Tag Archives: YA

2023 NLS Summer Reading Author Talk: Jenny Torres Sanchez

Join us on Zoom for an exciting author talk with Jenny Torres Sanchez, author of We Are Not from Here!

Jenny Torres Sanchez writes children’s and young adult fiction that has been a finalist for the Pura Belpre Award and included on the American Library Association’s annual list of Best Fiction for Young Adults. Her book We Are Not from Here vividly captures the treacherous journey of three teenagers who cross from Guatemala through Mexico to the United States in search of a better life.

This event is specially designed for YA, but all are welcome.

For more information:
Annette Hall
402-471-4033
annette.hall@nebraska.gov

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2023 NLS Summer Reading Author Talk: Kwame Alexander

Join us on Zoom for an exciting author talk! Kwame Alexander is a New York Times best-selling author for children of all ages, as well as a poet, educator, and recipient of the Newbery Medal.

This event is specially designed for YA and middle grades, but all are welcome.

Mark your calendar for the last upcoming event in the NLS Summer Reading program:

For more information:
Annette Hall
402-471-4033
annette.hall@nebraska.gov

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2023 NLS Summer Reading Author Talk: Annette Bay Pimentel and Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins

Join us on Zoom for an exciting author talk with Annette Bay Pimentel, author of All the Way to the Top: How One Girl’s Fight for Americans with Disabilities Changed Everything!

Author Annette Bay Pimentel will read from her picture book and be joined by the heroine of her story, Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins.

This event is specially designed for K-5th grade, but all are welcome.

Mark your calendars for the following events happening this summer as part of the NLS Summer Reading program:

For more information:
Annette Hall
402-471-4033
annette.hall@nebraska.gov

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2023 NLS Summer Reading Author Talk: Celia C. Perez

Join us on Zoom for an exciting author talk with Celia C. Perez, author of The First Rule of Punk!

This event is specially designed for middle grades, but all are welcome.

Mark your calendars for the following events happening this summer as part of the NLS Summer Reading program:

For more information:
Annette Hall
402-471-4033
annette.hall@nebraska.gov

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#BookFaceFriday “Across the Desert” by Dusti Bowling

Is it hot out here, or is it just #BookFaceFriday?

Well, we weren’t able to find a desert for this week’s #BookFace, but we did the best we could. If your kids are looking for a little adventure this summer, look no further! NLC has several great titles in their book club kit collection that would be great for taking their minds all over the world, like this week’s #BookFaceFridayAcross the Desert” by Dusti Bowling (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2023.) A middle-grade action-adventure story, about survival, friendship, and courage. It’s available for checkout as a book club kit or as an audiobook from Nebraska Overdrive Libraries. We have 10 copies available for your library to borrow today! We also have several other titles by Dusti Bowling available on Nebraska OverDrive Libraries, check them all out today.

“Experience has taught Jolene she can only count on herself, and she doesn’t think she counts for much. But when she witnesses her friend’s accident in the desert via live stream, she finds the strength to rescue them both. Across the Desert combines compelling adventure, honesty, danger, and love.”

―Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Book Club Kits Rules for Use

  1. These kits can be checked out by the librarians of Nebraska libraries and media centers.
  2. Circulation times are flexible and will be based upon availability. There is no standard check-out time for book club kits.
  3. Please search the collection to select items you wish to borrow and use the REQUEST THIS KIT icon to borrow items.
  4. Contact the Information Desk at the Library Commission if you have any questions: by phone: 800/307-2665, or by email: Information Services Team

Find this title and many more through Nebraska OverDrive! Libraries participating in the Nebraska OverDrive Libraries Group currently have access to a shared and growing collection of digital downloadable audiobooks and eBooks. 188 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 21,696 audiobooks, 35,200 eBooks, and 3,964 magazines. As an added bonus it includes 130 podcasts that are always available with simultaneous use (SU), as well as SU ebooks and audiobook titles that publishers have made available for a limited time. If you’re a part of it, let your users know about this great title, and if you’re not a member yet, find more information about participating in Nebraska Overdrive Libraries!

