Welteroth tells the story of her life so far in this book, which examines the ways women, especially black women, to be in boxes. It talks about how she took chances and worked her way up to her dream career. I think one thing I really liked about it was how she talked about when she got her dream, it ended up not being what she wanted. That for me was the best part. Welteroth's style is very readable, and I think it would be great for teens to read about their life.

I feel like I'm about the middle of the pack on this book. I have friends who have loved it and friends who disliked it.

I like this story as a spin-off of a classic story. I also like this story as a YA work for advanced middle grade readers. It has a few gory moments, but it is, in my opinion, clean enough for most readers. I could see how each character came to act the way they do, which I think is a good reminder for why people are prickly around us every day.

I don't think this is a story about one girl choosing her fate though. I think there are a lot of outside forces acting directly on her, which make it difficult to determine which choices are actually her. I think post-action of the book, that could be true. I also think the ending ties everything up too nicely, with pretty much everyone getting what they want.

I was surprised to like this book as much as I did. If you had told me it was a horror book with body gore elements, I probably wouldn't have given it a try. I'm glad I did. Power's writing style draws you right in to the Raxter School of Girls and what life is like there. Most of the story is from Hetty's perspective, with some Byatt thrown in during different parts. I love the way Power changes up the writing for Byatt's parts. There are complicated adults, and the mystery is slowly revealed. At the end, the action really picks up and things started to blur together a little more for me. I also skimmed the body horror parts, because it's not my thing, but I got enough to get a feel for it.

This was a really addictive book about two young men falling in love. McQuiston does a great job of establishing who each man is, and why they would fall for each other. I read this for my YA award list, but I won't recommend it because I think this is definitely more of a NA book. If you're looking for a cute book that also will make you long for a "what might have been" in 2016, this is for you.

I enjoyed this one a lot. I didn't find it to be too derivative of Harry Potter for me to enjoy it. I really liked how it went from different perspectives. I was slightly spoiled for the book before reading it, but that was okay. Now I see there are going to be two more, so that should be interesting.

Many people do not know about the Chinese laborers who were brought into the South to take the place of the freed slaves. This story takes place in 1890, a few years after that. It illuminates the way that they didn't fit into the white or black world. Jo is an excellent milliner, but is let go because of her race. This forces her back into being a lady's maid, for a girl she has never gotten along with. Jo and Old Gin live illegally in the basement of a printer's barn, an old Underground Railroad housing place. Lee does an excellent job of showing the tightrope Jo had to walk, as well as showing life in the South during Reconstruction. A lovely historical fiction.

One thing I think I really got from this book was an awareness that gender non-conforming individuals are included under the trans umbrella as well. I had never really thought of that, always keeping them in separate groups in my head. I suppose that might not be true for all genderqueer individuals, but for me, Tobia's description of himself as trans took a little while for me to get used to.

This memoir is needed, because we don't have a lot of memoirs about people who do not identify as male or female. Tobia's memoir will open people's eyes about what that experience is like, including elements that were difficult. One part that will not sit well is the section where he describes his college selection experience--complaining about a full ride to Duke when most people don't get offered a full ride anywhere isn't an easy read, especially when the complaint is that you could have gone to Harvard instead.

I read this book to see if it would be a good cross-over title for a YA award, and I do think it would work well in high schools for free reading, but I don't know if teachers and librarians would go for it on a list. It will be interesting to discuss that at the meeting.

I enjoyed this one, which uses the premise that Dorothy, Alice, and Wendy are mutants that have the power to go to an alternative universe, rather than just something that magically happens to them. It's an interesting idea, especially when Hook and the Wicked Witch fall in insta-love and team up. However, the setting is 1910, and I'm not sure the characters feel like 1910 characters. I also felt a little weird that the darkest skinned character is the villain. Otherwise, it's a fun middle school level graphic novel.

This story will teach you about the art and practice of sumo wrestling, as well as illustrate the saying "fall seven times, get up eight." The illustrations are adorable.

This is a supremely good exercise program and I would like to be more like RBG, so will likely be asking for this book for myself.