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Month: May 2020
Sponsored by How to Build a Heart by Maria Padian, new from Algonquin Young Readers
All sixteen-year-old Izzy Crawford wants is to feel like she belongs somewhere. Her father, a marine, died in Iraq six years ago, and Izzy’s family hasn’t stopped moving since. When Izzy’s mom settles them in Virginia, all of Izzy’s dreams start clicking into place, although she’s careful to keep her scholarship status hidden from her well-to-do classmates and new boyfriend. Best of all, Izzy’s family has been selected by Habitat for Humanity to move into a brand-new house. Izzy is this close to the community she’s been searching for, until all the secret pieces of her life begin to collide.
Welcome to Check Your Shelf. We’re almost to Memorial Day weekend. I hope everyone gets a very well-deserved physical, emotional, and mental break.
Libraries & Librarians
News Updates
- The Chicago Public Library calls staff back to work and plans for a full reopen as of June 1st, although mayor Lori Lightfoot says that no reopening date has been set.
- Fort Worth librarians are calling their older patrons to check and see how they’re holding up. While many are applauding this as a way for libraries to stay in contact with their patrons, it also raises a lot of questions about patron information and privacy.
- Library Journal looks at the massive library worker furloughs and layoffs in response to ongoing closure.
Cool Library Updates
- The Obamas read The Word Collector by Peter H. Reynolds for the Chicago Public Library’s “Live from the Library” series. Oprah and other celebrities will also read for the library.
- A look at how library book clubs have gone virtual during the pandemic.
- Library pen pal programs unite communities during quarantine.
- This North Carolina bookstore owner is giving away new books to keep Little Free Libraries in the community stocked.
Worth Reading
- Don’t leave workers out of the library narrative.
- Essential until we’re not: the disregard for library staff safety. (Full disclosure, I wrote this one.)
- How to move from teen-centered to teen-driven services.
- The ground floor of this Japanese home is a public library.
- Here’s something to brighten your day: a cat that wears elaborate costumes to promote his local library!
Book Adaptations in the News
- The Percy Jackson series is officially coming to Disney+.
- Ryan Gosling is already set to star in the upcoming adaptation of Andy Weir’s as-yet-untitled new novel.
- Netflix is planning an adaptation of S.A. Chakraborty’s Daevabad Trilogy.
- Ivy Pochoda’s new novel These Women sells rights for a series adaptation.
- Another Harlan Coben novel is coming to Netflix.
- HBO Max is adapting Throttle by Stephen King and Joe Hill.
- Great Expectations is being adapted by the creator of Peaky Blinders.
- AMC has acquired the rights to Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles series and The Lives of the Mayfair Witches series.
- The graphic novel Sweet Tooth is being adapted as a live-action Netflix series, with Will Forte and James Brolin attached to the project.
- 10 book-to-screen adaptations that are perfectly suited to quarantine.
Books & Authors in the News
- Washington Post created a virtual literary event calendar.
- Indie bookstores across the country are planning digital celebrations for the new Hunger Games novel.
- French author and serial killer expert Stéphane Bourgoin admits that much of his nonfiction work was made up. (This story is bonkers.)
- Judy Mikovits, the disgraced doctor at the center of Plandemic, has a best-selling book on Amazon. I’m not linking to the book here, but I’m mentioning it because inevitably, we’re going to have patrons asking libraries to purchase a copy of her book, and we’ll have to grapple with whether patron access takes priority over providing access to accurate information.
- 6 queer authors on what it’s like to launch their books in a pandemic.
Numbers & Trends
- Not surprisingly, bookstore sales plunged 33.4% in March. However, print unit sales continue to rise by double digits, two months into the quarantine.
- Editors are apparently shying away from acquiring new dystopian fiction.
Award News
- There’s controversy stirring around Benjamin Moser’s Pulitzer Prize for Biography for his book Sontag: Her Life and Work, both in terms of the content and the author’s behavior towards women translators and biographers.
