BookNotes// vol.2
Looking forward to March on the latest YA book news, as well as my initial thoughts on Fourth Wing.
Happy March! Thank you to everyone who has subscribed and read my first month of newsletters. Here’s a little peek into what has been going on in our library recently.
We hosted author Andrew Aydin, in honor of our school’s namesake John R. Lewis. It was my first author event; it is a stressful process to plan but was an amazing day and worth it. On Leap Day we had a board game event and there’s nothing more fun than seeing a bunch of teens getting competitive over Connect 4 and Pictionary. Most of our time was spent teaching classes; in high school this is a lot of research skills and digital literacy. I plan on doing a week in the life as I’ve learned most people do not know what librarians do in a day (hint: it’s not shelve books!).
Book Buzz
Bad Like Us by Gabriella Lepore; March 5. I read an ARC of this thriller and enjoyed it. A group of teen social media influencers are invited to an island for a reality show, only to find themselves being mysteriously killed off one by one.
Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé; March 19. Written by the same author as Ace of Spades (which I loved),
Icarus by K. Ancrum; March 26. A reimagining of the myth of Icarus as a queer romance “…between a young art thief and the son of the man he’s been stealing from”. LBGTQIA+ romances and reimaginings of myths are two popular YA genres, so the combination is going to put this as a must-read for many.
From the Librarian’s Desk
The idea of a romance and dragons was something that did not appeal to me and for months I have resisted reading Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. I finally decided I needed to in order to make the decision whether or not to add it to our library (that was a firm no for us) but immediately got addicted. Within the week I had finished the first book and the second, Iron Flame.
I want to write a full post on it but here are my initial take aways: it is not a YA series though very much appeals to teens. Librarians should be aware that while it reads like a YA series (it felt a bit like The Hunger Games in terms of pace and writing) there are very explicit sex scenes in both books. I highly suggest professionals read the books or at least those scenes before deciding to add it to their collection.
For non-librarians, the plot grabs you right away even if you’re not a big fantasy reader. It’s fast paced and not overly complex (which is not to say it’s badly written) so a good series to get sucked into. Stay tuned for a more detailed review…
Beyond the Pages
The Guardian’s article on how Gen Z is increasing library checkouts and boosting physical book sales. I love it and I love that younger celebrities are promoting books (even if they’re just being photographed with it; reading is cool!).
The Audie Awards for audiobooks will be on March 4, which you can view or see the winners at the link. I confess I have never gotten into audiobooks, though I am trying. The award winners may be a good start!
The first ever Libby Book Awards will be announced on March 12. These awards are voted on by librarians for the best books of 2023.
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