Tag Archive | belonging

Tales of escape and hope to read with your ears

May3

Songs of desperation and hope thread through his week’s free audiobooks from SYNC to read with your ears!

Remember that although these complete audiobooks are only available from Thursday through Wednesday, you have free use of them as long as you keep them on your computer or electronic device.

Click each CD title to reach the download site – enjoy!

CD cover of Solo, by Kwame Alexander, Mary Rand Hess | Read by Kwame Alexander Published by Blink | recommended on BooksYALove.com Solo (free download from 5-11 May 2018)
by Kwame Alexander, Mary Rand Hess 
Read by Kwame Alexander 
Published by Blink

Blade wants to escape his rock-star dad’s raucous reputation… but a family secret bursts onto the young musician’s present – a novel in verse.
 

The Devil’s Highway: a True Story (free download from 5-11 May 2018)CD cover of Devil's Highway, by Luis Alberto Urrea | Read by Luis Alberto Urrea Published by Hachette Audio | recommended on BooksYALove.com
by Luis Alberto Urrea
Read by Luis Alberto Urrea
Published by Hachette Audio

In May 2001, a group of men tried to cross the desert from Mexico into Arizona, but only half survived. Investigative reporting of a story that repeats itself often, even today.

What other stories of escape would you recommmend?
**kmm

Z is The Weight of Zero – can Catherine escape it? by Karen Fortunati (book review)

Apr30

paperback cover of Weight of Zero by Karen Fortunati, published by Delacorte Press | recommended on BooksYALove.com

paperback

book hardcover of Weight of Zero by Karen Fortunati, published by Delacorte Press | recommended on BooksYALove.com

hardcover

When her bipolar meds stop working (always do)

will she let herself be crushed by depression (again)

or will she beat Zero at its own game (game over, forever)?

Therapy and medications might keep Catherine’s manic-depressive swings manageable right now, but she feels like such a burden to Mom.

If she can just accomplish a few things first – like being in love or having friends again – when the giant Zero of depression hits, Catherine will end it all, for good.

Can her history project partner Michael, his loud and loving family, and a girl from daily group therapy change her mind?

That depression coming for Catherine, the bottles of pills she’s saving – paperback cover or hardcover?
**kmm

Book info: The Weight of Zero / Karen Fortunati. Delacorte Press, 2016 (hardcover), 2018 (paperback) [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Y = You Are Here, but where and who am I? by Jennifer E. Smith (book review)

Apr28

book cover of You Are Here by Jennifer E. Smith, published by Simon & Schuster | recommended on BooksYALove.comShe had a twin brother,
didn’t know till now –
visiting his grave seems right… so far from here.

So… if you just discovered at age 16 that you were a twin, would that explain why you never felt complete?

Emma thinks it’s possible and that traveling from New York to North Carolina to see his headstone will help her in ways that her parents and much older siblings can’t.

Peter longs to escape their small town, and a trip with Emma (just friends) is one way to start.

Another satisfying story of traveling, evolving friendship, and interesting secrets from the author of The Statistical Probability of Falling in Love (my notes here) and Geography of Me and You (noted here).

Your favorite road-trip novel?
**kmm

Book info: You Are Here / Jennifer E. Smith. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2015. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

W for Wow! It’s AudioSync time again = free audiobooks all summer long.

Apr26

Free audiobooks!
Two new titles every week!
All summer long – starting today!

We’re getting a week’s headstart on summer reading for your ears, as AudioSync opens its free audiobook download season now.

Click on each CD title to reach the download site for this week’s free audiobooks from SYNC so you can read with your ears!

You only need to input your name and email address to download these complete audiobooks, then you can listen to them as long as they’re saved on your computer or electronic device.

I’ll remind you each Thursday of the new weekly selections so you can get them before their free status expires on Wednesday.

CD cover of The Great War: Stories Inspired by Items From the First World War. by David Almond, John Boyne, Tracy Chevalier, Ursula Dubosarsky, Timothée de Fombelle | Read by Nico Evers-Swindell, JD Jackson, Gerard Doyle, Richard Halverson, Sarah Coomes, Nick Podehl Published by Candlewick on Brilliance Publishing | recommended on BooksYALove.com The Great War: Stories Inspired by Items From the First World War

by David Almond, John Boyne, Tracy Chevalier, Ursula Dubosarsky, Timothée de Fombelle
Read by Nico Evers-Swindell, JD Jackson, Gerard Doyle, Richard Halverson, Sarah Coomes, Nick Podehl
Published by Candlewick on Brilliance Publishing

Original short stories based on common things used by soldiers and civilians in World War I, narrated in Scots, British, Australian, African-American, French, and Irish accents.

 
A Study in CharlotteCD cover of A Study in Charlotte, by Brittany Cavallaro | Read by Graham Halstead, Julia Whelan Published by HarperAudio | recommended on BooksYALove.com

by Brittany Cavallaro
Read by Graham Halstead, Julia Whelan
Published by HarperAudio

The great-great-great-grandkids of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson must work together to solve the murder of a boarding school classmate – before they are considered the prime suspects! (first in a trilogy)

What other novels of conflict would you recommend?
**kmm

V = Vikki Wakefield writing small-town In Between Days (book review)

Apr25

US book cover of In-Between Days by Vikki Wakefield, published by Simon Schuster BFYR | recommended on BooksYALove.comWaiting for that car to return from the hanging forest,
waiting to finish school and leave this tiny town,
waiting for the right guy to notice her (really notice)…

Jacklin wishes she could go to Europe like her sister did (why’d she come home?) or actually get paid for her job at the town’s failing grocery store.