- The British Science Fiction Association Awards are announced via video.
Bookish Curiosities & Miscellaneous
- The Globe Theater faces permanent closure due to COVID 19.
- This Tampa Bay woman is making sure kids get to keep reading, thanks to her book bus.
- A Wisconsin retirement center put out a call for used books and got a flood of donations.
- This new app aims to connect people based on on their reading preferences and location.
- This Paris bookstore reveals the reading habits of its famous historical clientele, including Ernest Hemingway and Gertrude Stein.
- You can download Zoom backgrounds from the Harry Potter Studio Tour at Leavesden Studios. Brb, currently wailing about how I wanna do the studio tour again.
On the Riot
- Back to borrowing: regaining a love for the library.
- The different types of book formats, explained.
- 6 ways to maximize your reading time during the pandemic.
Enjoy the long weekend, but please keep social distancing! Keep on keeping on, everyone.
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.
Sponsored by Amazon Publishing.
From Dean Koontz, the international bestselling master of suspense, comes an epic new thriller about a terrifying killer and the singular compassion it will take to defeat him. Woody hasn’t spoken a word in his eleven years. Kipp is a dog who is beyond devoted to people. When he hears the boy who communicates like he does, without speaking, Kipp knows he needs to find him before it’s too late. Woody’s fears are taking shape. A man driven by evil has set a depraved plan into motion. And only a force greater than evil can stop what’s coming next. Read Devoted today.
Happy Friday, shipmates! At least I assume it’s Friday. Time is a mortal construct that I have long since transcended, and now I exist on all Fridays simultaneously. Yes, it’s Alex, with some news and some well-dressed but monochromatic books.
Thing that made me happy that I must share with you: You can watch the Globe’s production of The Winter’s Tale until May 31!
News and Views
Congratulations to the BSFA award winners!
There’s a cover and a title for the next Wayward Children book, Across the Green Grass Fields!
There’s also a cover for Rise of the Red Hand by Olivia Chadha, which involves revolutionaries fighting a crushing technocratic government and climate change in South Asia.
Alyssa Cole is coming for us; she’s written a sci-fi romcom called The A.I. Who Loved Me. I’m only mad that I can’t get it until June 3.
An amazing Twitter thread about the 18 kinds of songs in Disney movies, which finishes by putting them in a periodic table.
Man breaks into Australian museum, takes selfies with dinosaurs
Patrick Stewart got some help for sonnet 57
TNT, what are you doing to Snowpiercer?
May 18 was the 40th anniversary of the Mt. St. Helens eruption. I cannot recommend the 2012 blog series from Scientific American enough, but if you want to read just one entry, read this one: The Cataclysm: “Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!”
And this Twitter thread about geologist Harry Glicken broke my heart.
On Book Riot
Taika Waititi is hosting a reading series of James and the Giant Peach.
Everything we know about Rick Riordan’s new book, Tower of Nero.
Quiz: Which character from Twilight are you?
Today is your last chance to win a copy of Superman Smashes the Klan!
You can enter to win $50 at your favorite indie book store and/or a 1-year subscription to Kindle Unlimited.
Free Association Friday
I had no idea, but May 22 is World Goth Day. According to the extremely cute World Goth Day site, “World Goth Day is exactly what it says on the wrapper-a day where the goth scene gets to celebrate its own being, and an opportunity to make its presence known to the rest of the world.”
I can’t think of a better way for this newsletter to celebrate than to call out some of the most Goth SFF out there. And we’re doing it hard mode: no vampires.
True fact: Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng was actually the first book I thought of. Because it’s gothic, yes, but it’s also got that aesthetic that is undeniably plain goth. This book is such a spiritual sibling to Crimson Peak, which is both gothic horror and incredibly goth thanks to its Guillermo del Toro leave-no-fabric-behind look. (And the two stories certainly have another thing or two in common that I won’t be elaborating on here, because spoilers.)
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir is probably the most obvious recent choice, which I can’t possibly leave out if I don’t want to get my hands slapped. I mean, just look at the cover. There’s necromancers. We don’t really need to go further than that.
