Month: February 2016

Posted on by Jen Hubert

Snow Job by Charles Benoit


It’s the middle of winter in 1977 upstate New York, and seventeen year old Nick has decided he’s OVER being a burnout banger. So he ditches his pot-smoking friends, trades in his ratty concert tees for a shirt and tie and memorizes his new mantra: STAND OUT. STAND UP. STAND BY. STAND FAST. When his best friend makes a break for Florida, he makes a tentative plan to join once he has the cash. He starts logging serious hours at his crappy convince store job, but at a minimum wage of $2+ an hour, he’s hardly making any bank. Just as it looks like his beach dream may not come true, he is seduced by a Joan Jett look alike named Dawn who convinces him to dip back into the druggie world for one last big score. If Nick can pull it off, he will make enough for both he and Dawn to ride south into the sunset. Can he convince Dawn’s unstable drug lord boyfriend to trust him long enough to steal his stash AND his girl? This slow-burning thriller is full of twists and tension, with a setting that really captures the white 1970’s in rural/suburban America. I felt like I knew Nick and his crew pretty well, as they resembled the guys I stood next to at the school bus stop and watched trade cigarettes in the art and shop rooms at school. If you’re not entirely sure what I’m talking about, check out these 1970’s film gems about being a kid and teen back in the day and read SNOW JOB when it hits the library and bookstore shelves March 2016.

Posted on by Jen Hubert

Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin


“The first thing you’re going to want to know about me is: Am I a boy, or am I a girl?”

After spending six weeks in a teen psych ward as the result of a severe panic attack, Riley is hoping to start over at a new school. But after a first day spent dodging the questions and stares of both curious and outright cruel classmates, Riley feels completely discouraged. It seems as though it’s going to be just as hard being in the closet as gender fluid in public school as it was in private school. So Riley sits down and starts an anonymous blog as a place to put all their feelings of sadness, anger and confusion about identifying as a girl one day and a boy the next. The blog helps, as does Riley’s blossoming friendship with geek-turned-football-player Solo and a shy flirtation with the enigmatic, blue-eyed Bec. But then an internet troll starts stalking Riley’s blog, hinting that he or she knows who Riley is and where they go to school. Riley is terrified because if anyone discovers that their father is conservative Congressman Cavanaugh who is currently running for re-leection, the entire campaign could be compromised. But when Riley is forced to speak out about after being assaulted, Riley realizes that nothing is going to feel right until they finally confess to both their new friends and family about being gender fluid. Because it shouldn’t matter if Riley identifies as a boy or a girl when the most important thing Riley identifies as is human. This ground breaking debut shines a bright light on gender fluidity that is bound to educate and illuminate anyone who reads it. Riley’s biological gender is never revealed, and while that annoyed me at first, I quickly realized that my binary thinking only narrowed my imagination and the options of who and what Riley could be as a person. The more I read, the less it mattered and by the end I truly didn’t care. Riley had emerged as a fully formed character with quirks and desires and emotions, and their biological gender was the least of their multifaceted personality.  For more information on transgender and gender fluidity issues, check out these resources recommended by author Jeff Garvin: Trans Lifeline, National Center for Transgender Equality and Transgender Law Center.

Posted on by Jen Hubert

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys


It is 1945 and WWII is coming to a messy, brutal end. Germany is being squeezed by the Allies on both sides (British and American troops from the west, Russian troops from the east) and panicked civilians and refugees are desperate to escape the war torn country. Joana, a young Lithuanian nurse haunted by the loss of her family, is trying to save anyone who crosses her path, no matter how impossible their circumstances may be. Florian, a Prussian assistant curator, is traveling to the coast with a precious object that if discovered, could topple the entire Third Reich. Emilia, a sixteen year old Polish girl, is looking for a savior even as she hides a secret that could either ruin or redeem her, depending on who she trusts with the truth. And Alfred is a vain young Nazi in training, trying to hide his cowardliness behind a gruff curtain of superiority, even as he finds his slim grip on sanity slipping away. These four young people find their fates intertwined when they all board the Wilhelm Gustloff, a German refugee transport ship that is supposed to carry them to safety. But the unlucky Gusloff is torpedoed by Russian submarines and sank on January 30th, 1945. Over 9000 people perish. Who among the four fleeing teens survives the icy waters and overcrowded lifeboats to start a new life in a new land–if any? Award-winning author Ruta Sepety‘s historical fiction could not be more timely as countries around the world wrestle with the question of how to help the hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing Syria today. Told in four intense, original voices, this masterful and heartrending tale about a little known WWII tragedy will help readers empathize with the plight of refugees throughout history. Don’t miss this boat when it comes to a library, bookstore or e-reader near you February 2016.