Welcome to Litsy!

I read this LGBTQ MG novel about self-discovery, overcoming tragedy & experiencing your first crush for a book club I‘m leading at the Library. It‘s nominated for a Massachusetts Children‘s Book Award & is my current pick to win.

It‘s so tender & vulnerable, full of art, family, insecurity, bravery & love. Ivy loses her journal, filled with secret drawings, in the aftermath of a tornado that takes her home. But she finds a new sense of belonging.

Well that was just lovely. 12-year-old Ivy is trying to figure out her place in the world, her place in her big, messy family, her changing friendships and the fact that maybe she likes girls. Beautifully done.

This was my #BookSpin for June (at last! I read one!) and #BBRC #LGBTQ+MainCharacter #MiddleGrade.

I was planning to take a year off #BBRC next year, Ryan and Sarah, as

A story for middle schoolers that deftly and realistically portrays the nuances of a 12-year-old lesbian‘s internal turmoil. Tears rolled down my cheeks during a couple of scenes, and it all ends happily. Yay! #Audiobook has excellent narration by Chloe Cannon. #LGBTQ #kidlit

#audiocrafting (block printing)

This was beautiful! Set in the aftermath of a tornado that destroys Ivy‘s home, it explores Ivy‘s questions about her friendships, her growing sense that she might like girls, and her place in her own family. I was so impressed with the emotional depth and relational insight of this MG novel. SO well done and highly recommended!

Hammocks can be used as bookmarks!

What an absolutely delightful, lovely little book. I‘m so glad that young queer & questioning kids have books like this to help them figure themselves out. Ivy is a very well written character, very authentic. 12 is such a confusing age, where sometimes you still want to be a little kid but others you want to be a cool teenager, & then to add in all she was going through...I wanted to hug her a million times. A very sweet & important story. 4/5 ⭐️

What if I really just like her as a friend? She‘s fun and makes me laugh and she‘s smart. But that doesn‘t mean I have a crush on her. Or does it?

[THE EVER-PRESENT LESBIAN DILEMMA]

The sky was still clearing, the clouds rolling back to reveal the blue underneath. Funny how that blue was always there, even when the rest of the earth was screaming and breaking into pieces.

I‘m in the mood for a sweet middle grade read, and considering this is also about queer girls, I think it‘ll be just what I need 💖🏳️‍🌈 #nowreading

This was well worth the month + wait on Libby even though I devoured it in its entirety just hours after it came in. At first I was skeptical, finding Ivy's struggles with her sexuality were framed in a way that felt somewhat dated to me, but the book became about more than that. You actually got to see 3 tween girls struggling with themselves and questioning what it means to grow up a little in ways that ultimately felt very authentic and useful.

Let me know what you guys think of these. Have you read them? Any that stand out? I‘ll tag titles below

Christmas haul ❤️

This book is a five star! It was beautiful and perfect. I'll admit I ugly cried at parts in this. This is such a great book for kids who are about to enter their teen years and trying to figure themes out. One of my top favorites for this year.

Day one of #25infive I didn't get as much time in as I would like. But I spent time with my mom making apple dumplings so I'm okay with it. I'm almost done with this book. Just another hour or so. So that is first goal for today. I should have plenty of time to read today, just putting up the last of Christmas decorations and then I'm free for the weekend. #25andcapsule

Middle grade book which did an amazing job of dealing with feelings.

This is a beautiful, emotionally pitch perfect book about Ivy, a 12-year-old dealing with a lot: she's feeling left out of her family with two new twin babies; a tornado destroyed their house; she's realizing that she likes girls instead of boys. After the tornado, Ivy's notebook that has drawings revealing her feelings for girls goes missing. The way this book resists the urge to tie everything up in too neat a bow is lovely. #QueerBooks

Absolutely wonderful middle grade read. Loved the realness of all the characters especially Ivy. I finished the book fighting back the full watershed of tears that were rolling down my cheeks. This book will resonate with many young people struggling to find themselves amidst the chaos of middle school, everyday life and whatever else life throws their way. I think it will help them feel safe and hopefull and aware that they are not alone.