The Murders of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson is something that sits on the grittier end of goth, in my opinion. Every time Molly bleeds even a little, another Molly is born, one who desperately wants to kill her progenitor. Molly’s getting pretty tired of killing herself in self-defense.
Down Among the Sticks and Bones and Come Tumbling Down by Seanan McGuire are about Jack and Jill in their native environment of the Moors, which is probably the second most goth world of the Wayward Children series–the first mentioned thus far is definitely the Halls of the Dead. Yes, there is technically a vampire in the Moors, but the books aren’t about him, so I’m giving myself a pass.
The Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht is set in a dying, plague-choked city, surrounded by a sea that twists everything that touches it. Tell me more. There’s a monster without a name stalking it. Even better. Then a sorcerer hires the monster, and they start hunting down everyone who has wronged them. And it’s very, very gay.
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado is the token short story collection for this list, and it swings through some thoroughly dark and gothy places in some of its tales.
A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar has a lingering ghost haunting the son of a pepper merchant, and while two religious cults are trying to use him as a pawn, he has to figure out how to free himself by freeing the ghost. Bonus: the book synopsis also calls reading “that seductive necromancy.”
I promise I haven’t forgotten Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake. Please don’t yell at me. This is basically the grandaddy of the goth(ic) fantasy novel. The family lives in a crumbling castle and is called Groan, for goodness sake.
See you, space pirates. You can find all of the books recommended in this newsletter on a handy Goodreads shelf. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me over at my personal site.
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Audiobooks 05/21
Sponsored by Blackstone Publishing.
This May, Blackstone Publishing celebrates the centenary of Richard Adams’ birth.
Watch the daughter of Richard Adams, Juliet Johnson, and actor and narrator of Watership Down, Peter Capaldi, discuss one of the most beloved novels of our time. Watership Down is an exciting adventure story and an engaging allegory about freedom, ethics, and human nature. A stirring epic of courage and survival against the odds, the bestselling classic continues to be discovered by readers of all ages. Watership Down from Blackstone Publishing is available wherever you get your audiobooks.
Hola Audiophiles! It’s that time again, time to check out the week’s latest releases and audiobook news. I have so many books on my TBL right now, it’s not even funny. I’ve been going for extra long walks (and accidental runs in the rain) just to get more listening in!
Ready? Let’s audio.
New Releases – May 19 (publisher descriptions in quotes)
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins, read by Santino Fontana (YA dystopian fiction) – I’m mainly mentioning this in case you’re a Hunger Games fan who just lost track of this release date. It is of course the long awaited prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy told from the perspective of an eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow. Jerkhead McEvilface Snow can pound sand as far as I’m concerned, but I’m still pretty curious about this book.
Narrator note: The preview for this audiobook is super short but rull dramatic: lots of dark, theatrical sounds swelling in the background. As for Santino Fontana, you may know him from books like Stephen king’s The Institute, Caroline Kepnes’ You, or Alice Hoffman’s The Marriage of Opposites.
Real Men Knit by Kwana Jackson, read by Keylor Leigh (romance) – Four brothers who’ve recently lost their beloved foster-turned-adoptive mother are left to figure out what to do with Strong Knits, the family’s Harlem knitting shop. Jesse wants to keep the shop alive, but his three brothers want to get rid of it and move on. Part time shop employee Kerry has spent over a decade at Strong Knits and knows the (wait for it) knitty-gritty details of running the business, so she agrees to help Jesse with his cause. She has a giant crush on him but also knows his reputation for breaking hearts. Still, the pair are growing closer the more time they spend together… could they possibly make it work?
