Tag Archive | teens

R is RAISED BY GHOSTS, she drifts through school and life, by Briana Loewinsohn (YA Graphic Novel) #AtoZ

Apr21
Book cover of Raised by Ghosts, graphic novel by Briana Loewinsohn. Shows girl with long brown hair seated at a desk, looking down at her sketches which rise into the air as white outlines of images on a dark stream.

Pencil and paper,
imagination and image,
better than reality…

In middle school, the other kids “seem to understand how to be in the world in a way that I do not,” notes Briana (pg. 5) during the mid 1990s.

Mum absolutely unpredictable, Dad completely predictable, distant from one another in the same house, distant from only child Briana, too… as they skirt the edges of being poor, is anyone the parent here?

At her Berkeley high school, Briana has a hard time concentrating in classes… is there a point?

Notes to friends, sketching on homework pages, notes from friends, making mixtapes instead of doing homework, repeat, repeat, repeat.

She literally draws herself into a dark place of loneliness, then draws herself back out into the real world again.

This graphic novel memoir chronicles the artist’s school years in muted tones, often sadly somber, yet ending with hope as she continues to draw: “Dear paper, dear pencil, you are saving my life…” (pg. 200). She shares three ways to fold a note and her favorite mixtape playlist, too.

What notes and messages from friends would you save forever?
**kmm

Book info: Raised by Ghosts / Briana Loewinsohn. Fantagraphics, 2025. [author site https://www.instagram.com/brianabreaks/] [publisher site https://www.fantagraphics.com/products/raised-by-ghosts] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

K is for KEEPING PACE: running, academically, she’s gotta win! by Laurie Morrison (MG fiction) #A2Z

Apr12
Book cover of Keeping Pace, by Laurie Morrison. Shows 2 young teens in exercise clothes running up a hilly path; the boy is ahead of the pony-tailed girl and looks back at her.

Striving all year for best grades,
applying for the prestigious writing camp…
No, and no – now what?

Grace worked so hard to get highest 8th grade GPA and impress her novelist dad, but lost the award to former friend Jonah. The summer before high school stretches out before the Philadelphia teen.

Babysitting the young son of Dad’s new girlfriend… not as easy as it looks.
Creative writing class… ahh, like her favorite verse novels, not Dad’s blockbuster novel.
Training for the half-marathon to benefit local wetlands… just as she and Jonah planned in 6th grade…oh.

The treehouse between her house and his grandmother’s next door was their happy place every summer, at least before Jonah’s dad got sick and died a few years ago.

Their competition for grades and honors pushed the friends apart… should they try to fix it?
Getting closer to him at her birthday party… awkward? just right?
Jonah not at the same high school next year… what!?

This summer means new friends at creative writing class, talking through big sister Celia’s plans after high school, running with her and sometimes with Jonah, half-marathon and high school on the horizon!

Who is she if she isn’t the smartest student?
Will she beat Jonah at the half-marathon?
Would she rather be with him instead of being rivals?

Goal-setting listmaker Grace’s weekly training plan for the half-marathon starts each group of chapters as she moves through a summer where winning might not be all that she wants.

When did you decide that an outside goal wasn’t yours anymore?
**kmm

Book info: Keeping Pace / Laurie Morrison. Abrams/Amulet, 2024. [author site https://lauriemorrisonwrites.com/books/] [publisher site https://store.abramsbooks.com/products/keeping-pace] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

She needs his help SHOOTING FOR STARS, by Christine Webb (YA book review)

May21
Girl sitting on ringed planet above boy looking up at her, holding a star - book cover of Shooting For Stars, by Christine Webb

Her mom’s research cut short,
Sky plans to continue it –
now is her chance!

Skyler’s sole focus for years has been getting into MIT so she can further her late mother’s research on neutron stars; her dad concentrates on bacterial research for the hospital; their paths cross occasionally.

Wow – a NASA contest that could get her onboard the International Space Station with the NICER telescope! All the Las Vegas senior needs is the perfect video application… which means she needs help.

Hiring classmate Cooper as videographer is easy, figuring out the script is tricky, hearing Dad forbid her to even try for this internship is impossible!

