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

[.]

STARTED:
Funke, Cornelia. (2018). The Griffin's Feather [Dragon Rider #2]. New York: Chicken House/Scholastic.

[Remember LOVING the first one...]

*

FINISHED:
Moore, David Barclay. (2017). The Stars Beneath Our Feet. New York: Knopf.

[.]

STARTED:
Burkey, Mary. (2013). Audiobooks for Youth: a Practical Guide to Sound Literature. Chicago: ALA Editions.

[Gearing up for the ALSC Notable Children's Recordings committee.]

*

FINISHED:
Meloy, Colin. (2017). The Whiz Mob and the Grenadine Kid. New York: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins.

[In Marseille, France, 1961, Charlie Fisher, the neglected twelve year old son of an American Consul General, falls in with a Lebanese boy named Amir and a crew of other young, multicultural pickpockets.  Looking to forge a life of his own, as well as find some friends, Charlie is brought into the fold first by running center field (watching and learning) and then as a duke man (the one that all of the other pickpockets bring their spoils to), all while trying to keep the two diametrically opposed sides of his life from colliding.  Meticulously crafted and thoroughly researched, vivid descriptions rife with specific detail bring the streets of the French city to life, and an occasional authorial direct address adds further humor to an already amusing tale.  Just when you begin to wonder where it’s all going, a doozy of a bombshell is dropped two thirds of the way through which excitingly lays the groundwork for the final path ahead, while Carson Ellis’s occasional full page illustrations feel period to the ‘60s, often recalling the rounded figures of Peter Max and Daniel Pinkwater.  Meloy continually brings up socio-economics as the ragtag band of misfits see themselves as Robin Hoods to a certain degree, with Amir saying, “Way I see it, we’re evening the score a bit, yeah?... To take the rich folks down a peg”, and the Code of the Whiz Mob being that “no one facing financial hardship, marginalization, or oppression of any sort should be targeted.”  When Charlie’s hard-honed skills are put to a final test near the end, we get a true, step by step insight into the art of the steal, and luckily, included at the end is an extensive (and quite necessary!) glossary of whiz lingo.]

STARTED:
Ness, Patrick. (2017). Release. New York: HarperCollins.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Neuvel, Sylvain. (2016). Sleeping Giants [The Themis Files: Book 1]. New York: Del Rey/Penguin Random House.

[.]

STARTED:
Neuvel, Sylvain. (2017). Waking Gods [The Themis Files: Book 2]. New York: Del Rey/Penguin Random House.

[Another adult book!  (It's a sequel to the last one...)]

*

FINISHED:
Springstubb, Tricia. (2017). Cody and the Rules of Life. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[In this third installment of the Cody series, Cody learns that sometimes it’s not SO bad to break the rules.  After taking her brother Wyatt’s prized new bike for a ride without his permission and nicking some of the paint, the bike is stolen and Cody puts the blame on a couple of kids in the neighborhood who are economically challenged, eventually making things right by aiding Wyatt in its return.  And, after her first sleepover, Cody (reluctantly) agrees to let her host, Pearl, borrow her beloved Gremlin toy, but Cody quickly regrets her decision when Pearl doesn’t seem to want to give Gremlin back, even going so far as to “steal” Gremlin from Pearl’s backpack.  Springstubb’s style of writing doesn’t talk down to its audience, retaining a sophistication and emotional insight through its third person narration, and realistically portrays the ins and outs of her characters and their situations while always remaining funny and engaging.  Wheeler’s occasional art depicts Cody’s neighborhood and school as relatively diverse, while helping to break up the breezy text for those beginning chapter book readers whose eyes might need a break or some visual context clues.  This is a perfect series for those readers who are ready for something more challenging after working their way through the Ivy and Bean (Chronicle, 2006) titles.]

STARTED:
Neuvel, Sylvain. (2016). Sleeping Giants. New York: Del Rey/Penguin Random House.

[An adult book!]

