YALSA Hub Challenge Part 3

So since the last post, I have finished 3 more books from the Challenge. Officially this means it is complete, but I'll probably try to read a few more, if I can.



The Book of Dust vol. 1: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman; read by Michael Sheen (Odyssey Award)

In a prequel to the original Mortal Instruments series, we learn how Lyra came to Jordan College and meet some people who influenced her very, very early life. She is an infant here, so the story primarily concerns two young teens who help her survive a flood and a dangerous man, Malcolm and Alice. The narrator for the book is quite good. I like this every bit as much as The Golden Compass. I didn't think I would be sucked back into the world but I truly was. Can't wait for the next book.



Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March by Lynda Blackmon Lowery; read by Damaras Obi (Amazing Audiobooks for Teens)

Moving first-hand account of a turbulent time in American history (one we sadly seem to be repeating). The reader was amazing, esp. when she sang the songs at the beginning and end. The appendix that details significant people that the author encountered during the march was well researched and appropriately detailed.



I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez (National Book Award)

Technically this one wasn't included in the Hub Challenge, but it should be.

Julia's perfect older sister dies unexpectedly and now her parent's seem to think she should take her place in their home. But Julia is not her sister and she suspects that her sister wasn't as perfect as she appeared to be.

At times Julia seems a bit whiny but this seems authentic to her age, situation and mental illness. I was surprised several times near the end and moved by the life experiences of many of the characters.

Newbery Rewind: 1924

Here we are again. This one I read while my new Mock Newbery group was meeting, so it was interesting to match it against current Newbery contenders. I will be posting soon about how that went, what books they liked and what they didn't. For now....

1923

• King Tut's tomb is open in Egypt.
• Warner Brothers studio is established
• Time Magazine publishes its first issue. So is the first issue of Weird Tales.
• In September, the Great Kanto Earthquake leaves over 100,000 dead in Japan.
• T. S. Eliot's poem The Wasteland is published in its full form.
• Bambi by Felix Salten is published in Austria
• Louis Armstrong makes his first recording, "Chimes Blues", with King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band.
• Both Yankee Stadium (US) and Wembley Stadium (UK) open their doors.
• Mt. Etna erupts.
• Pancho Villa is assassinated.
• President Warren G. Harding, dies of a heart attack and is succeeded by Vice President Calvin Coolidge, who becomes the 30th President of the United States.
• Interpol is created.
• The Walt Disney company is founded.
• Actor and director Sir Richard Attenborough is born
• Astronaut Alan Shepherd is born.
• Frozen food is invented by Clarence Birdseye.
• The first incarnation of the Hollywood sign goes up (Hollywoodland).
• Edwin Hubble discovers galaxies outside the Milky Way.

Once again, there are no honor books. So the winner of the Newbery Award for 1924 is....

The Dark Frigate by Charles Boardman Hawes

Thus we have our first posthumously awarded Newbery.  Hawes submitted the finished manuscript shortly before he unexpectedly died in July; the book was published in October. He was also the first winner to be born in the United States. As you may remember, his book The Great Quest was an honor book the first year that the award was given.

This story is full of action and adventure, a pirate story that glosses over very little. In many ways it reminds me of Treasure Island. The writing is fairly good; however, I feel like after the first few chapters, we lose track of our teen (twenty-something?) protagonist amongst all the colorful figures on the ship. It is also extremely sexist. In the end, I feel they likely gave him the award because he died unexpectedly. Wouldn't be the last time the Newbery was influenced by outside events more than the actual content of the book.

With all the recent discussion about some Newbery honor books being too "old" for the award, I find it very interesting that this author's works were once so prized by the committee. They were considered children's books even though they were filled with vice and violence. By today's standards they would likely be teen books or even adult books. Yet many feel the award has somehow strayed from it original intent. I say again, this award is for children birth to 14, inclusive. Stop trying to make it a "middle grade" award; that is not and has never been its purpose.