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

 
 

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Friday Reads: Lord of the Fly Fest by Goldy Moldavsky

What would happen if you lured all the Instagram beauty influencers to a tropical island with the promise of music, luxury accommodations, and access to other beautiful people… and then left them stranded without food, electricity, and gasp, WiFi? Small-time podcaster Rafi Francisco is about to find out. Shelling out her meager life savings for a ticket to the Fly Fest, an exclusive island festival where she hopes to score a chance to dig up some dirt on a famous performer, Rafi instead finds herself stuck on the beach with a bunch of spoiled and increasingly dirty trust-fund kids who have mistaken her for staff. But there is no staff. No staff, no gourmet meals, no private villas, no music festival…and no way to get in touch with anyone off the island that can rescue them.

If this sounds a lot like a recent island festival scandal that resulted in fraud charges and felony convictions, you are not mistaken. Described as “Lord of the Flies meets Fyre Festival” the setup is not as unlikely as you’d hope.

Rafi recognizes that the situation will quickly become dire and tries to rally the festival-goers into working together to find food and shelter, while still trying to secretly investigate her podcast subject. But she soon finds herself up against a prominent makeup guru who has deluded himself and an increasing number of others that the festival has not been canceled; the promoters are just testing the attendees to see if they are worthy of such an experience. Will reason prevail? Or will Fly Fest end in #disaster?

A quick YA read, it’s a good reminder that everything you see on social media is not as perfect as it appears.

Moldavsky, Goldy. Lord of the Fly Fest. Henry Holt & Co., 2022.

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Friday Reads: Ten Thousand Tries by Amy Makechnie

The other players on the team looked at me funny when I borrowed a ball to take this photo at the end of their practice, but my kid just rolled his eyes and smiled. “Yeah, my mom does stuff like this all the time.” Being a a recurring #BookfaceFriday model has jaded him to the weird things I do with book covers. (He’s even better at lining up the shot than I am now.)

This book is also about a boy whose parents spend a lot of time with him on the soccer field. Golden Maroni’s dad was a pro soccer player, and now coaches the local high school team. His mom coaches Golden’s middle school team – she’s referred to as Coach or Mom depending on the chapter’s setting.

The title refers to Malcolm Gladwell’s assertion in his book “Outliers” that it takes 10,000 hours to achieve mastery of a skill. While Amy Makechnie specifies in her end-of-book acknowledgements that this rule doesn’t apply to sports, our hero Golden is sure that 10,000 hours of soccer practice will make him as phenomenal as his idol Lionel Messi. But off the field, things aren’t going as well.

Lucy, his team co-captain and best friend (and maybe more?), will move soon if Golden can’t drive away her annoying future stepfather. His older sister Jaimes certainly needs another 10,000 hours of driving practice before Golden feels safe riding with her. And worst of all, a year and a half after a surprising diagnosis, Golden’s dad is losing his battle with ALS; no amount of positive thinking and hard work can stop the progression of this terrible disease. It feels like Golden’s whole world is crashing down around him. The Maroni family motto is “We do hard things.” They work hard, play hard, and never give up on each other. But this year will be different, and Golden must learn that letting go isn’t the same as giving up.

This book was chosen as one of the 10 nominees that young adults across the state will read and vote on for the 2023-24 Golden Sower Novel Award next school year.

Makechnie, Amy. Ten Thousand Tries, ‎ New York, New York : Simon & Schuster, 2021.

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#BookFaceFriday “The Lake” by Natasha Preston

This #BookFaceFriday knows what you did last summer!

Pack up your marshmallows and bug spray because we’re headed to summer camp with “The Lake” by Natasha Preston (Random House Children’s Books, 2021.) It’s available as an eBook and Audiobook at Nebraska OverDrive Libraries. This YA thriller sounds like the perfect tale to tell around the campfire. New titles are added daily to Nebraska Overdrive Libraries, including children, YA, and adult fiction!

“[T]he strong buildup…leads to a shockingly satisfying finale. An eerie thriller reminiscent of summer horror movies that will keep readers on edge.”

