In Episode 40 we celebrate FOUR deep-cut LGBTQ+ young adult and middle grade books in honor of Pride Month! All titles are available in ebook and/or audiobook through the NYCDOE Citywide Digital Library on the @sorareadingapp or from the public library on Sora or Libby apps:

• PUMPKIN by Julie Murphy

• FLAMER by Mike Curato

• ONE OF THE GOOD ONES by Maritza & Maika Moulite

• SASHA MASHA by Agnes Borinksy

In Episode 39 we celebrate FOUR of our favorite audiobook narrators & their audiobooks! All titles are available in ebook and/or audiobook through the NYCDOE Citywide Digital Library on the @sorareadingapp or from the public library on Sora or Libby apps:

• BAHNI TURPIN, narrating THE LIFE I’M IN by Sharon D. Flake

• FRANKIE CORZO, narrating THE CUBAN GIRLS GUIDE TO TEA & TOMORROW by Laura Taylor Namey

• PRIYA AYYAR, narrating THE HENNA WARS, by Adiba Jaigirdar

• DION GRAHAM, narrating CONCRETE ROSE, by Angie Thomas

In Episode 38 we celebrate FOUR books that were released recently that almost snuck by us! All titles are available in ebook and/or audiobook through the NYCDOE Citywide Digital Library on the @sorareadingapp or from the public library on Sora or Libby apps:

• TOKYO EVER AFTER by Emiko Jean (May)

• THE COST OF KNOWING by Brittney Morris April)

• THE GILDED ONES by Namina Forna (February)

• SOMEBODY’S DAUGHTER: A MEMOIR by Ashley C. Ford (June)

In Episode 37 we celebrate FOUR books that surprised us - books we didn’t know we’d love, or books that we loved that didn’t circulate as well as we thought it would! All titles are available in ebook and/or audiobook through the NYCDOE Citywide Digital Library on the @sorareadingapp or from the public library on Sora or Libby apps:

• DARIUS THE GREAT IS NOT OKAY by Adib Khorram

• THE GRIEF KEEPER by Alexandra Villasante

• THIS TIME WILL BE DIFFERENT by Misa Sugiura

• PET by Akwaeke Emezi

In Episode 36 we share FOUR books celebrating Asian American authors. All titles are available in ebook and/or audiobook through the NYCDOE Citywide Digital Library on the @sorareadingapp or from the public library on Sora or Libby apps:

• WE ARE NOT FREE by Traci Chee // @tracicheeauthor

• LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB by Malinda Lo // @malindalo

• ALL THIRTEEN by Christina Soontronvat // @csoontornvat

• I’LL BE THE ONE by Lyla Lee // @literarylyla

WHAT TO READ THIS WEEKEND is taking a break this week for Mental Health Awareness Month! We encourage you to take a break with us & enjoy one of these books! All titles are available in ebook and/or audiobook through the NYCDOE Citywide Digital Library on the @sorareadingapp or from the public library on Sora or Libby apps:

⁠

🧠DANCING AT THE PITY PARTY by @tylerfeder⁠

🧠LITTLE & LION by @brandycolbert⁠

🧠BRAVE FACE by Shaun David Hutchinson ⁠

🧠HOME HOME by @lisaallenagostini⁠

🧠(DON'T) CALL ME CRAZY by @heykellyjensen

Episode 35: CHILDREN’S BOOK WEEK

In Episode 35 we share FOUR picture books in honor of Children’s Book Week! Children’s books are not just for kids - they’re for EVERYONE! All titles are available in ebook and/or audiobook through the NYCDOE Citywide Digital Library on the @sorareadingapp or from the public library on Sora or Libby apps:

• FRY BREAD: A NATIVE AMERICAN FAMILY STORY by Kevin Noble Maillard { @noblemaillard } & illustrated by Juana Martinez Neal { @juanamartinezn }

• MY PAPI HAS A MOTORCYCLE by Isabel Quintero { @isabelinpieces } & illustrated by Zeke Peña { @zpvisual }

• JULIAN IS A MERMAID by Jessica Love { @jesslovedraws }

• GRAND CANYON by Jason Chin { @authorjasonchin }

In Episode 34 we share FOUR books on audiobook! All titles are available in ebook and/or audiobook through the NYCDOE Citywide Digital Library on the @sorareadingapp or from the public library on Sora or Libby apps:

• NOTES FROM A YOUNG BLACK CHEF: YOUNG READERS EDITION by Kwame Onwuachi

• LEGENDBORN by Tracy Deonn

• PARACHUTES by Kelly Yang

• COME ON IN: 15 STORIES ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND FINDING HOME edited by Adi Alsaid

Announcements: AudiobookSYNC starts this week and continues through July - go to audiobooksync.com for more info! You can download books each week and listen whenever you wish!