Add in Dad dating a popular beauty influencer he met in the hospital, Cooper’s sister needing tutoring to stay eligible for volleyball, and Sky fretting about upcoming SATs as the video deadline approaches…

Is the growing attraction between Sky and Cooper real?
Why would Cooper give up on his own dream career before it begins?
Why won’t Dad let Skyler go after hers?

Happy book birthday (21 May 2024) to Shooting For Stars!

When have you taken a chance to make a dream happen?
**kmm

Book info: Shooting For Stars / Christine Webb. Peachtree Teen, 2024. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

In TENMILE mining town, what future does she have? by Sandra Dallas (MG book review)

May9
Back of young girl with long hair, looking at old western town at base of mountains - book cover of Tenmile, by Sandra Dallas

Beautiful mountains above,
gold in the ground below,
the many toiling to benefit a few..

Some have enough, most have little, a few have so much – life in their Colorado gold mining town isn’t fair, her widowed doctor father tells 13-year-old Sissy.

“She’d asked him once why he hadn’t moved to Denver, where there were beautiful houses and grass and leafy trees. ‘Because people in Tenmile need me,’ he’d replied.” (p.85)

When their fathers are injured in the mines, some of her friends must drop out of school to support their families, working as maids, clothes washers, even down in the mines as young teens…

Willie Gilpin’s big brother died of scarlet fever, so his worried mother keeps him home from school. The rich mine owner’s son has gotten spoiled and mean; 13-year-old Sissy will tutor him, but not put up with his bad behavior.

Oh, no! Another mine accident! Sissy runs to help.
Doc has taught her many treatments and remedies; she helps him setting broken bones and delivering babies – but no one thinks a girl can be a doctor in 1880!

Look for this 2022 release in hardcover, paperback, or eBook at your local library or independent bookstore (not affiliate links).

What dream job are you aiming for, despite what others say?
**kmm

Book info: Tenmile / Sandra Dallas. Sleeping Bear Press, hardcover 2022. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

V is for her very disastrous Valentine’s Day, on repeat! THE DO-OVER, by Lynn Painter (YA book review) #A2Z

Apr25
Girl in blue van crashes back of red truck driven by boy. Second crash, he comforts her. Third crash, they stand apart. Book cover of The Do-Over, by Lynn Painter. Simon & Schuster.

Determined, organized,
people-pleaser –
now what’s all this!?

Her perfect Valentine’s Day plan gets a jolt when Emilie rear-ends her aloof lab partner’s truck, is told that her summer fellowship fell through, and sees her boyfriend kissing his ex!

This is not on her agenda at all: her divorced parents will be furious about the wreck, she needs that fellowship to pay for college, and how could Josh even do that to her?

Escaping to Grandma Max’s after more bad news from Dad, the high school junior turns in early so this horrible day can finally be over… and wakes up in her own bed on Valentine’s morning!

Her van is fine…until she rear-ends Nick’s truck again. Then she loses the fellowship again, and Josh is kissing Macy again… what is going on?

Next morning is Valentine’s Day yet again, and then the next is, too! Does the universe want her to change something to get out of this time loop?

On every repeated February 14th, she gets to know Nick a little better, but he doesn’t remember the next morning (also Feb. 14).

Different outfit, drive another route to school, talk her way back into the summer program, stop Josh from being alone with Macy, talk her way back into the summer program, convince Dad not to move – what else should she try?

Time for ultra-organized Emilie to go way off-script!

What single day would you want a do-over for?
**kmm

Book info: The Do-Over / Lynn Painter. Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, hardcover 2022, paperback 2023. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Q is QUESTIONS I WANT TO ASK YOU when I find you, Mom, by Michelle Falkoff (YA book review) #A2Z

Apr19
book cover of Questions I Want to Ask You, by Michelle Falkoff. Published by Harper Teen

What a great 18th birthday – Maddie with him at CrossFit, last day of senior year, getting ready for a beach party, then… a letter from his mom?!

She died when Pack was a baby, Dad always said. Now he updates the story: Mom just abandoned them and their small Massachusetts city, then died later of a drug overdose.

