FINISHED: 
Kelly, Erin Entrada. (2018). You Go First. New York: Greenwillow/HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Yang, Kelly. (2018). Front Desk. New York: Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic.

[.]

*

FINISHED: 
Jamieson, Victoria. (2017). All's Faire in Middle School. New York: Dial/Penguin.

[.]

STARTED:
Smith, Ronald L. (2017). The Mesmerist. New York: Clarion/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Goldberg, Susan. (2017). Gender Revolution [Special Issue]. Journal of the National Geographic Society, 231(1).

[.]

STARTED:
Westerfeld, Scott. (2017). Horizon [Horizon Book 1]. New York: Scholastic.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Kinney, Jeff. (2016). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down. New York: Amulet/Abrams.

[.]

STARTED:
Grimes, Nikki. (2016). Garvey's Choice. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Highlights.

[.]

*

FINISHED: 
Lane, Kathleen. (2016). The Best Worst Thing. New York: Little, Brown.

[.]

STARTED:
Anderson, John David. (2016). Ms. Bixby's Last Day. New York: Walden Pond/HarperCollins.

[.]

*

FINISHED: 
Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker. (2015). The War That Saved My Life. New York: Dial/Penguin.

[As with ECHO below, I love that I now have a chance to list this one on the blog.  Obviously, by virtue of the fact that it was (SO DESERVING OF) one of our Newbery Honors, it is a book that I have read A NUMBER of times.  AND, I know that I will read it a BUNCH more times over the years.  TRULY TRULY one of my favorites last year... and definitely one of my favorites of all time.]

STARTED:
Jamieson, Victoria. (2015). Roller Girl. New York: Penguin.

[.]

*

FINISHED: 
Brown, Peter. (2016). The Wild Robot. New York: Little, Brown.

[.]

STARTED:
Albertalli, Becky. (2015). Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. New York: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Cole, Henry. (2016). Brambleheart. New York: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Park, Linda Sue. (2016). Wing & Claw: Forest of Wonders. New York: HarperCollins.

[A Single Shard is one of my favorite Newbery Medal winners.]

*

FINISHED:
Kinney, Jeff. (2015). Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School. New York: Amulet/Abrams.

[Actually, this one was kind of funny.  Definitely funnier than the last couple.]

STARTED:
Springstubb, Tricia. (2010). What Happened on Fox Street. New York: Balzer + Bray.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Bell, Cece. (2014). El Deafo. New York: Amulet.

[.]


STARTED:
Perkins, Lynne Rae. (2014). Nuts to you. New York: Greenwillow/HarperCollins.

[.]


*

FINISHED:
Setterington, Ken. (2013). Branded by the pink triangle. Toronto, ON: Second Story.


[.]


STARTED:
Mull, Brandon. (2014). Sky Raiders (Five kingdoms #1). New York: Aladdin/Simon & Schuster.


[.]

*

FINISHED:
Jones, Rob Lloyd. (2013). Wild Boy. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[Now a sideshow freak in London in 1841, Wild Boy, so named because he is covered in hair from head to toe, finds himself on the run when he is wrongly accused of the murder of a professor who was working on a mysterious machine.  With only a sideshow acrobat as an ally, the two discover a plot involving a man with a golden globe for an eyeball, a shadow society called the “Gentlemen”, and a device which, Wild Boy is told, “is a very powerful machine, one that changes you.  Imagine a machine that could make you normal, like everyone else.”  Wild Boy is a complex character who, even after an early life of abandonment and brutal abuse, is strong and determined, and it is a Sherlock Holmes-ian gift for reading people that ultimately leads him to triumph. Though seemingly aimed at a younger audience, this is a novel that doesn’t shy away from brutality – Wild Boy is ruthlessly (and sometimes disturbingly) taunted and beaten, both verbally and physically, again and again throughout.  This is a strong, Victorian-set mystery which brings into the mix the early understandings of electricity and its properties and uses, giving the proceedings a hint of Frankenstein-ish gothic darkness.]


STARTED:
Weston, Robert Paul. (2013). The creature department. New York: Razorbill/Penguin.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Tartt, Donna. (2013). The goldfinch. New York: Little, Brown.
[This one was a BEAST that took me WAY TOO LONG to get through - amazing, because I tore through her last book, The Little Friend, in just a few days.  "Long, plodding, uneventful" best describes her current novel.  Don't get me wrong, I think that she's an AMAZING writer, but this one just went on and on without much of a point.  A character study with too much minutia.  I'm finding it somewhat hard to believe that people are falling over it THAT MUCH.]


STARTED:
Ursu, Anne. (2013). The real boy. New York: Walden Pond/HarperCollins.

[.]


*

FINISHED:
Levithan, David. (2013). Two boys kissing. New York: Knopf.

[Narrated by the ghosts of gay men who died of AIDS, this one cuts between a couple of different storylines:  two young men attempt to break the world record for kissing, two teens (one of whom is transgendered) meet at a Gay Prom and begin to date, a gay teen couple help to normalize gay relationships, and a nihlistic teen who is constantly on gay-hookup sites runs away from home.  Pretty powerful stuff, and an interesting look at a range of current gay youth relationships.  This one also points out how much "better" things are for those who are coming out today (seeing as homosexuality is much more "normalized" these days), versus those gay men who had to live in the shadows, completely denying themselves, in the '70s and '80s. ]


STARTED:
McMann, Lisa. (2012). Island of silence (Unwanteds: Book 2). New York: Aladdin.

[The first in this series is one that I like to booktalk and put in kids' hands... and I realized that I haven't read EITHER of the sequels!]

*

FINISHED:
Rowell, Rainbow. (2013). Eleanor & Park. New York: St. Martin's Griffin.


[.]


STARTED:
Levithan, David. (2013). Two boys kissing. New York: Knopf.


[Reading the SIGNED advanced copy that I got at ALA!]


*

FINISHED:
Konigsberg, Bill. (2013). Openly straight. New York: Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic.


[.]


STARTED:
Nix, Garth, and Sean Williams. (2012). The monster (Troubletwisters #2). New York: Scholastic.


[Reviewing Book 3 in the series and realized that I had not read the second one yet...]


*

FINISHED: 
Gale, Eric Kahn. (2012). The Bully Book. New York: HarperCollins.


[.]


STARTED:
Hunter, Erin. (2012). The melting sea (Seekers: Return to the wild #2). New York: HarperCollins.


[I'm reviewing #3 in the series for ACL, so I need to get caught up...]


*

FINISHED:
Palacio, R.J. (2012). Wonder. New York: Knopf.


[.]


STARTED:
Snicket, Lemony. (2012). Who could that be at this hour? (All the wrong questions #1). New York: Little, Brown.


[.]


*

FINISHED: 
Kinney, Jeff. (2012). Diary of a wimpy kid: the third wheel. New York: Amulet.

[.]

STARTED:
Levithan, David. (2012). Every day. New York: Knopf.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Hartman, Rachel. (2012). Seraphina. New York: Random House.



[.]


STARTED:
Dashner, James. (2012). The kill order. New York: Delacorte.


[The Maze Runner and its followup novels have been some of my absolute favorites from the past few years...]

*