I think October 1st is a good day to finally post my library summer reading challenge stack & reshelve these books! 😆🤷🏼♀️📚 The Letter For the King still has a bookmark in it, but I‘ll finish it one of these days!
📕Childhood Favorite
📗Translated
📘Book I own
📙Set in New York State
📕Stonewall Award Winner
📗Protagonist/Author is an Immigrant
📘About a Library
📙Young Adult
📕Graphic Novel
📗Blue Cover
📘Body of Water in the Title
I‘m going to need to circle back you our last book, but my hold on our final 2022 Newbery #buddyread came in and it‘s short! Shall we try to read it this month @smilingshelves ? Hopefully I‘ll do better at this one, but I feel like we could do our own pace again and chat later if anything interesting comes up. I‘m definitely flagging a bit going into these last two this year! 😆🤷🏼♀️📚
P 76 Another beautifully evoked image for all us word- and story-lovers. #buddyread
P 50 — Though I don‘t share the same religion as the characters, there is something so universal here. So beautifully said. #buddyread
P. 177 — This was about where I needed to go find the tissue box 😭💔❤️🩹 #buddyread
It‘s been so long since I read a novel-in-verse! Diving into our next Newbery #buddyread
pickIt‘s been a long time since I‘ve read anything dystopian! This may be the first dystopian middle grade I‘ve read though (most were YA.) I LOVED the storytelling theme so much. It is such a well-written tale with much in it to contemplate.
I did find it a bit of a stretch how quickly & easily several “reprogrammed” characters regained their memories, but that‘s a small quibble with a book worthy of the awards & accolades it‘s received. #buddyread
P 257 This line, on the other hand, is such a lovely way of describing people, each unique in their own way. #buddyread
I got so absorbed finishing the book over the weekend… now I can look back over the last few quotes I marked! #buddyread @smilingshelves
P 235 This line made my blood run cold. Killing everyone as a means of ensuring “peace”? What?! 🤯 I don‘t know the source, but it reminds me of the saying that goes something like “peace is more than just the absence of war.” Killing everyone in your path sure doesn‘t sound like a pathway to peace to me.
P 165 - I love the richness conveyed in the list of examples Petra gives of art and food and culture. Of course, war and famine are terrible, but making everyone lifeless, identical robots can‘t possibly be the way to address those problems. #buddyread
P 154 — This strikes me as very true! Of course, we‘d all prefer to be the latter, but it‘s hard to say how we‘d really react under duress. Makes me think of all the “quieter” heroes that don‘t always get the credit or accolades, but are courageous just doing what is needed in difficult circumstances, despite their fear. #buddyread
P 76 Story generators? What a horrifying thought! #buddyread
Excited to crack open our first Newbery buddy read of 2022!
Pulling out my book darts before I return to the library, I found one more passage I wanted to share. The biggest strength of this story was the bond & love between these two sisters. I‘m glad they had each other. And I think that‘s how most people survive trauma, by having someone who loves them through it all. And my heart breaks for anyone who doesn‘t feel they have that. 💔
#buddyread @smilingshelves So when shall we tackle our last one?!
Pg 45 #buddyread This is striking me since we are deciding public vs. homeschool next year… but I think this is where compulsory schooling fails in its true aims… intended to ensure an education to all & that kids don‘t fall through the cracks, especially if home is hard. But how does placing a child suffering trauma in a new school for 3 days help her? To fulfill the attendance requirement? She‘s in no position to learn. It‘s checking a box.
Pg 44 #buddyread
This is so true. It‘s understandable that it is hard to hear, but that keeps far too many kids alone and without help. I don‘t know how to make it any easier, but we all need to know the signs/red flags and be willing to listen. It‘s far more common than people think, and more adults need to be aware, not just those who have lived through something similar.
Let‘s just start riiiight at the beginning... this dedication is key, I think. We know from the jacket flap this is not your average middle grade book. We WANT the tough things we know are coming to be a foreign idea to all 10-year olds (and kids both younger & older), but the heartbreaking truth is that far too many kids need stories like this one. It won‘t be easy, but I‘m sure by the end I‘ll be glad this book was written. #buddyread
I probably shouldn‘t rely on my snail mail skills to plan our next #buddyread @smilingshelves 😆
Only 2 left & I have access to both. Do we want to do the heavier read first or save it for last? I‘ll let you choose! Aim for sometime in June, maybe? Let me know what you think! 📚
#truth I think this was my favorite quote in the whole book! #buddyread
As a light sleeper & tea-drinker, I loved this so much! #buddyread
pick#buddyread In an unusual turn of events, I switched to Kindle for this one! I kept getting stuck at the beginning, but switching to digital got my momentum going. 🤷🏼♀️ I loved the characters, premise, & setting, but there were also times I felt a bit taken out of the story as the author‘s message seemed pretty overt rather than more subtly woven in. Worthwhile & thought-provoking for sure, just a bit jarring at times as a reading experience.
