Completely Full Bookshelf

Before we get started, the winners of my giveaway of The Magic Fish  by Trung Le Nguyen have been selected! They are...   Terry,     Cheriee,     and     Natalie! Congratulations to the winners, and thanks so much to everyone who entered! I truly wish I could have given a copy of The Magic Fish  to everyone, but since I cannot do so, I can only implore you to go out and buy a copy of this marvelous book! Now that that's done, for MMGM and #IMWAYR, I am recommending First Light  by Rebecca Stead. The current cover.           First Light  is the debut novel of beloved and crazy-talented MG author Rebecca Stead, who also wrote When You Reach Me , Liar & Spy , Goodbye Stranger , Bob  (with Wendy Mass), and The List of Things That Will Not Change . Stead is, no question, my favorite author in existence, yet I had never read her very first novel—until now. I decided to read First Light  after reread...

Before we get started, I would like to remind everyone that today (if you're reading this on Monday) is the last day to enter in my giveaway of 3 copies of a truly stunning new book, The Magic Fish  by Trung Le Nguyen! Click here to read my review and enter. For #IMWAYR, I am recommending the graphic memoir The Fire Never Goes Out  by ND Stevenson. (I feel compelled to point out that, as I wrote this review, I found myself yelling at the computer because I couldn't find the typing cursor, so... Please appreciate the sacrifices I make for you all.) In place of my usual YA disclaimer, I must say that this book isn't precisely a young adult (YA) book, as it mostly chronicles Stevenson's twenties, but I'm calling it a YA book because it's published by Harper Teen and would likely be of interest to YA readers thinking about/panicking about their futures. FYI, this book is too focused on adult life for it to be of interest to MG readers, and there is a short depicti...

I've added so many labels to my review of The Magic Fish  that Blogger won't let me add any more! To get around that, I've created this extra post that I can add even more labels to. Click here to visit the actual review of The Magic Fish . Sorry for the inconvenience!

For MMGM and #IMWAYR, I am recommending (and GIVING AWAY 3 copies of!!!) one of the most stunning books I've ever read in my entire life, a graphic novel called  The Magic Fish  by Trung Le Nguyen. I realize this review breaks my alternation between MG and YA reviews, but I loved this book so much  that I couldn't wait to talk about it! Although the Amazon page for this book says it is YA, I would say it is substantially closer to MG that YA readers will enjoy than YA that MG readers will enjoy. There's nothing inappropriate except for a few slightly violent illustrations, which really aren't that bad. Review:           Before I get into the nitty-gritty of this book, I want you all to know that I discovered this book (along with Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me , as a matter of fact) at  a virtual panel at San Diego Comic-Con @ Home over the summer (remember when I was recommending all those panels ?) about LGBTQIA+ representation in co...

Another wonderful week of MMGM and #IMWAYR (also known as the only reason I like Mondays)! In my continuing quest to battle back the recent transphobia of  She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named , I am excited to be recommending the graphic novel The Deep & Dark Blue  by Niki Smith! (Which I know is published by the very publisher peddling Rowling's repugnant transphobia, but I'm not punishing Smith or this book for that.)            The start of The Deep & Dark Blue  introduces us to two twins, Hawke and Grayson. Hawke and Grayson are the youngest members of House Sunderlay, one of the noble families that governs their society. Their grandfather is at the helm, with their beloved cousin Reyden next in line. When a distant relative, Mirelle, attacks the family to kill all of those in line before her to inherit the throne, including Hawke and Grayson, they escape to the one place where they won't be found: the Communion of Blue, where women (and wo...

Happy October! For #IMWAYR, I am recommending On the Come Up  by Angie Thomas. A word of caution to any young readers: this is a YA (young adult) book, not an MG (middle grade) book, and it contains somewhat mature content.           You probably know Angie Thomas as the author of the incomparable, show-stopping book The Hate U Give , which I reviewed just a few months ago . On the Come Up  is Thomas's newer novel from 2019, and it is just as absolutely amazing! On the Come Up  follows Brianna, or Bri for short, a high school girl dealing with quite a bit. Racist security guards are "protecting" her school, the Garden Heights neighborhood she lives in is reeling from the death of an unnamed boy at the hands of police (presumably Khalil from The Hate U Give , the only indication that these books take place in the same universe), and, despite her mother Jay and older brother Trey both working, they still can't make enough money to keep all the bills...

I hope everyone is having a non-awful start to the week! (I feel like asking for a "great" start to the week is a bit unreasonable right now.) For MMGM and #IMWAYR, I am reviewing the graphic novel  All Together Now  by Hope Larson.           All Together Now  is the sequel to All Summer Long , a graphic novel which I absolutely loved! I've been waiting for this book for a long time, and, unfortunately, its release date was pushed back from May to August because it is printed in China, which we all know was hit hard by the coronavirus. But now it's finally here, and I finally have a review of it!           The wonderful protagonist of All Summer Long , Bina, is also the protagonist of All Together Now . Bina (who loves writing songs and singing/playing guitar) has created her own band with a classmate named Darcy. The two of them are having a great time, until Darcy convinces Bina to let a third classmate named Enzo j...

I have to say two things before we get to today's review. First, the fact that Hachette Book Group is publishing J.K. Trolling's (pun still intended) ridiculously transphobic new book after she has already been ridiculously transphobic is, well, ridiculous. If you feel like educating yourself a bit about transgender people to fight those who run around espousing nonsense, read the fabulous MG book Zenobia July  by Lisa Bunker ( which I reviewed here )! Second, I am absolutely crushed by the death of Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, so much so that I felt I needed to say something here. It takes a certain kind of person to make decisions—informed, rational decisions that must be publicly explained, I might add—about a document as debated, as contemplated, and as vague  as the Constitution. It takes a certain kind of person to work alongside not one, but two probable sexual abusers and still maintain the utmost composure. It takes a certain kind of person to be the s...

For MMGM and #IMWAYR, I am wholeheartedly recommending the graphic novel Displacement  by Kiku Hughes. Although protagonist Kiku is a high schooler in this story, I believe this book is appropriate for MG readers and seems to be aimed at them (although YA readers will enjoy the book as well).           I discovered this book on a post by fellow #IMWAYRer Sierra Dertinger at Books. Iced Lattes. Blessed in which she rounds up books with wonderful covers (and indeed, this book's cover is just one of countless gorgeous illustrations throughout the pages). Displacement  is based on the family history of author/illustrator Kiku Hughes, and Kiku herself is the protagonist of the story. In Displacement , Kiku, a girl of half-Japanese ancestry, is on a trip with her mother to San Francisco, grasping for small details about the life of her grandmother, Ernestina, who was one of about 120,000 people sent to incarceration camps during World War II. (I should men...