#mustread

Must Read lists were a challenge started by Carrie at There is a Book for That. She shares on her 2019 intro post:

“For anyone out there with a To Be Read list that seems like it will never end, this challenge is for you! This is all about making your own personal list of books that you want to commit to reading in 2019.

10? 20? 30? more? It’s up to you

Books can be published in any year, be from any genre, and from any category: adult, YA, MG, Graphics, NF, etc. .  All that matters is that they are books you want to be sure not to forget as that TBR list continues to grow! These aren’t the only titles you will read over the year, but a list to help guide your reading. A list to lure you back to a reading path you have set for yourself. Many, many new books will tempt you! Go ahead and read them but having a list like this ensures you will not forget some titles you were determined to read. That’s the intention and spirit of this challenge.”

Here at Unleashing Readers, we focus on novels and call our Must Read lists our HOPE TO lists 🙂

Without further adieu, here are our lists!

Ricki

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka Completed February 3, 2019

Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callender

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi Completed January 27, 2019

The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

Odd One Out by Nic Stone

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Sadie by Courtney Summers

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera Completed February 19, 2019

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

Read: 3 of 16

Kellee

I may have gone a bit crazy this year, and I know that I probably won’t get to all of these amazing titles, but I couldn’t cut any once I made this list. (Anyone who has been an UR reader for a while knows that I am not good at narrowing down lists.) This led to my list having FIFTY titles. I cultivated titles from my Kindle, my students, and my Goodreads TBR to complete the list. We’ll see what I can do this year!

Update: Since I made this list, I had the honor of accepting a spot on an ALA Book Award Jury, so plans have changed a bit 🙂 

The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

Chomp (and other Hiaasen books) by Carl Hiaasen

Comics Will Break Your Heart by Faith Erin Hicks

Dash and Lilly’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Disappearance of Sloane Sullivan by Gia Cribbs Completed 1/13/19

Downsiders by Neal Shusterman
Read Shadow Club, The Schwa Was Here, and Dark Side of Nowhere instead
Completed 4/21/19, 4/27/19, 5/14/19

Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee

Fallout by Todd Strasser

First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez

Immoral Code by Lillian Clark

Inkling by Kenneth Oppel Completed 1/19/19

I Survived books by Lauren Tarshis

Killing November by Adriana Mather

Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi

Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell (and its sequels) by Chris Colfer
The Wishing Spell Completed 1/12/19
The Enchantress Returns Completed 2/9/19
A Grimm Warning Completed 4/9/19
Beyond the Kingdoms Completed 5/1/19
An Author’s Odyssey Completed 5/28/19

The Lost Girl by Anne Ursu Completed 2/4/19

Love Sugar Magic: A Dash of Trouble by Anna Meriano

Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak by Pablo Cartaya

Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina Completed 2/10/19

#MurderFunding by Gretchen McNeil Completed 3/28/19

Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Nevertheless, We Persisted: 48 Voices of Defiance, Strength, and Courage by 48 Authors

Over the Moon by Natalie Lloyd

Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson

Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo Completed 2/8/19

Puddin’ by Julie Murphy

Rayne & Delilah’s Midnite Matinee by Jeff Zentner

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Red Queen Completed 2/16/19

Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart

Right As Rain by Lindsey Stoddard

Rowling’s Novellas and Short Stories from Pottermore

Rules of the Road (and other Bauer books recommended to me by a student) by Joan Bauer

The Seasons of Styx Malone by Kekla Magoon

The Selection (and its sequels) by Kiera Cass

The Selkie of San Francisco by Todd Calgi Gallicano

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson Completed 5/23/19

Shouting at the Rain by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Surface Tension by Mike Mullin

Survivor’s Club: The True Story of a Very Young Prisoner of Auschwitz by Michael Bornstein and Debbie Bornstein Holinstat

Swing by Kwame Alexander and Mary Rand Hess

Tight by Torrey Maldonado

To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzner

Tradition by Brendan Kiely

Two Can Keep a Secret by Kerry M. McManus Completed 4/2/19

Warcross (and Wildcard) by Marie Lu
Warcross Completed 1/26/19
Wildcard Completed 2/24/19

Watch Us Rise by Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan

We Say #NeverAgain: Reporting by the Parkland Student Journalists

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera.