In Episode 33 we share FIVE books in honor of Earth Day (April 22)! All titles are available in ebook and/or audiobook through the NYCDOE Citywide Digital Library on the @sorareadingapp or from the public library on Sora or Libby apps:

• THE OUTDOOR SCIENTIST by Temple Grandin, Ph.D. (ebook)

• CAST AWAY: POEMS FOR OUR TIME by Naomi Shihab Nye (ebook & audiobook)

• IMAGINARY BORDERS by Xiuhtezcatl Martinez (ebook & audiobook)

• WAR GIRLS by Tochi Onyebuchi (ebook & audiobook)

• EARTH DAY & THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT by Christy Peterson (ebook)

In Episode 32 we share FOUR books in verse in honor of Poetry Month! All titles are available in ebook and/or audiobook through the NYCDOE Citywide Digital Library on the @sorareadingapp or from the public library on Sora or Libby apps:

• CLAP WHEN YOU LAND by Elizabeth Acevedo // @acevedowrites

• ORDINARY HAZARDS by Nikki Grimes (Also on Audible Stories)

• PUNCHING THE AIR by Ibi Zoboi & Yusef Salaam // @ibizoboi & @dr.yusefsalaam

• TURTLE UNDER ICE by Juleah del Rosario //@juleah.delrosario

In Episode 31 we share FOUR fantasy books for fans of Harry Potter co-hosted with guest librarian Ariel Birdoff from the New York Public Library! All titles are available in ebook and/or audiobook through the NYCDOE Citywide Digital Library on the Sora reading app or from the public library on Sora or Libby apps:

• THE EPIC CRUSH OF GENIE LO by F.C. Yee // @yeebookauthor

• DREAD NATION by Justina Ireland

• AN EMBER IN THE ASHES by Sabaa Tahir // @sabaatahir

• IKENGA by Nnedi Okorafor // @nnediokorafor

You might notice this week's episode is in a slightly different format! In Episode 30 we share SIX books centering D/deaf characters in honor of Deaf History Month (March 13 - April 15). The first three titles are #ownvoices​ authors (authors that identify as part of the Deaf or hard of hearing community), and three additional titles highly recommended by Deaf librarians. All titles are available in ebook and/or audiobook through the NYCDOE Citywide Digital Library on the Sora reading app from the public library on Sora or Libby apps:

• THE SILENCE BETWEEN US by Alison Gervais

• SHOW ME A SIGN by Ann Clare LeZotte

• EL DEAFO by Cece Bell

• WONDERSTRUCK by Brian Selznick

• YOU DON't KNOW EVERYTHING, JILLY P! by Alex Gino

• HELLO, UNIVERSE by Erin Entrada Kelly

In Episode 29 we share four #OWNVOICES titles with special guest Lindsay Klemas, CCD librarian from Forest Hills High School! #OWNVOICES is a movement supporting authors from marginalized or under-represented groups writing about their own experiences or from their own perspectives. Pick one up this weekend for your Spring Break! All available in ebook and/or audiobook through from @sorareadingapp or the public library on Sora or #Libby:

• GROWN by Tiffany D. Jackson // @writeinbk

• SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW by Maurene Goo // @maurenegoo

• ELASTOE by Darcie Little Badger // @dr.littlebadger

• EFREN DIVIDED by Ernesto Cisneros // @cisne.writes

In Episode 28 we talk about Shakespeare retellings in YA; after all, was just the ides of March! All available in ebook and/or audiobook through from @sorareadingapp or the public library on Sora or #Libby:

• THAT WAY MADNESS LIES: 15 RETELLINGS OF SHAKESPEARE’S MOST NOTABLE WORKS edited by Dahlia Adler // @missdahlelama

• IF YOU COME SOFTLY by Jacqueline Woodson // @jacqueline_woodson

• ROMAN + JEWEL by Dana L. Davis

• THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS by Chloe Gong // @thechloegong

In Episode 27 we talk about middle grade & young adult books about MATH as we COUNTDOWN to PI DAY; all available in ebook and/or audiobook through from @sorareadingapp or the public library on Sora or #Libby​:

• GRASPING MYSTERIES by Jeannine Atkins

• SCREEN QUEENS by Lori Goldstein / @lorigoldsteinbooks

• THE ABSOLUTE VALUE OF MIKE by Kathryn Erskine

• WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU by Ariel Kaplan

You can view the whole Countdown to Pi Day on Sora (NYCDOE login) here.

In Episode 26 we talk about books with FAT & FABULOUS characters #bodypositivity​; all available in ebook and/or audiobook through from @sorareadingapp or the public library on Sora or #Libby​:

• GABI A GIRL IN PIECES by Isabel Quintero / @isabelinpieces

• STARFISH by Lisa Fipps (release date: March 9)

• DUMPLIN’ by Julie Murphy / @andimjulie

• LOVE IS A REVOLUTION by Renee Watson / @harlemportland

In Episode 25 we talk about our BOOKS TO SCREEN - fiction about books that have made it to the screen (or @netflix); all available in ebook and/or audiobook through from @nycsls on @sorareadingapp or the public library on Sora or #Libby:

• MOXIE by Jennifer Mathieu

• THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB by Reina Telegemeier

• SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH by Kelly Thompson & Veronica Fish