*

FINISHED:
Wiesner, David and Donna Jo Napoli. (2017). Fish Girl. New York: Clarion/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

[.]

STARTED:
Bertman, Jennifer Chambliss. (2017). The Unbreakable Code [Book Scavenger #2]. New York: Henry Holt/Macmillan.

[.]

*

FINISHED: 
Coates, Ta-Nehisi. (2016). Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet [Book One]. New York: Marvel Worldwide.

[.]

STARTED:
Nesbet, Anne. (2016). Cloud and Wallfish. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

[.]

*

FINISHED: 
Whitehead, Colson. (2016). The Underground Railroad. New York: Doubleday/Penguin Random House.

[.]

STARTED:
Marciano, John Bemelmans. (2016). Mischief Season [Witches of Benevento, Book 1]. New York: Viking/Penguin Random House.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Ogburn, Jacqueline K. (2017). The Unicorn in the Barn. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

[Reviewing for ACL - it doesn't actually come out until July.  Review soon...]

STARTED:  
Whitehead, Colson. (2016). The Underground Railroad. New York: Doubleday/Penguin Random House.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Alexander, Michelle. (2012). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New York: The New Press.

[To be fair, I only read the Introduction and one of the chapters... because that is what we were asked to do as part of a book discussion group that I'm now a part of!  When I have time to engage in something that I don't need to review, I'll likely give it full read because it seems like required reading.]

STARTED:
Gidwitz, Adam. (2016). The Inquisitor's Tale. New York: Dutton/Penguin/Random House.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Connor, Leslie. (2016). All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook. New York: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Weatherford, Carole Boston. (2016). You Can Fly:  The Tuskegee Airmen. New York: Atheneum/Simon & Schuster.

[.]

*

FINISHED:
Springstubb, Tricia. (2016). Every Single Second. New York: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins.

[.]

STARTED:
Connor, Leslie. (2016). All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook. New York: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins.

[.]

*

FINISHED:

Ryan, Pam Muñoz. (2015).  Echo.  New York: Scholastic.

[SO PLEASED to now be able to list this one here on the blog.  Obviously, as it was on of our Newbery Honor books, it's one that I read A NUMBER of times last year.  Also cool to now read it to just... read it.  No more note-taking and intense scrutiny.  Just able to read it for the FANTASTIC piece of fiction that it is.]

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

[Re-reading before meeting the author at the ALA Annual conference.]

*

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:
Feldman, Jody. (2014). The Gollywhopper Games:  The new champion. New York: Greenwillow/HarperCollins.

[Being the middle of three boys in his family, Cameron is used to not getting very much attention, but his time in the limelight has arrived when he is chosen to participate in the 2^nd Gollywhopper Games.  Naturally, Cameron makes it through the preliminary rounds to snag a spot in the final games, and it is here that he has to work through a series of word puzzles and challenges that take place in the magical, and unbelievable, Golly Toy and Game Company Headquarters.  This sequel to Feldman’s own The Gollywhopper Games (Greenwillow/HarperCollins, 2008) lacks the punch and wonder of its predecessor, not giving the reader a full sense of the world she has previously created. The answers to some of the puzzles leads Cameron and the other contestants to specific toys in the Golly Toy catalogue… thus making them so that we have to follow along while Cameron solves them, without getting a fair chance to do so ourselves, which is half the fun of a book of this sort.  In addition, some of the tasks/puzzles are strictly physical and, quite often, unbelievable (an enormous, indoor “wasteland” of rocks, caves and ponds??) and difficult to visualize.  While there are valuable messages about honesty, which ends up getting Cameron more attention that if he had kept quiet and won the million dollar prize, and finding your place in your family dynamic, those who appreciated the first title will certainly find enough to like here, but they may need to wait until the (teased) third book in the series to find what they are truly craving.]


STARTED:
DiTerlizzi, Tony. (2014). The battle for WondLa. New York: Simon & Schuster.

[LOVE LOVE LOVE this series and push it on anyone and everyone who comes into the library.]


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