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By the Numbers
Teen: 5
Tween: 1
Children: 3

Sources
Review Copies: 4
Library: 5

Standouts
Teen: All the Rage by Courtney Summers
I don't think you need me to tell you about this book. Really I don't. All I have to say is, it really is that good, that raw, that angry, that important.
Tween: None
Children: Funny Bones: Posada and his Day of the Dead calaveras by Duncan Tonatiuh
Living in the Southwest, I'm very familiar with the Dia de los Muertos calaveras, but I never knew all this about their originator. It also works as a fascinating glimpse into turn-of-the-century Mexican history, and an introduction to the idea of art as social protest. That's a lot of work for a book with 40 pages including illustrations.

Because I Want To Awards

Most ups and downs: Faceless by Alyssa B Sheinmel
How do you live life after a face transplant transforms you into a different person? Sheinmel's look at the tumultuous first year post-accident for her heroine is honest about her highs, her lows, and how things change even as she clings to her life pre-accident.
EEEE Sequel!: Sound by Alexandra Duncan
Last year's Salvage was one of my very favorite books of the year, and this companion (okay, not sequel) follows a minor character from that book through her own journey. Starting out as a lowly assistant on a research spaceship and content to be so, Miyole's world and heart open up when she meets Cassia, rescued from pirates and desperate to find her brother.

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By the Numbers
Teen: 12
Tween: 1
Children: 2

Sources
Review Copies: 7
Library: 8

Standouts
Teen: P.S. I Still Love You  by Jenny Han
What I loved most was the acknowledgement that love is messy, confusing, painful, risky, and you can have feelings for more than one person at a time. Just so good.
Tween: Chasing Secrets by Gennifer Choldenko
Well, honestly, it was my only tween read this month. There were good things about this book - the mystery of the plague, the main character's slow-building friendships with Noah and Gemma and her growing understanding of her aunt - but I don't know, I've liked others of hers better. Still, as a historical mystery, I think it did the job.
Children: Creature Features by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
Oooo, Steve Jenkins and Robin Page! I love their art, I love the science involved, and these are some wacky-looking animals. This one was just neat.

Because I Want To Awards
Wish I Could Have Loved It: Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman
Blood and secrets, a road trip through the 19th century Arizona desert, not to mention a pretty decent love story? This should have been my standout of the month, hands down. But the preternaturally wise and mystical Apache girl guide? Just . . . no.
Oh Thank GOD There's a Second Book: Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin
This breakneck story across an alternate 1956 Europe ended on a cliffhanger that had me clawing at my face. Luckily there will be a second book. Unluckily it's not out until next fall. Curses.
Took Me the Longest to Read: Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray
And not just because it's like 54789 pages. I kept getting distracted from this one, but every time I came back, I was able to jump back into the haunted 1920s New York City.

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By the Numbers
Teen: 12
Tween: 2
Children: 3

Sources
Review Copies: 9
Library: 8

Standouts
Teen: Bone Gap by Laura Ruby
Nobody believes Finn when he says that his friend Roza was kidnapped by a man he can't describe, but he knows he's right. With shades of the Persephone myth and two (count 'em) strong love stories, this book sucked me right in.
Tween: Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead
Nobody writes complex middle-school inner life quite like Stead. This is a beautiful examination of friendships, how people change, and how difficult it is to maintain relationships or to know when to let it go.
Children: Grandfather Gandhi by Arun Gandhi and Bethany Hegedus, illustrated by Evan Turk
Gandhi's grandson doesn't feel like he can live up to his grandfather's peaceful example, until he learns that even the Mahatma still feels anger. Beautiful, thoughtful, gorgeously illustrated - ooo I loved this.

Because I Want To Awards
I Need a Hug Now Please: A History of Glitter and Blood by Hannah Moskowitz
In the waning days of a devastating war, the last three fairies left in Ferrum struggle to put themselves and each other back together. This book is extremely dark, but its very darkness makes it tremendously hopeful - because if you can survive losing everything, you can survive anything.
Fascinating Meditation on Storytelling: Ash and Bramble by Sarah Prineas
Caught up in the sinister machine of fairy tales, a seamstress (or is she?) and a shoemaker (not a prince) try to find a way to break free. It got away from itself occasionally, but I loved how it contemplated the danger of a single story told repeatedly.