• SHADOW AND BONE by Leigh Bardugo

In Episode 24 we feature books with Chinese American characters and/or authors for middle grades and young adults. All available in ebook and/or audiobook through from the NYCDOE Office of Library Services or our public library partners on the Sora Reading app or the public library on Sora or Libby:

• STARGAZING by Jen Wang

• THE SURPRISING POWER OF A GOOD DUMPLING by Wai Chim

• FRONT DESK by Kelly Yang

• SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN by Gene Luen Yang

In Episode 23 we feature Super(bowl) sports fiction! All available in ebook and/or audiobook through from the NYCDOE Office of Library Services or our public library partners on the Sora Reading app or the public library on Sora or Libby:

• BEFORE THE EVER AFTER by Jacqueline Woodson 🏈

• PATINA (Track, Book #2) by Jason Reynolds 🏃🏽‍♀️

• RUNNING WITH LIONS by Julian Winters ⚽️

• WE RUN WITH STICKS by Quan Barry 🏑

• OVERTIME PICK: HEROINE by Mindy McGinnis 🥎

In Episode 22 we have a special guest, Ashley Hawkins, aka Manga Librarian (www.mangalibrarian.com) to suggest a few e-manga series and answer all our manga-related questions! All available in ebook and/or audiobook through from the NYCDOE Office of Library Services or our public library partners on the Sora Reading app or the public library on Sora or Libby:

• THE PROMISED NEVERLAND by Kaiu Shirai, illustrated by Posuka Demizu

• KOMI CAN'T COMMUNICATE written & illustrated by Tomohito Oda

• SPY X FAMILY written & illustrated by Tatsuya Endo

• DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA written & illustrated by Koyoharu Gotōge

• Announcements:

  • Shout out to Jillian Ehlers, curator of the CCD on Japanese Culture & Manga!

This episode features a few of the Lambda Literary Writers in Schools 2021 books featuring LGBTQ characters and/or authors, all available in ebook and/or audiobook through the NYCDOE on Sora or the public library on Sora or Libby:

• ALL BOYS AREN'T BLUE by George M. Johnson

• EVERY BODY LOOKING by Candice Iloh

• THE STARS & THE BLACKNESS BETWEEN THEM by Junauda Petrus

• THE BEST AT IT by Maulik Pancholy

• Announcements:

  • View the complete Lambda Literary WIS booklist HERE.

  • We are hosting a NYCSLA Youth Media Awards Watch Party on January 25 at 9 AM! Email us for info on how to join in!

  • We also shouted out ANDREA SWENSON, curator of the LGBTQ CCD

This episode features our Best of 2020 books, all available in ebook and/or audiobook through the NYCDOE on Sora or the public library on Sora or Libby:

• YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN by Leah Johnson

• TRISTAN STRONG PUNCHES A HOLE IN THE SKY by Kwame Mbalia

• CHARMING AS A VERB by Ben Philippe

• SHURI: A BLACK PANTHER NOVEL by Nic Stone

• Announcements:

  • We are hosting a NYCSLA Youth Media Awards Watch Party on January 25 at 9 AM - See our flyer HERE

  • We also shouted out Teachingbooks.net (free for NYC educators with your @schoools.nyc.gov email login)

This episode features our Best of 2020 books, all available in ebook and/or audiobook through the NYCDOE on Sora or the public library on Sora or Libby:

• Best Middle Grade/Graphic Novel: When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson & Omar Mohamed

• Best Young Adult Fiction: Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson & Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

• Best Middle Grade/Young Adult Nonfiction & Audiobook: Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You by Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi

• Best Adult Fiction/Crossover: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

• Best Adult NF/Crossover: Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall

• Announcements:

  • Stay tuned for more information on the NYCSLA Youth Media Awards Watch Party on January 25 at 9 AM

This episode features the following books, all available in ebook and/or audiobook through the public library system; read on the Libby app unless otherwise noted:

• MELISSA’S PICKS

  • Pretend Soup, Salad People (physical copies only) and Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen

  • Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook by Isa Chandra Moscowitz

  • 1000 Foods to Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover’s Life List by Mimi Sheraton

  • Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish

  • 97 Orchard Street: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement by Jane Ziegelman (Tenement Museum of New York, physical copies only)

  • The Food Substitutions Bible by David Joachim (physical copies only)

  • Website: eatyourbooks.com

• MARIE’S PICKS:

  • Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat

  • Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes by Maya Angelou

• RACHEL’S PICKS:

  • Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

  • Cooks Illustrated Cookbook: 2,000 Recipes from 20 years of America's Most Trusted Cooking Magazine by Cooks Illustrated

  • The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs by America's Test Kitchen Kids

Resources: What is adult crossover?; Alex Awards by YALSA/ALA

This episode features the following books, all available in ebook and/or audiobook through the public library system; read on the Libby app unless otherwise noted:

• Binti by Nnedi Okorafor - available everywhere

• My Sister the Serial killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

• Circe by Madeline Miller

• Normal People by Sally Rooney

• Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

• How Long Til Black Future Month by N. K. Jemison

• Hot Comb by Ebony Flowers (physical copy only)

