The Swifts by Beth Lincoln I wasn’t sure about this one as it started off with what felt like a lot of detail that I didn’t think all my students would like. Some would, for sure, but a lot of them want action right away. Well, our main character is named Shenanigan Swift. Unusual name … More The Swifts
World Made of Glass by Ami Polonsky Set in the late 80’s, Iris is a young girl trying to navigate a world where AIDS is off limits to talk about, and she desperately wants to talk about it. Her dad is dying of AIDS, and she feels like she has to hide what she is … More World Made of Glass
Monster Down Deep by Amy Fellner Dominy Thank you Pushkin Press for the digital ARC! The first chapter is from “Monster Down Deep”. Well, that is what others call him. But he really is just “Very Afraid Fish”. I thought that was a fun way to start a book. There are chapters from the fish’s … More Monster Down Deep
The Secrets Below by Camilla Sten and Viveca Sten Another book in translation! This one is also from Sweden. I received this book as an e-galley from Amazon Publishing. The story takes place in the Stockholm archipelago. If you are like me and didn’t know what an archipelago was, it’s a group of islands. I … More The Secrets Below
Shirley: An Indian Residential School Story by Shirley Horn Thank you, Second Story press, for the egalley Shirley is only five years old when she is taken from her family to live at a residential school. This school is called an Indian Residential School. It was a Canadian school where kids were sent to be … More Shirley: An Indian Residential School Story
Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow Simon moves to the middle of nowhere. Like, there is nothing for about a thirty-mile radius around the town of Grin and Bear It. This is because radio telescopes are used to detect faint radio signals from space. If you live here, you cannot use anything that will … More Simon Sort of Says
The Wild Robot Protects by Peter Brown The third in the Wild Robot series! I love Roz! As soon as this book starts, the island animals learn that a poison tide is headed toward the island. Soon enough, the tide comes in, and it messes up their balanced ecosystem. All the animals are moving inland, … More The Wild Robot Protects
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous I have had this book in my library for years. I kept it because I didn’t want to be the type of librarian who banned or hid books from students. I noticed that it hasn’t been checked out in years, and no one is even asking about it. I have … More Go Ask Alice
So People Know It’s Me by Francesca Maria Benvenuto I grabbed this book for a lot of reasons. It’s a book in translation (originally in Italian), and I like books in translation. I feel like I am expanding my worldview a little more by reading them. It’s about a 15-year-old boy in a juvenile detention … More So People Know It’s Me
The Thing I’m Most Afraid Of by Kristin Levine It’s 1993, and Becca is heading off to Austria to spend the summer with her dad (and also his new girlfriend, Katarina, her son, Felix, and Sara, the nanny). Becca isn’t loving this, but there is a lot that Becca doesn’t love. In fact, she has … More The Thing I’m Most Afraid Of
Literary Coffee 