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By the Numbers
Teen: 9
Tween: 1
Children: 3

Sources
Review Copies: 5
Library: 8

Standouts
Teen: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Although there's not so much a plot as a set of loosely connected events, this story broke a major reading drought for me, sucking me right in to Ari's world and his blossoming understanding of love, family, identity, and sexuality.
Tween: The Adventures of Beanboy by Lisa Harkrader
Okay, fine, so there's not much competition for this slot this month. But I did adore this story of a kid in a struggling family, learning to see the world differently. I also loved his sorta? kinda? friendship with Sam, who was all prickles and combat-boot ferocity.
Children: Separate is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation by Duncan Tonatiuh
Brown v. Board of Education gets most of the attention when you talk about school integration, but not many know there was another, earlier landmark case in California, when the Mendez family fought for their children to go to the better equipped and funded white school. Tonatiuh's narration and illustrations guide you through this story without sugar-coating the struggle, before or after the decision.

Because I Want To Awards
He Picked the Wrong Victim: Ruthless by Carolyn Lee Adams
When a serial killer kidnaps Ruth, he doesn't know he's met his match. The resident mean girl at her family's stables, Ruth comes by her nickname of "Ruthless" honestly, and it's her cold determination and dispassionate survival skills that will not only keep her alive, but enable her to come out on top.
Didn't Go the Way I Thought It Would: Silver in the Blood by Jessica Day George
Two cousins discover magical family abilities and obligations. To my delight, it was shy and obedient Lou who immediately rose to the occasion, and willful, wild Dacia who needed some time to come to grips with the situation - a reversal from what I expected.

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By the Numbers
Teen: 10
Tween: 2
Children: 5

Sources
Review Copies: 7
Library: 7

Standouts
Teen: Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older
The rich world of Puerto Rican Brooklyn comes to life, with a plot and powers that have their roots in Sierra's heritage and everyday life. I wanted to spend a lot more time there.

Tween: The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Wilson
Calpurnia Tate, that science-minded girl, is back. While this was fairly episodic in nature and had an oddly abrupt ending, I still loved seeing how she matures, starts to understand what she wants and how the world may not be willing to give it to her without a fight.
Children: Violet Mackerel's Brilliant Plot by Anna Branford, illustrated by Elanna Allen
In order to get what you want, you have to have a plan. But it may not go as . . . well . . . planned. I loved how this book respected the deep and imaginative inner life and turmoil of its young narrator.

Because I Want To Awards
Addictively Readable: Devoted by Jennifer Mathieu
This look at escaping from the Quiverfull ideal takes its heroine out of her family and shows her struggle to adjust to the world outside, as well as her longing to retain a connection with God.
Sniff: The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler
A tender and sad look at changing families, letting go, and moving on, in which the romance is almost incidental.
Slyly Hilarioius: One Year in Coal Harbor by Polly Horvath
Though it deals with heavy subjects (a character in foster care, the yearning for a best friend who really gets you), there were several moments that had me howling aloud. While it takes place in Canada, I thought of the very best of the kooky Southern small town genre.

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By the Numbers
Teen: 13
Tween: 7
Children: 4

Sources
Review Copies: 11
Library: 11

Standouts
Teen: Hold Me Like a Breath by Tiffany Schmidt
Riffing on both Rapunzel and the Princess and the Pea, this story about a frustrated, sheltered, and naive girl becoming a self-reliant young woman caught me hard. I just had to hang there through the slow start.
Tween: The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm
This story of a grandfather who's discovered the fountain of youth and a granddaughter who's discovering science, and the way they both learn to accept that life is about change, tugged at my heart with its humor and emotional honesty.
Children: Locomotive by Brian Floca
Do you know a history-and-trains-obsessed kid? They will eat this up.

Because I Want To Awards
Precious Cinnamon Roll: Sebastian in The Summer of Chasing Mermaids by Sarah Ockler
The younger brother of the love interest, Sebastian is also a little boy who adores mermaids, and gets enormous flack for this love from his father and the town, but never lets that daunt him from dressing up as the princess of the sea. Ockler places no labels on him, other than "loves mermaids," and it's a beautiful thing.
Brains Not Brawn: The Doublecross by Jackson Pearce
A lot of books overtly express that value, but this one really lays it down by showing how Hale's intelligence and ability to coordinate a team stands him in much better stead in spycraft than being able to run a mile.

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By the Numbers
Teen: 9
Tween: 3
Children: 2

Sources
Review Copies: 2
Library: 10

Standouts
Teen: Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff
Hannah is haunted by her dead best friend - literally. Now a series of gruesome murders adds more ghosts to her sight, and Lillian doesn't have much more idea what to do than Hannah does. This was dark, sad, scary, and surprisingly hopeful by the end.
Tween: Hereville: How Mirka Met a Meteorite by Barry Deutsch
Mirka is back, and she's got someone new in her life: a meteorite that decided to take on human form, and is kinda trying to take over Mirka's life, too. This girl remains as fun, as flawed, and as relateable as she was in the first book.
Children: Zombie Makers: True Stories of Nature's Undead by Rebecca Johnson
Nifty and gross and I think the cover alone will sell it. I mean, seriously! Put that thing on display right now.