Kirkus

Find this title and many more through Nebraska OverDrive. 180 libraries across the state share the Nebraska OverDrive collection of 25,520 audiobooks, 32,303 eBooks, and 3,403 magazines. As an added bonus it includes 130 podcasts that are always available with simultaneous use (SU), as well as SU ebooks and audiobook titles that publishers have made available for a limited time. If you’re a part of it, let your users know about this great title, and if you’re not a member yet, find more information about participating in Nebraska Overdrive Libraries!

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

 
 
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Friday Reads: Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell

Pumpkinheads book cover

Is there anything better than a crisp cool night at the pumpkin patch in the fall? The smell of campfire smoke, kettle corn, and apple cider in the air?

Deja and Josiah have been partners in the Succotash Hut for 4 seasons at the world’s greatest pumpkin patch. It’s their last night, and Deja is on a mission to get Josie to finally talk to his long-time crush at The Fudge Hut…and score some snacks along the way.

This YA graphic novel by Nebraska author Rainbow Rowell and Canadian artist Faith Erin Hicks was the perfect quick read to kick off my autumn. While I may not visit the local pumpkin patch this year (darn you coronavirus!), I am definitely ready for s’mores, fire pits, and pumpkin pie.

Rowell, Rainbow. Pumpkinheads. First Second Books, 2019.

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#BookFace & Friday Reads: “Lovely War” by Julie Berry

I first picked up this book because I was drawn to the cover art and soft, muted color scheme, but also because I’m a sucker for historical fiction. I expected a straight forward period romance, boy meets girl, boy goes to war, there’s pining, an injury, and a happily ever after. Don’t get me wrong, there is some of the expected, but let’s just say I was pleasantly surprised by this novel’s unexpected plot and characters.

It all starts with a torrid affair between gods, Aphrodite and Ares to be exact. Then turns into two love stories the goddess orchestrated during the last World War. The author introduces us to interesting characters from different walks of life, weaving their stories together for the reader. Berry dives in to overlooked parts of World War I history like the roles of black American soldiers, James Reese Europe’s introduction of Jazz to France, and YMCA volunteer work to name a few. I really appreciated the appendix and bibliography included at the end of the book. They let the reader know which parts of the story are factual and expand on those issues. Berry also includes references to nonfiction works that she used, so the reader can keep learning.

This title comes from our large collection of children’s and young adult books sent to us as review copies from book publishers. When our Children and Young Adult Library Services Coordinator, Sally Snyder, is done with them, the review copies are available for the Library System Directors to distribute to school and public libraries in their systems. Public and school library staff are also welcome to stop by and select some titles for their library collections. We think this one would be a great addition to any library. Contact Sally Snyder for more information.

Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available in our Book Club collection, permanent collection, and Nebraska OverDrive Libraries. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

Berry, Julie. Lovely War. Viking Books for Young Readers, 2019.

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#BookFaceFriday “Panic” by Sasha Dawn

Keep calm, don’t panic, it’s finally #BookFaceFriday!

Has the pandemic got you feeling anxious?  This week’s #BookFace is for you. In “Panic” by Sasha Dawn (Carolrhoda Lab, 2019), Madelaine has become overwhelmed by events both online and in real life, and struggles to make sense of it all.

This YA page-turner is available to all Nebraska OverDrive Libraries in eBook format. 173 libraries across the state share this collection of 16,670 audiobooks and 28,473 eBooks. As an added bonus it includes 130 podcasts that are always available with simultaneous use.

If you’re a part of it, let your users know about this great title, and if you’re not a member yet, find more information about participating in Nebraska Overdrive Libraries!

“Dawn (Blink, 2018, etc.) draws in readers, showing them that there is more to a person than what one sees on the surface. The author makes it easy to be both frustrated with the characters’ choices and yet to empathize with them. Compelling and captivating.“―Kirkus Reviews

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday – “Crushed”

It’s just ahh little crush on #BookFaceFriday!

Happy Valentine’s Day readers! Don’t let the lack of the perfect book club read get you down. We promise there’s a book out there for everyone, like “Crushed” by Laura and Tom McNeal (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2006) This YA novel is written by a husband and wife duo from Nebraska and can be reserved for your book club!

