CRHS IMC

Thank you for all your support over the past couple of years and your support of reading and great young adult literature.

Unfortunately, May 2019 marks the last month of posts for this site.  Circumstances have made it that I need to move on from my current position here and as such I will no longer be able to update this site.

I look forward to continuing my career in the library and with young…

Killer Style by Serah-Marie McMahon & Alison Matthews David #nonfiction #history #fashion

Killer Style: How Fashion Has Injured, Maimed, and Murdered Through History by Serah-Marie McMahon & Alison Matthews David. April 15, 2019. Owlkids, 48 p. ISBN: 9781771472531.  Int Lvl: 5-8; Rdg Lvl: 8.3; Lexile: 1060.

The clothes we wear every day keep us comfortable, protect us from the elements, and express our unique style―but could fashion also be fatal? As it turns out, history is full of…

Goodbye, Mr. Spalding by @JenniferRBarr #fiction #historical #sports #baseball #Philadelphia @boydsmillspress @Athletics

Goodbye, Mr. Spalding by Jennifer Robin Barr. March 26, 2019. Calkins Creek Books, 272 p. ISBN: 9781684371785.  Int Lvl: 5-8; Rdg Lvl: 5.8; Lexile: 650.

Set in Philadelphia during the Great Depression, this middle-grade historical novel tells the story of a twelve-year-old boy and his best friend as they attempt to stop a wall from being built at Shibe Park, home of the Philadelphia Athletics,…

Women Talking by Miriam Toews (@BranchMiriam) #fiction #Amish #Mennonnites #rapevictims #psychologicalfiction @BloomsburyPub

Women Talking by Miriam Toews. April 2, 2019. Bloomsbury Publishing, 216 p. ISBN: 9781635572582.  Int Lvl: AD; Rdg Lvl: AD.

One evening, eight Mennonite women climb into a hay loft to conduct a secret meeting. For the past two years, each of these women, and more than a hundred other girls in their colony, has been repeatedly violated in the night by demons coming to punish them for their sins.…

Isla de Leones (Lion Island) by Margarita Engle (@YPPLaureate) #fiction #historical #verse #indenture #Espanol @SimonSchuster

Isla de Leones (Lion Island) by Margarita Engle. February 26, 2019. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 176 p. ISBN: 9781534446472.  Int Lvl: 5-8.

The Spanish translation of this “beautifully written, thought provoking” (School Library Journal, starred review) novel in verse by Young People’s Poet Laureate Margarita Engle, which tells the story of Antonio Chuffat, a young man of African, Chinese,…

Soaring Earth by Margarita Engle (@YPPLaureate) #nonfiction #biography #poetry #CubanAmerican @SimonSchuster

Soaring Earth: A Companion Memoir to Enchanted Air by Margarita Engle. February 26, 2019. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 192 p. ISBN: 9781534429536.  Int Lvl: YA; Rdg Lvl: YA; Lexile: 1190.

In this powerful companion to her award-winning memoir Enchanted Air, Young People’s Poet Laureate Margarita Engle recounts her teenage years during the turbulent 1960s.

Margarita Engle’s childhood…

Barely Missing Everything by @MattGMendez #fiction #HispanicAmericans #realistic #friendship #prejudice @SimonSchuster

Barely Missing Everything by Matt Méndez. MArch 5, 2019. Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, 320 p. ISBN: 9781534404458.  Int Lvl: YA; Rdg Lvl: YA; Lexile: 800.

In the tradition of Jason Reynolds and Matt de la Peña, this heartbreaking, no-holds-barred debut novel told from three points of view explores how difficult it is to make it in life when you–your life, brown lives–don’t matter.

Juan has…

The Shadowglass by @RinChupeco #fantasy #fiction #magic #witches #monsters @Sourcebooks

The Shadowglass by Rin Chupeco. March 5, 2019. Sourcebooks Fire, 449 p. ISBN: 9781492660606.  Int Lvl: YA; Rdg Lvl: YA.

The epic finale to The Bone Witch series! As Tea’s dark magic eats away at her, she must save the one she loves most, even while her life―and the kingdoms―are on the brink of destruction.

In the Eight Kingdoms, none have greater strength or influence than the asha, who hold…

Trail of Crumbs by Lisa J. Lawrence (@lawrenceauthor) #fiction #realistic #sexualabuse #twins #highlow @orcabook

Trail of Crumbs by Lisa J. Lawrence. March 26, 2019. Orca Book Publishers, 256 p. ISBN: 9781459821217.  Int Lvl: YA; Rdg Lvl: YA; Lexile: 650.

