Where the Books Are

I was so excited that Red was named an Indie Next Pick for January/February 2024 in large part because I love indie bookstores. Growing up, we didn’t live close to many independent bookstores and now that I’m in the Greater Boston area, I’m so fortunate to have so many good choices nearby.

To celebrate being on the Kids Indie Next List, here are some of my favorite indie bookstores.

  • Brookline Booksmith was my local bookstore when I lived around Coolidge Corner and I’d move back in a heartbeat if only for this store. Not only do they have rows of books, great recommendations, and gifts, but they also have a used section downstairs. The best of both worlds!
  • Across the river in Cambridge is Porter Square Books, which similar has fantastic stock and always has excellent staff recommendations. They also have a great coffee bar in the store, which means you can buy a book and a coffee and read at the counter and have the best time ever.
  • The first bookstore I found when I moved to Boston was Trident Booksellers and it’s been a favorite ever since. With a full cafe inside, you can browse the stacks while you wait for your table at brunch.
  • When I think about Wellesley Books, I think about the fantastic events they’ve organized over the years. Even though they were farther away for me for a while, I would make the trip to see authors like Shannon Hale, Suzanne Collins, and John and Hank Green. (Bonus: there’s the reason my dear friend/writing group member Allison and I reconnected after meeting as teens in a summer writing program!)
  • A new addition to the Boston area is All She Wrote Books, an intersectional, inclusive feminist and queer bookstore that supports, celebrates, and amplifies underrepresented voices. Their staff recommendations are stellar and they highlight local authors.
  • Just south of Boston, Buttonwood Books in Cohasset and the Blue Bunny Bookstore are bright spot for readers with fantastic children’s sections.
  • Even farther south, in Rhode Island, are Barrington Books, which has been an indie favorite in the area since the 1980s. More recently, co-op bookstore Heartleaf Books opened in Providence and I can attest to the fact that the store t-shirts are super comfy.
  • Way out of the Boston area, Women & Children First in Chicago has been a favorite since Walt lived in Andersonville and I’d visit him. They have a great selection and have been an inclusive space in the Chicago area since 1979.

Big thanks to the American Booksellers Association for including Red as an indie pick. Check out these great indies if you’re in the area and share your favorite indie bookstores in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday: Hidden Gems

I don’t always participate in Top Ten Tuesday, but when I do, it’s because I want to rave about books! This week’s theme is hidden gems, aka books we love that we think everyone should love but for some reason have not hit the bestseller lists or gotten the big movie deals. In no particular order, here are some of the books I’m always shoving into friends’ hands:

Feeling Sorry for Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty
I read this as a teen and immediately made my close friends read it, too. Told in letters (some of which are from imaginary organizations), it’s a clever, funny, touching look at the evolving nature of friendship.

Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard
Admittedly, this one started slow, but it’s such a great story of a gender-non-conforming teen. All the relationships felt so real to me, and I especially appreciated Pen’s struggles with her traditional Portuguese family.

A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban
This middle-grade novel about a girl with grand piano dreams and an organ reality hit me right in the feels. It’s a thoughtful, fun, and funny story about family, friends, fear, and surprising yourself.

Good Enough by Paula Yoo
Such a sweet, funny, touching story about a girl dealing with family pressure to excel, major crushes, and a secret love of pop music. Patti’s church group friends are my fav.

A Greyhound of a Girl by Roddy Doyle
This is one of my favorite family stories, about four generations of women helping one to pass onto the afterlife. Doyle has such a way with voice and dialogue.

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
This story about a competitive high school runner who learns to run again after losing her leg in a car accident feels so genuine, both in terms of the emotional stakes and of the information about what it actually takes to go through rehab and run with a prosthetic.

The Light Fantastic and Breakfast Served Anytime by Sarah Combs
This is a two-for, because Sarah Combs is one of my all-time favorite writers and humans. Both of her books are packed with gorgeous writing, touching stories, deep sadness, pure joy, and characters you just want to hug.

The Montmaray Journals by Michelle Cooper
A historical, epistolary series about a royal family at the edge of WWII? Sign me up. Cooper does a fantastic job creating a memorable set of characters and gives a fascinating look at the rise of hate, fear, and war (which, sadly, feels too close to today’s vibe) and what good people can do to stand against it.