Because I Want To Awards
Pure Fun: Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger
Besides the breezy, tongue-in-cheek tone, what I loved best was how Sophronia's education teaches her both the butt-kicking espionage stuff and the social niceties and both are equally useful by the end.

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By the Numbers
Teen: 7
Tween: 5
Children: 3

Sources
Review Copies: 6
Library: 7

Standouts
Teen: Dead to Me by Mary McCoy
When the hospital calls, Alice is beyond astonished, because she hasn't seen or heard from her idolized sister Annie in four years. This was the very best kind of Hollywood noir mystery and I felt like I should be reading it with a cigarette and a bottle of scotch at my elbow.
Tween: P.S. Be Eleven / Gone Crazy in Alabama by Rita Williams-Garcia
Okay, these are two different books, but I have to count them together, if only because I picked up the second as soon as I was done with the first, just to spend more time with the Gauthier sisters as they learn more about themselves, their family, and their world.
Children: Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me by Daniel Beaty
Sniffle. I teared up over this meditation on fathers and sons, and growing up without each other.

Because I Want To Awards
Eye-Opening: None of the Above by IW Gregorio
While it could veer into the clinical (every so often it sounded like a pamphlet on AIS, the biological trait that makes Kristin intersex), this was also notable for the way that friends and family reacted, and not always in the way that you'd think.
Fascinatingly Flawed: Lauren in Endangered by Lamar Giles
This one stayed on my TBR list because of the biracial main character, but I tore through it because of what was going on inside her. While Lauren thinks she's a Robin Hood, her actions were almost as reprehensible as those of her "secret admirer." Part of the fascination of this book was how she came to understand that.
How Did I Not Know This?: Candy Bomber by Michael O. Tunnell
First off, I didn't know anything about the Berlin Airlift, an audacious campaign to feed the people of West Berlin in the face of Russian blockades in 1948 and 1949. Second of all, I had no idea about the pilots who dropped candy and chocolate for the children of West Berlin. I loved this story, and even more so for being true.
Still Gathering My Thoughts: Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge
I just finished this last night and it's one of those that has to sit for awhile. Initial thoughts? Dark, sexy, tangled, and with some fascinating riffs on belief and religion.

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By the Numbers
Teen: 13
Tween: 3
Children: 6

Sources
Review Copies: 7
Library: 12

Standouts
Teen: 37 Things I Love (in no particular order) by Kekla Magoon
This was a lovely, melancholic story about a girl coming to terms with all manner of changes in her life, including her own romance with another girl and her comatose father.
Tween: Smek for President! by Adam Rex
I read the first book (The True Meaning of Smekday) years ago, so I was worried I wouldn't be able to remember the story. Groundless fears. There was much fun to be had here and some answers to some dangling threads from the first book.
Children: Battle Bunny by Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett, ill. Matthew Myers
Okay, it's shelved as a picture book, but I classified it for early elementary anyway because of the interplay between the traditional text and the additions made by the young creator/birthday boy. Not only will it resonat
e with kids already starting to react to and think about narrative, it actually is something of a challenge to follow both stories.

Because I Want To Awards
Unexpectedly Serious in Places: Eighth Grade is Making Me Sick by Jennifer L. Holm
As the subtitle promises, this is a novel told in stuff: IM chats, notes, report cards. Not a scrap of traditional prose, narration, or dialogue to be found. Holm works in themes of family strife, economic woes, new sibling stress, and illness without losing the warm and realistic feel.
Really Strange Cameos: Lying Out Loud by Kody Keplinger
I loved 98% of this book, which shows Keplinger's deft touch with flawed characters (and the guy is biracial and shown on the cover! Score!) My beef? The weird cameos from the couples of other books. That was just . . . odd.
Hoping This Found a New Home: The Case of the Devil's Interval by Emily Butler
Originally slated to be published by Egmont, this funny, bouncy ghost story/murder mystery with a delightfully sarcastic and no-nonsense ghostly protagonist was orphaned when Egmont folded. I've heard that Lerner bought up about 100 of Egmont's titles; I'm hoping this was one of them.

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By the Numbers
Teen: 9
Tween: 4
Children: 3

Sources
Review Copies: 7
Library: 6

Standouts
Teen: Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

This is what a relationship story looks like, as opposed to a love story. Perkins explores how a relationship changes and impacts the people in it, particularly their flaws and screw-ups.

Tween: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
I've been over the written-in-verse thing for awhile, but this one (and The Red Pencil, mentioned below) were exceptions. Woodson takes us through her young life, with all its trials and joys, in a story worthy of the National Book Award it garnered.
Children: The Mighty Mars Rovers by Elizabeth Rusch
Did you know how much geology went into interplanetary exploration? Because I didn't. This book goes behind the scenes of the little-rovers-that-could to show the humans that worked their butts off. Another worthy entry in the long-running Scientists in the Field series.

