The National Ambassador program was established in 2008. During their two year term each ambassador travels to towns across America to talk with young people. Reynolds believes that everybody has a story, and so he is calling his platform as ambassador: “GRAB THE MIC: Tell Your Story.” The focus will be on empowering students to embrace and share their own personal stories. There are a lot of interviews with Jason Reynolds online. I encourage you to check them out, particularly the recording of the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature Inauguration. It is long, so if you just want to get to know about Jason and his platform start the video at 35:10. Many of the interviews focus on Jason's journey from reluctant reader to award-winning author. I think the following short clip from a 2018 interview gets at the heart of his message on reading and writing:
Here is a description and recommendation of Reynolds' work from Ebsco's NoveList database: "Authentic characterization drives the work of award-winning author Jason Reynolds. Focusing mainly on African-American teens and kids in realistic urban settings, he crafts characters whose words, actions, and emotions ring true. Reynolds doesn't shy away from portraying painful and deeply moving situations, but presents them in an honest, accessible style that will appeal to all kinds of young readers. Start with Long Way Down (Teens); Ghost (Older Kids)."
As a long time fan of A.S.(Amy Sarig) King's books, it was wonderful to hear last week's announcement from the American Library Association that she won the Michael L. Printz Award for 2020, for her latest book, Dig. Please see all of her books in the slider above. The book covers are linked to our catalog. Click here for the professional reviews of Dig(scroll down). Click here for the reader reviews on Goodreads.
I particularly recommend her books if you enjoy, as I do, character-driven offbeat stories that surprise you with magic realism. In addition to her novels you can find A. S. King in these two short story collections: Dear Bully: Seventy Authors Tell Their Stories (The Boy Who Won't Leave Me Alone, by A. S. King, 2011); Dear Heartbreak: YA Authors on the Dark Side of Love (Own Your Heart, by A. S. King, 2018) A.S. King only uses the initials of her first two names on her books and has said in interviews and on her blog at as-king.com, "If ever you've heard that I chose to write under the name A.S. King because it spells "asking" then you heard right.". On her writing journey, King said in an interview she gave in 2009: "It
took me 7 novels and 15 years of writing to publish a book.". Like most authors who give advice on becoming a writer, King encourages people to read.
Get to know King a little though this fun reading pep talk she gave in 2016:
Dig, by A.S. King, 2019. Five white teenage cousins who are struggling with the failures and racial ignorance of their dysfunctional parents and their wealthy grandparents, reunite for Easter. Genre: Magical realism. Listen to King read an excerpt from the beginning of Dig here.
The Printz committee also names up to 4 Printz Honor (the silver seals) books each year. (BTW- Please Ignore Vera Dietz, by A. S. King, was a 2011 Printz Honor book.) Here are the 2020 Printz Honor Books:
Beast Player, by Nahoko Uehashi, translated by Cathy Hirano, 2019. Nahoko Uehashi's The Beast Player is an epic YA fantasy about a girl with a special power to communicate with magical beasts and the warring kingdom only she can save.
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, 2019. Upset about her on-again, off-again relationship with her girlfriend Laura Dean, Freddy Riley depends on her friends, a local mystic, and a relationship columnist for help in dealing with her situation. Graphic novel. Genre: Realistic; Romance.
Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir, by Nikki Grimes, 2019. The author recounts her traumatic childhood, with a mother suffering from mental illness, unfortunate experiences in a series of foster homes, and her discovery of her love of writing, which eventually helped her overcome the hazards of her life. Nonfiction. Memoir in Verse.
Where the World Ends, by Geraldine McCaughrean, 2019. In the summer of 1727, a group of men and boys are put ashore on a remote sea stac to harvest birds for food. No one returns to collect them. Why? Surely nothing but the end of the world can explain why they have been abandoned. And how can they survive, housed in stone and imprisoned on every side by the ocean? Genre: Historical fiction.
Below are the top 12 fiction books checked out from our Young Adult collection during 2019. The Fantasy genre is in lead (4) followed by historical fiction (3), realistic fiction (2), and mystery (1). Click on the book jacket numbers to link to that title in our catalog. And, if you are wondering, the top 12 titles checked out from our manga and graphic collections were: Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto, Sisters, Drama, and Smile (in that order) by Raina Telegemeier, Fullmetal Alchemist by Kiromu Arakawa, Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya, Bleach by Tite Kubo, Bone by Jeff Smith, Black Butler by Yana Toboso, and Samurai Deeper Kyo by Akimine Kamijo.
While December brings a flood of "best of" lists to my inbox, next month will see the start of the award announcement flood. (Although, the National Book Awards were announced last month: 1919 The Year That Changed America, by Martin W. Sandler, won in the Young People's Literature category.)
I enjoy the end of year "best of" lists and love the winter holidays, but, I think I would trade all the winter holidays for Iceland's Jólabókaflóð (Yule Book Flood). If you don't know this fantastic celebration, here is NPR's report on it published in 2012: Literary Iceland Revels In It's Annual Christmas Book Flood. What could be more ideal than a holiday that brings a pile of new books (I think chocolate is also involved.) shared by and with friends and relatives, and the time to read them? Perfection! If only I could persuade everyone to adopt this book flood celebration...
Here are a few of the best of lists from my inbox:
The Missing of Clairedelune, by Christelle Dabos, 2019. When her dangerous gift for reading the history of objects is revealed by her promotion to Vice-storyteller, Ophelia turns for support to her enigmatic fiance, Thorn, throughout a formidable investigation into the disappearances of several high-profile courtiers. (Book 2 in the Mirror Visitor Quartet.) Fantasy.
Sadie,
by Courtney Summers, 2018. Told from the alternating perspectives of
19-year-old Sadie who runs away from her isolated small Colorado town to
find her younger sister's killer, and a true crime podcast exploring
Sadie's disappearance. Murder Mystery, Suspense.
On the Come Up,
by Angie Thomas, 2019. Sixteen-year-old Bri hopes to become a great
rapper, and after her first song goes viral for all the wrong reasons,
must decide whether to sell out or face eviction with her widowed
mother. Realistic fiction.
The Boneless Mercies, by April Tucholke, 2018. Four female mercenaries known as Boneless Mercies, weary of roaming Vorseland, ignored and
forgotten until they are needed for mercy killings, decide to seek glory
by going after a legendary monster in this re-imagining of Beowulf. Fantasy.
Walden on Wheels: On the Open Road from Debt to Freedom, by Ken
Ilgunas, 2013. The author describes his experiences working in Alaska to
pay off his college student loans and, how, inspired by the example of
Henry David Thoreau, he lived in spartan conditions in his van while
attending graduate school debt free. Nonfiction, Memoir.
