500 Words or Less

500 Words or Less by Juleah del Rosario
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Non-white main character (Nic is Chinese and white) + prose in verse = a yes from me. And the themes in the story (the culture of college admissions, how society views women) were interesting to hear about from the lens of a high school student who is talented yet feels like an outsider. I'll let these lines speak for the book:

"I am telling stories
that we are too afraid to tell,
because to tell them
is to relive them,
and sometimes it hurts

too much."

----

"We make mistakes
that sleepwalk
with us,

and guilt is a kind of sadness
that can sleep
for months,

until we awake
and roll over in bed
with guilt

there
to change us."

----

"Death will just happen.
But so will life.
Life will just happen."


Extras: More Novels in Verse, Some Poetry, or View All My Reviews

Friday Night Links 42

It has certainly been a January. I use Feedly to follow all my favorite bloggers, news outlets, and to see what's going on in the library and book worlds specifically. Here are a few of my favorite articles from this month:

I love this "wild and weird" YA librarian resume!

I've never thought of cheese as immortal milk, and I can't decide if I love that phrase or hate it.

I would add The Princess Bride, How to Train Your Dragon, The Shining, and Blade Runner to this list of "unfaithful" movie adaptations.

I'm an unashamed movie weeper & can say no fewer than 3 of these sad movies have made me cry while watching.

Drag Queens Have Rights Too. Thinking about this article and its implications a lot as I plan similar events at my library.

Weep Duology

Strange the Dreamer and Muse of Nightmares have been marketed as a duology, meaning there should only be these two books and no more...but I wouldn't be surprised if Laini Taylor visits the worlds of Weep, Zosma, and beyond in other novels. The politics, history, culture, and people of these worlds are just too poetic, epic, and beautiful to say goodbye to forever! Still, I'm glad I got to read both books and close the chapters on most of the major characters inside. Even if I never get to visit Weep (or the city formerly named Weep) again, I've had such a wonderful time visiting in these two (large) books.

The entirety of the story told in these two books could technically form one even larger book - Muse of Nightmares picks up right where Strange the Dreamer leaves off - but I understand why they are split (and not just because they are both already over 500 pages as they are). Each book does have its own focus, its own central journey, and slightly different emotional tones. Together, they are the story of the rise and fall of several peoples, a tale of the corruption of absolute power, and a testament to redemption in all its forms.

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Strange the Dreamer, at its core, is about the desire and drive to find out who you are - and knowing that who you are is not what everyone else sees in you. Lazlo Strange is an orphaned librarian who doesn't know his past, but dreams - and pursues - a different future for himself. Sarai is a demigod whose past seems to have determined her future, though she wishes for a day when she doesn't have to use her nightmarish gift to protect the other orphaned demigods she calls family. Both Lazlo and Sarai are surrounded by supportive friends, flawed mentors, and challengers who would celebrate their failures. Neither thinks the other can exist - and yet they share similar destinies.

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Lazlo and Sarai are fundamentally different after the event that concludes Strange the Dreamer and opens Muse of Nightmares. How will they continue their existence now that they know who - and what - they really are? And how can they choose between their entwined future or the future of their loved ones and the city of Weep? Lazlo realizes the power he has and Sarai learns to adapt her own gifts while they come to terms with everything that has happened to bring them together.

Extras: Another Series, More Fantasy, or View All My Reviews

People Like Us

People Like Us by Dana  Mele
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My teen patrons are back in school (and I am NOT!!), which makes People Like Us one of my current go-to recs for anyone looking for boarding school murder mysteries featuring a diverse and dynamic cast. Feuding with frenemies? Maybe you'll appreciate your relatively low-drama spat in comparison to that of Kay and her friends (and their murdered classmate). Crushing on friends and afraid to ruin the friendship with a relationship? Yup, you'll find that here too. Overwhelmed by school, extracurricular activities, and/or your social life? Check, check, and check. One of my favorite aspects of this YA title is that anyone in Kay's friend group could be guilty of murder - the more we learn about each character, the more we see what they're capable of - which means I was truly guessing at who had "done it" until the end.

And can we take some time to appreciate the nuance of the title?: "people like us" don't murder/get in trouble for murder...and "people like us" so we couldn't possibly be murderers, right?


Extras: Another Whodunit, More Teen Thrillers, or View All My Reviews

A "New Year, Same Me (And That's OK)" Picture Book List

There are many many picture books about self esteem. Kids are constantly figuring out who they are and how they fit into the world, trying on various "selves" and learning how to be authentic AND kind/friendly (sometimes their authenticity borders on blunt honesty that could use a little tempering, but they're learning!). I'm here to tell you tweens, teens, and full grown adults are also (still) figuring out who they are - and they (you) too can learn from picture books about being your full self.

I took a few of these to the middle school that my public library serves for a read-aloud program, and the eighth grade students I read to loved getting into the various stories and guessing what was going to happen to protagonists. No one felt like I was babying them by reading from picture books - they were excited to sit back, relax, and be read to! Let that be permission for all of us to enjoy stories in every form - and these ones in particular, as we forge our ways into a new year with our same just-fine-the-way-they-are selves.


Perfectly Norman by Tom Percival
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Norman feels perfectly normal...until he grows wings. He tries to hide them, but can't get comfortable with something covering his wings. Letting his wings free, Norman learns how to accept his whole self, and realizes that there is no such thing as "normal" - just perfectly Norman.


How To Be A Lion by Ed Vere
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Leonard is a lion, but other animals aren't so sure of that. They tell him his kind ways and soft roar aren't very lion-like. But what does it mean to be a lion? With help from his friend, Marianne the duck, Leonard shows there is more than one way to be a lion and a friend.



Giraffe Problems by Jory John
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Edward feels bad about his neck. It's just so...necky. He's tried scarves and bow ties, but nothing changes who he is: a giraffe. After envying other animals' necks, Edward meets Cyrus the turtle. Cyrus helps Edward sees how useful his neck can be and both Edward and Cyrus learn to appreciate what makes them who they are.


Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Giraffes aren't supposed to be dancers - at least, according to all the other jungle animals. Gerald doesn't listen to them. He knows "Sometimes when you're different you just need a different song."

The Mermaid and the Shoe by K.G. Campbell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Each of Minnow's 49 sisters is remarkable. Minnow, however, is only curious. She seems to have unending questions, but has no talents for gardening or singing or fish training. What is Minnow good for? When a shoe shows up, seemingly good for nothing either, Minnow sets out to prove both she and the shoe have a purpose.


Extras: One More Giraffe Book, One More Mermaid Book, A Bunch of Picture Books for All Ages, or View All My Reviews

New Year, Same Me

Here's to not trying to become someone new in 2019. I'm going to be the same me, though I'll use the general feeling of fresh starts in the air as motivation to recommit to being myself. I'll also remember that every day is a new day and I am a work in progress (always).

I started this blog nine years ago, and it has seen so many seasons of my life. Times when I blogged daily and times when I needed a break from the online world, when I was a social worker, teacher, nanny, and all the weird transitions in between. I'm excited to take it with me in this next chapter as I continue to play around here. Thanks for following along.