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
This was one of my very favorite books when I was 10/11-years-old. After reading The Secret Garden and A Little Princess, I randomly stumbled across this one in the library and it hit all those good Victorian feels–even governesses, plucky orphans, and a whole forest of hungry wolves.

Wildlife by Fiona Wood
I feel like if you squished together Feeling Sorry for Celia and Breakfast Served AnytimeWildlife is what you’d get, which means I am 100% its target audience. Wildlife examines toxic friendships, grief, and finding the people you need, all set at an outdoor education program in Australia. (What is it about Australian YA that I just love?!)

Underrated books that you love? Share them in the comments! Also make sure to check out everyone else’s Top Ten Tuesday hidden gems via That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Ten Tuesday – Ten Books That Lived up to the Hype

I’m psyched to take part in today’s Top Ten Tuesday, since it’s also Harry Potter’s birthday, which fits perfectly with this week’s theme of “ten books that lived up to the hype.” My most hype-able books (in no particular order):

  1. The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
    Confession: I saw Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the bookstore before it was a full-blown thing. I picked it up and it sounded interesting, but I only had enough money for one new book that day and had already decided to spend my money on something else. I didn’t read the series until my mom picked up a copy at the airport and binged the first three books over a weekend. She passed them onto me, I binged them over a weekend, and things have never been the same since. It’s certainly not a perfect series, but I love its approach to doing what’s right and how often the lines between right and wrong are blurred. If you’re still into the Harry Potter hype, make sure to check out Life Lessons Harry Potter Taught Me by friend and fellow Hufflepuff Jill Kolongowski and the Harry Potter and the Sacred Text podcast, which I’m currently listening to and loving.
  2. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
    For years, I wondered how Jellicoe Road won the Printz medal in such a strong year. It couldn’t be that good, could it? Um, guys–it’s EVEN BETTER. It’s possibly my favorite YA novel or novel in general. It’s a beautifully crafted book about family, loss, love, friendship, pain, stories, and more. It’s also got all the things I love–boarding schools, family secrets, enemies who become friends, deep trauma, ultimate hope. So. Friggin’. Good.
  3. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
    Things I’m not great at reading–series and sci-fi. With series, I tend to read one and then not read the second until way later. Even if I loved the first, it generally takes me forever to circle back around. And my tastes run more toward contemp than sf/f, so the sci-fi books I read tend to be even further in between. I’d heard good things about The Lunar Chronicles, but figured they wouldn’t be quite my bag. I finally read Cinder and really dug it. By the time I read Scarlet, I was hooked. I immediately put in requests for the rest of the series from the library and tore through these fairy-tale-inspired space adventures. Super fun and super recommended.
  4. The To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series by Jenny Han
    Another example in which I read the first book and ended up devouring the whole series. I expected a fluffy but maybe not engaging book when I read the first one, but man, I just fell in love with Lara Jean and the supporting cast. The plot is fun and high-concept (Lara Jean’s secret love letters to boys she’s crushed on accidentally get sent), but what sticks with me is this very real world of people and their very real relationships. Lara Jean’s family live is just as engaging and present as her life at school and with her friends. I loved seeing Lara Jean come out of her shell, confront some fears, and ultimately make her way into the world. I would full-on read two whole series about Lara Jean’s sisters. Please make this happen, Jenny Han.
  5. Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
    Much like with Jellicoe Road, I put off reading Code Name Verity for a while because of the hype. I was worried that the high expectations would make me not as into the book, which generally seemed up my alley (literary historical YA fiction about two female friends). When I finally read it, I stayed up late to finish it and then, the next morning, demanded that my husband read it immediately or I’d have to tell him everything that happened because I had too many feelings. I followed up shortly after with Rose Under Fire, which is not exactly a sequel (it’s mostly about different characters) but in a related universe, and is just as powerful and well-written.
  6. We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
    At least I read this one before it won the Printz, so maybe I’m getting better about actually reading books that have hype and that sounds like books I’ll really enjoy. This one was right up my alley–family secrets, first year of college, coming out, falling in love, found families–and it fully delivered. I finished it on an airplane and immediately wanted to make everyone else on the plane read it, too. Odd note: I bought this at the same time as I bought To All the Boys I Loved Before, after I got a flat tire and felt like I deserved a reward for not falling apart about it.
  7. Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly
    I read this before I saw the movie, which already looked awesome. Fortunately, the book is just as good if not better. I know. It’s a big claim, but guys this book is so good. Shetterly sheds light on a piece of lesser-known history and shares the stories of black women who made space travel possible. When I finished the book, I immediately went to Goodreads to look up everyone who (correctly) gave it five stars and then got irrationally mad at any review that was less than five stars. It’s the top nonfiction book I recommend to people, because it’s so powerful and uplifting and well-written, and it should be required reading for everyone in America.
  8. The Tiffany Aching books by Terry Pratchett
    Remember when I said I don’t do a lot of series or sf/f? Double that for books by straight white guys. (I figure it’s more worth my time to read underrepresented voices in a literary sphere that is still very guy-heavy in a lot of ways.) I’d heard good things about Pratchett’s expansive Discworld series, but it felt too large to dive into, and besides, did I want to read another straight white dude’s fantasy series? But a trusted librarian friends insisted that the series was worthwhile, and that I should actually start in the ‘middle,’ with the Tiffany Aching books, which are about a young girl who becomes a witch. I ended up listening to all of the Tiffany audiobooks as I trained for my second marathon, and I legit looked forward to long runs so I could spend time in Tiffany’s world. Since then, I’ve started listening to some of the early Discworld books (specifically, the Witch ones), and still love them. Terry Pratchett, I’m sorry I ever doubted you.
  9. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
    I’d heard Grace Lin speak years ago at an NESCBWI conference, where she was fantastic, and had friends refer to her books as the best ever, but it still took me a while to finally read Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. I don’t even have a reason for why it took me so long! But man, did I fall in love with this beautiful book about family and stories and sacrifice and courage and friendship. Grace Lin is one of the top middle grade and picture book authors working today, and this book knocks it out of the park.
  10. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez
    Much like Code Name Verity, this was a historical YA novel that I expected would be up my alley, which made me worried that the reading experience wouldn’t hold up. Instead, I was struck by a powerful book that made me feel like my emotions had been dug out with an ice cream scoop–which to me means it’s a great book. Also like Wein’s books, this one is not an easy read, but it’s a stunning look at a little-known part of history with a cast of heartbreaking characters and a true gut-punch of an ending.