“A sympathetic documentary of human interrelationships and the consequences of choices, with an underlying emphasis on the value of real connection. McNeal fans and other young believers in human possibility will find food for thoughtful hope here.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

This week’s #BookFace model is our new Library Innovation Studios Staff Assistant Chelsea Lemburg! She started just a few weeks ago and will be assisting all of our LIS makerspace libraries!

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday – “Madness” by Zac Brewer

Mrs. Rochester’s got nothing on this #BookFace.

“We’re all mad here” for this week’s #BookFaceFriday, it’s “Madness” (Harper Teen, 2017) by Zac Brewer. “New York Times bestselling author Zac Brewer delivers his most honest and gripping novel yet, about a girl who believes she’s beyond saving—until she realizes the only person who can save her is herself.” -book jacket.

“Readers will cheer as [Brooke] navigates her way toward a degree of peace with her mental illness…Best-seller Brewer’s honest and highly personal story will speak to a wide audience.” (Booklist)

This title comes from our large collection of children’s and young adult books sent to us as review copies from book publishers. When our Children and Young Adult Library Services Coordinator, Sally Snyder, is done with them, the review copies are available for the Library System Directors to distribute to school and public libraries in their systems. Public and school library staff are also welcome to stop by and select some titles for their library collections. Contact Sally Snyder for more information.

This week’s #BookFace model is Amanda Sweet, our Technology Innovation Librarian!

Love this #BookFace & reading? Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “Lemons”

When life gives you lemons, we make #BookFace!

NLC’s #BookFaceFriday is joining forces with Nebraska’s Reading Classic Committee!  Reading Classics is a statewide competition that promotes and encourages Nebraska Schools to form teams and recognize outstanding young readers. They just launched a friendly #BookFace competition as students await the new 2019-2020 reading list. “Lemons” by Melissa Savage (Yearling, 2018). It’s one of the 10 nominated titles for the 2019-2020 Golden Sower Chapter Books list!

“Nine year old Lemonade Liberty’s mom taught her that when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.  Lemonade learns how to make lemonade out of rotten lemons.  Those lemons come from losing and leaving everything and moving to a small town of Willow Creek, California with a woolly beast lurking in the woods.   This is a debut novel packed with humor, mystery, friendship, family secrets and even Bigfoot!”Cyndi Shinn

The Nebraska Reading Classic Committee chooses books for the reading list for each Division with input from coaches, team members, and many other sources. The list includes award-winning books such as Caldecott,  Newbery, Golden Sower, and many other awards. We snapped this week’s #BookFace while members of the committee were discussing titles to add or remove for the 2020 reading list. Specifically the 2019-2020 Golden Sower nominees.

This week’s #BookFace models are committee members, Cyndi Shinn, and Marjorie Brubaker!

Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “Jane Austen: Her Heart Did Whisper”

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”
― Northanger Abbey

Jane Austen really knows how to tell it like it is. This week’s #BookFaceFriday is a tribute to this favorite author and all her works. “Jane Austen: Her Heart Did Whisper” by Manuela Santoni (Graphic Universe TM, 2018) is a unique graphic novel for kids and teens introducing them to the life of the author.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a young woman in possession of a keen mind must be in want of a husband . . . This graphic work of historical fiction, translated from the Italian, examines the life of beloved author Jane Austen. The story begins with spreads from the end of Jane’s life as she writes to her sister, Cassandra, remembering their time together as children, progressing into womanhood, and recounting how she cultivated, with the support of her father, her love of reading and writing.  The author shows faith in younger readers by including some challenging vocabulary that may have them reaching for dictionaries. However, the illustrations and context clues make the work accessible. A lovely, quick read.”―Kirkus Reviews

This title comes from our large collection of children’s and young adult books sent to us as review copies from book publishers. When our Children and Young Adult Library Services Coordinator, Sally Snyder, is done with them, the review copies are available for the Library System Directors to distribute to school and public libraries in their systems. Public and school library staff are also welcome to stop by and select some titles for their library collections. Contact Sally Snyder for more information.

This week’s #BookFace model is Aimee Owen, NLC’s Information Services Librarian!

Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “The Book of Lies”

Toil and Trouble we’re seeing #BookFace double!