After moving into a dank and drafty basement suite in West Edmonton with her truck- driving father, nasty stepmother and taciturn twin brother, Ash, seventeen-year-old Greta doesn’t have high expectations for her last year of high school. When she blacks…

The Same Blood by M. Azmitia #fiction #highow #realistic #versenovel #mentalillness #twins @West44Books

The Same Blood by M. Azmitia. August 1, 2018. West 44 Books, 200 p. ISBN: 9781538382523.  Int Lvl: YA; Rdg Lvl: YA; Lexile: 620.

Twin sisters Elena and Marianella couldn’t be more different. Marianella goes out of her way to actively participate in their Puerto Rican culture, whereas Elena is embarrassed by their traditions. Marianella is also fighting a very private battle with mental illness,…

Mera: Tidebreaker by @DanielleMPaige #fiction #action #superhero #graphicnovel #Atlantis @DCComics

Mera: Tidebreaker by Danielle Paige. April 2, 2019. DC Ink, 192 p. ISBN: 9781401283391.  Int Lvl: YA; Rdg Lvl: YA.

Princess Mera is teenage royalty and heir to the throne of Xebel, a penal colony ruled by the other no-so-lost land under the sea, Atlantis. Her father, his court and the entire kingdom are expecting her to marry and introduce a new king. But Mera is destined to wear a different…

I Survived the Battle of D-Day, 1944 by @LaurenTarshis #fiction #historical #adventure #survival #WorldWar II @Scholastic

I Survived the Battle of D-Day, 1944 by Lauren Tarshis. January 29, 2019. Scholastic Paperbacks, 144 p. ISBN: 9781338317398.  Int Lvl: 3-6; Rdg Lvl: 5.2; Lexile: 630.

This installment in the New York Times bestselling I Survived series from Lauren Tarshis shines a spotlight on the Normandy landings, just in time for the 75th anniversary of D-Day!

In commemoration of the 75th anniversary of D-Day,…

Pretend She's Here by @LuanneRice #fiction #realistic #thriller #kidnapping #grief #identity @Scholastic

Pretend She’s Here by Luanne Rice. February 26, 2019. Scholastic, 337 p. ISBN: 9781338298505.  Int Lvl: YA; Rdg Lvl: YA; Lexile: 680.

Mega-bestselling author Luanne Rice returns with a ripped-from-the-headlines story of a girl who is kidnapped by her friend’s family.

Emily Lonergan’s best friend died last year.

And Emily hasn’t stopped grieving. Lizzie Porter was lively, loud, and fun — Emily’s…

Cicada by Shaun Tan #fantasy #animals #fiction #picturebook #conductoflife #discrimination @AALBooks

Cicada by Shaun Tan. January 29, 2019. Arthur A. Levine, 32 p. ISBN: 9781338298390.  Int Lvl: 5-8; Rdg Lvl: 5.8.

From the visionary Shaun Tan, an inspirational story for older picture book readers and beyond

Cicada tells the story of a hardworking little cicada who is completely unappreciated for what he does. But in the end, just when you think he’s given up, he makes a transformation into…

Stolen Girl by @MarshaSkrypuch #fiction #historical #Holocaust #WorldWarII #memory #refugees @Scholastic

Stolen Girl by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. February 26, 2019. Scholastic Press, 208 p. ISBN: 9781338233049.  Int Lvl: 3-6; Rdg Lvl: 5.9; Lexile:.

Nadia is haunted by World War II. Her memories of the war are messy, coming back to her in pieces and flashes she can’t control. Though her adoptive mother says they are safe now, Nadia’s flashbacks keep coming.

Sometimes she remembers running, hunger, and…

The Edge of Anarchy by Jack Kelly #nonfiction #history #labor #railroads #Pullmanstrike @StMartinsPress

The Edge of Anarchy: The Railroad Barons, the Gilded Age, and the Greatest Labor Uprising in America by Jack Kelly. January 8, 2019. St. Martin’s Press, 320 p. ISBN: 9781250128867.  Int Lvl: AD; Rdg Lvl: AD.

The dramatic story of the explosive 1894 clash of industry, labor, and government that shook the nation and marked a turning point for America. The Edge of Anarchy by Jack Kelly offers a vivid…

The Spy Runner by Eugene Yelchin (@EYelchin) #fiction #historical #espionage #ColdWar #secrets @HenryHolt

The Spy Runner by Eugene Yelchin. February 12, 2019. Henry Holt & Company, 352 p. ISBN: 9781250120816.  Int Lvl: 5-8; Rdg Lvl: 6.5.

An illustrated middle grade novel set in the 1950s in which 12-year-old Jake gets caught in Red Scare paranoia when his mother takes in a peculiar lodger who may or may not be a Russian spy.

Potentially Sensitive Areas: Violence

 Author…