I received this book as an electronic galley through NetGalley from Amulet Books, and this in no way impacts my view of the book.

The first thing that drew me to this book was the cover. It's beautiful and intriguing, and makes you want to know what story is hidden beneath it. The style of the book reminds me of something Ursula Le Guin-esque, and this first installment in the series enveloped me into this new world that I definitely would love to delve into more.

Maresi follows the story of a 13-year-old girl of the same name who lives at the Red Abbey, an island where no men are allowed. When a new girl, Jai, arrives to the Abbey, Maresi notices that things start to change, start to not run quite as smoothly. When Jai's history starts to catch up to her at the Abbey, Maresi must do what it takes in order to save the Abbey.

The best aspect of this book was the feminist undertones throughout. Many of the girls who live at the Abbey are victims of violence from men, or have escaped from societies where the women are treated like dirt. The Abbey gives them power through knowledge, which is stated countless times throughout the book. The whole book, honestly, is a testament to Foucault's argument of knowledge and power, and being a Foucauldian scholar myself, I thoroughly enjoyed that aspect.

The main critique that I have is that this book did feel like a lot of set up, which is understandable for a first in a series. Moving around some of the plot points might have made this book faster paced and even better. That being said, the roundness of the characters makes up for the pacing of the book, and I was still invested enough in their stories to want to finish the book.

Overall, this is definitely a book that I would recommend to others, and you should check it out when it is released in January!

If you're looking for a book that contains beautiful artwork and an even more beautiful story, you will find it in Craig Thompson's Blankets. Every little detail of this book creates a story about first love that is sure to continue to linger in your mind after you read it. Blankets deserves all of the awards it won back when it was first published.

Blankets follows the story of a first love and a sibling rivalry, placed among the backdrop of a blistery Wisconsin winter and fueled by a young boy's questions of faith. A coming-of-age story that's sure to strike a chord with many of its readers.

First of all, the artwork in this novel is just stunning. Thompson creates the landscape of Midwestern winters so artfully, and intermixes it with designs and symbols that help to create an almost magical feel. The artwork creates a setting that engulfs you in the story, that almost makes you feel like you're there with the characters.

The combination of the art and the writing here create a truly artistic experience for the reader. For example, "Just another example of adults transforming your magic--into static." These types of quotes are interspersed throughout the book, focusing on growing up, first love, family loyalty, etc. They make the story relatable, they engross you in the story. I just can't say enough good things about this book. If you haven't read it yet, go and read it. Immediately.

Read a full review with images on my blog at www.between-the-shelves.com

I picked this book up on a whim one day while I was at the library, because the description sounded promising and I think the cover is spectacular. And I am so glad that I did. This book deals with teenage grief in a way that I haven't seen before; Karen Rivers' use of voice in the novel was really what brought everything together, making this a spectacular novel.

JC, who more commonly goes by Sharky due to his love of sharks, has been struggling ever since the death of his best friend, The King. With the speculation on whether or not the death was an accident and the constant media attention, JC spends hours alone, obsessing over shark documentaries and not talking to anyone. Desperate to help JC, his mom sends him off to a remote island in Canada to visit his dad, where he meets a girl and learns how to come to terms with the death of his best friend.

From the beginning, I could tell that this book was going to be a keeper just by the first line: "My foot is stuck in the toilet bowl in the closet-sized bathroom in the two-bedroom walk-up I live in with my mom on the corner about Alf's Bodega." From this line, we're immediately hit with JC's unique voice, a voice that carries the rest of the story. It accurately portrays JC's grief at the death of his best friend, his confusion at how to live and be happy again when your best friend is no longer there to share it with you. Through JC's character, we can see the five stages of grief, we can see him processing and coping with this tragedy, which would be amazingly powerful for any teenager going through a similar situation.

In addition to the voice, the plot isn't predictable, and all of the elements of the story work together to create something unforgettable. JC's story is definitely one worth sharing.

Anyone who says that children's literature can't be deep or meaningful should read this book. I kept hearing things about it, both on the internet and from friends, and I decided that as a children's literature scholar, I should probably read something that is so popular. And I most definitely wasn't disappointed.

A man crash lands his plane in the desert and meets the Little Prince, who has left his planet to explore the universe. Throughout his travels, he learns a lot about the variety of adult behavior, mostly that adults tend to have a very narrow view of the world. As Earth as his last stop, he hopes to further his adventures and eventually return to his flower.

The meanings behind this book are very powerful, and I think that everyone will find something different when they read, even at different times in their lives. Isn't that the mark of a great book? Something that you can keep returning to and every time you do, it makes you feel something different. Though I've only read it once, I'm sure that this book fits that description to a t.

This book is also very focused on the differences between the ways that adults view the world and the ways that children view the world. The Little Prince shows the narrator this through his stories, through his voyages. And there are so many quotable moments and lessons that this book would be absolutely fantastic to read to a child. It's something they could keep with them for the rest of their life.

In addition, there are so many quotable moments here, it was hard for me to pick just one. But pick it up for yourself and see! If I didn't have a library copy, I honestly probably would have underlined them.

between-the-pages.blogspot.com

Recommended to me by a friend, I picked up this book the last time I was at the library, because honestly, who can leave the library without checking out a book? And this book definitely didn't disappoint! Featuring a cast of quirky characters you can't help but love, and an epic road trip where things just don't seem to go right, Mim's story is one that'll have you sucked in until the very end.

