Hey YA Readers!
I hope your week is starting off strong. Let’s keep it going with a look at this week’s new book releases and two outstanding nonfiction titles on audio for your listening needs.
Bookish Goods
50 Green Library Cards by Knot and Bow
Every month, I share my reading stats over on Instagram using a library due date card. Every month, I get asked where I get them. The answer is Etsy! This is one of the packs I’m just about out of and will need to replace soon. $8 for 50!
New Releases
Let’s look at two hardcover books hitting shelves this week. You can find the rest of this week’s new releases in the fall roundup of new hardcovers.
I Miss You, I Hate This by Sara Saedi
I am in the middle of this one right now, and I went in without any knowledge, other than I love Saedi’s writing. This is a pandemic book, but in a lot of ways…it’s very cathartic for me so far.
Parisa Naficy and Gabriela Gonzales are seniors and despite how different they are — Parisa is from a wealthy family and Gabriela’s moms can hardly make ends meet — they build a strong friendship. It’s them against the world.
But when a global pandemic hits and their entire lives are turned upside down, what do their futures look like?
This one is funny, it’s full of heart, and, like I said, surprisingly cathartic, despite how much I didn’t think I wanted to read a book about the pandemic.
Princess of Souls by Alexandra Christo
Itching for a Rapunzel-inspired YA fantasy? This is it.
Selestra has been trapped in a tower for 16 years as she waits to take her mother’s place as the King’s Witch. The King’s Witch foretells death at the Festival Predictions and those who outrun the prediction get the chance to steal immortality from the King.
No one has had that chance yet, as everyone has failed to outrun their own death.
Nox is a soldier in the King’s army and he’s ready to take the King’s mortality, as well as kill his court. Nox is Selestra’s first prediction. But as soon as she touches Nox, death is out for both of them. Now they have to work together to outrun their fate.
I’m so glad to see the YA snake cover slither back in, too.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
I’ve been enjoying a lot of nonfiction on audio lately — and to be fair, I usually only listen to nonfiction on audio — but I’ve been conscious of listening to more YA nonfiction specifically. Here are two excellent listens to catch up on great YA nonfiction (& a way to continue understanding how vast this category of literature is, as these are two very different books).
What The Fact?: Finding the Truth in All the Noise by Dr. Seema Yasmin
This should be essential reading for everyone. Yasmin’s book is a guide to information, digital, and media literacy, and in a very listenable way, breaks down how to differentiate fact from fiction in what you read. The history of how newspapers shifted between being sensational to “objective” — if objectivity is even the goal — grounds the book, and Yasmin does a stellar job exploring how we become media savvy in a culture that makes it as challenging as possible to do just that.
The audio for this is compelling, so don’t think a book about literacy will be too academic. There are sound effects used very thoughtfully, and Yasmin’s performance showcases not only her expertise on the topic but also her passion and enthusiasm for helping young people (and honestly, I learned so much* even though I do this for a living!) navigate the world of news, fake news, mis-/dis-/mal- information, and more.
Yasmin won’t tell you what to think or how to think. That line, which she delivers repeatedly, is what will cause many of the purveyors of fake and misleading news to absolutely hate this book.
But really and truly, she doesn’t.
*I was surprised to learn — even though I shouldn’t be — how it’s not uncommon to pay people with certain pedigrees to give soundbites and quotes that are purposefully wrong or misleading. I have always thought it to happen, especially as I watch “doctors” and “therapists” being cited by right-wing book banners about the dangers of reading the books they don’t like, but hearing it and being validated about those hunches was powerful.
We Are Not Broken by George M. Johnson
Johnson is one of the best memoirists writing for YA readers right now. This book is an encapsulation of the joys and challenges of growing up a Black boy in America and it’s a moving love letter to Johnson’s grandmother and cousins, who helped shape them to be who they are today. Interstitials from Johnson’s cousins written as letters to their grandma are beautiful and poignant.
This is a book about grief, but the way it’s written is also a tremendous celebration of a force of Black womanhood and Black family life. The audio is performed by the author and it is out of this world good. I loved All Boys Aren’t Blue on audio, Johnson’s debut, but I may have loved listening to this one even more.
Note content warnings on this one for sexual assault, death, and difficult family relationships.
As always, thanks for hanging out. We’ll see you later this week with your YA news and new paperback releases.
Until then, happy reading!
— Kelly Jensen, @veronikellymars on Twitter.