• Dominicana by Angie Cruz

• Educated by Tara Westover

• Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

This episode features the following books, all available in ebook and/or audiobook through the public library system; read on the Sora (Juvenile & YA only) or Libby apps unless otherwise noted:

• Camp by LC Rosen (Libby only)

• Wild Blue Wonder by Carlie Sorosiak

• To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan & Meg Wolitzer

• Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson & friends

• Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol

• Spy Camp by Stuart Gibbs (Also on Open ebooks app)

• Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson

• Camp by Kayla Miller

• When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

• The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson & the Olympians) by Rick Riordan

• The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer (Libby only)

• The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (audiobook available on Audible Stories, available as ebook & audiobook on Sora or Libby)

• Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor (available as ebook available on Sora, NYCDOE login)

• On The Come Up by Angie Thomas (available as ebook from NYPL and audiobook from BPL, on Libby)

• Ms. Marvel Volume 1 by G. Willow Wilson (available as ebook available on Sora, NYCDOE login)

• And More: (Series to Binge)

  • Truly Devious (series) by Maureen Johnson (available as ebook & audiobook on Sora or Libby)

  • An Ember in the Ashes (series) by Sabaa Tahir (available as ebook & audiobook on Sora or Libby)

• Announcements:

  • Teen Open Book Discussion at NYPL Wednesdays!

Marie is on vacation but Jen Hoyer from Brooklyn Connections is our special guest host!

• Shadowshaper (series) by Daniel Jose Older (available as ebook & audiobook on Sora or Libby)

• P.S. Be Eleven by Rita Williams-Garcia (available as ebook & audiobook on Sora or Libby)

• Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson (available as ebook & audiobook on Sora or Libby)

• Last Summer with Maizon by Jacqueline Woodson (available as ebook & audiobook on Sora or Libby)

• And More:

  • A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (available as ebook & audiobook on Libby)

  • Decoded by Jay-Z (available as ebook & audiobook on Libby)

  • Pride by Ibi Zoboi (available as ebook & audiobook on Sora or Libby)

  • Miles Morales Spider-Man by Jason Reynolds (available as ebook & audiobook on Sora or Libby)

  • Like No Other by Una LaMarche (available as ebook & audiobook on Sora or Libby)

  • Bruja Born (Brooklyn Brujas series) by Zoraida Córdova (available as ebook & audiobook on Sora or Libby)

• The Silence Between Us by Alison Gervais (AudiobookSYNC)

• Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy (readily available as ebook & audiobook on Libby)

• We are okay by NIna LaCour (readily available as ebook & audiobook on Libby)

• In the country we love: My family divided by Diane Guerrero & Michelle Burford (Open eBooks)

• And More:

  • Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli (readily available as ebook & audiobook on Libby)

  • Autoboyography by Christina Lauren (audiobook at NYPL only)

  • Field Guide to the North American Teenager by Ben Philippe (audiobook at QPL, all others have holds)

  • Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen (ebook available w/out holds at NYPL)

  • The Magicians by Lev Grossman (ebook & audiobook available w/out holds at NYPL)

• Announcements:

  • We are TAKING A BREAK next week! See you July 10 with a special guest host & books set in Brooklyn!

  • Kid Lit Pride is this weekend

FEATURED TITLES:

• Miles Morales Spider-Man by Jason Reynolds (Available at the public library, BPL and NYPL)

• This Book is Anti-racist by Tiffany Jewell (Available at the public library, BPL and NYPL)

• March Trilogy by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, & Nate Powell (Available through ComicsPlus)

• Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams (Available at the public library, BPL and NYPL)

• AND MORE:

  • Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice by Mahogany L Browne with Elizabeth Acevedo and Olivia Gatwood, Illustrated by Theodore Taylor III (Available at the public library, BPL and NYPL)

  • Dread Nation by Justina Ireland (Available at the public library, BPL and NYPL)

  • The Life of Frederick Douglass: A Graphic Narrative of a Slave’s Journey from Bondage to Freedom by David F. Walker, Damon Smyth and Marissa Louise (Available at the public library, BPL and NYPL)

  • Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You (Young Readers Edition) by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi (Available with holds at the public library, BPL and NYPL)

  • Troublemaker for Justice: The Story of Bayard Rustin, the Man Behind the March on Washington by Jaqueline Houtman, Walter Naegle, and Michael G. Long (Available at the public library, BPL and NYPL)

• FREE ON STREAMING: Just Mercy (Adapted for Young Adults): A True Story of the Fight for Justice by Bryan Stevenson and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

• Announcements: Juneteenth Book Festival on YouTube and AudiobookSYNC new releases

• *We will be continuing throughout the summer, with a break on July 3!*

• Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia (very short holds at NYPL and BPL)

• Unpregnant by Jenni Hendriks & Ted Caplan (audiobook and ebook available from NYPL and BPL, read on Libby or Simply E)

• Internment by Samira Ahmed (audiobook and ebook available from NYPL, holds at BPL and QPL)

