Heidi's Book Picks

I’d like to share the reading list of contenders for the 2016-2017 Georgia Peach Book Award and talk about some of my favorites.

The Secret Side of Empty by Maria Andreau

I am Princess X by Cherie Priest

The Novice by Taran Matharu

X by Ilyasa Shabazz

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee

None of the Above by I. W. Gregorio

Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed

The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel

Con Academy by Joe Schreiber

Dime by E. R. Frank

Every Last Word by Tamara Stone

How it Went Down by Kekla Magoon

I’ll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios

Paperweight by Meg Haston

The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly by Stephanie Oakes

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Sugar by Dierdre Hall

We Are All Made Of Molecules by Susin Nielsen

When by Victoria Laurie

“The Book of Ivy” by Amy Engel **** GPBA winner in 2017 **** “After a brutal nuclear war, the United States was left decimated. A small group of survivors eventually banded together, but only after more conflict over which family would govern the new nation. The Westfalls lost. Fifty years later, peace and control are maintained by marrying the daughters of the losing side to the sons of the winning group in a yearly ritual.

This year, it is my turn.

My name is Ivy Westfall, and my mission is simple: to kill the president’s son—my soon-to-be husband—and restore the Westfall family to power.”

I love dystopian novels and this one was excellent. I liked the post-apocalyptic world the author created and the dystopia of the society that was created after the dust settled. There was plotting and deception and honesty and truth (and maybe love?) among the lies of personal and political intrigue. I found this book to be a page turner and highly recommend it, and its’ Part Two: “The Revolution of Ivy”. I highly recommend both books. Favorite quote: “Love isn't something you can legislate. Love is more than charts and graphs and matching interests. Love is messy and complicated and it is a mistake to deny its random magic.”

“I’ll Meet You There” by Heather Demetrios

“If Skylar Evans were a typical Creek View girl, her future would involve a double-wide trailer, a baby on her hip, and the graveyard shift at Taco Bell. But after graduation, the only thing separating Skylar from art school is three months of summer…until Skylar’s mother loses her job, and Skylar realizes her dreams may be slipping out of reach.

Josh had a different escape route: the Marines. But after losing his leg in Afghanistan, he returns home, a shell of the cocksure boy he used to be.

What brings Skylar and Josh together is working at the Paradise—a quirky motel off California’s Highway 99. Despite their differences, their shared isolation turns into an unexpected friendship and, soon, something deeper.”

Ultimately, I found this story to be about hope. Skylar is an artist and is preparing for college to begin pursuing her artistic career. She works at a run-down motel just off of Hwy99 (I lived near Hwy99 in the central valley, though I think this story fictionally takes place further South of the area I am familiar with) and while she doesn’t view her town with rose-colored glasses, she doesn’t denigrate it, either.

Favorite quote: “It gave me hope: if you could make a beautiful piece of art from discarded newspapers and old matchbooks, then it meant that everything had potential. And maybe people were like collages—no matter how broken or useless we felt, we were an essential part of the whole. We mattered”

Skylar and Josh have known each other since forever and when he returns home after losing a leg in the Afghanistan war, Skylar notices he isn’t whole within himself, either. Both tend to bring out the best in each other though they keep pushing each other away. These are flawed characters who make the journey step-by-step and this made me appreciate the ending of the book. I highly recommend it!

“We Are All Made Of Molecules” by Susin Nielsen

“Thirteen-year-old Stewart is academically brilliant but socially clueless.

Fourteen-year-old Ashley is the undisputed “It” girl in her class, but her grades stink.

Their worlds are about to collide when Stewart and his dad move in with Ashley and her mom. Stewart is trying to be 89.9 percent happy about it, but Ashley is 110 percent horrified. She already has to hide the real reason her dad moved out; “Spewart” could further threaten her position at the top of the social ladder.

They are complete opposites. And yet, they have one thing in common: they—like everyone else—are made of molecules.”

I loved this story of empowerment for teens trying to find their place in the world while their home life is turned upside down and also while trying to navigate the shark infested waters of Junior High social dynamics.

Stewart may be young in age but I found him to be wise beyond his years. Ashley is not a character introduced for us to like, but I felt she was important as a foil for the story themes of friendship and (blended) family. The story is told in alternating points of view from the main characters and you get a very good sense of who they are. I also enjoyed the references to science, history, literature and pop-culture.

Two of my favorite MIS-quotes:

"I am counting the days 'till I can become unconstipated." (pg. 62) [emancipated]

"High school is a doggy-dog world." (pg. 75) [dog-eat-dog]

The story begins with seriousness - you’ll go from smiling to a gasp in under 200 words - but evolves into more lighthearted moments that will have the reader smiling, giggling, possibly snort-laughing and maybe even laughing out loud and exclaiming “Yes!” as you wipe tears from your eyes. You’ll have laughed and cried with them but by the end of the book you’ll be cheering for both characters! Revisiting this book has made me want to re-read it and I do hope you’ll pick up a copy and join me.