What are your favorite hype-able books? Share ’em in the comments, or share your own Top Ten Tuesday post! Top Ten Tuesday is now at That Artsy Reader Girl, so make sure to head over there to check out all of this week’s posts and future topics.

Families Belong Together

If you’re like me, the news about immigrant families being separated and children being detained in horrifying conditions makes you ill to think about. This is a human rights violation happening on our watch. While I’m not an immigration lawyer or social worker, I can take a small part in this effort to reunify families and make sure these abuses never happen again.

Right now, in partnership with Kid Lit Says No Kids in Cages, the children’s and YA lit community has come together in a giant auction of tons of literary items, all raising money for groups such as the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, and more. Auction items include:

I’m taking part in two raffles–one that includes a signed copy of The Chance You Won’t Return and one that includes a query critique by yours truly.

See Writers for Families Belong Together for more information on how to donate and bid/enter raffles, and to scope out all the amazing items. This is an enormous, deeply upsetting problem and one we all need to address. I’m so glad to be taking part in this auction, and hope you take a moment to review the items. (Or donate in general!)

Where the Books Are

Recently, I had a conversation with someone who had two kids who were both readers, but she wasn’t sure how to keep finding books they might like. “It’s hard to tell from an Amazon review,” she mentioned. Which got me thinking about the places I find books to add to my (never-ending) reading list. In no particular order:

Book blogs/social media
This is probably where I find the most books. I follow a lot of book/writing-related blogs, which often post reviews, lists of book recommendations on a particular theme or topic, or interviews with writers about their work. Some favorites include:

I follow these (and others) on Feedly and, when I see a good review or description that sounds interesting, add to to my list.

Browsing bookstores/libraries
This used to be the primary way I found books. From the time I was an early reader through high school, I’d go to the library or local bookstores and spend time scanning the shelves for titles that sounded interesting. I still love doing this, although most of my library browsing tends to be through their online catalog of available audiobooks to download.

Award lists
I don’t pay a ton of attention to year-end book lists (like “best of 2018”), but I do keep an eye out for which books win major awards. In the children’s literature/YA sphere, that includes ALA Youth Media Awards, the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature, and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards. These might be more popular/well-known books that I already kind of have on my radar, but the awards make me feel like I should check them out to get a sense of what’s being recognized in the kid/YA lit sphere.