After her parents divorce, Mim is dragged from Ohio to Mississippi, where she lives with her dad and new stepmom, Kathy. When Mim learns that her real mom is sick, she begins a journey back to her real home, desperate to get back to the happy memories she has with her mom. Through a series of mishaps and unknown turns, Mim is forced to confront herself, and learning that everything isn't always as it seems.

Let me begin by saying that Mim is quite the unforgettable character. Most of the time, she is unabashedly herself, taking her quirkiness and questions of sanity in stride. Her family has a long history of mental health issues, and at the first inklings, her dad made sure that Mim got the "right" treatments. However, on her journey, Mim learns a lot about sanity and mental health; in fact, I think this book explores mental health in a different way than most YA books that I've read. The majority of books mostly deal with depression or anxiety (that I have personally read, anyway), and this book explores it more deeply, with hallucinations, etc., giving readers a more holistic view of Mim herself.

I think the only downside to this, though minor, was that it took me a little bit to get into it. Mim is a fantastic character, but she comes on really strong and it definitely took me a couple of chapters to get used to her voice as the speaker. But I think once you are able to see Mim interact with other major characters, she gets easier to swallow, and that's when the book started to read at a faster pace for me.

Overall, definitely a fantastic read, and different than a lot of YA that I've been reading recently. If you're look for a philosophically driven road trip novel, you've definitely found it!

As a scholar interested in the way that gender is represented within young adult books, I'm always on the look out for any book that breaks gender binaries, and this book definitely fit the bill. While browsing at Barnes and Noble one day (a frequent occasion for me), this book caught my eye because it featured a genderfluid protagonist, something that isn't seen often (if at all) in young adult literature. So I obviously had to read it to see if it was any good, right? Right.

Symptoms of Being Human follows the story of Riley, a genderfluid teenager who begins an anonymous blog at the prompting of their therapist, to help deal with anxiety. But the blog takes off in a way that Riley could have never imagined, quickly gaining hundreds of followers overnight, not all of them wishing Riley well. Someone at Riley's new school knows Riley's secret and is threatening to expose them; Riley must decide between shutting down a blog that has become a lifeline for others, or to risk everything and finally come out and take a stand in their ultra-conservative community.

So I loved this book. I absolutely loved it. I thought that Jeff Garvin did a fantastic job writing a realistic account of not only genderfluidity (from my own limited knowledge and perspective), but also realistically portrayed anxiety and panic attacks. Holistically, I think Garvin created a story that many different teens can relate to, one that might be important in showing them that they aren't alone, that others are experiencing the things that they do. Sometimes when authors deal with these kinds of issues it can feel fake or like the book is doing too much, but in this case, I think the elements that Garvin combined worked really well together, not only making the story accurate, but also engaging. I was rooting for Riley throughout the entire book, and I didn't wan to put the book down until I knew Riley's fate.

The other thing I really enjoyed about this book is that Riley is never assigned a gender identity besides genderfluid. There are perhaps a few instances where the reader might be able to deduce the gender that Riley was "assigned," but nothing in Garvin's language actually gives it away, and that's definitely not an easy thing to do. I've tried to write stories where the characters aren't gendered, and there are so many little things that you don't really think about being stereotypically assigned to one gender or another until someone else reads your story and points it out. I applaud Garvin for working to eliminate that within his book, and except for a few small (very, very small) scenes, for instance getting dressed for one of Riley's dad's fundraisers or the ending scene of the book, I think the book 100% sticks to Riley's identity. And I think that makes this book even more deserving of praise.

All in all, a great read that I would highly recommend, and one that I might just read again.

This is the fourth book I've read by Matthew Quick, and I can definitely say that I've been impressed with each one! Quick has a talent for writing about mental health issues in way that makes them feel so real, and in a world that constantly trivializes mental health, I think that's really important. Really, really important.

Nanette is about to enter her senior year of high school when she reads a book, The Bubblegum Reaper. This book awakens a rebellious spirit in Nanette, allowing her to finally be open with a reckless abandon. After befriending a reclusive author and a troubled poet and fellow fan, she must learn to find a balance between her rebellious side and her life before.

Though I'm not in high school anymore, I think many teens coming to the end of their high school experience would find this book incredibly relatable, especially because Nanette feels like she was pressured into a lot of the activities she participated in, like soccer. Society places this immense pressure on teens to be successful and well-rounded in everything that they do, often driving them into states of anxiety or depression, like depicted in this particular story. And Matthew Quick does a marvelous job putting this exact state of being into words, while still addressing the life of privilege that Nanette comes from.

The other thing that's awesome about this book is that it is a book about the way that books can open up your world view and completely change your life (metafiction, anyone?). This has happened to me personally so often that I love the fact that it is a book that catalysts Nanette's journey toward learning more about herself and breaking free from the cage that she feels trapped in.

That being said, there was one thing that bothered me while reading this, one small instance that made me cringe slightly. Fairly early in the narrative, Nanette says, "I used to worry I was asexual or something." The connotation provided here rubbed me the wrong way, and while I understand that this is the view of the speaker and not necessarily the author, I wasn't sure that it needed to be included in here anyway. The connotation of "worrying," as if being asexual was a bad thing, frustrated me a bit. As someone who is continuously on the lookout for positive portrayals of asexuality (as there are very few, especially in YA), I was a little disheartened by this small instance here.

However, other than that, this is a spectacular book that I think should be included in any high school classroom, to show students that it's okay to not have life completely figured out when you graduate high school.