Musings of a Millennial Librarian

We Are Okay By Nina LaCour ** Printz Award 2018 ** LaCour, N. (2019).  We Are Okay . Penguin USA.             Marin has just finished her first semester at a college in a New York and is spending the month long winter break alone.   Her roommate, Hannah, is hesitant to leave her alone but eventually heads home for Christmas.   Marin’s best friend, Mabel, who she hasn’t talked to in four months, is coming to stay for a few days, and then she will be alone for the rest of the break.   She knows that even though they haven’t talked in months that Mabel will be able to see right through her.               Two weeks before Marin was supposed to leave for college her Gramps disappeared and was swept away into the ocean.   She was raised by her Gramps because when she was three her mother passed away in a surfing accident.   Her ...

Belonging:   A German Reckons with History and Home By Nora Krug ** Great Graphic Novel for Teens ** Krug, N. (2018).  Belonging: a German reckons with home and history . New York, NY: Scribner.             Nora Krug writes a graphic memoir depicting her journey of trying to discover her Heimat and how to come to terms with her German heritage.   She begins by sharing that she came to New York City from Berlin to study, and almost immediately dealt with German stereotypes.   This wasn’t anything new for her, but I imagine she had hoped that America might be more evolved.   When Nora was growing up the war was present around her but went unacknowledged.   From a young age she felt shame for being German.   She would try to understand the atrocities committed by her own people but she came to terms that it can’t and shouldn’t be forgiven.   Her classmates and her often visi...

That’s Not What Happened By Kody Keplinger ** Quick Picks ** Keplinger, K. (2018).  Thats Not What Happened . Scholastic, Incorporated.             Leanne Bauer is one of six survivors of the school shooting at Virgil County High School three years ago.   The gun man fired shots in the computer lab, hallway, and the girl’s bathroom.   There were nine victims of the shooting and Lee’s best friend Sarah McHale was one of them.   Sarah is known as the girl with the cross necklace and when Lee finds out that her parents are writing a biography about their daughter she’s determined for everyone to know the truth.   Lee begins a journey to piece the truth together but soon realizes that some is best left buried.             After the incident, the survivors slowly drift towards one another and become friends, all except one.   Kell...

Foolish Hearts By Emma Mills ** Best Fiction for Young Adult List** Mills, E. (2017).  Foolish hearts . New York: Henry Holt and Company.             Claudia starts her senior year off on the wrong foot when she accidentally  hears the it couple, Paige and Iris, breaking up at a party.   Iris immediately threatens that she will ruin her if she tells anyone what she heard, and for the first time Claudia doesn’t share what happened with her best friend Zoe.   Claudia has always existed in two worlds; the one with her parents, brother Alex, sister Julia, and best friend Zoe, and the one where she simply goes to school but isn’t invested in making new friends.             In her Lit class, they are forced to partner up for an assignment, and Claudia and Iris get stuck together.   Iris doesn’t want to work together, and they split the ...

The Poet X By Elizabeth Acevedo ** Best Fiction for Young Adult List** Acevedo, E. (2018).  The poet X a novel . New York: HarperTeen.             Xiomara Batista is a sixteen year old Dominican, with a twin brother, Xavier, and older parents.   Her mother always wanted to be a nun, but married Xiomara’s father to move to America.   Her parents are devout Catholics, so when they had the twins at such a late stage I their life, it solidified their faith.   Everyone, not only their parent believed they were a miracle.   Xiomara’s name means one who is ready for war, and is a true depiction of her.   She is very outspoken and primarily uses her fists to do her talking.   Her mother is very strict, and Xiomara believes her mother wants her to become a nun.               Recently Xiomara has started to notice the changes...

The Boy in the Black Suit By Jason Reynolds Reynolds, J. (2016).  The boy in the black suit . NY, NY: Atheneum / Simon & Schuster.             Matt Miller is starting his senior year three weeks late because his mom has just passed away from breast cancer.   When he arrives at school no one knows how to act around him since his mom dies, and he’s weirded out by it.   His best friend Chris comes up to him, and he ask him to just be normal around him.   Chris obliges and is one of the few people Matt can be himself around.   Matt is ahead in his classes, and can leave school at noon for work study.   Before his mother passed away he had a job line up at the bank, but while he was gone they filled the position.   He needs to find a job to keep busy and he wants to be able to help his dad out with bills.             Matt wen...