Because I Want To Awards
Come Here, I Need to Smack You: The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski
This book is a worthy successor to one of my very favorite books of 2014, with its twisty plot and its heroine trapped between a rock and a hard place. But boy, did I spend a fair amount of time wanting to smack its hero. (Out in March)
Personal Connections: The Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Shane W. Evans
I work in a library where many of my patrons, large and small, are refugees from the kind of situation that this book explores. As such, it was very difficult to read, because I kept seeing people I knew in the story. But oh, so good.

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By the Numbers
Teen: 127
Tween: 36
Children: 27

Sources
Review Copies: 78

Purchased: 7
Library: 81

Standouts
Teen: The Drowned Cities (chosen in January)
"Wrenching, harrowing, violent, and for me, totally unputdownable. Even though it was a terrible world, I kept wanting to crawl back into it and find out whether Mahlia and the others were going to save their lives or their souls." (Link goes to my review, which finally went up last week.)
Tween: The Swift Boys and Me by Kody Keplinger (chosen in April)
"One tumultuous summer changes all the things eleven-year-old Nola has always taken for granted. Some better, some worse, some just different. I've loved Keplinger's work for teens, and she displays the same deft touch with people and relationships in her first book for younger readers."
Children: Lord and Lady Bunny - Almost Royalty! by Polly Horvath (chosen in February)
"As hilarious and weird as the first one. My favorite scene was the one in the bookshop. I dare you not to crack a grin at that."


Last year, I made a resolution to actually read less. To make room for other things, focus on reading the books instead of finishing them, blog more.

Well I didn't really blog as much as I wanted to, but I definitely gave myself more breathing space when it comes to my reading. I can see it in the numbers, but I can also feel it in how many more books I remember enjoying and diving into. My TBR list grew mountainous, of course, because there are so many good books out there, but I'm getting really good at pruning hard.

For 2015, I'd like to keep up that mindset, and definitely try to blog more steadily, rather than going in spurts the way that I have for some time. At least two reviews a month. You heard it here first, people.

Happy 2015!

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By the Numbers
Teen: 11
Tween: 0
Children: 0
And Cybils reading is done!

Sources
Library: 6
Review Copies: 5

Standouts
Teen: Salvage by Alexandra Duncan
This sci-fi coming-of-age story takes Ava from a safe, ordered existence within a patriarchal polygamous spaceship to a scary, uncertain life on her own, in futuristic India. I can't even explain how much I fell in love with Ava and her world.

Because I Want to Awards:
Better Than Expected: Divided We Fall by Trent Reedy
This was a very difficult reading experience, partly because the main character’s outlook was so different than mine, and also because the nightmare scenario of a United States imploding, starting with Idaho, felt like it could happen all too easily in my own home state of Arizona. But I cared about Danny and his friends and family, caught in the middle of something far bigger and scarier than they ever bargained for.
Yaaaaaay Serial Killers!: Killer Instinct by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Um, so to explain that. This was the first realistic book I read in three months, having been neck-deep in fantasy and sci-fi for the Cybils. So this book’s firm roots in the real world was a refreshing change, no matter how you feel about teenage prodigy profilers for the FBI. Aside that palate cleansing aspect, I did enjoy this tense and twisty thriller.

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So I took a bit of a break from Cybils reading this week* because OMG GUESS WHAT WORDS OF LOVE SENT ME?

Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLean. And oh, it is just as delicious as I hoped. It's probably my favorite of her Rules of Scoundrels series. I love love love love that Chase was Georgiana from Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord. I'm also very excited about the glimpse we got of MacLean's new heroine for her new series (the first will release sometimes in 2015)

Some other non-Cybils things I've read this month?

Buffy: Season Ten Volume 1 : New Rules Woo-Hoo! Season 10 has started. Once again, consequences and repercussions are big themes. At the end someone shows up that proves I really should have been reading the Faith and Angel spin-off, because woah, what was that?! BUT! Dracula's around and the Dracula Xander bro-mance is in full swing, which is always fun and awesome. Now, I just need to wait for-EVER for the next one.

My hold on Mortal Heart finally came in, and, oh, another most wonderful end to a favorite series. Ever since I finished it, I've been trying to figure out which one is my favorite in this trilogy, and I just can't decide. They are all so great--there's no weak link or one particular standout, just straight-up excellence across the board. I was reading this one at a training and the person (NOT a librarian) across asked what it was and as soon as I described it as "historical fiction about assassin nuns in 15th century Brittany" she was on her library's website to see if they owned it. Because, I mean, of course she was! It's HISTORICAL FICTION ABOUT ASSASSIN NUNS. Although now I really want to read more about historical Brittany. Why isn't there an awesome YA nonfiction about the the 15th century Brittany? Someone should get on that for me.

