Month: December 2017

Posted on by Jen Hubert

2017 Top Five


Dear Teen Peeps,

Like last year, I haven’t read nearly as much YA as I wanted to/should have, due to number of tedious, adult-ing reasons. So here is a leaner, meaner list of my top five best YA reads of 2017. I mean, I could have dragged the list out to ten, but that would have taken away from the absolute awesomeness of these five, utterly top-notch books. Please note that there has been absolutely no attempt to balance this list by age, gender or genre. These are just my “from-the-gut” favorites of the books I read this year.  Click on the title to go right to the review.


American Street by Ibi Zoboi

Berserker by Emmy Laybourne

Be True to Me by Adele Griffin

Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart

Vincent & Theo by Deborah Heiligman

 

Posted on by Jen Hubert

You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins



Three generations of Indian and Indian American women laugh, cry, break up and make up in this past-to-present story of mothers and daughters, sisters and cousins. Tara and Sonia Das begin life as dutiful Indian daughters, but soon veer off onto nontraditional paths after arriving in New York with their parents in 1973. Beautiful, insular Tara wants to pursue an acting career, while her younger sister Sonia becomes a feminist firebrand. When a personal tragedy transforms their lives forever, both girls find themselves at odds with their conventional mother, Ranee, who is confused and even offended by some of their life choices. Fast forward to the near present. When Tara’s daughter Anna joins forces with Sonia’s daughter Chantal at their exclusive Manhattan private school to create a safe space for modest girls, their mothers’ and grandmothers’ DNA shines through, proving that one can be a strong Indian woman AND a proud American at the same time. There’s also loads of romance, travel, cultural misunderstandings and identity epiphanies that any reader will be able to relate to. Mitali Perkins‘ emotionally resonant work could not be more relevant as our divided nation argues endlessly about tangled policies that will decide the uncertain future of our innovators, poets and Dreamers. Read it, and feel the distance close.

Posted on by Jen Hubert

Fetch: How a Bad Dog Brought Me Home by Nicole J. Georges



Nicole Georges first met Beija at an animal shelter when she was sixteen. Beija was a Shar-pei/Dachshund mix with “inflatable” ears and a fear of men and toddlers. Nicole was a punk rocker coming out of a feral childhood with a fear of chaos. They fell in love immediately. For the next fifteen years, girl and dog were inseparable. Nicole survived car accidents, navigated a half dozen romantic breakups and makeups, worked at farm sanctuary, and even dabbled as a pet psychic. Through it all, Beija was there, dependably growling at babies, peeing on the carpet, and always being completely, thoroughly herself. Though Nicole sometimes questioned her sexuality and her calling as an artist, the one thing she never questioned was the loyalty of her quirky, protective, big-headed dog. “Forgiving and earnest, heartbreakingly faithful, Beija loved me even when I lapsed in loving myself. Neither of us had ever been chosen, but we chose each other.” This touching graphic memoir is so much more than just another doggy love story. While Beija features prominently, this is really the story of Georges’ young adulthood and transformation into an artist, writer and self-actualized human. Her detailed, intimate artwork poignantly conveys the message that while her experiences may have been specific, Georges’ feelings of fear, confusion and insecurity are universal. FETCH is for anyone who ever found love and acceptance with people after a fur person showed them the way.