Starred Reads for YA

In this newsletter, we will provide suggestions for your collection of starred reviews from various sources. When you have the funds available to purchase books you will have some ideas of what to purchase. We will always include what ages the books are approved for to help you in your decisions when choosing books for your collection. If you have a book pick you would like to include, please complete this short form https://forms.gle/kUW8reftcMdKqpNq5

Gr 6-9 by Thomas King. Laetitia, a young Blackfoot woman living north of the Canadian border, moves to Salt Lake City after growing bored with her life, which is filled with tension between her and her mother. After some time has passed, Laetitia's mother and her little brother, who narrates the story, decide to take a road trip to visit, and so must pass through two border checkpoints: one for the United States and one for Canada. At each checkpoint, Laetitia's mother is asked her citizenship, and at each, she claims her Blackfoot nationality. Barred from entering the United States, Laetitia's mother is sent back to the Canadian border and isn't allowed to pass; she and her son find themselves stuck in the space in between, recognized as citizens of nowhere. King (Cherokee) and Donovan (Métis) create a simple yet powerful story of Indigenous endurance at the convergence of identity, culture, survival, history, and modern politics. Although Laetitia is named, her mother and brother are not, signifying the difference in recognition paid to those who readily accept colonial practices and those who do not. White characters are also identified by their given names. Donovan's steadfast style is easily and immediately recognizable. A natural palette of beige, gold, and similar earthy colors is used alongside a variety of blues depicting the daytime sky and the darkness of night. Strong lines and minimal backgrounds keep the focus on the characters' wide-eyed and expressive faces, working well with the character-driven narrative.

School Library Journal Starred, 07/31/2021
Publishers Weekly Starred, 08/08/2021

Gr 7-Up by Kiku Hughes. On a visit to San Francisco in 2016, Kiku, a biracial teen from Seattle, gains a better understanding of her heritage and the power of memory when she is thrust back in time to the 1940s and, alongside her grandmother and many other Japanese people and Japanese Americans, imprisoned in incarceration camps. Kiku uses the slight knowledge she possesses about the future to navigate life at Tanforan Assembly Center in California and, later, Topaz Relocation Center in Utah. Hughes has crafted a compelling look at this moment in history, relying on a blend of research and family memory. Kiku is an introspective narrator who guides readers through the challenges that detainees faced. Those unfamiliar with this period will walk away with a fuller picture of the struggles within these camps, as well as the different ways in which resistance bloomed. Reluctant readers will be pulled in by the book's exceptional design; the judiciously varied panel sizes and layouts coupled with gutter-breaking illustrations cinematically move the story along. The subdued neutral palette roots Kiku's experiences in the past and adds a layer of gravity. Hughes ties her narrative to the present by including moments from the 2016 presidential campaign, with its anti-immigration sentiment, underscoring the cyclical nature of prejudice and how those in power attempt to control the narrative to the disadvantage of marginalized communities.

School Library Journal Starred, 06/30/2020

Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature, 12/31/2020

Gr 7-Up by Tasha Spillett. A poignant look at the lives of two best friends, Miikwan and Dez. Miikwan is Anishinaabe; Dez is Inninew. Being Indigenous, they belong to one of the most marginalized populations in Canada, and every day they face the risk of experiencing violence, going missing, or even being murdered. Miikwan's mother is already missing, and Dez is worried about where she will live now that her grandmother has become too ill to be her guardian. Despite all their hardships, the teens endeavor to honor their cultures and navigate an unsafe urban environment. The main characters in this graphic novel are so expressive and authentic, it's impossible not to care for them. The earth-tone palette is appealing, and the backgrounds are dynamic—vivid yet subtle, with real-world places depicted and actual posters for books and albums on indoor walls. There are often spirits present, portrayed in transparent blues for the Indigenous ancestors, who always offer warmth and support, or stark grays and blacks for the alien spirits who identify the predators. The action moves through panels in a multitude of sizes, which advances the action smoothly and enhances the tension of the story line. Factual information is included at the end of the book, along with selected bibliographies for anyone interested in statistics and further reading.

