Welcome to Litsy!

I just love Laurie Halse Anderson. I began listening on @scribd to her novel Twisted, and I was immediately swept away. The protagonist, Tyler, embodies so much of what is great about teenagers: self-discovery, wavering self-confidence, and an earnest attempt to do what is right. While some of the twists and turns seemed to be a little overdramatized, I left convinced (once again!) of Anderson's ability to dig into the minds of teenagers.⠀

Joseph Boyden's Wenjack is a masterpiece, a concise, spare, and poetic story of Chanie, a nine-year-old Ojibwe boy who was taken from his home and placed in an Indian school designed to assimilate him into the Canadian culture. His escape with two other boys moves through his perspective and the views of the animals who accompany him on his journey in a beautiful, heartbreaking account.⠀

I have a LOT of feelings about both this book AND the movie adaptation (although maybe I should say this screenplay, book adaptation, and subsequent movie adaptation? There are many layers here). Check out our varying opinions about Five Feet Apart in our most recent podcast episode to see what each of us thinks. Then share your opinion—we‘d love to know what you think!!

Julie Murphy's Puddin' confirms (after Ramona Blue and Dumplin') me as a read-everything-she-writes fan. In this companion to Dumplin', we return to Clover City through the perspectives of Millie Michalchuk (one of my favorite characters from Dumplin') and Callie Reyes (who thoroughly annoyed me in the first novel). Watching these characters work toward a clear understanding both of who they are and of who they want to be is a beautiful thing.

Thanks to #partner @NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. The book releases on April 2.⠀
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I requested Aisha Saeed‘s novel for two reasons: (1) I absolutely adored her #ownvoices novel Amal Unbound, which was a 2018 Global Read Aloud selections, and (2) Aladdin is one of my favorite Disney movies ever. I can‘t count how often my best friend and I watched that film.

Check out my review at unabridgedpod.com/book-reviews

Laurie Halse Anderson's poetic memoir Shout is perfection. The book is about her rape, but it's also about her recovery, her childhood, her family, her history, her strength, her life, her writing . . . you get the point. I can't adequately express the beauty of her poetry. I'll simply say: you should read this book. (And hearing her speak with Jason Reynolds at the VA Festival of the Book deepened my appreciation for the book and the author.)

Thanks to @netgalley (#partner) for this egalley in exchange for an honest review.⠀
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I had mixed feelings about this novel from Cat Winters, coming out April 16. Check out my review on our Unabridged Book Reviews page (unabridgedpod.com). ⠀
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Has anyone else read The Raven's Tale? What did you think?⠀
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This is gorgeous. Brubaker Bradley builds a brilliant ending to Ada's story as she continues to learn how to exist in a world that is safe from her mam but in danger from World War II. Moving, thoughtful story of this girl's fight against fear and of the way she moves into a family cobbled together by odd circumstances. I can't wait to see the author tonight at the Pence MS literacy night!!

On Wednesday's episode, we discussed the works of Ibi Zoboi, including Pride, her retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I've been a fan of retellings of classics for a long time--here are a few of my favorites . . . except for Re Jane, which is high on my TBR list!⠀
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What retellings would you recommend?

Fabulous fantasy novel (it's so short! though I don't think it's a novella). I love the way McGuire builds this world, a boarding school for teenagers who have returned to this world from somewhere in the fantasy realm and long to back. Somehow, in this short book, she manages to have a mystery, to demonstrate great diversity of gender identity and orientation, AND build a gorgeous series of fantasy worlds.