December | 2019 | Bookshelf Picks of a Librarian

december

While I didn’t read any great books for adults this month, I did find quite a few young adult books to recommend, from realistic (The Spaces Between Us), local magic realism (The Price Guide!), and fantasy (The Merciful Crow). Read on!

spaces The Spaces Between Us, Stacia Tolman, 2019

Serena Velasco does the bare minimum so she can take classes with her best friend and fellow outsider; otherwise she could be in AP classes. She may have made a mistake in junior History, though: this book begins with the final exam, and she needs an A to rescue the failing grade she has carefully curated until now. Serena gets so involved writing an essay on the test, she is the last one in the room, writing pages on communism and socialism. The teacher accuses her of plagiarism (FALSELY!) but Serena must retake the class as a senior because her mother won’t support her being a smart-ass, and her mom is the new school principal. Melody Grimshaw, her best (and only) friend, is from the poorest family in Colchis, their poor excuse of a town, and both are equally resolved to escape. Deciding to improve her lot senior year, Melody joins the cheerleaders. But when Melody also gets involved with an older man, she may need to escape more than just a bad town. There’s not a happy ending in this very fine realistic coming of age. Kirkus compares the book to Catcher in the Rye, and I think it does has the same quality, with vivid images, developed characters, and an escape from home. Highly recommended! Not suitable for less than 9th grade; the boyfriend is too frightening and – spoiler alert- a murderer.

The Price Guide to the Occult, Leslye Walton, 2018

Nor’s mother doesn’t take good care of her, but luckily Nor has a grandmother who takes price her in. Foreboding overtakes this horror story, about a witch — Nor’s ancestor– whose daughters all get a magical gift, called their Burden, to reflect the personal toll of doing magic. Nor is now a 17 year old, living on a small island in the Puget Sound, living with her grandmother and working at a store for tourists run by a friend from her mother’s youth. The fog and the wildlife are characters in their own right, and not only because Nor can hear the thoughts of animals. When Nor’s mother publishes a book on magic, she becomes an internet sensation, a talk show guest, and the subject of Presidential tweets. Nor knows there must be a price to pay, and her community helps her when it seems that her life is the cost of her mother’s success. Very well written, creepy, and complicated, this book captures our area of the country with an ominous twist of magic realism.

words Words We Don’t Say, KJ Reilly, 2018

I was put off by Joel’s voice at first, since he and his companions swear so much. But then, I noticed how each chapter has a clever beginning. And the cuss words diminished as the suspense increased on many fronts. What would happen with the crazy homeless men at the soup kitchen; will his relationship with Eli ever get romantic; and what changed Joel so much last year? The book addresses several timely issues, like support for veterans, homelessness, and guns, as well as the classic coming-of-age realization of injustice.

The Hive, Barry Lyga and Morgen Baden, 2019 hive

Social media has become an even greater monster in this near future dystopia. The queen bees at school target Cassie, a smart student and coder, though socially naive, to help them out academically. She then scores points with them socially by posting a bad joke about the President on social media. When her joke goes viral, Cassie is subject to the Hive, a crowdsourced mass riot that regulates the civility of otherwise cruel social media. Cassie is already followed by the NSA because of the disappearance of her father, a famous hacker. Now condemned online, Cassie and her mom go undercover to save their lives, finding government conspiracy while hiding out. This thriller about a bi-racial teen should provoke some new thinking on policing the internet in a fast read.

dying I’m not dying with you tonight, Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal, 2019

Campbell is not fitting in at her new school, missing her friends, the track, and her mom, who has relocated overseas. She moved in with her dad, who leaves her over the weekends to go fishing. This Friday night, a teacher has pressured her into working concessions at a football game. Lena is also at the game, though not because she’s a fan. She’s there with her best friend LaShunda to cheer for the dance team, the half time entertainment. After half time, Lena and Campbell are at the concession stand when a fight breaks out. The two girls, one White and one Black, spend the entire night together, as the fight explodes with gunshots, police, and a full race riot. Both girls are believable, and their relationship as classmates who barely knew each other’s names could grow into friendship. This is a good female story about race, empathy, and BlackLivesMatter. While both characters fall short of developed insight, they raise concerns that need to be considered by today’s teens.

The Merciful Crow, Margaret Owen, 2019 crow

Fie is to inherit her father’s leadership role as chief, and her training is brutal. Their band of Crows has the job of mercy killing whenever the Plague attacks a town, hopefully ending the spread of disease. This fantasy is based on magic powers and a complicated hierarchy that makes the opening chapters confusing. But Fie’s intelligence, her father’s insights, and their task of protecting the Prince, whose death they helped fake, make an exciting adventure full of moral questioning, lessons on prejudice and bias, and romance. It’ll be on my list of best books read this year, and is the first in a series for young adult fantasy readers.

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