School Library Journal Starred, 02/28/2019
American Indian Youth Literature Award, 12/31/2019

Gr 7-Up by Daniel Howard Barnes. Tom Token is the first black student—and black mage—to be admitted to St. Ivory's Academy of Spellcraft and Sorcery. Tom's first day sees him fighting racist students and encountering faculty wearing Klan hoods, but he also befriends Lindsay, his student liaison, and soon, he stumbles onto a conspiracy. It looks like there might have been black students at the school in the past. Tom sets out to unravel this secret, with the help of not only Lindsay but also the ghosts of legendary wizards Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. The world of St. Ivory's is littered with references to "Harry Potter," Pokémon, Final Fantasy, Sailor Moon, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and even more obscure media, such as G Gundam, much of which might fly over younger readers' heads. There are also allusions to racial tensions throughout history; those who reread and reexamine imagery will be richly rewarded. The pace is brisk, and Tom and Lindsay receive only a modicum of backstory before the story picks up. But the vivid, anime-esque artwork and creative, at times explosive panel layouts make up for the gaps in characterization, engrossing readers in a one-of-a-kind adventure.

School Library Journal Starred, 09/30/2019

Gr 9-Up. by Mariko Tamaki. Teenager Harleen Quinzel is from everywhere and nowhere-the type of kid who wanders the world with just five bucks and a knapsack. The story begins when she steps off the bus in Gotham, a city experiencing rapid gentrification led by the ultra-rich Kane family. Harleen is taken in by Mama, a club owner whose cadre of drag queens embrace the teen and her manic enthusiasm for life. While joining new friend Ivy's protest to get the school's film club to screen movies by women and people of color, and hanging out backstage at drag shows, Harleen grows to love dressing up as a clown. When someone calling themselves "the Joker" tries to enlist her on a mission to take down the Kane family, Harleen must choose between joining a rebellion to protect her new community and staying on the right side of the law. Tamaki's reimagining of Harley Quinn's origin as a teenager deeply embedded in countercultural movements is thought provoking. Through Harleen's evolution, readers engage with complex ideas of community action, gentrification, and protest. The author also explores drag culture and identity politics and even makes nuanced references to the AIDS crisis.

School Library Journal starred, 08/01/19

Gr 9-Up - by John Jennings. Nigerian American Chioma's first mistake was not trusting her instincts; her second was opening the door. While she is visiting her Igbo relatives in Nigeria, a wounded child knocks on the door. She's horrified; she's never seen anything this gruesome, not even in five years working as a cop on Chicago's South Side. The boy passes something on to her, a dark energy that she can't quite articulate. Its sulfuric stench lingers in every room of her grandmother's house and seeps into the dark corners of her mind. Chioma turns to her relatives for help, but they tell her what comes must come. In Jennings's adaptation of Nigerian American author Okorafor's short story "On the Road," a woman haunted by her past finds healing in her ancestral home. Brame's artistry is bold; no space on the page is left untouched. Vines and flowers weave menacingly around the minimal panels, heightening the suspense. Jennings and Brame draw attention to the margins and backgrounds, where Chioma's spiritual transformation evolves in a brilliant showcase of West African traditional folklore.

School Library Journal starred, 02/01/21

Publishers Weekly, 01/04/21

Gr 9-Up - by Tillie Walden. "When something horrible happens, or something amazing...it makes you feel like mountains could shatter, or the sky could disappear." Eighteen-year-old Bea is on the run. Life at home has become more dangerous than attempting to make it in the world alone. After missing her bus, she is connected with Lou, a family acquaintance who invites Bea to hitch a ride with her out of town. Inside the intimate confines of Lou's car, the tension between the two is palpable, as neither wishes to explain her reasons for leaving town. But they soon discover a lost cat and resolve to return it home to a town in Texas that isn't on the map. As the two travel across the mystical landscape of West Texas, truths as harsh and stark as the Texas terrain come to light. Walden deftly explores weighty subjects within the deceptively simple road trip narrative; Bea's experiences with sexual assault by a family member are revealed, with Walden's surreal artwork and lettering reflecting Bea's distraught, disoriented feelings.

Booklist starred, 07/01/19

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books starred, 10/01/19

Horn Book Magazine, 11/01/19

Gr 9-Up. by Kevin Panetta. Aristotle Kyrkos has graduated from high school and desperately wants to move to Baltimore with his friends to make it in the music industry. His father, owner of their family-run bakery, is less than understanding of Ari's "anywhere but here" mentality, so, with the summer tourist season coming up, Ari hires a replacement. Enter Hector Galea. On sabbatical from culinary school, he's in town to organize his late grandmother's estate and figure out where his life is going. His skills boost the family's struggling business, and Ari realizes the reason he's spending so much time in the bakery has nothing to do with the delicious cupcakes and baguettes. With Baltimore starting to feel like a distant dream, Ari must make a decision about his future. Beautiful artwork depicts characters coping with life's increasing responsibilities and is especially sumptuous when focusing on the yummy desserts. This is both a delicious foray into the world of baking and young love and an endearing, realistic tale of two teens helping one another grow.