Narrator Note: The lovely Keylor Leigh is an actress known for work on shows like Station 19 and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
A Taste of Sage by Yaffa S. Santos, read by Inés del Castillo, Jonathan Todd Ross (romance) – Lumi Santana has the gift of synesthesia: she can perceive people’s emotions through their food. She opens up her very own Dominican fusion restaurant but that dream sadly fails, forcing her to take a sous chef job at a traditional French restaurant. The executive chef is an absolute jerk, so Lumi vows never to taste his food. Mr. Fancy Chef Man can really throw down in the kitchen though and Lumi finally gives in. One bite is all it takes to change everything.
Narrator note: Inés del Castillo also narrates another recent release, Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas. I’m into the samples I’ve heard so far and could listen to her say “sancocho” all day. My kingdom for some Dominican food!
We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez, read by Marisa Blake (YA fiction) – Three teens flee their hometown in Guatemala in a fight for their lives, embarking on a harrowing journey through Mexico called La Bestia that will hopefully lead them to a better life in the United States. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that this journey will be harrowing in just about all of the ways. It’s been hard for me to read these kinds of stories lately, but I love that we’re seeing more YA perspectives on the topic that handle it with sensitivity and care.
Narrator note: I’m unfamiliar with Marisa Blake but absolutely love her voice! It’s sort of baritone and almost sorta nasal but I really dig it! Plus she’s bilingual so the Spanish is on point.
Latest Listens
I’ve been sticking to shorter listens in these pandemic days, but I finally picked up a slightly longer one this week: Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella. Cady is reeling from her brother Eric’s recent death by suicide when she begins her freshman year at Harvard. Eric himself attended Harvard and was diagnosed with schizophrenia in his final, and now Cady is beginning to think she hears voices too. Does she share her brother’s mental illness, or are the voices she hears ghosts from Harvard’s unsavory past? I’m only a quarter of the way in so far but I’m way sucked in- stay tuned for a full review next week!
From the Internets
You might be feeling some “XX books to read during the pandemic” fatigue and I don’t blame you, but this roundup of listens for these quarantine days is actually a really solid mix. That reminds me: I need to get to Sabrina & Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine.
SYFY recommends eight SFF audiobooks to get lost in this weekend.
Over at the Riot
They’re great and they’re under eight!
And listening’s heaven with these seven (I know, I’m sorry. I need sleep!)
Fantastic nonfiction audiobooks by Asian American women
Full cast audiobooks are great, but these audio pros get it all done (and do it well!) by themselves.
I’m so glad this list of audiobooks for Mental Health Awareness Month includes The Collected Schizophrenias. It’s such a candid portrayal of a life dealing with a widely misunderstood mental illness and one of my favorite reads of 2019.
Thanks for hanging with me today! Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com with your burning book club questions or find me on Twitter and the gram @buenosdiazsd. Sign up for the Audiobooks newsletter, catch me once a month on the All the Books podcast, and watch me ramble about even more new books every Tuesday on our YouTube channel.
Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa
Sponsored by our Robyn Carr Prize Pack giveaway, courtesy of Harlequin.com.
We’re teaming up with Harlequin.com to give away a prize pack which includes the following Robyn Carr titles: Four Friends, The Life She Wants, The Summer That Made Us, The View from Alameda Island, and Virgin River. Enter now!
Happy Thursday! While I am excited we are “spending” this time together today, I am a little sad we will have to wait until next Thursday to talk again, because Monday is a holiday. It will go by fast, though! I promise to save all the best news I hear about to share with you next week.
As soon as I finish writing this newsletter, I have to record next week’s episode of All the Books! and then I have a four-day weekend. I AM SO EXCITED. It’s supposed to be lovely here in Maine and even hot – possibly 80 on Friday! (“Birds singin’, squirrels makin’ lots of rotten little squirrels, the sun beaming down in a nice non-fatal way. It’s very exciting. I can’t wait to see if I freckle.”) I plan to read a lot of books, watch the last episodes of Steven Universe, and possibly attempt to bleach my hair because I am tired of looking at these red roots.
