As I’ve made my way through the dozens of books nominated for the Cybils Award in YA Fiction—I’m now up to 55—a few books have come to stand out. I’ve already reviewed some and will be focusing on others in…
Category: Sexual Violence
Claiming the Life You Deserve: Girls Like Us
Biddy and Quincy have just turned 18 and graduated from their high school’s Special Education program. Their counselor has arranged for them to live together, with Biddy helping Elizabeth, an older woman with a neurological disorder, and Quincy working as…
Taking Action Against Hazing: A Review of Press Play
The week of September 22-26 has been declared National Hazing Prevention Week, with the purpose of raising awareness of this destructive and frequently dangerous practice. Young people endure emotional and physical abuse because they believe it will make them part…
“Too Big to Fail?”–the tension between institutions and individuals in The Gospel of Winter by Brendan Kiely
I love novels like Brendan Kiely’s The Gospel of Winter. Besides being an engaging read, it thoughtfully examines wide-ranging and important issues in society—indeed, the questions that Kiely explores imply issues well beyond the novel’s premise of a young man…
Loss, survival, and hard-won truths in Pandemic by Yvonne Ventresca
Apocalyptic scenarios are favorites for teens. Many times, the apocalyptic scenarios take us severely out of the world of reality and into a fantastical world of flesh-eating zombies. Not that there’s anything wrong with that scenario! By contrast, however, the…
STRONG AT THE HEART
STRONG AT THE HEART By Carolyn Lehman Forward by Laura Davis “This book is an absolute gift to the world.” – Jacqueline Woodson When child sexual abuse is covered in the news, the reality can be heartbreaking. STRONG AT THE…
Into The Deep
In the past several years, Zetta Elliott has emerged as a major author of speculative fiction featuring African-American protagonists. Her two previous books for young readers, the young adult novel A Wish After Midnight (2010) and the middle grade novel…
Review: Sex & Violence
Young Adult novels often focus on the moment when a teen protagonist’s life is about to change — sometimes in small ways, and sometimes in large ways. In the first chapter of Carrie Mesrobian’s Sex & Violence (Carolrhoda LAB, October…
Exploring the Range of New Adult: A Review of Sideshow of Merit
Ann Angel’s interview with Lauren Myracle about The Infinite Moment of Us touched on the emergence of New Adult—a publishing category designed to appeal to readers in their upper teens and early twenties. Various other discussion groups have focused on…
Human Trafficking, Immigration, and Sexual Violence: an interview with Cori McCarthy
Lyn Miller-Lachmann already reviewed The Color of Rain by Cori McCarthy, which you can read here. I conducted a follow-up interview with Cory via email. Thanks for joining us again! JLP: Where in the world did you get an idea…