Rebecca's Picks

The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1) (Hardcover)

By Holly Black

$18.99

ISBN: 9780316310277

Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days

Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - January 2nd, 2018

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Here is a wonderful tale of family, politics, love, and betrayal, masterfully written by the “Queen of Faerie,” Holly Black.

Jude, raised in Faerie by the man who murdered her parents, is determined to navigate the inhuman world in which she now lives. This is one heck of a story. It is dark and surprising, with some of the richest characterizations I’ve ever read in YA. Its elements are all familiar, but oh, how they are twisted! In Faerie, no one can be trusted - not even Jude.      

An Unkindness of Ghosts (Paperback)

By Rivers Solomon

$15.95

ISBN: 9781617755880

Availability: Backordered

Published: Akashic Books - October 3rd, 2017

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If you are trying to decide whether to read An Unkindness of Ghosts, look at the cover.  Would you like to get to know the woman pictured there? She is not going to entertain you, and if her look is too intense, better stay away. But she will speak truth to you, a difficult, messy truth. This book is more than ambitious; it is the debut of the year. The author is absolutely certain of every step, every risk. It's strange, raw, a little mad, harshly sane.

Aster lives on a generational spaceship en route to a promised new planetary home. The decks of the Matilda are segregated in every way, with each deck virtually sealed off from the others, with its own dialect, customs, and knowledge; the upper decks are populated by the wealthy and pale, and each deck lower becomes progressively poorer and populated by darker-skinned people. Aster, a denizen of Q deck, is the assistant to the ship's surgeon, which gives her much more freedom than most to move between decks, while her deckmates are slaves in the great fields that feed the entire ship. When Aster discovers clues to her mother's suicide, her quest to understand what happened leads her to realizations that will  alter the course of history. With parallels to today's world by turns uncomfortable, illuminating, painful, and hopeful, Aster's tale is full of metaphor and meaning.

In Other Lands (Hardcover)

By Sarah Rees Brennan, Carolyn Nowak (Illustrator)

$19.95

ISBN: 9781618731203

Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days

Published: Big Mouth House - August 15th, 2017

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"So far magic school was total rubbish."

Do you want something different? Something wickedly funny? Something that grinds up YA tropes and serves up delicious rainbow meatloaf?

With minimalist worldbuilding and maximum subversiveness, it is billed as a young adult book, but I think it might be even more enjoyed by old adults.  Like all the best satire, it has an earnest heart, as does Elliot, the oft-obnoxious main character.  And did I say that it is FUNNY?  Because I'm trying to think of adjectives and all I can come up with is hahahahaha!  (shriek) ahahaha!

Feed (Paperback)

By M.T. Anderson

$8.99

ISBN: 9780763662622

Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days

Published: Candlewick - July 17th, 2012

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Savagely skewering consumerist culture, frenetically funny, M.T. Anderson gives us the mother of all dystopian futures in this compelling satire.  About a hundred years from now, most people have the Internet right in their brains (the feed) and are accustomed to a constant onslaught of marketing tailored to their own emotions and experiences.  It's an intense story that will stick with you.
 

The Wee Free Men (Tiffany Aching #1) (Paperback)

By Terry Pratchett

$9.99

ISBN: 9780062435262

Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days

Published: HarperCollins - September 1st, 2015

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A 9-year-old witch rescues her brother with the aid of a band of 6-inch-tall blue men called Pictsies. The girl, Tiffany, doesn't know any magic. Armed only with a frying pan, her power comes from using her brain - learning, thinking, seeing, and reflecting. An awesome heroine in a funny, smart, creative, thought-provoking book!

If the Magic Fits (100 Dresses #1) (Paperback)

By Susan Maupin Schmid

$7.99

ISBN: 9780553533699

Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days

Published: Yearling - July 25th, 2017

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If you like the cover, you'll love this enchanting book!  Darling, the heroine, discovers a trove of dresses that each turn the wearer into a different person. When a plot threatens the castle denizens, she uses her disguises, courage, and some help from her friends to embark on an adventure and save the day. It's a compelling, well-paced, gentle tale, with well-drawn characters of all ages -- plus there are the hundred magical dresses, described in gorgeous detail, which might well inspire many readers to try their hand at fashion design.  
 

Beast (Hardcover)

By Brie Spangler

$17.99

ISBN: 9781101937167

Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days

Published: Knopf Books for Young Readers - October 11th, 2016

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What is the difference between our bodies and our identities? How are we affected when society seems to box us in based on our appearances? Beast deftly explores these issues while being at heart an engaging love story that perfectly portrays the dizzying realities of a blossoming emotional and physical intimacy between two people.  I was so involved with the characters' emotions, I couldn't put it down. 

Jane, Unlimited (Hardcover)

By Kristin Cashore

$18.99

ISBN: 9780803741492

Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days

Published: Kathy Dawson Books - September 19th, 2017

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Want something different?  Here is an ambitious, audacious, intelligent, wild ride of a novel by the acclaimed author of Graceling.  Jane is a girl who wonders if she is living the wrong version of her life; an invitation to a mysterious island mansion called Tu Reviens might just help her answer that question.  Many layers, many genres, many possibilities are woven into this exciting literary adventure.

 

 

Ramona Blue (Hardcover)

By Julie Murphy

$17.99

ISBN: 9780062418357

Availability: Usually Ships in 1-5 Days

Published: Balzer + Bray - May 9th, 2017

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This story, populated by sympathetic and interesting characters, is about love  –  between sisters, between old friends, between sweethearts, between people who may not even like each other all that much. It is also about identity, about boxes, and how real life and the people who love you can challenge you to be your true self. Ramona, competent and strong, is still only 17, and Ramona Blue is as insightful a depiction of 17 as I've ever read. I highly recommend it.

 

The Black Witch: An Epic Fantasy Novel (Black Witch Chronicles #1) (Hardcover)

By Laurie Forest

$19.99

ISBN: 9780373212316

Availability: Backordered

Published: Harlequin Teen - May 2nd, 2017

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This book does what the very best fantasy should do – teach us about our own world.  I wish everyone would read this extraordinary book about the ingrained complexities of prejudice and the power of education.  "Real education doesn't make your life easy. It complicates things and makes everything messy and disturbing. But the alternative, Elloren Gardner, is to live your life based on injustice and lies."  It isn’t preachy, and it’s often not pretty – but it’s exciting, realistic, powerful, and hopeful.