• Forward Me Back to You by Mitali Perkins (ebook and audiobook available at NYPL and BPL)

• And More:

  • Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika & Maritza Moulite (ebook and audiobook available at NYPL, BPL, QPL, possible holds)

  • The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta (ebook and audiobook available at NYPL, BPL, QPL, possible holds)

  • Color Me In by Natasha Diaz (ebook and audiobook available at NYPL and BPL, possible holds)

  • The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis (epic, Libby, & + Netflix)

• Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg (available from NYPL and BPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

• Prince and the Dressmaker written and illustrated by Jen Wang (ebook of graphic novel are available for free on OpenEbooks app with FirstBook code - email your librarian for login info)

• The Revolution of Birdie Randolph by Brandy Colbert (available from NYPL and BPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

• Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian (available from NYPL and BPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

• And More:

• Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan (available from NYPL and BPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

• Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender (available from BPL, read on Libby or SimplyE; audiobook on SimplyE)

• Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (Available for free download from Simon Teen/Riveted through June 30)

• Color Outside the Lines: Stories about Love edited by Sangu Mandanna (available from NYPL and BPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

• You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson (available from NYPL and BPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

• Full Disclosure by Camryn Garrett (available from NYPL and BPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

• All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson (memoir) (available from BPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

• Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay (available as ebook/audiobook from NYPL and BPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

• Frankly in Love by David Yoon (available as ebook/audiobook from NYPL and BPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

• Astonishing Color of After by Emily X. R. Pan (available as ebook/audiobook from NYPL and BPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

• They Called Us Enemy by George Takei (ebook available on ComicsPLUS)

• & More:

  • Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman (free download of ebook available on Riveted through May 31, ONE copy at NYPL)

  • American Born Chinese by Gene Leun Yang (graphic novel open eBooks)

  • The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee (available as ebook/audiobook from NYPL and BPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

  • Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhhà Lai (FREE with a prime membership, also available from NYPL and BPL)

  • Stargazing by Jen Wang (ebook of graphic novel at BPL)

  • American Panda by Gloria Chao (audiobook copies at BPL and NYPL)

  • Parachutes by Kelly Yang **NEW RELEASE* PUT IT ON YOUR HOLDS NOW

• ANNOUCEMENTS:

  • AudiobookSync New Releases! Sign up today! New audiobooks every Wednesday. Download them each week and keep them forever to listen as you wish!

  • Book ConOnline is THIS WEEKEND!

• Like No Other by Una LaMarche (Accessible as ebook from BPL and NYPL, read on Libby or SimplyE; audiobook available free from AudiobookSYNC the week of June 4)

• The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (Accessible as ebook from BPL and NYPL, read on Libby or SimplyE; movie available for streaming on Hulu & Amazon Prime)

• Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell (Accessible as ebook from BPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

• When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon (Available for free download from Simon Teen/Riveted through May 31)

• & More:

  • Lovely War by Julie Berry (available w/ wait as ebook/audiobook from BPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

  • I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo (Open ebooks)

  • This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story by Kacen Callender (available as ebook/audiobook from NYPL and BPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

  • Field Notes on Love by Jennifer E. Smith (available as ebook from NYPL and BPL, read on Libby or SimplyE; audiobook available but with hold)

  • Not So Pure & Simple by Lamar Giles (available as ebook/audiobook from NYPL and BPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

  • SPECIAL FEATURE: YA Romance in the Media

    • To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (book series by Jenny Han, movies on Netflix)

    • Never Have I Ever (Netflix series by Mindy Kaling)

    • Everyday (book by David Levithan, movie streaming on Neflix)

    • Webtoon: Let’s Play

    • Podcast:Twilight in Quarantine

• CONTENT WARNING: The books this week deal with real folks dealing with real stuff. We felt the need to share a content warning. The following books share stories of mental illness, suicide, trauma, sexual assault, PTSD, depression, anxiety, cutting, and possibly more. May is Mental Health Awareness Month. We don’t want to shy away from these topics, this month or any month. We believe that books help us find ourselves and work to be more empathetic towards others. Words have power.

• (Don’t) Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices Start the Conversation about Mental Health edited by Kelly Jensen; An anthology of essays and illustrations that illuminate mental health topics in a straightforward way for a teen audience and older. (Accessible as ebook from BPL and NYPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

• Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough; In Renaissance Italy, Artemisia Gentileschi endures the subjugation of women that allows her father to take credit for her extraordinary paintings, rape and the ensuing trial, and torture, buoyed by her deceased mother's stories of strong women of the Bible; written in verse. (Accessible as ebook and audiobook from BPL and NYPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

• Lighter Than My Shadow by Katie Green; A graphic novel biography/memoir looking at the life of Katie Green who recovered form a eating disorder and child abuse. (Available for free on ComicsPlus Library Edition; email your NYCDOE librarian for the access information!)

• Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (graphic novel illustrated by Emily Carroll; A traumatic event near the end of the summer has a devastating effect on Melinda's freshman year in high school; an updated graphic novel version is also available. (Both book and graphic novel are available for free on OpenEbooks app with FirstBook code - email your librarian for login info!)

