Best Teen Reads, March 2022

 These are all teen books finished between mid to late Feb and mid-March, and again, I focus on the positives, so no mention will be made of books I found lacking or disliked.

This anthology includes short stories, essays, poems and art  from 30 contributors, including well known names like Sharon Draper and Nic Stone; as well as essays and poems from well known historical figures.  The art is gorgeous, and one of them, "America Doesn't Love Me Back" by Floyd Cooper is also on the cover.  The words and art work together to remind us that Black Lives have ALWAYS mattered, just not always to everyone.  I love that as emotional and insightful this collection is, it works with a variety of ages and maturity levels; that includes the art.  This was a truly outstanding book.  

Booked is another story in verse from Kwame Alexander.  This story focuses on soccer, friendship and family as 12 year old Nick learns the power of words while also wrestling with problems at home.  He deals with his parent's divorce, playing on separate teams from his best friend (how to compete & yet support each other), learns how to stand up to a bully, ways to impress a girl and the biggest obstacle is how to balance his own goals and dreams with those expectations and goals set by his parents.  Helping Nick along the way is his best friend and a rapping librarian who gives Nick inspiring books to read.  I love that Nick professes to hate the books the librarian recommends and everyone groans when he is rapping (even though he is a grammy award winning artist); but in spite of himself, Nick begins to find literature and stories that speak to him.  (I mean, isn't that what we all want when we read? ) This book is emotionally honest and cuts to the bone, as usual for Alexander's writing.  Really well done and a good, fast read.

It was supposed to be the perfect prom weekend getaway, but when Claire wakes up alone and bloodied on a hiking trail with no memories of the past 48 hours, it is clear that something went horribly wrong.  What happened to her two best friends?  Did SHE do something?  Did Jesse hurt both her and Kat?  Everyone wants answers that Claire doesn't have, and not everyone believes she has amnesia.  Puzzling through what happened will turn up many secrets, but Claire is determined to keep digging until she finds answers.  

Thomas give several unexpected twists, which keeps the story fresh and interesting.  Various well kept secrets and one determined main character make this into a fascinating and intriguing suspenseful story.  

This book is a smashup of art and poetry that totally intertwines the two into one amazing piece of art.  I was blown away when I read it, and have since been showing it to anyone who will stand still for 5 minutes....and I am buying myself a copy.  The poem and the art are all centered on the Covid Pandemic; the trapped "can't breathe" feeling of quarantine--the worry for family and for the world---all from the perspective of one African American boy.  You can tell this is a work of love from both contributors, Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin.  Stunning.  Go.  Read it.  Now.

Hopkins again presents a book in verse; but this one presents things from a younger point of view than is usual for Hopkins.  Trace, age 12 shares all the ways his family is falling apart and all of his worries for his older brother Will.  Hopkins shares the small and large worries and fears of Trace as he watches his brother's descent into addiction and the impact that has on his family and his life.  This is a heart-breaking but hopeful story.

All Out is a collection of stories from a variety of authors all focused on characters coming out, or living as queer, and how that works for them.  Seeing stories that are not only sad, but also hopeful and loving and silly and horrible drives home the point that being LGBTQ is a part of you, and coming to peace with that is different for every person, every family and for the world.