FINISHED:
Medina, Meg. (2018). Merci Suárez Changes Gears. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[.]

STARTED:
Johnson, Maureen. (2019). The Vanishing Stair. New York: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins.

[.]

*

FINISHED: 
Jackson, Tiffany D. (2018). Monday's Not Coming. New York: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins.

[.]

*

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: 
Springstubb, Tricia. (2018). Cody and the Heart of a Champion. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[.]














STARTED & FINISHED:
Avi. (2018). The Button War. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[.]











STARTED & FINISHED:
Sell, Chad. (2018). The Cardboard Kingdom. New York: Knopf/Penguin Random House. 

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Rhodes, Jewel Parker. (2018). Ghost Boys. New York: Little, Brown/Hachette.

[.]

STARTED:
Hanlon, Abby. (2018). Dory Fantasmagory: Head in the Clouds. New York: Dial/Penguin Random House.

[LOVE THIS SERIES.]

*

FINISHED:
Connor, Leslie. (2018). The Truth As Told by Mason Buttle. New York: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Harris, Chris. (2017). I'm Just No Good at Rhyming and Other Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups. New York: Little, Brown/Hachette.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Applegate, Katherine. (2017). Wishtree. New York: Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan.

[.]

STARTED:
Tagame, Gengoroh. (2017). My Brother's Husband. New York: Pantheon/Penguin Random House.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Saenz, Benjamin Alire. (2017). The Inexplicable Logic of My Life. New York: Clarion/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

[.]

STARTED:
Delaney, Rachelle. (2017). The Bonaventure Adventures. New York: Penguin Random House.

[.]

*

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:
Kelly, Erin Entrada. (2017).  Hello, Universe.  New York: Greenwillow/HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Bang, Molly. (1991, 2016). Picture This: How Pictures Work [Revised and Expanded 25th Anniversary Edition]. San Francisco: Chronicle.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Shevah, Emma. (2016). Dara Palmer's Major Drama. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky.

Appreciated this one even more the second time!
[Dara Palmer, a 5^th-grader who lives in London after having been adopted by her Caucasian parents from a Cambodian orphanage when she was a toddler, more than anything in her entire life wants the lead role of Maria in her school’s production of The Sound of Music.  When the part goes to someone else, she begins to wonder if it’s because she doesn’t look like what Maria “should” look like… when really it’s because she just can’t act.  Dara’s narration brims with hyperbolic-tween personality, showcasing her flair for being dramatic – with lots of asides such as “huuuggghhhtttt”, “whuuhhuuuhhhhh”, and the like – and occasionally zoning out while having a “mind movie” (which usually involve her celebrity crush, Bradley Porter).  Fun spot art and doodles adorn every page adding an amusing flippancy, but while humorous, Shevah’s novel is also surprisingly insightful as Dara becomes increasingly aware of her “otherness”, noticing that no one in movies, on TV, or featured in magazines resembles her (“I looked like a giant chocolate bunny in a room full of snowmen.”), while, at the same time, learning the importance/value of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes when taking part in a drama exercise to better understand her sister Georgia, adopted from Russia, with whom she has an adversarial relationship.  A thoughtful look at adoption from the adults’ side, with Dara’s parents reassuring their love for her while also encouraging her to explore her Cambodian heritage through its food and language, and from the perspective of a child who is finally old enough to begin asking questions.  Hilarious, touching, and important.]

STARTED:
Mull, Brandon. (2017). Dragonwatch:  a Fablehaven Adventure. Salt Lake City, UT: Shadow Mountain.

[.]

*

FINISHED: 
Mittlefehldt, Rafi. (2016). It Looks Like This. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[I read for ACL, to weigh in on whether or not it should be included on our annual "Best Books of the Year" list.  And, my vote will be "No".  I was REALLY getting in to it - despite the very choppy sentence structure throughout - and then the last half of  the book turned out to be a major disappointment for me.

(SPOILER-ISH)
For one thing, I was expecting/REALLY hoping that the death-by-car-crash was going to turn out to be the rotten classmate who kept leering at Mike.  Sure, let Mike believe for a day or two that it was Sean - give us some despair - but then have him discover that it was, instead, the bully who had been fighting his own internalized homophobia, and let Mike end up with Sean, even if it won't be easy because of their conservative families.  This, because...

I believe that we just don't need gay tragedies right now.  This felt to me like the kind of book that would've been written in the 70s or 80s when the gay pride movement had an enormous uphill battle ahead of it.  Then, a tragic end to a gay love story would've at least been a reflection of the times - a bit of a cynical parable on the state of the country and the treatment/popular thought about homosexuality at that time.  BUT, we've come a LONG way since then, and, even now, have to push even harder to get over the last hurdle (stupid, white, conservative men...).  What we need are gay romances with happy endings - a la Tim Federle's THE GREAT AMERICAN WHATEVER or Becky Albertalli's fantastic SIMON vs. the HOME SAPIENS AGENDA.  Gay conversion therapy and suicide??  That kind of cynicism right now is just damaging.  Gay kids need to finally be able to revel in the fact that they, too, deserve true love.]

STARTED:
Gottesfeld, Jeff. (2016). The Tree in the Courtyard: Looking Through Anne Frank's Window. New York: Knopf.

[.]

*

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

[.]

STARTED:
Holm, Jennifer L. (2016). Full of Beans. New York: Random House.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Gephart, Donna. (2016). Lily and Dunkin. New York: Delacorte/Random House.

[.]

STARTED:
Messner, Kate. (2016). The Seventh Wish. New York: Bloomsbury.

[.]

*

FINISHED: 
Cole, Henry. (2016). The Somewhat True Adventures of Sammy Shine. Atlanta: Peachtree.

[.]

STARTED:
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. (2015). Between the World and Me. New York: Spiegel & Grau.

[Recommended by Matt de la Peña and Allie Jane Bruce.  I mean, with endorsements by these two, it must be a slam-dunk winner.]

*

FINISHED: 
Peck, Richard. (2016). The Best Man. New York: Dial/Penguin.

[.]

STARTED:
Telgemeier, Raina. (2016). Ghosts. New York: Scholastic.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Wolk, Lauren. (2016). Wolf Hollow. New York: Dutton/Penguin/Random House.

[.]

STARTED:
Dougherty, Michael. (2015). Trick 'r Treat: Days of the Dead. Burbank, CA: Legendary Comics.

[You may not know this, but TRICK 'R TREAT has become one of my favorite films.  May have even surpassed HALLOWEEN as my favorite film to watch during that season...]

*

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

[Finally got around to reading this one after getting a free copy at the Morris Awards while at ALA Midwinter.  FANTASTIC read.  This is another case of "why wasn't this book around when I was a teenager?" envy.  Great voice.  Cleverly has every other chapter be emails between Simon's secret identity and Blue (another student at school who is keeping his identity under wraps).  A fun coming out story with a sweet romance that builds slowly, and virtually!]

STARTED:
Wolk, Lauren. (2016). Wolf Hollow. New York: Dutton/Penguin/Random House.

[4 starred reviews (from all of the majors) - and having fun trying to pick what might be up for the 2017 Newbery.]

*

FINISHED:
Alexander, Kwame. (2016). Booked. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.



[.]




STARTED:
Corey, Shana. (2016). The Secret Subway. New York: Schwartz & Wade/Random House.



[.]


*

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!]

*