12-year-old Ivy figuring out she has a crush on her new friend June is heartbreaking and adorable all at the same time. #QueerBooks #AwesomeAudiobooks

I cannot express how moving and wonderful this book is. I cried my way through the last quarter. Herring Blake writes such realistic emotions that young people go through. She makes you feel as if it is you that is living them. As a queer woman, I am so happy to see books and authors that strive to show reflections of diverse characters and LGBTQA representation for our children and young adults. I highly 10/10 recommend.

This book left me with so many feels. I loved it way more than I expected too. I read a few middle grade books here and there, so the only reason I gave it four stars was just because of the writing, I would've expected way better if the book was written to an older audience. I think this would've been a great graphic novel to incorporate Ivy's art throughout the story. Ivy reminded me of myself when I was that age, I always had a notebook then.

Thanks to @SassenachTheBookWizard I decided to get this book on my visit to Barnes and Noble with the 15% off coupon 😊😊

I absolutely loved this one! I wanted to take Ivy home with me - and the ending definitely brought me to tears. Plus, the cover is just absolutely beautiful

That opening chapter where they‘re running for the storm cellar and Mom has both babies in her arms and the tornado is right behind them... just about gave me a panic attack.

Batch 2 of the new books waiting for me at work today. I think I‘m going to have a middle grade month in June, because I‘m really excited about some of the titles in these shipments! #newbooks #librariansoflitsy #schoollibrarians #schoollibraries

Next up for #middlegrademay (and a cat cameo)! #howiereads

Finished a few books over the weekend and I really liked all three of them!

Oh what a middle grade book this was! It made my heart happy and I cried but it was good tears at the end. Ivy is 12 when her family home is destroyed by a tornado. Her family was already in a bit of a mess with new twin brothers and learning how she fits in with her older sister. Also she‘s got some questions of her own she doesn‘t know how to talk about when her drawing journal goes missing. I loved Ivy, honestly I loved the whole book!

I want to adopt this girl and protect her from the world! Why do middle grade books keeping making me cry?! I'll have to buy my own copy

Also gonna work on this baby while driving

Found this is my School‘s media center. Once I read the flap I had to read it!!

Middle grade library haul!

Love! Love! Love! There is so much to love about Ivy and her journey to find herself. I cried through the final 30 or so pages. This one tops the #huggable list for middle grade books. I only wish some of Ivy‘s drawings were in the book.

#LGBTQMG2018

Stared this at 11:00 pm. I wanted to keep going but I really do need sleep.

Oh my heart. I love Ivy and her beautiful creative spirit. I wish I had this book when I was in middle school. Five stars for this sweet book about a girl figuring out the world and how she fits into it.

This book is so beautiful I want to cry...too late I already am 😭

It‘s warms my heart to see characters like this in a middle grade book. Ashley Herring Blake is becoming a must-read author for me. Both this and GIRL MADE OF STARS are brilliantly written.

So many new books, what to choose? I‘m leaning towards Ivy Aberdeen, but could be swayed in another direction. I‘ve loved Chris Crutcher‘s books since middle school, and my nanny group has fallen in love with Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows. Either way, I‘m celebrating because our house was listed last night and we got an offer over asking price this morning!

Another wonderful #Preorder #GiveAway, this time by Ashley Herring Blake. She has two books coming out this year, Girls made of Stars and Ivy Aberdeen‘s Letters to the world. Ashley writes primarily F/F Young Adult books.#authorlove #newbook #goodies

Also my preorder gift for #ReignoftheFallen has arrived today, but I won‘t open it until the book is delivered which will take another week 😬.

Oh, my heart. What a stunning, beautiful story.

Ivy Aberdeen is the 13-year-old heroine that I needed as a kid. Ashley Herring Blake is adept at writing characters that are intensely relatable, with the perfect amount of teen angst. This book is a middle grade novel, but it doesn‘t talk down to the target audience. I‘m so incredibly glad to have a book to recommend with a queer girl character for younger teens.

As if I didn‘t have enough on my TBR, this stack of ARCs showed up while I was in NYC last week.