Fire burn, and cauldron bubble, we saved the creepiest cover for our Halloween BookFaceFriday! “The Book of Lies” by Teri Terry (Clarion Books, 2017) practically jumped off the shelves as this week’s choice. Suspense, menace, mystery, witchcraft, family secrets, and mistaken identity, are interwoven in this page-turner that will grab and thrill teen readers.

“With elements of gothic literature (and a few references to Wuthering Heights), this story could serve as a bridge to gothic classics. Thriller readers may simply enjoy the creepy mystery.” —Kirkus

This title comes from our large collection of children’s and young adult books sent to us as review copies from book publishers. When our Children and Young Adult Library Services Coordinator, Sally Snyder, is done with them, the review copies are available for the Library System Directors to distribute to school and public libraries in their systems. Public and school library staff are also welcome to stop by and select some titles for their library collections. Contact Sally Snyder for more information.

We recruited our office red heads for this week’s spooky #BookFace, Christa Porter, our Library Development Director and Lisa Kelly, NLC’s Information Services Director!

Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “Okay for Now” & “Maniac Magee”

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream in this week’s #BookFaceFriday.

BookFace image April 6, 2018 "Okay for Now" and "Maniac Magee"

Hold onto your cone, we’ve got a two-scoop #BookFace for you this week! A few of the staff over in the Talking Book & Braille department were kind enough to help us out with this week’s Book Face (they were generously compensated with ice cream). We’re excited to highlight two great YA books in our book club collection, “Maniac Magee” by Jerry Spinelli (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 1999) and “Okay for Now” by Gary D. Schmidt (HMH Books for Young Readers, 2013). The Nebraska Library Commission offers book club kits to both public and school libraries.  These two titles have both been honored with award nominations. “Okay for Now” was a National Book Award Finalist and “Maniac Magee” is a Newbery Medal winner! Get these young adult novels reserved for your book club to read today!

“Okay for Now” by Gary D. Schmidt 
“Reproductions of Audubon plates introduce each chapter in this stealthily powerful, unexpectedly affirming story of discovering and rescuing one’s best self, despite family pressure to do otherwise.”—Booklist, starred review

“Maniac Magee” by Jerry Spinelli
“A Newbery Medal winning modern classic about a racially divided small town and a boy who runs.” —Amazon

This week’s #BookFace models are Gabe Kramer, TBBS Audio Production Studio Manager; and Jerry Hall, TBBS volunteer! A special thanks to TBBS Director, Scott Scholz, for lending a hand.

Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “Killer of Enemies”

Double trouble #BookFaceFriday fans!

Today’s #BookFace is both a book club kit title and the 2018 One Book for Nebraska Teens selection! We got creative with “Killer of Enemies” by Joseph Bruchac (Tu Books, 2016) and used the back of the book instead of the cover. We just couldn’t resist it’s BookFace perfection. It’s available for your teens’ to borrow as a book club kit through your library!

“A post-Apocalyptic YA novel with a steampunk twist, based on an Apache legend.”

Joseph Bruchac is a highly acclaimed Abenaki children’s book author, poet, novelist and storyteller, as well as a scholar of Native American culture.

This week’s #BookFace model is our new Technology Innovation Librarian, Amanda Sweet!

Love this #BookFace & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub. Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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#BookFaceFriday “Re-Gifters”

Happy #BookFaceFriday from the Nebraska Library Commission!

"Re-Gifters" by Mike Carey BookFaceI love this week’s #BookFace. It’s fun and festive, and since we don’t have a pile of presents here at the office, Aimee Owen volunteered the use of the pile under her tree. I also love that we get to highlight our amazing collection of Young Adult Book Club Kits. “Re-Gifters” written by Mike Carey,‎  and illustrated by Marc Hempel ‎ and Sonny Liew (Minx Books, 2007) is a great example! This graphic novel follows Korean American teenager Dixie through LA’s Koreatown. It’s a well-developed characters, plot, and setting make it perfect for dedicated comic readers and those new to the genre.

Love this #bookface & reading? We suggest checking out all the titles available for book clubs at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/ref/bookclub.

Check out our past #BookFaceFriday photos on the Nebraska Library Commission’s Facebook page!

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