School Library Journal starred, 02/01/19
Kirkus Reviews starred, 12/15/18

Gr 9-Up. By Abby Howard. In this collection of five horror comics, readers' worst fears are hiding in sun-choked stalks of corn, in the longing for rest after a long day, and even in the face of a new friend. Howard relies on a variety of subgenres; in "Mattress Found," she uses body horror to reveal the difficulties and isolation of young adulthood. When a fatigued college student who can barely afford rent, let alone furnish her shared apartment, finds a used mattress on the curb, her happiness is short-lived as the mattress becomes more monster than amenity. "The Boy from the Sea" masterfully blends tragedy and supernatural elements, exploring a sibling relationship that quickly fragments when a mysterious boy promises to be the friend that the younger sister has always hoped for. Howard's illustrations fill the page, plunging readers into her narrative. Dark, monotone etching magnifies the suspense and adds a sense of foreshadowing, though the scares won't be too intense for horror newbies. Final pages include concept art from Howard's early sketches.

Publishers Weekly starred, 08/17/20
Kirkus Reviews starred, 08/15/20

Gr 9-Up. By Harmony Becker. Living in a foreign country is an immersive and often rewarding experience, but grappling with a new language can also be a struggle to keep one's head above water. Becker, who illustrated George Takei's They Called Us Enemy, pinpoints this sense of discovery and disorientation in her debut graphic novel. Nao, a Japanese American teenager, arrives in Tokyo for a gap year and quickly befriends her roommates-bouncy Tina, who is Chinese Singaporean, and homesick Hyejung, who is Korean-and interacts with two male Japanese roommates, Shinichi and Masaki. Together, the fast friends experience touchstones of Japanese life-combini, izakaya, obaachans, cherry blossoms, and matsuri. But this is largely stage-setting for Becker's focus on language learning in context; speech bubbles written as subtitled Japanese become more complex as Nao's comprehension improves. There are countless intersecting modes of communication even within Nao's social circle: Tina's Singlish, Hyejung's thickly accented English, their paths to Japanese acquisition, and surly Masaki's fluent written but poorly spoken English. The ability to define oneself depends on the ability to communicate that self to others, and our heroes tackle language barriers head-on to articulate their identities in an exhausting, exhilarating year in Japan. Becker's art references manga and Japanese urban aesthetics playfully but not obsessively, reinforcing the book's themes of immersion and self-definition.

Kirkus Reviews starred, 08/15/21
School Library Journal starred, 09/01/21

Gr 9-Up. by Mari Ahokoivu. This graphic adaptation of a story from Finnish folklore introduces Umi, a mother bear who is living in the woods with her brood: three male cubs and a girl they call Poorling. Poorling is a magical creature with a small body and an oversized flame-shaped head who desperately wants to be a bear. She is quite curious and shamelessly eager to please her mother. Umi has defied her mother, Emuu, a celestial being who wants Umi to return home to the heavens. Emuu, in turn, enlists an enchanted waterbird named Scaup to work with Poorling in hopes of bringing Umi back. When Poorling commits a shocking act of violence, events are set in motion that perpetuate a cycle of brutal savagery. Ahokoivu brings the tale to life through digital art and a mix of ink and dreamy watercolors. The primarily black-and-white palette is punctuated with bursts of dazzling color. Populated by animals and magical creatures, the storyline meanders whimsically but then quickly shocks with its sudden eruptions of violence, a stark reminder of the harshness of the natural world and the powerful universality of wanting to belong. With its ethereal fairy-tale quality, this quietly challenging story of parents and children translated from the original Finnish is visually powerful and emotionally compelling.

Publishers Weekly starred, 08/09/21
School Library Connection starred, 08/01/21

Gr 9-Up. by Matthew Bogart. This achingly poignant 1990s-set graphic novel pays homage to the internet's role as correspondence tool, library, and liberator. Allison's abusive, controlling father allows her to do little else but take part in his magic show; eventually she takes shelter at an online pen pal's house. Meanwhile, in a separate but loosely linked narrative, Richard is bullied at his new school until he meets a volatile protector from an online bulletin board called "Evol BBS". Dot matrix printers, Nintendo Power cheats, cassette players, and dial-up noises are depicted in all their nostalgic glory. The bulletin board systems of old are lovingly rendered, complete with chunky text and ASCII art. Bogart's clean linework relies on dot eyes and near-monochrome blue and black coloring. Flashbacks are rendered in pale lines and expertly flesh out Allison's and Richard's inner lives for dramatic effect. This is a story of older teens reaching out for connection and finding joy despite messy misunderstandings and the awkwardness of adolescence.