Now, on to the newsletter! I have a few things to share with you that I am VERY excited about! Remember, whatever you are doing or not doing this week, you are doing a good job! I am sending you virtual hugs. This is hard, but we are doing what is necessary, and I’m so proud of us! I hope you are safe, and please remember to be kind to yourself and others. Thanks for subscribing, and I’ll see you again on Monday! – xoxo, Liberty
Trivia question time! Which Stephen King novel was once offered in a limited edition with an aluminum-coated asbestos cloth cover? (Scroll to the bottom for the answer.)
Deals, Reals, and Squeals!
City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty is being made into a Netflix series!
Here’s the cover reveal for Across the Green Grass Fields, the newest installment of Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children series.
Taika Waititi is leading a star-studded cast of supporting actors in a reading of Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach on YouTube.
Edgar Wright is going to adapt Tade Thompson’s The Murders Of Molly Southbourne.
Here’s the first look at Veronica Schanoes’ debut story collection, Burning Girls and Other Stories.
Here’s the first look at Adriana Herrera’s new department store romance Here to Stay.
Charlie Jane Anders announced her first YA novel.
Holly Black announced her upcoming Cardan novella.
HBO Max will adapt L.C. Rosen’s Camp, which is out this coming Tuesday.
These Women, the new Ivy Pochada novel that came out this week, is being made into a series.
Bill Gates shared his summer reading picks.
Book Riot Recommends
At Book Riot, I work on the New Books! email, the All the Books! podcast about new releases, and the Book Riot Insiders New Release Index. I am very fortunate to get to read a lot of upcoming titles, and learn about a lot of upcoming titles, and I’m delighted to share a couple with you each week so you can add them to your TBR! (It will now be books I loved on Mondays and books I’m excited to read on Thursdays. YAY, BOOKS!)
Excited to read:
The Arrest by Jonathan Lethem (Ecco, November 10)
I love, love, love Lethem’s novel As She Climbed Across the Table, and many of his other novels, so I was delighted to learn this week that he has a new novel for us at the end of 2020. (2020 is going to end, right??!) The description says it’s “an utterly original post-apocalyptic yarn about two siblings, the man that came between them, and a nuclear-powered super car.” And it’s set in Maine, which is even more exciting for me!
What I’m reading this week.
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
East of Hounslow by Khurrum Rahman
Weird Al: Seriously by Lily E. Hirsch
Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri
Beach Read by Emily Henry
Song stuck in my head:
Who Needs You by The Orwells
And this is funny:
Happy things:
Here are a few things I enjoy that I thought you might like as well:
- Purrli: This website makes the relaxing sounds of a cat purring.
- Here are livestreams of animals. I particularly enjoy the bat one.
- And more cute animal pictures.
- Music Catch, one of my favorite desktop games. I also still play Lemonade Stand occasionally.
- Disney Emoji Blitz!
And times like these call for a bonus cat picture!
THE CUTE, IT BURNS. Pigeon watching has never been more adorable.
Trivia answer: Firestarter.
You made it to the bottom! High five. Thanks for reading! – xo, L
Sponsored by Harper Paperbacks.
Sweetbitter meets The Hating Game in this unforgettable, heartwarming, and hilarious rom-com about chefs, cooking, love, and self-discovery. “Charms the reader with savory dishes, and engaging characters.” —Priscilla Oliveras. Lumi Santana is a chef with the gift of synesthesia—she can perceive a person’s emotions just by tasting their cooking. Julien Dax is a celebrated chef known for his acid tongue as well as his brilliant smile. Sparks—and magic—begin to ignite when Lumi starts working at Julien’s French Bistro. Clever, witty, and romantic, A Taste of Sage is sure to delight and entertain readers until the very last page
Howdy, folks. How’s your week going? I ordered some swim pieces about a month ago (because now it’s hot enough to read on a floatie in the pool…) and finally got notice that they were on their way and they just…keep not coming. So here’s hoping the weekend is looking up. Let’s talk books.
Over on Book Riot
Casey pulled together a list of 2020 romances starring queer women and darnit like I didn’t already have enough books on my list. (Who am I kidding a lot of those were already on it, staring me down.)
