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Showing posts from August, 2021

5 GREAT YA BOOKS ABOUT WEDDINGS

  Here are some must-reads for romance and wedding lovers! SISTER OF THE BOLLYWOOD BRIDE  BY NANDINI BAJPAI Mini’s big sister is engaged and is finally getting married, and Mini can’t wait to throw Vinnie the big, beautiful desi wedding she deserves — after all, no one else will since their mom died and their dad is too consumed with work. But as Mini throws herself into the planning (and on a tight timeline, no less!) she finds many roadblocks and distractions, some in the form of the very hot Vir Mirchandani. But when a hurricane threatens to derail the big day, can Mini come up with a solution to save her sister’s wedding? WE CAN’T KEEP MEETING LIKE THIS  BY RACHEL LYNN SOLOMON Quinn and Tarek have always grown up in each other's orbits, thanks to their parents respective businesses as wedding planners and event caterers. When Quinn sent Tarek an email confessing her love last summer, he went off to college and never responded. And now this summer they keep running in to each ot

GREAT BOOKS ABOUT BEING THE NEW KID

Here are some titles where the protagonist is the new kid, with all of the heartache, excitement, and emotional tumult that is involved.  Let’s Pretend We Never Met  by Melissa Walker- For Grades 4-7 Mattie Markham thinks it should be illegal to change schools in the middle of the school year, but when she meets her neighbor Agnes, Mattie pushes aside her worries. But when she starts school, Mattie learns that Agnes is known as the weird girl who no one likes, and must decide if fitting in and being popular is worth ending their friendship. THE FIELD GUIDE TO THE NORTH AMERICAN TEENAGER  BY BEN PHILIPPE- FOR Grades 8-12 When Norris Kaplan, a Black French Canadian teen, moves to Austin, Texas, it’s like stepping into a different world. Norris makes sense of his new home by viewing it through an anthropological lens, and categorizing all of the types of teens he encounters into jocks, cheerleaders, loners, misfits, and more. But a curious thing happens: The more time Norris spends with h

For Fans of "In the Heights"

 by Abby Johnson SLJ, June 2021 The Tony-winning musical about a Dominican American bodega owner and his largely Dominican community in the Washington Heights neighborhood in New York city came to the big screen on June 11. Fans of Heights and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda should enjoy these titles. On the Come Up by Angie Thomas. 2019, Grades 8-Up.  African American teen Bri has big dreams of making it as a rapper, and when one of her songs goes viral, she has he opportunity to lift her family out of poverty. For music lovers who appreciate a story about city dwellers with big dreams. Pride by Ibi Zobol. 2018, Grade 8-Up. In this retelling of Pride & Prejudice , Dominican and Haitian Zuri Benitez protests the gentrification of her Brooklyn neighborhood when a wealthy African American family moves in across the street. Readers drawn to character-driven stories centered in beloved urban neighborhoods will enjoy this. With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo. 2019, Grade 9

COMING OF AGE IN SPACE STORIES FOR TEENS

  Rachel Brittain   Aug 3, 2021 Growing up is hard in the best of times, but add the vacuum of space and suddenly growing up Earthside doesn’t seem quite so bad. At least here we don’t have to deal with spaceship maintenance and rogue alien attacks. Puberty is hard enough. That’s why coming-of-age in space stories provide the perfect mix of escapism and relatability. We all have to grow up; most of us just don’t have to join the crew of a spaceship to get through it. The teens in these books, though, make juggling alien encounters alongside puberty seem, if not downright easy, at least pretty dang cool. Who wouldn’t want to grow up as a trailblazing space explorer? Sign me up. Coming of age isn’t so bad if you can do it with great books like these by your side. So for all you adventurous readers who aren’t willing to settle for books about life here on Earth, we have eight coming-of-age in space stories for you to live out your wildest intergalactic dreams. Go ahead and imagine a life