• & More:

  • Darius the Great is not okay by Adib Khorram (Available at BPL/NYPL on Libby/SimplyE)

  • Obsessed: A Memoir of my life with OCD by Allison Britz (Available for free on *Riveted* until May 31)

  • Challenger Deep by Neil Schusterman (Available at BPL/NYPL on Libby/SimplyE)

  • Distrubed Girl's Dictionary by NoNieqa Ramos (Available at NYPL on Libby/SimplyE)

  • Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow (Available at NYPL on Libby/SimplyE)

  • Looking for Alaska by John Green (Available at NYPL on Libby/SimplyE AND also on Hulu)

  • Hyperbole & A Half by Allie Brosh (Available as an Online Webcomic)

  • A booklist from Book Riot

• PLEASE ASK FOR HELP. If you are having dangerous thoughts, please talk to a trusted adult, or contact NYC WELL: Talk. Text. Chat. 24/7. Call 1-888-NYC-WELL or visit their site.

• Announcements: AudiobookSync has STARTED! Sign up today! New audiobooks every Wednesday. Download them each week and keep them forever to listen as you wish!

• Pride by Ibi Zoboi -- A Pride & Prejudice retelling; Zuri has pride: family pride, Afro-Latino pride, Brooklyn pride, neighborhood pride -- but can pride save her and her family from the “inevitable” changes? The “bougie” Darcy family bought the house across the street and Zuri is busy trying to sort out her love life and make a decision about college; her life pulling her in all different directions. Teens will appreciate an “authentic” teen voice and NYC teens will recognize familiar places! (Accessible as ebook and audiobook from BPL and NYPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

• Ash by Malinda Lo -- In this Cinderella retelling, Ash grows up believing in the fairy realm that the king and his philosophers have sought to suppress, until one day she must choose between a handsome fairy cursed to love her and the King's Huntress, whom she loves. (Available for free on OpenEbooks app with FirstBook code, email your librarian for login info.)

• The Wendy Project by Melissa Jane Osborne and illustrated by Veronica Fish -- In this graphic novel Peter Pan retelling, 16-year-old Wendy Davies crashes her car into a lake on a late summer night in New England with her two younger brothers in the backseat. When she wakes in the hospital, she is told that her youngest brother, Michael, is dead but she insists he is alive and in the custody of a mysterious flying boy. (JLG @ Home (available until May 31) & Tumblebooks Teen Book Cloud (ask your librarian for login info.)

• Sea Witch by Sarah Henning -- Before she was Ursula, she was Evie, an outcast in her town after her best friend Anna dies and she is beside herself with grief and guilt. Things change after she befriends a girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna, and goes out of her way to help her with her magical powers; but even the magic can’t protect her from what she’s about to experience. (Both the book AND sequel are accessible as ebook and audiobook from BPL and NYPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

• And More:

  • If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson; Romeo & Juliet retelling in verse (Libby ebook & audiobook)

  • Cinder by Marissa Meyer; Cinderella retelling (All of Lunar Chronicles Series on Open eBooks)

  • Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C. Dao; Snow White/evil queen retelling (Libby ebook & audiobook)

  • Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter; Russian folktale Vasilisa retelling in Brooklyn (Open eBooks)

  • The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh; Arabian Nights retelling (Libby & WEBTOON!!!)

  • A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro; Sherlock Holmes retelling; (Libby audiobook)

Announcements: AudiobookSync has STARTED! Sign up today! New audiobooks every Wednesday. Download them each week and keep them forever to listen as you wish!

• Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson. Monday and Claudia are best friends, inseparable even. But when Monday doesn’t show up for the first day of school, Claudia knows something is up. Claudia digs into her friend’s disappearance, but nobody seems to remember seeing her. How could she vanish without anyone noticing she’s gone? (Listen to it on AudiobookSYNC - free to download THIS WEEK ONLY! After you download, you can listen anytime. If you miss it, this title is accessible as ebook and audiobook from BPL and NYPL, read on Libby or SimplyE with a short hold time)

• Sadie by Courtney Summers. Sadie has been taking care of her sister on her own in their small town, just trying to live a normal life, for once. Until the day she finds out her sister has been murdered, and the police investigation is a little sketchy. Sadie’s determined to figure this out on her own, with the help of a podcast host who happens to be doing a podcast about Sadie’s small town. For fans of true crime podcasts such as Serial; highly recommended as an audiobook! (Accessible as ebook and audiobook from BPL and NYPL, read on Libby or SimplyE with a short hold time)

• I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga (#1 in series). What’s it like to be the son of the world’s worst serial killer? Where you’ve grown up viewing crime scenes from the perspective of a criminal? Welcome to Jazz’s world. And things aren’t getting any easier -- bodies are starting to pile up in town! Jazz is helping the local police find the killer, but it might just be too close to cover up! (Available for free on OpenEbooks app with FirstBook code, email your librarian for code)

• Stranger Things by Jodie Houser. This graphic novel follows a similar, but not identical, storyline. This is what happened to will on Upside Down World. You’ll definitely want to go back and watch Season 1 of the Stranger Things show after you read this! (Available for free on ComicsPlus Library Edition; email your NYCDOE librarian for the access information!)