I also read Mistletoe and Mr. Right: A Christmas Romance which I reviewed over here. If you don't feel like clicking over, I liked it.

In non-book reading, did you all see Kelly's poignant and powerful post about fatness in YA? Definitely click over to that one.


*Ok, I don't actually have any Cybils reading until January 1st, because I'm a second round judge. BUT, I'm reading my way through the long list anyway, partly for fun, partly for armchair quarterbacking, and partly so that when I do look at the short list, I'm that much more familiar with the titles and can then do deeper rereading instead of reading for the first time.

Book Provided by... my wallet, my local library, my local library, and RT Book Reviews (for review)

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

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By the Numbers
Teen: 11
Tween: 1
Children: 1
(Still reading for the Cybils! A note about my numbers: this is books finished, not books half-read and set down.)

Sources
Review Copies: 4
Library: 8

Standouts
Teen: Evil Librarian by Michelle Knudsen
With a title like that, I gotta love it. I also loved the snarky narration, the musical-theater subplot (turned out demons love the show Sweeney Todd) and the fact that Cynthia gets her crush's attention and he turns out to be capital-A Awesome.
Tween/Children: Pack of Dorks by Beth Vrabel
Okay, this was the only book this month that I marked tween or children's (I think it straddles the line). But I still might have picked it out even if I'd read others. What I loved best was how much Lucy loves her baby sister, born with Downs Syndrome, without hesitation or reservation. It's also worth noting that very few of Lucy's problems stem from her sister's differences, even when adults think they do.

Because I Want To Awards
Finally, a Girl Who Knows Her Worth: Black Dog by Rachel Neumeier
Natividad is a special magical girl that all the werewolves want, and does she ever know it. With clear-eyed unsentimentality, she uses her value to wangle safe haven for herself and her brothers, and her powers to fight for the pack once they've accepted her. Girlfriend, I want to take you out for a drink. Yanno, once you're done saving the world.

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By the Numbers
Teen: 16
Tween: 1
Children: none
(All Cybils reading, all the time!)

Sources
Review Copies: 7
Library: 9

Standouts
Teen: Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
The story of Blue and her raven boys continues to unfold at a leisurely pace, though there's progress toward the climax that devoted readers of this series have been dreading for three books now.
Tween: The Islands at the End of the World by Austin Aslan
Though the character is stated to be seventeen, she read younger to me. Kids who can handle rough and tough survival stories will be drawn to this. Like Mike Mullins in his Ashfall series, Aslan has given careful thought to the large-scale ramifications of the end of the world, and the Hawaiian setting is an interesting new one.

Because I Want To Awards
Longest Awaited: Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan
Seriously. The entry date on my wishlist in LibraryThing is 2012, so even though this just came out I've been waiting a loooooong time for this one. I was happy, if gutted at points, with the way things ended up.
Should Feel Overstuffed with Diversity: Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis
But it doesn't, and that's amazing. Between the two main characters, we have a minority (Mexican
, with mentions of Spanish and Nahuatl spoken in the home), two disabilities (one with a prosthetic leg, one mute), and bisexuality. And yet, the book isn't about any of that, but about two people trying to navigate a very difficult situation together, not always easily or well. Nicely done, Duyvis.
Just Because I Want to Talk About It: Love is the Drug by Alaya Dawn Johnson
As the world is falling apart, Bird is coming into her own as a young black woman, and starting to see the machinery that might be behind the seemingly random flu pandemic that's sending the nation's capitol into a tailspin.

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By the Numbers
Teen: 10
Tween: 3
Children: 2

Sources
Review Copies: 10
Library: 3

Standouts
Teen: Sway by Kat Spears
I really liked this examination of a morally grey kid with a surprisingly good heart.
Tween: My Year of Epic Rock by Andrea Pyros (link goes to my review)
It's a tale as old as time - dumped by your BFF on the first day of seventh grade. Luckily for Nina, there's nowhere to go but up from here.
Children: Thursdays with the Crown by Jessica Day George
The third adventure for the royal family finds them far from home and trying to work out what really happened hundreds of years before. You really have to have read the whole series to understand everything that's going on in this one, but if you have, this continues the enjoyment.

Because I Want To Awards
Because What Could Go Wrong with a Jailbreak?: The Graham Cracker Plot by Shelley Tougas
Good kid, poor choices. Lots of poor choices. Oh, so many poor choices.
The Path of True Love Never Did Run Smooth: Just Call My Name by Holly Goldberg Sloan
See, this is what Shakespeare meant by that. After getting together at the end of the last bo
ok (I'll Be There), Sam and Emily find themselves hitting speedbumps, hard. Nice to see a book where happily-ever-after isn't shown as smooth sailing.
Almost Named a Standout: I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
It was so hard to pick, you guys. SO HARD. Nelson's novel of estranged twins, each narrating a different era in their lives, is full of sneaky surprises and lovely language.