Professional publications
Getting a good review from professional review organizations like School Library Journal, Kirkus, or Publishers Weekly can be a big boost for books in the market. It’s also a place I tend to read book reviews. I don’t put a ton of weight into whether a book gets a great review or not, but if I like the sound of a book overall, I’ll check it out.

Recommendations from friends
This one is actually a little iffy, because lots of times I get weirdly defiant when people tell me I have to read a certain book. Even if it’s a book I know I’d enjoy, a lot of times I’ll stubbornly feel like You can’t make me! I also tend to pick books from my reading list based on feel (like “I want something fun and scifi next”) vs. recent recommendations, so I don’t usually circle back to friends’ recommendations until later. But there are a few people I 100% trust with book recommendations and am always happy to get their suggestions–even if I don’t always end up reading them right away.

Books by friends
This is total literary nepotism, but I’m way more likely to read a book if I know and like the person who wrote it. Again, it may not happen right away, but friends’ books are always on my list. I’m also way more likely to buy friends’ books, when I can afford it, vs. getting them from the library, which is how I read pretty much everything else.

Books similar to what I’m writingA lot of times, especially in the early phases of a project, I’ll search for books similar to what I’m

writing to get a sense of what’s already out there and what other authors have already done. Sometimes this is in tone (quirky, funny, sad, etc.) or topic (books about military families, books about teens in theatre, etc.) or just genre (sci-fi, fantasy, contemp, etc.). I know a lot of people don’t like to work this way, in case they get too bogged down in other people’s stories, but I find it immensely helpful and inspiring.

Where do you find your next read? Share your recommendations in the comments!

Friday Fifteen

Happy Friday, guys! No long no blog, but it’s officially summer, which means summer reading season is on. Which means I should probably catch up on my mini-book reviews. Let’s get the weekend (and summer) started with some book reviews in fifteen words or fewer.

Cress by Marissa Meyer
Great continuation of the Lunar Chronicles and a fun adaptation of Rapunzel.

Equal Rites by Terry Pratchett
Loved getting to see early Granny Weatherwax. Eskarina is a proto-Hermione in the best way.

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Hell yes we should! Required reading for all genders.

Friday Fifteen

Happy Friday, guys! It’s been a while since my last Friday Fifteen, but I’ve been busy with the work life and the writing life, and the throwing the squeaky toy for Bodo the Dog life. Fortunately, this is the Friday before Marathon Monday, aka the best day of the year, so I’m super excited to head into the weekend. Let’s get things started with a few book reviews in fifteen words or fewer.

The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen
A fantastic look at disability, friendly, struggle, and strength. As a runner, I’m a fan.

Summerlost by Ally Condie
A sweet and sad and real middle grade about loss and family. Loved the setting.

Paperweight by Meg Haston
A sensitive, real portrayal of a girl battling an eating disorder. Recovery is complex here.

2017 Bookish Resolution Recap

I’m going to spend the entirety of January writing “2017” on things before remember it’s 2018, so it seems like a great time to look at my 2017 reading/writing resolutions and my progress (or lack thereof).

  1. Finish more book series I’ve started: I have this on the list every year and made some minor progress toward finishing some book series that I’d started. I completed the entirety of Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series, and the Tiffany Aching section of Discworld (a series that I’m already continuing into 2018).
  2. Read more diversely: I made a particular effort in 2017 to read authors of color and LGBTIQIA+ authors, which included some fantastic books.
  3. Listen to more audiobooks: I nailed this resolution! I ended up doing most of my reading via audiobook and am a major audiobook evangelical now.
  4. Explore more picture books: I didn’t do much on this end. Most of my reading comes from the library, and I feel a little weird scanning through the picture books without a particular purpose.
  5. Read more poetry: Yeah, didn’t do much on this end, either. I think I’ll be better off if I try to check out literary magazines for their poetry than devote myself to collections.
  6. Turn off the internet more: This ended up being more like ‘go to coffeeshops where you don’t know the wifi info’ than ‘turn off the internet more.’
  7. Write when I think I don’t have enough time: I did manage to sneak in some shorter writing time, and I think this is going to be especially helpful in 2018, when I have more non-writing job hours.
  8. Revise projects that aren’t finished: I revised a couple of projects and set another side for the time being. (I still like it, but it’s missing some major components and I just don’t know how to fix that yet.) I’m doing some additional revising on one of the projects now.
  9. Stretch my writing muscles: I didn’t end up being as stretchy as anticipated. For now I’m still solidly in the contemporary YA vein, which I like.
  10. Have fun: This one was probably the hardest goal, and one I’m still trying to manage. I’ve really questioned whether or not I can enjoy writing outside of publishing, and how I see myself as a writer without requiring other people externally validate that identity. But the writing itself–once I’m in it, it’s where I like to be. So it’s something I’ll need to keep addressing in 2018.

