YA Shelf Talk

    Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang and illustrated by LeUyen Pham kept popping up in my search for meaningful and engaging YAL. So I checked it out from the local library and the bold, red coer immediately caught my attention. Then I did a picture walk through the text and the illustrations were so vivid. I was excited to read the story but Pham's artful illustrations in this graphic novel caught my eye first.  Summary     At its heart, Lunar New Year Love Story is a tale about love--not just romantic love, but the kind we carry with us through generations. The protagonist, Valentina Tran, is a Vietnamese American teenager who's been jaded by heartbreak and loss. Her family has a history of heartbreak, too, so Val feels like she's doomed in the love department. Her imaginary friend, Cupid, is by her side at the beginning of the story when Val is still embracing her favorite holiday, Valentine's Day; however, Cupid turns to a darker ghost once Val le...

      I was immediately struck by the honesty of Watson's words and I could hear her voice ring through them. She layers identity, history, pain, joy, and hope with each poem. This isn't solely a book of poems; rather, it's a compass for young people navigating what it means to carry the weight of expectations, the burden of stereotypes, and the beauty of self-discovery.  Summary     Black Girl You Are Atlas is a YA poetry collection of free verse, prose, and autobiographical reflections by Renee Watson that explores the experiences of Black girls navigating, strength, vulnerability, resilience, and identity. Watson gives voice to the layered joys, sorrows, expectations, and discoveries of Black girlhood. Her poetry is personal as she reflects on her own coming of age that includes experiences of racism, colorism, grief, friendship, family, and pressures placed on Black girls to be "strong." There are mirrors or windows, depending on the reader; both which ...

      Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer, adapted by Monique Gray Smith and illustrated by Nicole Neidhardt, is a nonfiction work that weaves together Indigenous teachings, ecological science, and personal narrative in a format accessible to young readers.      The book centers on the idea that plants and the natural world are our teachers, deserving of respect and reciprocity. Drawing from Kimmerer's experiences as a botanist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. The book explores how science and Indigenous knowledge can work together to foster a more sustainable and ethical relationship with the Earth.  Published: 2022 304 pages (I read the electronic version that had 555 pages--caveat for excerpts cited) Genre: Biography Recognition Green Earth Book Award, Longlist Kirkus Reviews, Best Teen Books of the Year NSTA/CBC Outstanding Science Trade Books ...

    My biggest personal takeaway from taking the graduate course that has required me to keep a blog about the 20 YALs I've read this semester would be this: I have become a huge Elizabeth Acevedo fan! Her poetry--slam poetry, writing--is so powerful and beautiful and thought-provoking. I've been telling friends, colleagues, and acquaintances all about her work. I also think it's important to clarify that all of these friends/colleagues/acquaintances are white women, as I am, too. I won't pretend that I fully understand the varied experiences of black women; however, reading some of Acevedo's work along with other BIPOC authors' work over this semester has helped me develop more empathy or understanding than I did before...It's a work in progress.      I did come across an op-ed from Jasmine Guillory (a Black woman author) in Time Magazine that I want to share an excerpt from that reminded me of how reading more fictional stories of BIPOC characters by BIPOC...

     I chose to read No Rules Tonight because the preview and accolades showed that it could offer a powerful lens into the complexities of adolescence, identity, and resistance--especially within a historical and political context that may be unfamiliar to today's students. I also appreciate the graphic novel format in how it makes the story more approachable while still tackling serious issues like censorship, surveillance, and self-expression under an authoritarian regime.  Summary      No Rules Tonight  by Kim Hyun Sook (author of the Banned Book Club ) and Ryan Estrada (coloring by Amanda LaFrenais) is a YA graphic memoir that follows Sook's experiences growing up in South Korea in the 1980s under a repressive government. The setting of the story takes place in 1984 as Sook and her Masked Folk dance team prepare and embark on an annual group trip in the mountains on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve used to mark a rare occasion when curfews were l...