Read: 12 of 50

What are your #mustreadin2019 titles? 

 and

#MustReadIn2018 is hosted by Carrie Gelson at There Is A Book For That:

“For anyone out there with a To Be Read list that seems like it will never end, this challenge is for you! This is all about making your own personal list of books (5? 10? 20? 30? more?) that you commit to reading in 2016. Books can be published in any year, be from any genre, and be from any category (adult, YA, MG, Graphics, NF, etc.).  As your TBR list grows, you promise you will get to the books on this list.”

To see our complete lists and our rationale, see our original post, and to see our other updates visit our Spring and Fall posts. Today we’re happy to share our final update on our 2018 lists!

Kellee’s #mustreadin2018

I have not read any from the list since our Fall Update so no reviews today, but I am still so happy with my progress this year!

Laurie Halse Anderson
Vet Volunteers #1: Fight for Life 6/14/2018
Vet Volunteers #2: Homeless 6/19/18
Vet Volunteers #3: Trickster 6/19/18
Twisted 6/20/18
Vet Volunteers #4: Manatee Blues 7/7/18
Vet Volunteers #5: Say Goodbye 7/19/18
Vet Volunteers #6: Storm Rescue 7/27/18
Vet Volunteers #7: Teacher’s Pet 7/27/18
Vet Volunteers #8: Trapped 8/5/18

Joseph Bruchac
Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code: A Navajo Code Talker’s Story 7/21/18
“Choke” from Guys Read: Sports Pages 7/21/18

Eric Gansworth
“Don’t Pass Me By” from Fresh Ink 2/26/2018

Dan Gemeinhart
Some Kind of Courage 4/21/2018 
Good Dog 4/28/2018

Alan Gratz
Prisoner B-3087 2/8/2018

Mitali Perkins
Open Mic edited by Mitali Perkins including her story “Three-Pointer” 3/17/2018
Tiger Boy 5/15/2018
Rickshaw Girl 5/13/2018

Gae Polisner
The Memory of Things 1/22/2018

Rick Riordan
Reread The Lost Hero 7/13/18
Son of Neptune 7/29/18
Mark of Athena 8/16/18
House of Hades 9/1/18

Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
“Confessions of a Black Geek” from Open Mic 3/17/2018
Two Naomis 3/27/2018

Eliot Schrefer
The Deadly Sister  2/11/2018
Mez’s Magic 2/25/2018
Orphaned 7/6/18

Laurel Snyder
Swan 1/6/2018
The Longest Night 1/6/2018
Forever Garden 1/11/2018
Baxter, the Pig Who Wanted to be Kosher 1/13/2018
Any Which Wall 1/13/2018
Seven Stories Up 1/14/2018
Bigger Than a Breadbox (reread) 1/15/2018
Good night, laila tov 1/16/2018
Orphan Island 1/17/2018

Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed 7/19/18

Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan 7/15/18

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy 8/12/18

The False Prince trilogy by Jennifer A. Nielsen
The False Prince 3/4/2018
The Runaway King 3/13/2018
The Shadow Throne 4/3/2018

The Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer
Started, but then my library loan expired. Will continue listening as soon as it is available.

Rebels by Accident by Patricia Dunn 1/27/2018

A Series of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snicket
The Bad Beginning 2/14/2018

Serpent’s Secret by Sayantani Dasgupta
Decided to wait until more of the series is out.

Solo by Kwame Alexander 8/18/2018

Stung series by Bethany Wiggins
Stung 4/1/2018
Cured 4/4/2018

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman 1/5/2018

What Girls are Made of by Elana K. Arnold 7/25/18

Young Elites trilogy by Marie Lu
Young Elites 9/27/18

Completed: 22 out of 33

Ricki’s #mustreadin2018

There’s a chance that my brother-in-law won’t read this post for the third year in a row and make fun of me for over-promising and underdelivering on my must read list. Ha!

When I create a list like this, I have a hard time reading the books because they feel like requirements. It really helps remind me that requiring reading (even of ourselves) is not the best practice. Instead, I end up circling around the books and reading other books instead. The funny part? For eight of the books on the list, I read half of the book. The eight books are still on my nightstand. I enjoyed them and was forced to read a different book that I assigned my students that week for classes.

The good news is that next semester, I am not teaching my YAL course, so I have much more time that I won’t need to reread YA texts that I love. Instead, I will be able to focus on the books I add to my #mustreadin2019 list! I am terrible at this list!

