Every year the Provo Library puts on a “Best of…” event where they go over the best YA, Adult, and Children’s books from the previous year. Most years I just go for the YA session and I’ve usually already heard of most of the books that they mention. But every once in a while they talk about a book that I haven’t heard of and I’m intrigued. So I thought I’d mention a few of the books that caught my eye here.
Bull by David Elliott – This is a book written in verse that also has some visual elements. It’s a retelling of the myth of the Minotaur. I have always loved mythology in general and I’m intrigued by this premise.
Damsels by Leah Moore – More retellings! This one is a graphic novel and brings together many of our favorite fairy tale heroines. This is not your typical “damsel in distress” book.
Vincent and Theo by Deborah Heiligman – I think somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that Vincent Van Gogh had a brother, but I wouldn’t have been able to come up with his name. This book sounds really interesting in exploring their relationship and how it may have influenced Vincent’s art. Also, this is from the same author who gave us Charles and Emma.
The Hidden Memory of Objects by Danielle Mages Amato – This book was very intriguing to me. It’s set in D.C. and I think has an American History element to it with maybe some magical realism?
Spill Zone by Scott Westerfeld – I have loved Scott Westerfeld ever since I read the “Uglies” series back when they were coming out when I was in junior high. This is a graphic novel and was described as being horror-ish. I’d like to read more graphic novels so I’m definitely interested in this one.
Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds – Okay, so I think this is another book that’s written in verse. It’s about a boy whose brother got shot and so now he’s trying to take out the guy who he thinks was the shooter. He’s on this elevator and on each floor a ghost gets on to talk to him? It sounds kind of trippy but also just really fascinating.
What's She Reading? 
I’ve heard of Vincent and Theo and Long Way Down- both sound really interesting. Everything else is new to me but Damsels sounds like a lot of fun 🙂 Will have to check it out!
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Let me know what you think! I thought Damsels sounded really fun too, but as I was writing this post I saw it didn’t have very good reviews on Goodreads
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Love that Long Way Down was selected as a Best Of 2017 pick! I found it to be surprisingly enthralling and had a linear narrative (re: plot) despite it told through verse. Would recommend giving it a go if you’re interested in dabbling in that kind of thing.
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I’m so glad to hear that! That was definitely one of the books I was most interested in from this list. I’ll definitely be checking it out this year!
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I haven’t heard of these before. I need to learn more about them! Thanks for sharing.
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