otherwise, I'm not sure what you're doing here), yesterday was a big day for you. It was for me. I, like many fans of young people's lit, tuned into the live webstream of the announcement of this year's Youth Media Awards, the most prestigious awards for children's literature in our country. For the last few years, I've shared my thoughts on the outcome of the awards and I'd like to again this year. Once again, I may not cover every award; for a complete list of the awards and winners, please go here.

Alex Awards: 0/10 read - another year with nothing read, which once again surprises me. I feel like I read a significant amount of adult books last year, but I guess not the ones with teen appeal. I do have a copy of Everything I Never Told You languishing in my TBR pile, so hopefully I can get to that one soon.

Schneider Family Book Awards: 0/3 read - I'll just say it now: I did not have a good showing on the awards this year, which will become clear as I go on in this recap. I had never even heard of the picture book winner, but have been wanting to read Rain Reign, particularly after a coworker raved about it. I was vaguely aware of Girls Like Us; I'll try to find time for that as well.

Stonewall Book Awards: 1/4 read (I'll Give You the Sun) - I was surprised that I'd only read one of the books here, but thrilled at which one it was. I'm incredibly impressed that a picture book won overall; I'll definitely have to keep my eyes peeled for that one.

Coretta Scott King John Steptoe Award for New Talent: 0/1 read - I've heard nothing but good things about Jason Reynolds; I'll look forward to discovering his work now.

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award: 1/3 read - I read the winner, Firebird, though I haven't reviewed it yet. I did enjoy it well enough. I've seen Josephine around but haven't picked it up and Little Melba and Her Big Trombone is a book we've discussed several times at my library (deciding whether or not it's right for our collection).

Coretta Scott King Book Award: 0/4 read - another poor showing for me with this category, though I knew going into it that I'd fail on several accounts for not picking up Brown Girl Dreaming ahead of time. All the Honor titles are on my to-read list as well.

William C. Morris Award: 0/5 read - I love that they announce the shortlist for this award ahead of time, but my attempts to not check out library books inhibited my reading of these titles (also, my library only owns one of them). I've been on a waiting list for the winner since the beginning of January, so I'll be happy once I finally get to check it out.

Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award: 1/5 read (The Port Chicago 50) - having only read one of the shortlisted titles, I didn't have a prediction here, though I probably would have been hard-pressed to bet against Sheinkin. I'm very surprised by the winner (Popular), but it sounds like fun. I put my name on the wait list for it.

Michael L. Printz Award: 2/5 read (I'll Give You the Sun, Grasshopper Jungle) - though I could have done better reading-wise, I am so thrilled with my absolute two favorite reads from last year winning that I don't actually care all that much. I'm impressed with myself for actually predicting the winner and am ridiculously happy that Grasshopper Jungle - a book I've raved about to no end - received an Honor. I have one of the other Honors sitting next to me bed, waiting for me to stop being distracted by other books. I'm eager to start it now.

Pura Belpre Award for Illustration: 1/4 read (Little Roja Riding Hood) - the one title from this list I've read arrived at our library earlier this month and I read through it. I actually didn't care for it at all, so I was incredibly surprised by its inclusion here. I was surprised I hadn't heard of Green is a Chile Pepper; I recently read Round is a Tortilla and loved it, so I'm excited about a book of colors from the same team. And Separate is Never Equal was named a Bluebonnet book for the coming year, so I'll be trying to squeeze that one in when I can.

Pura Belpre Award for Text: 0/2 read - I'm just happy that I ordered the winner for our library and impressed that it has circulated well, considering its weight (both content and physical).

Odyssey Award: 0/4 read - I did read the print version of one of the Honor titles, though of course that doesn't count for this award. I'm not surprised that Five, Six, Seven, Nate! received an Honor. I was excited to see The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place - this book sounds made for me, and I love a good audio, so I'll be hunting that down.

Mildred L. Batchelder Award: 0/3 read - once again, the winner was a title I saw reviewed a few times and considered ordering for the library but never did. We do have Hidden on the shelves, and it's caught my eye every time I've passed it, so I'm sure I'll be picking it up soon.

Robert F. Sibert Medal: 2/6 read (The Right Word, Neighborhood Sharks) - so happy for The Right Word, which I loved. I haven't reviewed the titles I've read, but I really liked them both. I'm not surprised by any of the other Honor titles either.

Theodor Seuss Geisel Award: 1/3 read (You Are Not Small) - is there a year when Mo Willems puts out an Elephant & Piggie book and doesn't at least receive an Honor? Trust me, I'm not complaining. Surprisingly, though, his book is not the one I've read - You Are Not Small is, though I haven't reviewed it. I was surprised to see it here, as I generally consider this award to be for readers and I would consider that book a picture book, but I'm not extremely familiar with this awards policies, so what do I know?

