It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
For readers of all ages
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop we host which focuses on sharing what we’re reading. This Kid Lit version of IMWAYR focuses primarily on books marketed for kids and teens, but books for readers of all ages are shared. We love this community and how it offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other.
The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. The Kid Lit IMWAYR was co-created by Kellee & Jen at Teach Mentor Texts.
We encourage you to write your own post sharing what you’re reading, link up below, leave a comment, and support other IMWAYR bloggers by visiting and commenting on at least three of the other linked blogs.
Happy reading!
Thursday: Sofia’s Kids’ Corner: A Few Books that I Read Recently that were Amazing!
Sunday: Author Guest Post: “So What You’re Really Saying Is…” by Adam Borba, Author of This Again
**Click on any picture/link to view the post**
Kellee
Middle Grade
- The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, A Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity by Nicholas Day, Illustrated by Brett Helquist: This is one of my favorite nonfiction books I’ve read recently. I loved how the author intertwined the story of the Mona Lisa theft with Leonardo Da Vinci’s life and other parts of history, including art history. It was written like a story but it is all true, which makes it even cooler.
- The Door of No Return by Kwame Alexander: Kwame Alexander set out to tell a story about a time period and people who are not often within books, and he did so in a beautiful way. The Door of No Return takes place in 19th century Ghana and tells the story of an 11-year-old, his life, and a twist that causes a tragedy.
- Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt: Selah has very been one to share how she feels, because what she feels isn’t “normal,” but then she finds poetry and we get to follow her journey of self-discovery and advocacy through her poetic journal.
- The Moonwind Mysteries #2: The Queen of Thieves by Johan Rundberg: After I read The Night Raven and found out it was book one of a series, I knew I was going to pick up all the sequels because I love Mika’s brain, her bravery, and her heart. This story is very different than the first but once again we see Mika faced with a challenge that she must solve.
- Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow: This one is hard for me because I overall really liked the book, especially the setting and all of the supporting characters. The book is quirky and funny and heartfelt. But I really had a problem with not knowing about Simon’s tragedy before reading. Although the author added a trigger warning that the book was about PTSD after a tragedy, the tragedy is left a mystery until it is revealed within the book and I was not ready at that moment to read a book about what the tragedy was. Because of this, it took away from my being able to love the book.
Young Adult
- The Selection and ALL of its sequels and novellas by Kiera Cass: I truly got obsessed with this series for a bit. I cannot believe I waited so long to read it, and once I got started I could not stop. I read everything in the world. For those of you that don’t know, this book combines the idea of “The Bachelor” with Hunger Games and does so in a way that you CANNOT put the book down.
- Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino: Although I definitely loved this book for its dive into identity within the Deaf community, I loved it even more because of the camp vibes! Sortino does a fantastic job of combining her goals of exploring Deaf culture and delving into a fun summer camp coming-of-age story.
- Chaos Theory by Nic Stone: This is a story as old as time: Boy and girl meet, they promise to only be friends, but love is inevitable. But Shelbi and Andy are learning to live with themselves and aren’t sure if they are right to be anything positive to one another. The story focuses on prioritizing mental health, which is something very close to my heart, so I was sucked in straight from Nic Stone’s forward all the way through to her Author’s Note.
- Salt the Water by Candice Iloh: This book was recommended to me by author A.S. King, and I can see why–Iloh’s verse is masterly, the theme is timely and brilliant, and her story is so many emotions rolled into one. I also was lucky enough to listen to the audio which was done very well and allowed me to hear Iloh’s poetry, which is such a pleasure.
Picture Books
- Baba’s Peach Tree by Marie Tang & Seo Kim: “The thinks we nourish always flourish” is one of my favorite lines in a recent book, and truly embodies what this book is all about. From the beginning author’s note to set the stage for our beautifully illustrated story about a migrant family about hopes, dreams, and sacrifices. The flourishing imagery carries throughout, even during the struggles, and takes us through so much with Tao Hua and her father. An emotional read.
- Oddbird’s Chosen Family by Derek Desierto: A sweet, entertaining, and silly story about found/chosen family. This is a story that is important to tell because family is so differently defined for each person and Oddbird shows us that not all families look the same. I also loved the illustrations that were so colorful, including all of Oddbird’s friends who each had their own personality and looks–it makes me wish each of them had their own book!
To learn more about any of these books, click on any title/image to go to the book’s Goodreads page or check out my read bookshelf on Goodreads.
Ricki
This is my week off; see you next week!
Kellee
- Reading: Manmade Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers, Illustrated by Jeff Edwards
- Listening: Just finished Simon; I think I am going to start The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas
Thursday: Sofia’s Kids’ Corner: The Evers: Forever Twelve by Stacy McAnulty
Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!
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Wow, you read a lot, Kellee! I still want to read the Mona Lisa book & The Door of No Return, too, and I bookmarked a few others! Have a great week this week!
I am still waiting for the Mona Lisa book at the library. Really looking forward to it. I can understand what you mean about Simon Says–my mom DNF’ed it for the same reason. Not ready to read about that particular storyline at the time. I think it’s tricky to have a plot reveal like that where not talking about what happened is key to the plot but at the same time, readers need trigger warnings that may need to be a little more specific.
You’ve read so many great books recently!! I have a copy of The Door of No Return – I need to make it a priority to read that one. And I loved Good Different. I hadn’t heard of Salt the Water, but I went and read the description, and it sounds like a book I’d love as well!
I remember a student being very insistent that I read THE SELECTION when it came out, but at the time there were so many paranormalish YA with girls in ballgowns on the cover that it struck me as very “meh”. I’m sure if I had bought it, it would be very tattered by now. Glad you enjoyed it, though. It’s nice to read a series and not have to wait for the next book, isn’t it?
So many good books here, Kellee!! Good Different sounds like such an impactful story, and I love that it’s a novel in verse. Chaos Theory sounds so powerful—I feel like the intersection of mental health and love is really, really complex, and I don’t know that I’ve seen a book tackle it head-on before. And Salt the Water sounds incredible—the synopsis alone is stunning. I hate that you found yourself far into Simon Sort of Says before realizing the content in it wasn’t something you were ready for—it can be really hard to face such intense things in books when you’re not planning on it. I really appreciate all your thoughtful picks and reviews!
The Mona Lisa Vanishes is on my TBR. If I see it mentioned three more times this month, I’ll have to move it up my list.