Trisha and I both had a lot of thoughts about an adaptation of Danielle Steel’s Safe Harbour.
Thinking about a Kindle Oasis? Here’s a good rundown.
How many of these places do you find yourself reading?
Romance novels (and other books, of course) come in a lot of sizes. Have you wondered why they all exist?
Deals
Looking for some wolves in your life? In anticipation of Season of the Wolf coming out later this summer, all of Maria Vale’s Legend of All Wolves books are on sale! You obviously want to start out with The Last Wolf, the first one, which is FREE for the next few weeks. The second book, A Wolf Apart, is 1.99; and the third, Forever Wolf, is 2.99. So you can get all three for about five bucks plus tax. Not bad for a werewolf saga, right? (Also, if you have any affinity for old languages that include the letter thorn, the first book should definitely be of interest.)
New Books!
This is another week for new books, folks. Whatever you’re looking for, there’s probably something for you.
Real Men Knit
Kwana Jackson
When the matriarchal owner of a beloved Harlem yarn shop dies, her sons are left to figure out what the next steps are. When the youngest, Jesse, wants to keep the shop open when his three older brothers don’t, he enlists the help of Kerry. Kerry, who is mourning alongside the brothers for the woman who was like a mother to the neighborhood. Kerry, who had a massive crush on Jesse when they were younger. Kerry, who worked in the shop when Mama Joy was alive. This’ll be interesting.
And there are a bunch more waiting for readers and their grabby hands:
Leather and Lace by Rebel Carter (The Gold Sky books are FIRE if you haven’t read them, and this is the fifth, and the first one featuring two women.)
Beach Read by Emily Henry (Everyone—literally everyone—is talking about it!)
Say Yes to the Duke by Eloisa James
Beautiful & Dirty by Katrina Jackson (There aren’t many authors whose books I preorder immediately when I see them announced, but Kat is one of those authors.)
Dirty Charmer by Emma Chase
Stranger Ranger by Daisy Prescott (More Smartypants goodness!)
A Royal Kiss and Tell by Julia London
Chaos Reigning by Jessie Mihalik (These space opera romances, y’all. Her heroines are just the best.)
The Cowboy’s Claim by Nina Crespo
As usual, catch me on Twitter @jessisreading or Instagram @jess_is_reading, or send me an email at wheninromance@bookriot.com if you’ve got feedback, bookrecs, or just want to say hi!
First Ever Unabridged Audiobook Of Malcolm X’s Autobiography
El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, iconic human rights activist commonly known as Malcolm X, was celebrated on May 19th, what would have been his 95th birthday (he was assassinated in 1965). And, for the first time ever, Audible will release an unabridged audio of The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which will be narrated by Laurence J. Fishburne III. And you can listen to an exclusive sneak peek audio clip!
Can’t Get Here Soon Enough
For fans of Elle Woods, brought to life by Reese Witherspoon in the film adaptation of Amanda Brown’s novel, we are getting more Elle! The third Legally Blonde film will be written by Mindy Kaling and Dan Goor, and Reese Witherspoon is signed on to star.
Hot Priest Reads Hopeful Poem
Here is actor Andrew Scott (“hot priest” on Amazon’s Fleabag) reading the poem Everything Is Going to Be All Right by Derek Mahon. The video was posted on Emilia Clarke’s Instagram page with the note, “Andrew has asked to dedicate this to Men Against Cancer Ireland.”
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In the Club 5/20
Sponsored by our Robyn Carr Prize Pack giveaway, courtesy of Harlequin.com.
We’re teaming up with Harlequin.com to give away a prize pack which includes the following Robyn Carr titles: Four Friends, The Life She Wants, The Summer That Made Us, The View from Alameda Island, and Virgin River. Enter now!
Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met, well-read, and well-fed. Still here, still in isolation, still having some trouble reading but getting better every day. Today’s recs are a direct response to a request we’ve been getting a lot lately! Time for some hard club hits.
To the club!!
