Last week for my children’s nonfiction class, we had to read two books about the kakapo, an endangered New Zealand parrot. Neither of the books, strictly speaking, were YA books, but they were both great and the kakapo is an amazing bird and I am going to blog about it. So there. Kakapo! Here are… Continue reading Review: The Kakapo
Tag: book reviews
Kids These Days: Technology in YA
This summer I listened to the audiobook of So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld. I really enjoyed it, but was also surprised by how dated it has already become since its publication in 2005. The datedness is accelerated because of the book’s concept, about a teenager who works for different marketing companies as a “cool-hunter.” And,… Continue reading Kids These Days: Technology in YA
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
OK, so I know this has been out for a few years and it’s already hugely popular. But I totally missed out on this phenomenon until recently. When I went to see the last Harry Potter movie, I saw a preview for Hugo, the movie based on The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.… Continue reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Little House Fever (Way Better than Scarlet Fever)
So, my new semester of library school is up and running! I’m taking Children’s Literature, which I’m obviously stoked about. Our professor is really enthusiastic and awesome, and on the first day of class she excitedly told us about one of our assignments. It’s called, “I Never Got Around To…” and we are supposed to… Continue reading Little House Fever (Way Better than Scarlet Fever)
Review: Sweetly
I’ve been looking forward to this book for a long time! It’s billed as a “companion novel” to Sisters Red, which I thoroughly enjoyed. (See my “fairy tales with a twist” post.) Sisters Red had great, well-developed characters, exciting plot twists, and a very innovative, modern twist on a classic fairy tale. And Sweetly? Well…… Continue reading Review: Sweetly
Emerging from the Book Fort
Or something? Whew! I have fallen behind on blogging. My summer web design class just wrapped up and my final project for that took up a lot of time. Also, I’ve been preparing booklists for the public library TeenSpace as part of my library internship. That has been a really fun project, but also weird!… Continue reading Emerging from the Book Fort
Review: Fire
Fire by Kristin Cashore is a prequel (sort of) to her brilliant book Graceling. (I don’t think I fully reviewed that book here, so let me just say, it is wonderful and you should go read it ASAP. It’s probably my favorite book that I read this year, and I don’t even generally like non-contemporary… Continue reading Review: Fire
Review: The Name of the Star
Okay. Here’s a confession. I really like Maureen Johnson as a public figure. Her Twitter is hilariously weird, and she always stands up for YA lit when people like the Wall Street Journal say dumb stuff about it. (Which I guess is in her professional interest to do.) But I’ve been a little ambivalent about… Continue reading Review: The Name of the Star
Fairy Tales With a Twist
Fairy tales! We loved them as children and there’s no reason we shouldn’t love them now. These classic (if admittedly bizarre, when you really stop to consider the plot of any of them) stories are finding new life as young adult novels. Here are a few of my personal favorite re-told fairy tales. Rose… Continue reading Fairy Tales With a Twist