Is Ma just waiting for Jacklin and Trudy to leave town for good?

Is renovating the old drive-in movie show with Jeremiah and Roly worthwhile?

What about that guy camping in the suicide grove of the national forest nearby?

Look for this summer tale of interpersonal drama and some questionable choices in hardcover or paperback at your local library or favorite independent bookstore (more opening every week in USA!)

What are you waiting for today?
**kmm

Book info: In-Between Days / Vikki Wakefield. Simon Schuster Books For Young Readers, 2016 (hardcover), 2017 (paperback). [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

U= upperworld’s secrets in Freefall, by Joshua David Bellin (book review)

Apr24

book cover of Freefall by Joshua David Bellin, published by Simon Schuster | recommended on BooksYALove.comPreparing to flee dying Earth,
only the wealthy 1% may go,
but lowerworld 99% has other ideas!

This dystopian novel begins with privileged Cam’s stealthy views of Lowerworld economic protests (he must find that golden-eyed girl!) leading up to the corporation-run Upperworld’s elite space migration program launch (slated only for the wealthiest, naturally).

Sofie’s eloquence convinces Cam to help her make the case for allowing some Lowerworld people to go on the Otherworld colonization ships.

But the thousand-year space journey ends elsewhere than mission designers planned! Sabotage?

Can there truly be One World on the new less-hospitable planet when money and propaganda had divided Earth into Two?

And what’s attacking them?
**kmm

Book info: Freefall / Joshua David Bellin. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2017. [author site] [publisher site] [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

S is elegant Sinclair’s, site of Mystery of the Jeweled Moth, by Katherine Woodfine (book review)

Apr21

book cover of Mystery of the Jewelled Moth by Katherine Woodfine, published by Kane Miller (USA) | recommended on BooksYALove.comJewel thief on the loose,
Gangs terrorizing 1909 London’s Chinatown,
A young woman’s body in the river!
Has crime boss the Baron returned?

At Sinclair’s department store, Sophie sells ladies’ hats, Lil models elegant dresses, and both young women keep their eyes open for strange events, like the disappearance of a valuable moth-shaped brooch during an engagement party.

Time for disguises and etiquette review as they drop in on debutantes, check over clues with buddies Billy and Joe, and research the Moonbeam Diamond’s curse!

My no-spoiler recommendation of book 1, Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow, introduces Sophie and Lil as Sinclair’s Department Store opens amid rumor and mystery. Watch for book 3, Mystery of the Painted Dragon.

What disguise would you choose when sleuthing about?
**kmm

Book info: The Mystery of the Painted Dragon (Sinclair’s Mysteries, book 2) / Katherine Woodfine. Kane Miller Publishing, 2017. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

R = Riot School – we won’t let it be closed! by Robert Rayner (book review)

Apr20

book cover of Riot School by Robert Rayner, published by Lorimer | recommended on BooksYALove.comTrying to close our small town’s school?
Why should we spend hours on a bus to another school?
Why won’t adults listen to what the students have to say?

Bilan, Arn, Lettie, Grant, and Barlow each have their own reasons for wanting St. Isaac’s School to stay open.

But the Gang of Five can’t agree on what to do – a sit-in? messages to the media? more “extreme” actions?

Sidestreets is one of Canadian publisher Lorimer’s quick-read series with diverse characters and relatable situations and current topics like immigration and sexual identity in small towns and big cities.

How to decide which injustice to fight against?
**kmm

Book info: Riot School (Sidestreets series) / Robert Rayner. Lorimer, 2017. [author bio] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Q = Quiet Kind of Thunder, no need to hear or speak, by Sara Barnard (book review)

Apr19

US book cover of A Quiet Kind of Thunder, by Sara Barnard, published by Simon Pulse | recommended on BooksYALove.comNot-speaking was her choice (sort of).
Not-hearing wasn’t his (at all).
Not-communicating with each other isn’t an option.

Steffi’s anxiety keeps her from talking most times, but speaking British Sign Language with new student Rhys or texting him is easy.

But is being with Rhys keeping her from communicating with her best friend away at school or standing up to her families about future plans?

I’m apprehensive when the novel premise is “she can’t this, he can’t that, together they are perfectly something” but this one goes beyond the simplistic formula to ask tough questions, like “would we have this relationship at all without this (or that) as vital component?”

Find this story in texts, signs, and sighs at your local library or independent bookstore.

How much must you say before it’s enough?
**kmm

Book info: A Quiet Kind of Thunder / Sara Barnard. Simon Pulse, 2018. [author Facebook]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

P for Penny & Sam, linked as Emergency Contact & maybe more, by Mary H.K. Choi (book review)

Apr18

book cover of Emergency Contact, by Mary H.K. Choi, published by Simon Schuster BFYR | recommended on BooksYALove.comCollege will be better than high school, of course.
Learning fiction writing from an amazing author!
Connecting with Sam is…um …just text, okay?

Her mom still acts and dresses like a teen, her new roommate Jude is vibrantly alive, so Penny is grateful for the quiet text life she has with Sam (who is 21, but somehow Jude’s former step-uncle).

But can the Korean-American teen become brave enough to write like she should, go out with Jude and Mallory, actually visit Sam in person at the coffeehouse?

And P is also for “plans busted to smithereens” as this debut novel told in alternating chapters by Penny and Sam (lots of texts) moved onto the New York Times Bestsellers list last week before our A-to-Z got to P!!

Yes, Mary will be at the North Texas Teen Book Festival on Saturday, 20 April 2018, and you should be there, too!

Real life or by text?
**kmm

Book info: Emergency Contact / Mary H.K. Choi. Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2018. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.