• And More: I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest (find it on Libby), One of Us is Lying/Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen McManus (find it on Libby), Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson (find it on Libby, or listen in to the author reading on Instagram), All Eyes on Us by Kit Frick (find it on Audible Stories), and Who Done It? By Jon Scieszka (find it on Audible Stories)

• Announcements:

  • Everywhere Book Festival is today & tomorrow, May 1 and 2! So many great author panels!

  • AudiobookSync has STARTED! Sign up today! The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater; download this week!

Next week is Children’s Book Week - stay tuned on social media for some fun suggestions!

• • SLAY by Brittney Morris is a Mathical Book Prize Winner for 2020! This book is young adult fiction with a STEM/gaming focus. Seventeen-year-old Kiera Johnson is an honors student who tutors her peers in math, but what her classmates don’t know is that she is also one of thousands of Black gamers who duel in a secret online role-playing game called SLAY. When things get out of hand after something in the SLAY world crosses into mainstream society, Keira has to figure out if she can protect her game AND herself. (Accessible as ebook and audiobook from BPL and NYPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

• All in a Drop: How Antony van Leeuwenhoek Discovered an Invisible World by Lori Alexander is a Sibert Honor biography about Antony van Leewenhoek, the “father of microbiology.” In the late 1600’s Antony found himself struggling to thread a needle when he realized that he could use a lens to focus and magnify the light to see small things better. A spark ignited in Antony that burned for the rest of his adult life - he made hundreds of microscopes and studied everything from raw meat to pond water. Great for middle grades. (Accessible as ebook and audiobook from BPL and NYPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

• Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson and narrated by LeVar Burton is a book for science nerds and those scared of science, for fourth graders AND their parents, for those who wonder about the natural world and those who don’t know we’re wondering. Tyson makes science accessible and intriguing, from the very big to the very small. (Accessible free online or on a device from Audible Stories)

• Feed by MT Anderson is “a young adult dystopian novel of the cyberpunk subgenre written by M. T. Anderson. The novel focuses on issues such as corporate power, consumerism, information technology, data mining, and environmental decay, with a sometimes sardonic, sometimes somber tone.” Quote from Wikipedia, but it was just too good to not repeat! (Accessible as ebook and audiobook from BPL and NYPL, read on Libby or SimplyE)

• And More:

  • Science Comics: Flying Machines, Bats, Coral Reefs, Dogs, Plagues, Dinosaurs (graphic novels, Open eBooks)

  • Very, Very, Very Dreadful: The Influenza Pandemic of 1918 by Albert Marrin (NYPL has 1 copy, all other systems on hold)

  • The Radium Girls by Kate Moore (was supposed to be released coming soon)

  • The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline (Libby available at NYPL)

• Announcements:

  • Library Week Recap! Follow us on Instagram at @steamlibrarian and @a_salty_librarian for more!

  • YALLWEST is THIS WEEKEND, April 25 & 26; register online at: https://www.yallwest.com

  • April 30 - Audiofile Sync begins! Download the Sora App & get ready for Monday’s Not Coming & The 57 Bus!

• Fiction in verse: Rhyme Schemer; by K.A. Holt is the story of Kevin, a middle-school bully who is so vicious he makes fun of students, teachers, even rips pages out of library books in order to write blackout poems & found word poems. But what happens when the tables are turned and he’s the one that gets picked on. Will he learn the true influence words can have on somebody? Great for fans of Wonder! (eBook accessible for free on your internet browser on phone, tablet, or computer from Junior Library Guild - Middle School Stream)

• Fiction in verse: Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds is about Will’s journey for potential revenge for his brother’s death. The entire book takes place in verse during the course of a 60-minute elevator ride where he is visited by influential folks in his life. This one will have you flipping pages before you’ve read the last words on the page. Will he choose to seek the revenge he intended? A multiple award-winning book. (eBook and audiobook available on Libby with your public library card)

• Poetry: The Princess Saves Herself in this One by Amanda Lovelace is the first in the Women Are Some Kind of Magic series. This poetry collection is divided into four parts: the princess, the damsel, the queen, and YOU, dear reader. Poems with a definite feminist point-of-view that explore loss and grief, but also healing, empowerment, and resilience. (eBook and audiobook available on Libby with your public library card)

• Memoir in verse: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson is Woodson’s own childhood being raised in South Carolina and New York and growing up as an African American woman in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement. Woodson tackles heavy themes in a way that young people will be able to relate to, no matter the time period. Woodson read parts of this book aloud on her Facebook last week, and several videos were still up at the time of this writing! Hearing books narrated by the author are always a treat. (eBook and audiobook available on Libby with your public library card)

• And More: This week’s And More section focuses on folks we found on Instagram! Many of them have ebooks and audiobooks that can be found on Libby (with your public library card login)

  • Rupi Kaur, author of Milk & Honey and The Sun and Her Flowers (@rupikaur_) - we love her poems & pen & ink illustrations

  • Mahogany Browne, author of Black Girl Magic and Woke (@mobrowne) - we love her videos

  • Cleo Wade, author of Where to Begin and Heart Talk (@cleowade) - we love her creative fonts

  • Austin Kleon, author of Steal Like An Artist and Keep Going and others (@austinkleon) - we love his drawings and blackout poetry

• Announcements:

  • Comics Relief Virtual Festival put on by First Second, tomorrow, Saturday, April 18th from 11am to 5pm ET; check out workshops on drawing, hand-lettering, storyboarding and more by some of your favorite graphic novelists and artists!

