LATI Spring 2018 discussion

Does anyone have any good recommendations for the YA and graphic novel reads?

Nimona is great fun and one of the books that was read for "Books for the Beast"

Great topic, Meg. I just finished Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince. It is the first in a new series by her. And her series are pretty popular. I thought it was a slightly different take on the fairy realm and has some potential.

@linda I absolutely loved Cruel Prince! (And pretty much anything Holly Black writes...)

I'm reading "The Hate U Give." It's really good and very hard to put down. It's longer than I thought but it's a great story. My son loves the YA edition of "Unbroken" and has read it twice! Great if you like history and also you can watch the movie afterwards.

Monica wrote: "I'm reading "The Hate U Give." It's really good and very hard to put down. It's longer than I thought but it's a great story. My son loves the YA edition of "Unbroken" and has read it twice! Great ..."
I haven't read it yet, but it's on my TBR list. Have you tried Piecing Me Together, by Renee Watson? It was a YALSA pick this year.

Tracy wrote: "Nimona is great fun and one of the books that was read for "Books for the Beast""

That was recommended to me as well by one of the circulation staff at my branch! She also recommended "Ink & Bone" for my YA read - working on it!

Not sure what to read, I asked our Branch Manager and she recommended, "Thirteen Reasons Why" for Young Adult. A painful book to read, however, once I started reading it I had a difficult putting it down. I chose "Lumberjanes #1 as a graphic novel. I personally do not like reading graphic novels - just not my preference; however, this was a fun read! Now that this lesson has introduced me to Young Adult Books and Graphic Novels I've added more to the books I want to read.

For graphic novel, I just read, The Princess and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang. It was awesome. Also, John Lewis's March Book 1-Book 3 are really riveting and thought provoking reads.

I also really liked Twelve Days in May by Larry Dane Brimmer, if you are interested in a nonfiction book about Freedom Rides and the Civil Rights Movement. If you prefer something with a bit of a "gross factor" you can't go wrong with "Bubonic panic: when plague invaded America" by Gail Jarrow.

Monica wrote: "I'm reading "The Hate U Give." It's really good and very hard to put down. It's longer than I thought but it's a great story. My son loves the YA edition of "Unbroken" and has read it twice! Great ..."
Monica, I am on a waitlist for The Hate U Give! I'm glad you are enjoying it. I can't wait until I can start reading it!

I enjoyed reading All American Boys for my YA read.
I read Baba Yaga's Assistant for the Graphic Novel.

I hope everyone reads The Hate U Give. It is so good, and the audio version is super.

One of my favorite graphic novels is This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki, but it's kind of dark.

If you like historical fiction, I LOVE Jennifer Donnelly books. I think my favorite was A Northern Light, but I haven't read her most recent.

I have several recommendations for YA. Some newer titles that are good are "Here Lies Daniel Tate," which has a surprise twist at the end that I guarantee you won't see coming! "Words in Deep Blue" is a very sweet and poignant story that I actually want to read again. "Of Better Blood," and "Crossing Ebeneezer Creek" are both really good historical fiction novels. Another one that has a wonderful twist at the end is "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart. This one is a bit older, but so, so good!

I'm not much of a graphic novel fan, but I recently read "My Friend Dahmer," about the notorious serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer, as told by one of his school mates, and "The Picture of Dorian Gray: A Graphic Novel" by Ian Edginton. It is a nice rendition of the classic novel by Oscar Wilde. I just picked up "Plum Crazy: tales of a tiger-striped cat," by Natsumi Hoshino. It is a fluffy Manga account of a day in the life of an adorable little cat, Plum and his humans. It's pretty cute if you like cats and/or Manga.

For graphic novels, I can't recommend Barefoot Gen (Keiji Nakazawa) highly enough! It's a great historical fiction based on fact. It's loosely based on the author's life post-Hiroshima. It would appeal to teens who want to identify with someone who has been through tragedy (that would be most teens) but I also found the historical perspective engaging and intense. There are 10 books in the series (unless he's written more recently) and the stories are fairly involved, so it will keep a teen busy reading for a good while.