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By the Numbers
Teen: 11
Tween: 5
Children: 3

Sources
Review Copies: 11
Purchased: 2
Library: 3

Standouts
Teen: The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco
It starts with a murderous ghost who's not even the villain, and ends . . . well, no, I can't tell you that. In between, it crawls through Japanese ghost stories and gives you the creepies to no end.
Tween: The League of Seven by Alan Gratz
While I thoroughly enjoyed the old-fashioned adventure story feel of this (with a soupcon of steampunk!), my favorite part lay in the construction of a world where Europeans, mysteriously cut off from Europe, get absorbed into the pre-existing Native American society of the New World.
Children: Rose by Holly Webb
Rose has a bedrock of good common sense, which is why it's so interesting to see her go head-to-head with magical goings-on and discover her own magical power.

Because I Want To Awards
For the Whovians in the Crowd: Jackaby by William Ritter
This fast-paced murder mystery, careering through Victorian New England, with a supernatural detective who has a Really Bad Habit of not imparting all the facts to his long-suffering assistant (and our narrator), was definitely built on the Dr. Who/Sherlock Holmes model model.
For an Author Who's Done So Many Teen Girls, This was a Spot-On Tween Boy: Life on Mars by Jennifer Brown
As legions of older sisters and younger brothers will tell you, there's a world of difference between the two. But Brown nailed it, first try.
Tissue-Paper Premise, Slam-Dunk Execution: Finding Ruby Starling by Karen Rivers
Twins who didn't know it find each other over the internet in a story told solely through text communication of one kind or another. Oh, yeah, it's a tough sell, but Rivers' spot-on tween girl voices do the trick.

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By the Numbers
Teen: 10
Tween: 4
Children: 6

Sources
Review Copies: 7
Library: 9

Standouts
Teen: Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater
My two favorite secondary characters from the Shiver series get their own book! Isabel and Cole are each broken in their own way and it's fascinating to watch them trying to line up their jagged edges.
Tween: The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
I don't always love the Newbery picks, even if I can see why they won. That said, I both appreciated AND loved this story of a lonely, artistic gorilla.
Children: Captain Underpants and the Tyrannical Retaliation of the Turbo Toilet 2000 by Dav Pilkey
I've been pointing children at these books for my entire librarian career, but I hadn't read one in a long time. This book reminded me why the kids still flock to them. Funny, swift-moving, and tongue firmly in cheek (at one point, a character notices a gaping plot hole and the other says to him, "Whaddya think this is, Shakespeare?"), there's a reason they're modern classics.

Because I Want To Awards
Longest Awaited: Mortal Heart by R.L. LaFevers
The last of the assassin nuns! That being said, this one was rather slower and I felt occasionally lost amidst the medieval politics. But it was still a satisfying ending to a complex and addictive series. Best part: how many NunFriend scenes we got, and how integral that friendship was to the plot. I think I have to read the series all in a row now to get all the undertones. Oh, darn. (Out in November; sorry, guys.)
Darn Near a Standout: The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
Nobody does alienated, struggling teen girl quite like LHA. Hayley actually seemed to have acquired some of her father's crippling PTSD, just in dealing with it.
Euwwwwwwwww!: In a Glass Grimmly by Adam Gidwitz
This author doesn't stint on the blood and guts. That would up the appeal already, but he backs it up with strong main characters and a satisfying arc for each.

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By the Numbers
Teen: 13
Tween: 7
Children: 0

Sources
Review Copies: 4
Purchased: 1
Library: 12

Standouts
Teen: TIE
While We Run by Karen Healey
The link leads to my 48-HBC entry, which kinda says what needs to be said. Until the full review goes up, anyway.
To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
When all her old love letters go out to the boys who were never supposed to see them, Lara Jean deals with the consequences. Equally as interesting, at least to me, was the subplot about her trying to step into her older sister's mother-figure shoes and keep the family together.
Tween: Ask My Mood Ring How I Feel by Diana Lopez
It's never a good time for your mom to get cancer, but when you're just hitting the tween years might be the absolute worst.
Children: none this month

Because I Want To Awards
Sex is Not Love, TYVM: The Biggest Flirts by Jennifer Echols
In another book, Tia Cruz would have been labeled as "the slut" and probably brought to see the error of her ways or something. In this one, she's just a girl who likes to fool around but runs away from love at speed. By the end, she still likes to fool around, but she's going to try out that love thing. And guys, I adored that.
Not Really About Bullying: Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina
I've seen this everywhere as a "bullying" book. While that's an accurate representation of one of the major plot threads, I found it to be a background to the story of a girl and her mother learning to see each other clearly.
Simultaneous Hug and Smack: Nothing Special by Geoff Herbach
Oh, Felton Reinstein. If it weren't for those other two books, yours would have been the standout. I spent most of the book wanting to either smack you or hug you, and often both.
Awwwwww: A Song for Bijou by Josh Farrar
I mean, seriously. It's hard not to just awwwwwwwwww your way through this book.