I read and loved Blood Water Paint and Ghost Boys since the final update. Perhaps I need to finish the others because I know I will love them. There are three or four that I will be moving to my next list. I am still sticking with 16, and I think I’ll actually make it this time. Other authors need to avoid publishing enticing books, please.

Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough December 2018

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes December 2018

Completed: 2 out of 16

Have you read any of these titles? What’s on your #mustreadin2018 list?

and

#MustReadIn2018 is hosted by Carrie Gelson at There Is A Book For That. We first shared our lists in January, and are excited to share our updates today:

Kellee’s #mustreadin2018 Update

As of the Spring Update in April, I’d read 12 of my 33 on my list; as of today, I am at 21 of 33–not too bad!

Laurie Halse Anderson
Vet Volunteers #1: Fight for Life 6/14/2018
Vet Volunteers #2: Homeless 6/19/18
Vet Volunteers #3: Trickster 6/19/18
Twisted 6/20/18
Vet Volunteers #4: Manatee Blues 7/7/18
Vet Volunteers #5: Say Goodbye 7/19/18
Vet Volunteers #6: Storm Rescue 7/27/18
Vet Volunteers #7: Teacher’s Pet 7/27/18
Vet Volunteers #8: Trapped 8/5/18

Vet Volunteers is my new comfort series. I’ll definitely be reading more when I have time!

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson is phenomenal. I don’t know why it took me so long to read it; what a great look at the twisted world of boy teenage years and trying to be a “normal” family.

Joseph Bruchac
Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code: A Navajo Code Talker’s Story 7/21/18
“Choke” from Guys Read: Sports Pages 7/21/18

Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code: A Navajo Code Talker’s Code by Joseph Bruchac: Navajo Code Talkers should be part of common knowledge. They are heroes. And this picture book biography of Chester Nez is a wonderful introduction or enrichment of this knowledge.

I love Bruchac’s story of finding strength and overcoming bullying in Choke. 

Dan Gemeinhart
Some Kind of Courage 4/21/2018 
Good Dog 4/28/2018

Dan Gemeinhart is another author who I am starting to realize is one I can trust to write a story I would love. Some Kind of Courage was some kind of book–just amazing. Wow! And the narrator for the audiobook was perfect! I cried of sadness and happiness while reading. Just so many emotions! Wow!

Good Dog by Dan Gemeinhart is such an interesting look at the after life, and be on the look out for a tie-over from The Honest Truth.

Mitali Perkins
Tiger Boy 5/15/2018
Rickshaw Girl 5/13/2018

Mitali Perkins writes stories that all will connect to but will also give insight into lives that are very different than ours.

Rick Riordan
Reread The Lost Hero 7/13/18
Son of Neptune 7/29/18
Mark of Athena 8/16/18
House of Hades 9/1/18

I still love Percy Jackson better (I talked with a student on Friday, and we talked about the change of point of view and how the first person POV of the first series really sucked you in more), but man! Rick Riordan can write some epic stories! I cannot wait to see how this ends.

Orphaned by Eliot Schrefer
7/6/18

Have you read everything Eliot Schrefer has written? I have, and I cannot tell you enough to go get his books if you haven’t read them. His newest, coming out in September, is another brilliant book, and I need to tell you how unique and thought provoking it is! Fans of his and new Schrefer readers will not be disappointed. I’ll be reviewing it soon, too.

Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
7/19/18

Amal Unbound reminded me so much of Sold, and I am so happy a middle grade story like this exists. Told in conjunction with other books that share stories stories that give windows into people that may be different than us, our world is going to be such a better place!

Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan
7/15/18

Amina’s Voice is a special middle grade novel about finding your voice in the midst of hate.

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy
8/12/18

I LOVED Dumplin’, and I cannot wait to read Puddin’. I wish Will had existed when I was a kid.

Solo by Kwame Alexander
8/18/2018

Solo is such an interesting look into a life of privilege that wasn’t what the protagonist thought it was. It also tackles poetry, addiction, family, adoption, teen pregnancy, and much more. It’ll be a great title to discuss at my faculty book club!

What Girls are Made of by Elana K. Arnold
7/25/18

What Girls are Made of by Elana K. Arnold is a book that I am so glad exists. It has so much that needs to be talked about that isn’t. It reminds me of Forever for modern day. And the Author’s Note at the end of the book is one of my favorite things ever written.