Pg 132 #buddyread
I could weep 😭 They finally have been found, yet we know the rescue is far from over. The offer of help from a 14-year old boy who is literally trapped & starving. 😭
I don‘t always read the jacket copy or author bio before starting a book, but I‘m really glad I did this time! #buddyread
Finally getting around to those final thoughts! 😆 #buddyread
This was not my favorite Newbery medalist, but still a very good, solid book, worthy of the award. I ended up doing most of the book on audio, but still managed to mark a few great quotes. This was one of my favorites (pg 257). Did you have a favorite, @smilingshelves ? I know you said you were in need of a tin of book darts!
Now just to decide which Honor to read next & when! 😊
And 2 pages later... Where the Wild Things Are! #buddyread
Page 62 #buddyread Literally LOL‘ed 😆
Above quote from Pg. 37 #buddyread Switched to the audiobook to go on a walk! Just finished chapter 8.
Fun fact #1: The audiobook narrator (who surely is more trustworthy and knowledgeable than I) pronounces Halmoni closer to “Harmony” — always learning something new!
Fun fact #2: this line was SO reminiscent of ‘If You Give a Mouse a Cookie‘ to me, especially hearing it read aloud. Can you tell how many times I‘ve read that book?! 🤣
Cruelty upon cruelty. I felt this poem was one of the most striking and heartbreaking in the entire book, yet also so beautifully written. 💔
#buddyread #newbery
Library holds acquired! #newbery #buddyread
pickFinally finished! I think I would have liked this one more if my focus & attention wasn‘t so scattered & I could have read it in a shorter timespan. Now I know how all the characters connect, I almost want to read it again! I LOVED how Mia & Uly ended up together. I feel the end of the book was particularly well done & I like how all the pieces were woven together. It was just hard to get into it before I made those connections. 🌟🌟🌟 #buddyread
So many great quotes at the beginning of this book! I‘m really loving the writing style so far. #buddyread @smilingshelves
What a moment — tapping into all that pain to create something so beautiful. 😢❤️🎵
Pg. 348 #buddyread. @smilingshelves
Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. And in the midst of it all, such a tender moment. 😢
#buddyread
A few Newberys to add to my collection that I found at today‘s library bag sale 📚📚📚 I also have this habit of grabbing extras of titles I already have when my bag isn‘t full yet! 🙊🤷🏼♀️📚 I might need to send you another stack soon @smilingshelves ! 😆🤷🏼♀️📚
Newbery #buddyread number 4 coming up next! Let me know when you would like to start @smilingshelves :)
I need to remember this sometimes! Jude is pretty wise for her young years. #buddyread
I totally slacked in my posting for this #buddyread, but I really enjoyed the book! I just love the imagery of this quote.
Valentine‘s Day reading! Getting started on my next #buddyread — and 3rd Newbery of the year — with @smilingshelves 📚📚📚
I finished already! 🙊 This was my favorite moment of the book. I really enjoyed it and felt it was very well-done. I‘m so curious about the other Honor books this one came out on top against though since a graphic novel by default doesn‘t have very much writing. The illustrations are such an integral part, I have a hard time separating them from the text which is the primary consideration for the Newbery.🤔 Great book though! :)
#buddyread
Next up on the #buddyread schedule is this year‘s Newbery Medalist.
Ready when you are @smilingshelves !
I put a bunch of the 2020 Youth Media Award winners/honors on hold at my library and the first batch has arrived! I will be #buddyreading the Newberys with @smilingshelves and I can‘t wait to read some of the others on my own!
pickI recently read this seasonally appropriate book by the Newbery-medalist author of Caddie Woodlawn. It was a bit predictable, but an enjoyable & sweet read. I‘m glad my library system still had a copy in circulation because it‘s scarce and out of print, so the used book prices are through the roof. I‘m still kind of amazed my library just let me walk out with it though! I‘ll be returning it ASAP before it meets with any child-related accidents!
Little Christmas, Three Kings‘ Day, Epiphany — whatever you call it, it‘s here and the 12 Days of Christmas have officially ended, so it‘s time to be done for the season.🎄
December is always so full that my Christmas reading spills over into the new year. It can feel a little weird continuing into January, but at this point it‘s become a tradition.🤷🏼♀️
I read many new-to-me gems for my #VintageBookishChristmas, so I‘m calling it a success!
I‘m terrible at choosing my top 10, so I‘m going with a stack of all my 5🌟reads of 2020 instead. (Plus the tagged book I borrowed from the library, Michelle Obama‘s Becoming my aunt is borrowing, & Goblet of Fire which was an audio re-read.
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This year had really high highs & really low lows. I‘m grateful for good books, good friends, & family that helped me through it all. Here‘s to a new year, a fresh start, and, of course, more great books! ⬇️
pick🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 The 12 Days of Christmas aren‘t over yet, so I can keep reading Christmas books, right?! I‘ll take a break soon to share my 5🌟 reads of 2019, promise!
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Book 7 of my #VintageBookishChristmas is another beautiful reprint of an older book — and another first title (for me) by an author who I want to read lots more of.📚
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Lovely story, lovely illustrations, this is a book that will definitely be kept and re-read.
![[tagged book]](https://image.librarything.com/pics/litsy_webpics/icon_taggedBook@3x.png){kind=icon}