Randolph Caldecott Medal: 3/7 read (The Adventures of Beekle, The Right Word, The Noisy Paint Box) - holy cats you guys, Dan Santat just won a Caldecott!!!!! He has been one of my favorite illustrators for many years now and this book is absolutely charming. I hadn't expected his name to show up but I was beyond thrilled when it did. I had predicted we'd see several non-fiction picture books among the winners, including The Right Word, so good on me. Though I haven't read it, I, like most, was surprised by This One Summer's inclusion among the Honors, so I'm eager to read it for myself and see what the fuss is about!

John Newbery Medal: 1/3 read (El Deafo) - this announcement was one surprise after another, starting with only two Honor books. It's hard to believe that more weren't honored, simply because I want to promote as many awesome books as possible. But, don't be put off by the short review I gave El Deafo - I wanted to cry when it was announced. I'm so happy for this book and so pleased the committee recognized this brilliant graphic novel. Another surprised was, of course, Brown Girl Dreaming winning the Honor and not the gold, but I've heard many good things about The Crossover and haven't read either, so I can't really make a judgment there. I didn't make much of a prediction for Newbery this year.

General thoughts: what an amazing slew of books to be honored! I am so impressed and proud of all the committee members and the work they did. While I can't speak to any committee's intentions, it certainly seems like the We Need Diverse Books campaign was heard, loud and clear, and is reflected among the winners. I am so, so delighted by this and hope that the good will of this year's committees will carry forth into the future. I'm looking forward to picking up the titles I missed from this year's winners and, as always, looking ahead to next year!

January Check-In

It's the first check-in of a new year! Here's the breakdown of what I read this month:

Early-chapter: 0

Middle-grade: 10

Teen: 10

Adult: 4

Picture books: 9

Library books: 19

Books owned: 14

I'd say I had a pretty productive reading month this January! I, of course, was busy reading all the finalists for my Cybils category - look for reviews of those after our winner is announced on Valentine's Day. I also managed to squeeze in an impressive number of other books - check out my previous posts this month for a closer look at the titles I read. One of my goals for this year is to be better at reviewing as I read and this month, I definitely succeeded at that. I've reviewed everything I read this month (adult titles over at my Goodreads account), with the exception of picture books (I'm still behind on my reviews of those). I'm also trying to be better about what digital ARCs I download or request - I really want to clear out some of the physical copies I've got in our house. So far, I think this reading year is off to a good start!

Fall Program Recap: Low-Key Programs

I mentioned in a previous post that our job duties were restructured just prior to the start of the 14-15 school year. It meant that I wasn't doing as much programming. It also meant that most of the programming I did choose to do became very low-key and easy to manage. Here's a little recap of the low maintenance programs I chose for the fall.

Lego Family Fun Day: I think we've been offering this program for a year now and it is the very definition of low-key. We set out our LEGOs and let families build together. Attendance dropped quite a bit in the fall. As I've mentioned before, we had a bit of a weird fall, so I'm not sure if it's that or something else. I've decided to try something just a bit different in the spring; we'll see if it changes our attendance numbers.

Mario Kart Tournament: one of our teen volunteers requested this program, something I'd already thought about doing for a few years. It wasn't quite as successful as I'd hoped - though we had a significant number of teens in the room, several of them had no interest in playing. That is fine; I like them hanging out and having fun at the library, and we had set out board games that they played instead. However, it made the tournament a bit uneventful and we had a winner quite quickly. Also, our winner did not seem as thrilled about winning the beautiful Golden Hubcap as I'd hoped. I think we're going to try this program again in the summer and aim it at a slightly younger audience (both ideas will probably end up making the program insane). We'll see how it goes!

Pumpkin Decorating: I think this is the third year I've offered this program. It's always well-attended, and I like how thoughtful the tweens are when it comes to their decorating; they really want to get their pumpkin just right. After last year's slightly inappropriate showing of Hocus Pocus, I erred on the side of caution and showed It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, which several of the kids had not seen. I know my boss talked about offering a family version this year; I think that's a great idea as well and I know other libraries have had success with that.

Throwback Thursday: this was a new monthly program for teens that I decided to try out. I'm sure you're aware of #tbt on social media; I thought I'd try to be somewhat relevant and base a program around this idea. It's pretty simple - I pick two old (read: older than the teens) movies, they vote on the one they want to watch, and we throw it on. I provide snacks and coloring sheets and crayons, usually related to our movies. They're allowed to chat and color (I find it relaxing) and there are very basic rules: no talking about school, be polite, and don't make a mess. I've had pretty good attendance so far, and several kids have told me it's their favorite program to attend. A couple times I've offered a very simple craft (by which I mean one aimed at preschoolers) and they haven't been as interested in that. So far, we've watched Beetlejuice, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. It's been a lot of fun, and an extremely easy program!

What low-key programs does your library offer?