Ricki’s #mustreadin2018 Update

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

August 2018

This book is breath-taking. It is well worth the hype. If you haven’t read it, I recommend it highly! Everyone I know who has read this book raves about it. I loved this book so much that I added it to my Teaching Reading syllabus!

Piecing Me Together by Reneé Watson

July 2018

Yessss to this book. I added it to my Adolescents’ Literature course readings, and I will be rereading it again next week. It made me think about aspects of privilege in ways I hadn’t considered.

How is your #mustreadin2018 progress going?

and

#MustReadIn2018 is hosted by Carrie Gelson at There Is A Book For That:

My #mustreadin2018 list is super ambitious this year including series and authors instead of just a list of titles, but so much of what I put on there are books/authors/series that I am so excited to read. As I explained when we first debuted the list:

“First, I have a few authors that I am going to try to read multiple books from because I either love their work, haven’t read anything by them, or am Skyping with them with my book club, so I just listed the author. Then, I made a list of books I really want to read either because my students love them or I just have wanted to read it for a while. Finally, I added a few copies of books that my students asked me to add to the list. All of this equaled a crazy list that I may not get through, but I love it!”

Without further adieu, here is my update!!!

I am super proud to say that as of today, I have read 12 out of 33 on my list: 

Eric Gansworth
“Don’t Pass Me By” from Fresh Ink 2/26/2018

I loved this anthology–it is a must get!

Alan Gratz
Prisoner B-3087 2/8/2018

Alan Gratz just knows what he is doing! He really breaths life into historical fiction.

Mitali Perkins
Open Mic edited by Mitali Perkins including her story “Three-Pointer” 3/17/2018

Another great anthology!

Gae Polisner
The Memory of Things 1/22/2018

I now know why everyone loves Polisner’s writing so much–beautiful!

Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
“Confessions of a Black Geek” from Open Mic 3/17/2018
Two Naomis 3/27/2018

Two Naomis was a great story of dealing with change, and my book club and I cannot wait for the sequel!

Eliot Schrefer
The Deadly Sister  2/11/2018
Mez’s Magic 2/25/2018

Both of these are so different than the other Screfer books I’ve read, but they are both just as good!

Laurel Snyder
Swan 1/6/2018
The Longest Night 1/6/2018
Forever Garden 1/11/2018
Any Which Wall 1/13/2018
Seven Stories Up 1/14/2018
Bigger Than a Breadbox (reread) 1/15/2018
Good night, laila tov 1/16/2018
Orphan Island 1/17/2018

 

If you cannot tell, I really like Snyder’s stories. All kinds of them. I’m so glad I read even more of them because they just fill my heart.

The False Prince trilogy by Jennifer A. Nielsen
The False Prince 3/4/2018
The Runaway King 3/13/2018
The Shadow Throne 4/3/2018

I LOVED this trilogy! I am pretty much forcing it on students now (luckily they like it!) because I need someone to talk to about all of the twists and turns. So good!

Rebels by Accident by Patricia Dunn
1/27/2018

My student said this was the first book where she saw her life reflected in a book, so I was happy to read it and talk to her about it. And it gave such great insight into my Egyptian students’ lives.

A Series of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snicket
The Bad Beginning 2/14/2018

I read this because my students LOVE it, but it just wasn’t for me. Made me so cringy because everything was so unfortunate!

Stung series by Bethany Wiggins
Stung 4/1/2018
Cured 4/4/2018

Such a fascinating post apocalyptic series!

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman
1/5/2018

I CANNOT wait for number 3!!! This series is definitely a favorite!

How is your #mustreadin2018 list progress going? What book do you most look forward to?

#MustReadIn2018 is hosted by Carrie Gelson at There Is A Book For That:

“For anyone out there with a To Be Read list that seems like it will never end, this challenge is for you! This is all about making your own personal list of books (5? 10? 20? 30? more?) that you commit to reading in 2016. Books can be published in any year, be from any genre, and be from any category (adult, YA, MG, Graphics, NF, etc.).  As your TBR list grows, you promise you will get to the books on this list.”

You will find our hopeful 2018 must read lists below. Some are books that we keep telling ourselves that we will read (but never got around to reading), some are new books that we are really excited about, and some are books that we simply need to read because we promised someone that we would read them. We focused on MG and YA literature for our lists, but do not worry–we’ll still be reading picture books, too!