After watching true crime shows with his police detective dad for years, Pack is definitely going to dig into this mystery, asking Dad’s school buddies, checking old yearbooks, finding Mom’s sister who lives in Connecticut not far away!

Her letter says not to tell Dad she’s alive, and as Pack meets the family he never knew and hears their side of events, he begins to see why.

Kidnapping, drug raids – what really happened when Pack was a baby?

The more he investigates why Mom left, the more dangerous things get for her and for Pack! Is he ready for the consequences?

Senior year with Maddie made Pack want to stop time. But she’s going away to college; he’s iffy about more school. He’s completely committed to the Paleo diet that changed him from pudgy to fit; she says it’s okay to ease up after reaching major fitness goals. Can they survive a long-distance relationship?

Questions and more questions… check out Pack’s intriguing story at your local library or independent bookstore.

What’s the biggest question you have about your family’s past?
**kmm

Book info: Questions I Want to Ask You / Michelle Falkoff. Harper Teen, 2018. [author site] [publisher site] Personal copy won at Friends for Levine Querido auction; cover image courtesy of the publisher.

N is THE NO-GIRLFRIEND RULE – when his game is closed to her, she finds a better one! by Christen Randall (YA book review) #A2Z

Apr16
book cover of The No-Girlfriend Rule, by Christen Randall. Atheneum/S&S

Banned from the tabletop game he plays with his buddies.
Stay home or master the game and change their minds?

To show Chris she’s a great girlfriend, Hollis is determined to learn how to play Secrets & Sorcery RPG.

After an icky experience at their local games shop, the Kentucky teen spots a notice that new players are welcomed to an all-girls S&S group.

And so it is that Hollis (artistic, fat, usually broke) meets Gloria (their Secret Keeper, Colombian-American, curvy) and her preteen sister Fran (live-wire, gonna be a barbarian!!!), Aini (vibrant, cool, haircolor changes often), Maggie (blonde, social media star, also new) and Iffy (black, trans, involved in everything at school).

During the first session, they welcome both newcomers warmly, help Hollis refine her character as an armor-graced paladin with healing skill, and appreciate her cupcake mastery.

Every Friday night, Hollis carpools to Gloria and Fran’s house just across the river in Ohio, enjoying the twists and turns that their Secret Keeper adds to the game and how well their characters are developing together.

Hollis vividly sees each character in her mind, sketching them often, adding colors and metallic highlights – her rendition of Aini’s bard may be the best.

Riding with Aini to game night, dressing up as their characters for the fall festival, buying new game dice with Aini’s advice – so much better than being just-tolerated at school by Chris’s game bros.

The intricate storyline of their long S&S quest is revealed week by week, as Hollis endures her senior year, might pass history with Iffy’s tutoring, and realizes how she likes being with Aini.

How have shared interests brought together a group in your life?
**kmm

Book info: The No-Girlfriend Rule / Christen Randall. Atheneum/S&S, 2024. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

K is Supriya Kelkar’s STRONG AS FIRE, FIERCE AS FLAME during revolution! (MG book review) #A2Z

Apr12
book cover of Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame, by Supriya Kelkar. Published by Tu Books /Lee & Low Books

Soon to be married,
then tragedy, death!
Must she die also?

Changes, changes! In 1857 India, British occupiers push Indian men to join their military as Sepoy brigades, tax people so much that starvation is increasing, and want to change devoutly followed religious traditions, leading to widespread rioting.

When Meera turns 13 in a few days, she’ll move into Krishna’s family home, sealing the Hindu marriage agreement made when they were toddlers.

Aiie! Instead of a wedding celebration in their tiny village, it’s Krishna’s funeral on the day before her birthday. Tradition demands that widowed Meera commit sati and allow herself to burn on her husband’s pyre as she follows him into the afterlife.

Leave! Go! Aunt urges her to run away, and Meera flees alone into the rainy night and an unknown future. Could she possibly reach Rani Lakshmibai, the widowed queen who defies the British and rules her region with fairness?

