Completely Full Bookshelf

Hello everyone! Today I am excited to be recommending another truly incredible YA novel: Salt to the Sea  by Ruta Sepetys. Please note, this is a young adult (YA) novel, and it contains mature content. Add it on Goodreads I'm so excited that, with this book, I have officially met my goal of reading 3 books for the Big Book Summer Challenge ,  hosted by Sue Jackson at Book by Book ! And I am also have excited to have read this book simply because it is the favorite book of one of my good friends, and I'm glad I can finally talk to her about it. And I am also  excited to have read this book because, quite simply, it is unparalleled and incredible, and it is a perfect finish to this summer of incredible YA novels (like Yolk  and Bitter ). Let's start off with the publisher's description  of this book: ********** In 1945, World War II is drawing to a close in East Prussia and thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek toward freedom, almost all of them with something to

Hey everyone! Today I am thrilled  to be recommending an incredible, awe-inspiring, must-read YA novel: Bitter  by Akwaeke Emezi. Please note, this book is a young adult (YA) novel, and it contains mature content. Also, this book is a prequel to Emezi's novel Pet , but the following review contains no spoilers  of that book (which is pretty easy, considering this one is a prequel!). Add it on Goodreads Let's start off with the publisher's description  of this book: ********** From National Book Award finalist Akwaeke Emezi comes a companion novel to the critically acclaimed PET that explores both the importance and cost of social revolution--and how youth lead the way. After a childhood in foster care, Bitter is thrilled to have been chosen to attend Eucalyptus, a special school where she can focus on her painting surrounded by other creative teens. But outside this haven, the streets are filled with protests against the deep injustices that grip the city of Lucille. Bitter

I hope everyone is doing well! I spent the last couple of days reading The Magic Fish  for the third time, and it just gets better and better every time I come back to it—I don't know if this read-through will allow me to extract every last drop of depth and meaning from it, but that just means I'll have plenty of other chances to further understand the book later in life. Also, as I post this review, I am noticing that Goodreads has redesigned their book pages, and I am screaming a silent " huzzah! "—they don't seem horrendously confusing, and they look  so much  less ancient and more organized than they used to. And one more thing: the application to judge for the Cybils Awards  opens August 17! I had an amazing experience as a Round 2 Judge for Elementary and Middle Grade Nonfiction last year, and I plan to reapply as a judge this year. You can learn more about judging opportunities on this page —the group is always looking for a diverse group of individuals to

First of all, I have a fun announcement: As of Sunday... Completely Full Bookshelf is 6 years old!!! It's hard to believe I've been blogging for this long, but it's true! And it's all thanks to the two wonderful book blogging communities I participate in, MMGM and #IMWAYR, whose wonderful hosts and participants keep me coming back again and again to discover new books and rant about the ones I've read too! Here's to another year of rambling reviews! Speaking of rambling reviews, I have one today, this time of a fantastic MG graphic novel I've been waiting to read for a while. And I'm glad I fit it in, because I did not realize I haven't read an MG book at all since Go with the Flow ...in April! Today's review is of Long Distance  by Whitney Gardner. (A note before we dive in: I'm calling many of the characters in this book nerds, and I'm including a disclaimer here that I mean that in the nicest possible way—I myself am very much a nerd,