What I Read in May

May was pretty hectic (not as bad as summer, but still). But I managed to read a good bit. I'm planning to try reading mostly books I own already for the summer, so it could get interesting.

Two YA books for review this time:



Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

So far, this is one of my favorite teen books this year. In an alternate post-Civil War United States, African-American and Native American children are forced to train in combat schools to protect rich white Americans for the undead. In this world, the Civil War ended because the two sides had to work together to put down zombies. Jane is one of the best, and most troublesome, students at Miss Preston's School of Combat in Baltimore. When she tries to help a friend, she and two others end up shipped off to a frontier town with a whole lot of secrets. Will they survive? And will Jane ever make her way home?

Jane is the heroine we need and deserve right now. And the snark and social commentary are on point. But Jane isn't the only awesome character. You are going to love her friends Katherine and Red Jack, too. Not so sure about Gideon or Redfern, but even minor characters like Lilly and Nessie are so well-drawn you will feel like you have met them before.

And the action scenes are just the right amount of gore and fight. The flashbacks and info given through letters reveals just enough backstory at just the right times.



Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman

This is a hard book to review but a good one. Tess is the black sheep of her family, especially after she does something that could ruin the whole family's reputation. But when she disrupts her sister's marriage, it is the last straw that could get her sent off to a convent. Instead she takes to the road, working through her problems and helping others along the way.

This is the same world as the Seraphina books but from a completely different perspective. Tess is not as likeable as Seraphina, and that is exactly what I liked about her. I identify with her situations, perspective, and wants far more. And yes, this book can stand alone. So maybe a Printz contender?

This is a road trip book and it ambles, so if you are looking for a fast-paced adventure, this is not the one. However, it ambles with extreme purpose. Tess needs that amble and, for the most part, you as the reader do, too.

Also, it is a book about the damage our families and society can cause. It is about rape culture. It is about healing at your own speed and accepting who you are, who your family members are, and learning to accept the world when you must and change it when you can. These have been really hard lessons for me personally, so it was refreshing to see that difficulty reflected in a book for teens.

And really, I love the quigutl, especially the philosophies of opposites and biting as a way of healing. I've always "bit" when I need to heal and often people give you a hard time about it. Sometimes the only way to move past something is to blow up about it. Then you heal and move on.


 1. Enchanted Chest by Jean-Francois Chabas
 2. Case Closed vol. 64 by Gosho Aoyama
 3. Dude! by Aaron Reynolds
 4. Hello Hello by Brendan Wenzel
 5. All the Animals Where I Live by Phillip C. Stead
 6. White Houses by Amy Bloom
 7. California Dreamin': Cass Elliott Before The Mamas & The Papas by Penelope Bageiu
 8. Relay (FCBD 2018) by Zac Thompson
 9. Shade, the Changing Girl vol. 1: Earth Girl Made Easy by Cecil Castelucci
10. Close Encounters With Humankind: A Paleoanthropologist Investigates Our Evolving Species by Sang-Hee Lee
11. Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant by Tony Cliff
12. your name vol. 1 by Makoto Shinkai
13. Oblivion Song vol. 1 by Robert Kirkman
14. Sea Otter Heroes: The Predators That Saved an Environment by Patricia Newman
15. For Everyone by Jason Reynolds
16. Slam! vol. 1 by Pamela Ribon
17. The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
18. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
19. La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman
20. Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
21. A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss
22. The Great War: Stories Inspired by Items from the First World War by David Almond
23. Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March by Lynda Blackmon Lowery
24. Marlon Bundo's Day in the Life of the Vice President by Charlotte Pence
25. Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman
26. Black Hammer vol. 1: Secret Origins by Jeff Lemire
27. Black Hammer vol. 2: The Event by Jeff Lemire
28. School-Live! vol. 5 by Norimitsu Kaihou
29. School-Live! vol. 6 by Norimitsu Kaihou
30. Black Butler vol. 24 by Yana Toboso
31. Sherlock: A Study in Pink by Steven Moffat
32. Coyotes vol. 1 by Sean Lewis