Did you make writerly/readerly resolutions in 2017? How did you do with them? Share in the comments, and be on the lookout for a future post about 2018 resolutions!

Friday Fifteen – Favorites from 2017

Happy Friday, guys! It’s also the last Friday of 2017, which feels like a great time to share fifteen of my favorite books from this year and why you should read them in fifteen words or fewer. I’ve done a lot of great reading, in large part thanks to audiobooks, and will spend 2018 recommending these books to pretty much everyone. (Most of these are not books published in 2017 because I’m way behind the times.) In no particular order:

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
A gut-punch of a book, and a necessary read about Soviet work camps in WWII.

George by Alex Gino
A sensitive, hopeful story about a transgender girl who proves she’s the perfect Charlotte.

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee
A powerful and deep dive into the history of cancer, cancer research, and healing.

The Countdown Conspiracy by Katie Slivensky
I’m kinda biased but SO MANY FEELS! I love this STEM adventure. Also, RUBY LIVES!

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
I devoured this tale of family, courage, and how storytelling makes us who we are.

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett
This stands in for all the Tiffany Aching books; funny, fierce and so friggin’ good.

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly
I. Loved. This. Book. Shetterly’s writing is fantastic, and these stories are so powerful.

The Light Fantastic by Sarah Combs
Sarah’s writing is so good, it made me tear up in a Panera. Beautiful, arresting.

Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead
My kind of middle grade–sensitive and sad and joyous and true.

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han
The whole series is great, but PS is my favorite. I’m still ship Lara Jean/John.

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
The book I want to shove into people’s hands. Gorgeous writing, so many feels.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
My new fav contemporary YA romance–funny and sweet and sad and fun.

The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey
This Jane Eyre adaptation has stuck with me in ways I didn’t expect. Love Livesey.

The FitzOsbornes in Exile by Michelle Cooper
Finally read and LOVED it. On the edge of WWII, feels very relevant right now.

Ana of California by Andi Teran
Stays true to the spirit of the original Anne of Green Gables, with contemporary spins.

What were your favorite books from 2017? (Bonus points if they’re available via library audibook borrowing services, just saying, it’s a great way to read.) Share them in the comments! And sending you all happy reading wishes for 2018.

Coming out in Kid Lit

Today is National Coming Out Day, which got me thinking about LGBTQIA+ representation in YA and children’s literature. While there certainly can be more stories featuring realistic, nuanced representations of LGBTQIA+ characters (protagonists! friends! heroes! parents! etc!), I’m heartened by the books young readers do have today, to let them know that their feelings are valid and that they can be the main characters of their own stories.

Which means that, of course, I need to share some of my recent favorite reads featuring LGBTQIA+ characters.

Girl Mans Up by M-E Girard: a great look at sexual identity and gender identity, as Pen struggles against her family and friends’ ideas of what it means to be a young woman. I also loved the minor characters in this. #teamblake

Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown: a twist on the coming out story, as very out Jo hides her sexual identity when she moves to a small, conservative town.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee: bi, gay, and asexual representation in this super fun and touching historical adventure. I’m psyched for the sequel, which will follow Felicity!

George by Alex Gino: one of the sweetest and most sensitive coming out stories, about a young trans girl who just wants to be Charlotte in her school’s production of Charlotte’s Web.

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli: one of my new favorite contemporary YAs, about theatre and friendship and first love and figuring out who you are and how to share that with the world.

As I Descended by Robin Talley: in case you want some classically-inspired scares and intrigue with your representation, this one’s a female take on Macbeth, starring two young women at an elite boarding school.

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour: one of my new favorites full stop, this is a fantastic look at first love and friendship and loneliness and grief and reaching out to those we love.

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo: a powerful and hopeful story about a young trans girl trying to make a new start for herself.

Other books you’d add to this list? Share ’em in the comments! In the meantime, remember–you are valid and you deserve love.