Now without further adieu:

Kellee’s #mustreadin2018

Okay, so I am being super ambitious this year. First, I have a few authors that I am going to try to read multiple books from because I either love their work, haven’t read anything by them, or am Skyping with them with my book club, so I just listed the author. Then, I made a list of books I really want to read either because my students love them or I just have wanted to read it for a while. Finally, I added a few copies of books that my students asked me to add to the list. All of this equaled a crazy list that I may not get through, but I love it!

1. Laurie Halse Anderson
Vet Volunteers #1: Fight for Life 6/14/2018
Vet Volunteers #2: Homeless 6/19/18
Vet Volunteers #3: Trickster 6/19/18
Twisted 6/20/18
Vet Volunteers #4: Manatee Blues 7/7/18
Vet Volunteers #5: Say Goodbye 7/19/18
Vet Volunteers #6: Storm Rescue 7/27/18
Vet Volunteers #7: Teacher’s Pet 7/27/18
Vet Volunteers #8: Trapped 8/5/18

2. Joseph Bruchac
Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code: A Navajo Code Talker’s Story 7/21/18
“Choke” from Guys Read: Sports Pages 7/21/18

3. Eric Gansworth
“Don’t Pass Me By” from Fresh Ink 2/26/2018

4. Dan Gemeinhart
Some Kind of Courage 4/21/2018 
Good Dog 4/28/2018

5. Alan Gratz
Prisoner B-3087 2/8/2018

6. Mitali Perkins
Open Mic edited by Mitali Perkins including her story “Three-Pointer” 3/17/2018
Tiger Boy 5/15/2018
Rickshaw Girl 5/13/2018

7. Gae Polisner
The Memory of Things 1/22/2018

8. Rick Riordan
Reread The Lost Hero 7/13/18
Son of Neptune 7/29/18
Mark of Athena 8/16/18
House of Hades 9/1/18

9. Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
“Confessions of a Black Geek” from Open Mic 3/17/2018
Two Naomis 3/27/2018

10. Eliot Schrefer
The Deadly Sister  2/11/2018
Mez’s Magic 2/25/2018
Orphaned 7/6/18

11. Laurel Snyder
Swan 1/6/2018
The Longest Night 1/6/2018
Forever Garden 1/11/2018
Baxter, the Pig Who Wanted to be Kosher 1/13/2018
Any Which Wall 1/13/2018
Seven Stories Up 1/14/2018
Bigger Than a Breadbox (reread) 1/15/2018
Good night, laila tov 1/16/2018
Orphan Island 1/17/2018

12. Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed 7/19/18

13. Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan 7/15/18

14. Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy 8/12/18

15. The False Prince trilogy by Jennifer A. Nielsen
The False Prince 3/4/2018
The Runaway King 3/13/2018
The Shadow Throne 4/3/2018

16. First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez

17. Gallagher Girl series by Ally Carter

18. Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore

19. The Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer
Started, but then my library loan expired. Will continue listening as soon as it is available.

20. Me and Marvin Gardens by Amy Sarig King

21. The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson

22. Prisoner of Ice and Snow by Ruth Lauren

23. Rebels by Accident by Patricia Dunn
1/27/2018

24. A Series of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snicket
The Bad Beginning 2/14/2018

25. Serpent’s Secret by Sayantani Dasgupta
Decided to wait until more of the series is out.

26. Solo by Kwame Alexander
8/18/2018

27. The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore

28. Stung series by Bethany Wiggins
Stung 4/1/2018
Cured 4/4/2018

29. The Testing trilogy by Joelle Charbonneau

30. Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman
1/5/2018

31. The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex

32. What Girls are Made of by Elana K. Arnold
7/25/18

33. Young Elites trilogy by Marie Lu
Young Elites 9/27/18

Completed: 22 out of 33

Ricki’s #mustreadin2018

1. The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

2. The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

3. Blankets by Craig Thompson

4. Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough December 2018

5. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi August 2018

6. Dear Martin by Nic Stone

7. Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes December 2018

8. Hurricane Child by Kheryn Callender

9. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

10. A Land of Permanent Goodbyes by Atia Abawi

11. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

12. Piecing Me Together by Reneé Watson July 2018

13. Sometimes We Tell the Truth by Kim Zarins

14. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

15. Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

16. We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

Completed: 4 out of 16

Have you read any of these titles? What’s on your #mustreadin2018 list?

and

#mustreadin2018 Spring Update

#mustreadin2018 Fall Update