This is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi, The Story Siren. I decided a few months ago that it would make things much easier if I separated my Children's books from my adult books, since Kristi is primarily a YA blogger. Here are my YA/MG/Early Readers/Picture Books:
THE TRAGEDY PAPER by Elizabeth LaBan (Alfred A Knopf; January 2013; HC 320pgs; Ages 12+) Perfect for fans of Thirteen Reasons Why and Looking for Alaska, Jennifer Weiner, #1 New York Timesbestselling author, calls Elizabeth LaBan’s The Tragedy Paper “a beguiling and beautifully written tale of first love and heartbreak.” It follows the story of Tim Macbeth, a seventeen-year-old albino and a recent transfer to the prestigious Irving School, where the motto is “Enter here to be and find a friend.” A friend is the last thing Tim expects or wants—he just hopes to get through his senior year unnoticed. Yet, despite his efforts to blend into the background, he finds himself falling for the quintessential “It” girl, Vanessa Sheller, girlfriend of Irving’s most popular boy. To Tim's surprise, Vanessa is into him, too, but she can kiss her social status goodbye if anyone ever finds out. Tim and Vanessa begin a clandestine romance, but looming over them is the Tragedy Paper, Irving’s version of a senior year thesis, assigned by the school’s least forgiving teacher.
Jumping between viewpoints of the love-struck Tim and Duncan, a current senior about to uncover the truth of Tim and Vanessa, The Tragedy Paper is a compelling tale of forbidden love and the lengths people will go to keep their secrets.
THE TERRIBLE THING THAT HAPPENED TO BARNABY BROCKET by John Boyne; Ill by Oliver Jeffers (Knopf BFYR; January 2013; HC 288 pgs; Ages 8-12) Barnaby Brocket is an ordinary 8-year-old boy in most ways, but he was born different in one important way: he floats. Unlike everyone else, Barnaby does not obey the law of gravity. His parents, who have a horror of being noticed, want desperately for Barnaby to be normal, but he can't help who he is. And when the unthinkable happens, Barnaby finds himself on a journey that takes him all over the world. From Brazil to New York, Canada to Ireland, and even to space, the floating boy meets all sorts of different people—and discovers who he really is along the way.
FREAKS by Kieran Larwood (Chicken House/Scholastic; March 2013; Ages 10-14)
The Freaks are a band of misfits, trapped in a nightly Victorian sideshow. There’s Wolf-girl, Sheba, with her amazing sense of smell; Sister Moon, who can move at the speed of light; and Monkey Boy, ace climber and human stink bomb. But during the day, the Freaks decide to put their extraordinary talents to use. And in a world of child-snatchers, grave robbers and dastardly doctors, they solve the mysteries no one else cares about \. including why London’s poorest children are being snatched from the banks of the Thames