  • Next week is National Library Week! Do you follow us on Instagram? (Marie Southwell is @a_salty_librarian and Rachel Green is @steamlibrarian) You should! We are both hosting National Library Week challenges and giveaways next week!

• Fantasy: A Blade So Black by L.L. McKinney is a fantasy novel that could be described as Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Alice in Wonderland. If you like action, fighting, and magic, mixed with the realities of being a teenager, you’ll love this one. First in the Nightmare-verse. (Available with your public library card through the Libby app or SimplyE app; contact your librarian for public library card e-applications if you don’t have one.)

• Realistic Fiction: Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle is a realistic fiction that is first in a trilogy following 8th-grader, Nate, who runs away from home and accidentally stumbles on a Broadway audition. For Broadway or Glee fans, or anyone whose ever felt outside the “in crowd” or those of us who are brave enough to follow after our own big dreams. Odyssey Audiobook Honor and Stonewall Award winner. (Available for free on OpenEbooks app with FirstBook code, email your librarian for code.)

• Classics/Audiobook: Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, narrated by Rachel McAdams (from The Notebook!) is a classic written in 1908 following Anne Shirley, a feminist, adventurist, impulsive, dramatic, hot-tempered feminist who is also a romantic. Fun fact - Montgomery wrote some of this series while being quarantined in her home during the Spanish Flu in 1918! (Available for free as an audiobook on Audible Stories as well as Project Gutenberg since copyright has expired.)

• Graphic Novel: Check Please! By Ngozi Ukazu is about Eric Bittle - a figure skater and vlogger who ends up on his university's hockey team. A coming-of-age story about hockey, bros, and trying to find yourself during the best four years of your life. The sequel just came out April 7! (Available for free on OpenEbooks app with FirstBook code, email your librarian for code; additionally episodes of the web comic can be viewed online)

• And More: When Dimple Met Rishi (Romance/Realistic Fiction) by Sandhya Menon (audiobook on Libby), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Fantasy) by J.K. Rowling (audiobook on Audible Stories in several languages), The Bone Witch (Fantasy) by Rin Chupeco (audiobook on Audible and ebook on Libby), and The Spill Zone (Graphic Novel) by Scott Westerfield (graphic novel on Open eBooks app)

Announcements:

• Tomorrow, April 11, Book Con is hosting a Read-A-Thon on Facebook! Go & listen to your favorite author!

• Copying is the highest form of flattery... or is it Vincent Hyland??

• Next week we’ll be talking about POETRY!

• Graphic Novel: Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Penelope Bagieu is a 2019 Eisner Award-winning graphic novel profiling the lives of 29 remarkable women. Read more about Brazen in this New York Times article. (Available for free on OpenEbooks app with FirstBook code, email your librarian for code.)

• Nonfiction: Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World by Kelly Jensen is an anthology of “forty-four writers, dancers, actors, and artists contribut[ing] essays, lists, poems, comics, and illustrations about everything from body positivity to romance to gender identity to intersectionality to the greatest girl friendships in action” (source). (Available with your public library card through the Libby app or SimplyE app; contact your librarian for public library card e-applications if you don’t have one.)

• Fiction: Watch Us Rise by Ellen Hagen and Renee Watson is a fictional story about two girls in a NYC high school who decide to start a Women’s Rights Club. The girls post their work online and soon they go viral, for better or for worse. Watch more about the process of these two writers collaborating on this book on this video from their publisher. (Available with your public library card through the Libby app or SimplyE app; contact your librarian for public library card e-applications if you don’t have one.)

• Audiobook: Rad American Women A-Z: Rebels, Trailblazers, and Visionaries who Shaped Our History… and Our Future! by Kate Schatz, illustrated by Miriam Klein Stahl profiles 26 women from Angela Davis to Zora Neale Hurston with colorful illustrations and one-page narratives. (Available for free as an audiobook on Audible Stories; each profile is about 2 minutes.)

• More reading suggestions (These are available through public library/Libby, but have limited copies or current hold times):

  • Calling All Minds: How to Think and Create Like an Inventor by Temple Grandin

  • Votes for Women! American Suffragists and the Battle for the Ballot by Winifred Conkling ($1.99 on Kindle!)

  • Why We March: Signs of Protest & Hope -- Voices from the Women’s March by Artisan

  • Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women’s Fight for Their Rights by Mikki Kendall and illustrated by A. D’Amico