Rescued from the raging river by people on a boat, Meera meets Bhavani who is going to see her sister in town. Perhaps she can help both girls find jobs…

A tiny mistake puts them in the hands of Captain Keene, the one who’s abolishing their traditions! He orders them to work at his big house to pay for their error – at least they’ll have food and a place to sleep.

Luckily, his wife doesn’t share his anger, this kindly memsahib who likes to sketch, who mourns the death of their daughter, who asks that schools for local girls be created.

The two young teens help the cook, serve meals to Captain and Memsahib and their guests, and hear much talk about how the East India Company will soon complete the takeover of their homeland. Bhavani and her sister believe that the British must leave India alone, so they’re meeting with local rebels to make plans.

What’s this? Captain has a secret stash of ammunition and plans to attack! The rebels must be told!

Is Meera brave enough to search the Captain’s desk and help the rebels find out how to get that ammunition?
Can the sepoy Charan truly be on their side against the British officers?
Will the young women be as fearless as Rani Lakshimibai?

Based on true events of India’s history – see the endnotes for more details and timeline. By the author of contemporary middle-grade novel That Thing About Bollywood, recommended here.

When have you chosen to stand against injustice instead of just being a bystander?
**kmm

Book info: Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame / Supriya Kelkar. Tu Books /Lee & Low Books, 2021. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

D is for a dog, determination, and OUR DIVINE MISCHIEF interfering! by Hanna C. Howard (YA book review) #A2Z

Apr4
book cover of Our Divine Mischief, by Hanna C. Howard. Published by Blink YA | recommended on BooksYALove.com

What will be her role in the village?
Mother must let her go try!
It’s time…

Aila sails to Yslet’s island to discover what skill the goddess will grant her. But instead of a golden disk with apprentice symbol inscribed, the 17 year old finds only a muddy puppy who insists on going home with her.

Hew waits with the other villagers, hoping that she didn’t receive a blank disk like he did, praying that she’s not cursed to be Unblessed as he is…

The priest is flummoxed, finds that a series of Ordeals might still reveal Yslet’s way for Aila’s lifework, and assigns Hew to watch over her as she prepares.

Orail, the puppy, is delighted to be with Aila and Hew as her mind expands, as the teens experience her mischief and magic growing rapidly, as she secretly helps Aila during the Ordeals.

When a scribe from the mainland intuits that Orail is a wish-granter, he decides that the dog’s gifts will help the Usurper overthrow the King and steals her away!

Aila and Hew follow, never mind the mainland’s dangers – they must rescue their friend!!

Reflecting Scottish history and folklore, this adventure is told in the three voices of Aila, Hew, and Orail, whose poetic mind-speak grows more lyrical as she quickly grows from rambunctious puppy to full-grown protector.

Would you want your future job to be locked-in by others?
**kmm

Book info: Our Divine Mischief / Hanna C. Howard. Blink, 2023. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

A is for ARYA KHANNA’S BOLLYWOOD MOMENT, by Arushi Avachat (YA book review) #A2Z

Apr1
book cover of Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment, by Arushi Avachat. Published by Wednesday Books | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Senior year at last!
Too bad Arya is student council VP to long-term rival Dean as president, especially as they have to work together closely to fundraise for the Autumn Formal.

Big sister Alina the artist is finally back home!
If only she and Mamma would reconcile during the complex preparations for Alina and Nikhil’s elaborate Hindu wedding…

So much tension in Arya’s life!
Her BFFs Andy and Lisa dated for a while, then broke up, but the trio should be enjoying senior activities together in their Boston suburb, not drifting apart.

As she juggles college application deadlines, Mamma’s depression, fall festival planning meetings with now-charming Dean, and working part-time at her favorite Boston bookstore, the Indian-American teen longs for her own super-romantic Bollywood moment…

This charming debut rom-com includes cupcakes and wedding cakes, a pumpkin patch and henna mehndi designs, practicing for Alina’s sangeet dance at the wedding and dressing up for the Autumn Formal dance, plus waiting for college acceptance letters to arrive.

Be sure to look for Arya’s lists of recommended Bollywood movies and music, too!

**kmm

Book info: Arya Khanna’s Bollywood Moment / Arushi Avachat. Wednesday Books, 2024. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.