Booklist starred, 03/15/21
School Library Journal starred, 04/01/21

Gr 9-Up. by Colleen A.F. Venable. The discovery of long-buried family secrets brings Amanda closer to owning her own. Amanda is the demure sidekick to the wild and sexy Cat, who knows how to have a good time but doesn’t always know how to be a great friend. Her real best friend, though, is her Catholic dad. They go to Sunday baseball games, share favorite TV shows, and trounce each other in video games. When Amanda discovers that her runaway grandmother was actually an early transgender rights activist who transitioned late in life, it brings unbearable tension into their relationship. It also makes Amanda wake up to parts of herself she’s not yet been able to acknowledge, such as how she really feels when she’s around Cat. These revelations wreak havoc on her relationships. Fortunately, Amanda, who is white, finds a new, multiracial crew from the public school. Their lack of need for labels, for the gender binary, or to overexplain themselves allows Amanda to relax into self-acceptance. It’s a story of family and friendship and love in all its forms, perfect for the graphic novel format and elevated by the combined art and narrative.

Publishers Weekly Annex starred, 12/24/18
Kirkus Reviews starred, 01/01/19

Gr 9-Up. by Mariko Tamaki. A 17-year-old struggles to navigate friendship and finding herself while navigating a toxic relationship. Biracial (East Asian and white) high schooler Freddy is in love with white Laura Dean. She can’t help it—Laura oozes cool. But while Freddy’s friends are always supportive of her, they can’t understand why she stays with Laura. Laura cheats on Freddy, gaslights and emotionally manipulates her, and fetishizes her. After Laura breaks up with her for a third time, Freddy writes to an advice columnist and, at the recommendation of her best friend Doodle, (reluctantly) sees a psychic who advises her that in order to break out of the cycle of her “non-monogamous swing-your-partner wormhole,” Freddy needs to do the breaking up herself. As she struggles to fall out of love and figure out how to “break up with someone who’s broken up with me,” Freddy slowly begins to be drawn back into Laura’s orbit, challenging her relationships with her friends as she searches for happiness.

Booklist starred, 04/15/19

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books starred, 05/01/19

Horn Book Magazine starred, 07/01/19

Michael L. Printz Honor, 2020

Publishers Weekly starred, 03/04/19

Kirkus Reviews starred, 04/01/19

Gr 8-Up by Stan Stanley. tanley offers a thoughtful spin on the "Be careful what you wish for" trope. Amparo, who is nonbinary, has a crush on their classmate Iolanthe but knows the two would make an unlikely couple—while Amparo gets into fights and is facing suspension for pulling the fire alarm, quiet Iolanthe is devoted to her grades. One night a hairless cat enters Amparo's room and offers to grant their wish to be a better person—one who will be a good match for Iolanthe and less trouble for their frustrated family, who have made sacrifices for Amparo's education. But the duplicitous cat takes over Amparo's body, then banishes Amparo to Bright World. While cat-Amparo adheres to the rules and romances Iolanthe, real Amparo struggles to survive. Bright World is lush, filled with beautiful plants and unusual human-animal hybrids, but for people, it is dangerous—inhabitants consume human memories, turning humans into empty servants, and often feed on their bodies. While Iolanthe suspects something is off about the new and supposedly improved Amparo, the real Amparo attempts to hustle back home. Stellar, expressive art, featuring angular, dramatic linework, and an engaging narrative with solid nonbinary representation and well-developed characters bring this fantastical story to life.

School Library Journal Starred, 12/31/2020
Booklist Starred Reviews, 03/14/2021
Kirkus Reviews Starred, 01/14/2021

Gr 9-Up by Julie Dachez. Marguerite is a young woman who struggles with social interactions, depends on routine, and is sensitive to sound and touch. Her family, coworkers, and even the medical professionals she looks to for help just find her confusing. She finally meets a therapist who takes her seriously and recognizes her issues. Marguerite is tested and diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism (though the latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual folded the term Asperger's under autism spectrum disorder, it continues to be used colloquially). With resources for support, Marguerite begins to advocate for herself, fighting to make changes in her professional and social interactions so she can lead a healthy, happy life. This #OwnVoices story is based on Dachez's years of being misunderstood and misdiagnosed—in France, the medical profession lags behind that of other countries in understanding autism. After her diagnosis, she became a researcher and activist. Mademoiselle Caroline's art is outstanding, powerfully conveying Marguerite's anxiety and shame. A monochrome palette gives way to warm or cool tones; pops of red start small, become overwhelming, then finally symbolize Marguerite's positive new outlook. The endnotes include a concise guide to understanding Asperger's and ways to help "Aspies" succeed.

School Library Journal Starred, 06/30/2020

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