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By the Numbers
Teen: 5
Tween: 5
Children: 5

Sources
Review Copies: 6
Library: 6

Standouts
Teen: Sunrise by Mike Mullins
As the human race is pulling itself out of the Dark Ages, Alex rises to the occasion. Less action-packed than the first two, more community-building, but I appreciated seeing this kid make some hard choices in his new world.
Tween: The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson
Can I explain how much I love a con story? I love the twists and the turns and the con man's brain that figures out twelve angles at once and how to make them work to his advantage, and what actually manages to surprise him in the end. This book fed that love.
Children: Revenge of the Flower Girls by Jennifer Ziegler
A fluffy ball of cute, this book. Although the girls seriously blurred together, to the point where I had to think of them as one girl who managed to be everywhere and do everything.

Because I Want To Awards
The When-Harry-Met-Sally Award: Played by Liz Fichera
Not like THAT. Geez, you guys. Insta-love is rampant in teen romance, as is longtime friends-to-lovers, but this is the first time I've seen two teens genuinely becoming friends before falling in love. Sam and Riley baffle each other as often as they get each other, but their love story has a firm basis in honest liking, and I appreciated that.

The Quirk Factor is Through the Roof: Fake Mustache by Tom Angleberger
With numerous asides and slyly hilarious details, it was just like one of my other favorite hoot-and-a-half series, M.T. Anderson's Pals in Peril!

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By the Numbers
Teen: 9
Tween: 3
Children: 3

Sources
Review Copies: 7
Purchased: 1
Library: 5

Standouts
Teen: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
I can't even explain what this book is about without spoiling it. Argh. Just read it, would you?
Tween: The Swift Boys and Me by Kody Keplinger
One tumultuous summer changes all the things eleven-year-old Nola has always taken for granted. Some better, some worse, some just different. I've loved Keplinger's work for teens, and she displays the same deft touch with people and relationships in her first book for younger readers.
Children: The Ninja Librarians: The Accidental Keyhand by Jen Swann Downey
Secret-agent librarians who defend free speech through space and time! Special guest appearances by Hypatia, Casanova, and Cyrano de Bergerac! Also, sword-fighting and a mongoose on the loose. Overall, a rattling good adventure.

Because I Want To Awards
Most Interesting Format: In the Shadows by Kiersten White and Jim diBartolo
White wrote a text-only story, di Bartolo a pictures-only story. With the two stories running in parallel, it takes most of the book to work out how they're connected, but that kept me reading. The ending made me awwwwwww.
Is There a Sequel, Please?: Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen by Donna Gephert
There were a lot of things to like about this book (a realistic look at disillusionment and the reassembling of a family, as well as an almost-sort-of-nascent romance), but now I really want to read the story of Nikki, Olivia's ex-best friend.
Most Deeply Flawed Characters: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
And I mean that in a good way. Everywhere you turn in this book, there are awful, broken people, and the two worst are the two main characters. Mostly you find yourself loving the flaws.

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By the Numbers
Teen: 10
Tween: 2
Children: 1

Sources
Review Copies: 5
Purchased: 1
Library: 6

Standouts
Teen: Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach
Sometimes Felton was astonishingly wise and perceptive, sometimes he had the emotional intelligence of a mummified hamster. A very realistic fifteen-year-old, in other words.
Tween: Into the Unknown: How Great Explorers Found Their Way by Land, Sea, and Air by Stewart Ross, illustrated by Stephen Biesty
Although parts were problematic (they entirely left out the treatment of native peoples during the Age of Exploration, for instance), it was really interesting to see how people have set off to explore our world and what they used to do it. With fold-out diagrams!
Children: Diego Rivera: His World and Ours by Duncan Tonatiuh
If you can count, you know this is the only children's book I read this month. That being said, if I'd read ten, I probably still would have mentioned this. It brings a fascinating artist to life and made me hit the web for more of his work.

Because I Want To Awards
Another Cracking Main Character: Plus One by Elizabeth Fama
Sol is impulsive, prickly, and often thoroughly exasperating. Naturally, I loved her.
Oooh, I Get It Now: Everything by A.S. King
For some reason I was never on the A.S. King train, but all of a sudden I've added all her books to my reading list and am tearing through them.