Nibbles and Sips
This week I’m back in I-don’t-want-to-spend-so-much-time-in-the-kitchen mode, but I of course still want tasty snacks. I’ve been leaning hard on my spice cabinet for quick, easy, delicious bites that I will def work into physical book club meetings in the future. Several of these blends come from Trader Joe’s; if you don’t shop at (or have access) to Trader Joe’s, use whatever spice blend you can find with a similar flavor profile!
Toast topped with mashed avocado + Umami Seasoning Blend
Mix sour cream or greek yogurt with Onion Salt, serve with your favorite chips or sliced veggies This also works with Everything But the Bagel Seasoning or—and this is one of my fave underrated dip seasonings—chicken bouillon powder! Just use it sparingly, it is WAY salty if you use too much.
Toss some arugula in a vinaigrette of EVOO, lemon juice, salt, and 21 Seasoning Salute, then top with shaved Parmesan. This is my go-to simple salad for getting greens on my plate; I pair it with whatever protein I’m craving: salmon, some grilled chicken, or even a hard boiled egg.
Mix equal parts of chopped avocado, tomato, and cucumber, then add lemon juice, lemon pepper, and salt to taste.
Simple, easy, tasty!
Hit Me!
We’ve been getting tons of requests for hard-hitting YA from our readers lately, enough that I decided it was time to dedicate a newsletter to books in that vein. Here are some YA titles that tackle big topics with tons of discussion potential.
Trigger warnings for discussion of the next four titles: general violence, police brutality, sexual assault
We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez – Three teens flee their hometown in Guatemala in a fight for their lives, embarking on a harrowing journey through Mexico called La Bestia that will hopefully lead them to a better life in the United States. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that this journey will be harrowing in just about all of the ways. It’s been hard for me to read these kinds of stories lately, but I love that we’re seeing more YA perspectives on the topic that handle it with sensitivity and care.
Internment by Samira Ahmed – In a terrifying near-future United States, Muslim American citizens have been rounded up into internment camps. We follow teen Layla as she tries to navigate this new horror and risk everything to coordinate an escape. It’s flat out uncomfortable how not-so-far-away the events of this book feel.
Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles – I wanted to include a book that tackles police brutality and racism that isn’t Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give (which I love and you should read but c’mon, you’ve already heard of it). Marvin’s twin brother Tyler vanishes after a party gets shut down by a police raid. His body is later found just as a video surfaces of a copy shooting Tyler while he was unarmed. Marvin must come to terms with this act of violence while also figuring out how to do life without his other half.
All the Rage by Courtney Summers – In a small town where everyone knows your name, Romy Grey is raped by the local sheriff’s son, the golden boy who everyone thinks can do no wrong. It’s a gut-punch of a story about the aftermath of sexual assault: survival, silencing, victim-blaming, and figuring out how to move forward.
Suggestion Section
USA Today suggests 10 perfect picks for your next book club meeting. I have the hardest of cosigns for Kevin Wilson’s Nothing to See Here!
Following along with the Buzzfeed Book Club? Their June pick is Anna K by Jenny Lee.
Check out the latest installment of Vox’s book club discussion of The Secret History.
Thanks for hanging with me today! Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com with your burning book club questions or find me on Twitter and the gram @buenosdiazsd. Sign up for the Audiobooks newsletter, catch me once a month on the All the Books podcast, and watch me ramble about even more new books every Tuesday on our YouTube channel.
Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa
Categories
052020-TheMessyLife-RR
Sponsored by Little Bee Books
Eleven-year-old Beulah “Blue” Warren spends every waking moment surrounded by boys: her three brothers, her father, her best friend, even the family dog, but that’s never stopped her from being her usual rambunctious self. Grappling with the loss of her mother, Blue is determined to do what she wants without fear of consequences. But everything changes on the day she explores the attic and finds her mother’s death certificate. Blue will need to muster all the strength she has to deal with the truth, find forgiveness, trust in her father, and grieve for her mother once and for all.