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By the Numbers
Teen: 9
Tween: 2
Children: 4

Sources
Review Copies: 6
Library: 9

Standouts
Teen: The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski
Two lovers playing emotional chess with each other and themselves, in the midst of the kind of political upheaval that lays waste to empires. The only thing I hated about this book was the cover, and in my review I will tell you why.
Tween: Renegade Magic by Stephanie Burgis
A deeply fun romp about a girl who's arguably smarter than most of the adults around her, and of course frustrated beyond the telling of it.
Children: Lord and Lady Bunny - Almost Royalty! by Polly Horvath
As hilarious and weird as the first one. My favorite scene was the one in the bookshop. I dare you not to crack a grin at that.

Because I Want To Awards
Ain't No Thang: Adaptation by Malinda Lo
Lo takes a plot point that would have been front and center in another book (emerging bisexuality) and makes it part of the story of a girl waking to a world that's
changing right before her eyes.
Penguins, Malevolent Refrigerators, and Surfing: The Flying Beaver Brothers and the Evil Penguin Plan by Maxwell Eaton III
I think that says it all, don't you?
Worst Bestie Ever: The One That I Want by Jennifer Echols
From page 1, Addison was the worst excuse for a human being, never mind a best friend, that I'd ever met. By the time Gemma puts an end to it, I cheered.

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By the Numbers
Teen: 13
Tween: 3
Children: 8

Sources
Review Copies: 9
Purchased: 3
Library: 12

Standouts
Teen: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
This sweet love story had more to do with growing up than it did the swoonypants. Make no mistake, I swooned, but the focus was on two realistically imperfect teens growing into themselves and each other.
Tween: The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Wan-Long Shang
A Chinese-American kid tries to figure out where she falls in between the two labels. I really liked the realism of how both sides sometimes made Lucy feel as if she weren't American or Chinese enough.
Children: Season of Secrets by Sally Nichols
I put in my notes, "Sad but not sobby." Sally Nichols seems able to walk that line easily. A girl struggling with her mother's recent death and the subsequent upheavals in her life meets the Oak King of Celtic mythology, and begins to understand that all life is cyclical.

Because I Want To Awards
Most Thought-Provoking: Out of Nowhere by Maria Padian
This story of a small Maine town dealing with a sudden influx of Somali refugees caught my attention because I work with refugees every day. Review coming at some point soon.
Yum Yum!: A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff
With recipes included in every chapter and baking throughout, this book made me hungry for something sweet.
Just Goofy Good Fun: The Butler Gets a Break by Kristin Clark Venuti
The second Bellweather book is as kooky and funny as the first. It'll bring a smile to your face, especially the end. We all need a Benway.

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By the Numbers
Teen: 17
Tween: 11
Children: 6

Sources
Review Copies: 10

Purchased: 1
Library: 14

Standouts
Teen (non-Cybils; can't tell you about my Cybils standout yet): Bitter End by Jennifer Brown
This was a compelling portrait of how easy it is to slide into a manipulative, abusive relationship, and how hard it is to get out again. Even though I knew Cole was a bleepity bleepity bleep from the start, I got a little sucked in myself.
Tween: Ten Miles Past Normal by Frances O'Roark Dowell
My favorite part of this entry into the overfull "OMG my parents are going to embarrass me to DEATH" genre was how abnormal the main character already is. She plays bass, she makes her own clothes, and she's blissfully unaware of her own weirdness until she learns to be okay with her parents' oddities.
Children: Around the World in 100 Days by Gary Blackwood
This sequel to the Jules Verne classic sees Phileas Fogg's son Harry on his own madcap quest in that newfangled contraption, the motorcar. The only thing this adventure was missing was maps. I really, really wanted maps. Guys, it's a trip around the world!

Because I Want To Awards
Good Clean Fun!: Also Known As by Robin Benway
This was a rompy, unlikely, fast-paced New York City spy story that ended rather better than I thought it would, which is just another reason I closed it with a big smile.
Best Characters: Nightspell by Leah Cypess
Every single character in this book had a slightly different motivation, and slightly different goals, and even the people who were supposed allies didn't always agree. Very nicely done.
Fluff/Serious Stuff Sandwich: Marco Impossible by Hannah Moskowitz
With a cotton-candy premise (boy is bent on publicly confessing his devotion to the love of his life, and drags his best friend into the hijinx), this book really winds up being about a complex friendship and two complicated boys. Also, the love of Marco's life is another boy, but that still manages to be part of the fluffiness. Mostly.
I'm Really Glad I Read This: A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
I work in an area where many of my patrons come from exactly the kind of life that this slim little book lays out - civil war, refugee camps, and hardship. Having read it, I feel as if I understand them a little better.

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