It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
Sharing Picture Books, Early Readers, Middle Grade Books, and Young Adult Books for All Ages!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly blog hop co-hosted by Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts which focuses on sharing books marketed for children and young adults. It offers opportunities to share and recommend books with each other.
The original IMWAYR, with an adult literature focus, was started by Sheila at Book Journeys and is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.
We encourage you to write your own post sharing what you’re reading, link up below, leave a comment, and support other IMWAYR bloggers by visiting and commenting on at least three of the other linked blogs.
Happy reading!
Tuesday: I Want to Be a Vase by Julio Torres, Illustrated by Julian Glander
Thursday: Rosa’s Song by Helena Ku Rhee, Illustrated by Pascal Campion
Saturday: Guest Review: Sulwe by Vashti Harrison
**Click on any picture/link to view the post**
Kellee
As you may have noticed, I post every other week now (and you’ll see Ricki is going to rotate with me so we’re usually sharing something), so here is what I’ve read since 6/6 (yay! Summer vacation and lots of reading time!):
- Cursed by Jen Calonita: I loved this fractured fairy tale series! The ending was satisfying for all characters which made me like it even more. I highly recommend it to any Land of Stories or Whatever After fans!
- Merci Suárez Changes Gears by Meg Medina & Merci Suárez Can’t Dance by Meg Medina: I am so looking forward to reading the third book in this series this summer, so I reread the first book (which I LOVE and wrote the teaching guide for!) and read the second book for the first time. I like that Merci’s story balances school/friend and family stories in a beautiful way that seems so realistic.
- Flying Lessons and Other Stories from We Need Diverse Books, edited by Ellen Oh: I didn’t know until I read the afterword of Can’t Dance that Merci started as a short story in Flying Lessons which is a short story collection that I owned but hadn’t read yet, so I picked it up and read all of the amazing stories AND got to read Merci’s origin story. It is so interesting to see what Meg Medina changed and kept when turning the short story into a novel.
- All Four Stars by Tara Dairman: This is one of my #mustreadin2022 books that was recommended by a student (thanks, Maria!), and I am so glad she shared this new-to-me series with me that is about a young girl who has a passion for cooking and reviewing food, but doesn’t have the parent support she needs to excel; however, then something extraordinary happens that lends to Gladys being able to share her love, if only she can make it work!
- The Resolutions by Mia Garcia: Another student recommended title (thanks, Leticia!) which I was so happy was shared with me. This YA novel is about 4 friends who are all trying to keep the friendship alive while also figuring out their futures as they finish up junior year so they give each other New Year’s Resolutions to help each other find their passions and also grow closer to each other. A fun and insightful read with great inclusive representation.
- Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri: Nayeri’s prose were just so beautiful while he mixed myth and memoir, far past and recent past. This is unlike any book I have read, and I can definitely see why the Printz honored it.
- To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo: Another student recommended title (thanks, Ana!). I can see why Lira is some people’s favorite anti-heroine! She is truly a misunderstood monster. In this truly twisted siren and pirate tale, adventure is on every page and it definitely keeps you wanting to turn the pages! And I like that it is a standalone fantasy novel!
- Wild Blue Wonder by Carlie Sorosiak: Another #mustreadin2022 novel which was recommended to me for my middle school library, but I wanted to read it before adding it into my collection. This book jumps between a summer that changes everything and the fall after the tragedy that has changed the Sawyer family forever; it looks at grief from different points of view and how to heal from something that no one should have to endure.
- Invisible by Christina Diaz Gonzalez, Illustrated by Gabriela Epstein: I am so excited because Christina Diaz Gonzalez is our 2022-23 visiting author for my school! Invisible is her new graphic novel which comes out in the fall, and I cannot wait to share it with my students–they are going to love it!
- Across a Field of Starlight by Blue Delliquanti: Anne Ursu challenged us on her birthday to go to a book store and support queer authors/books, so off I went to Barnes & Noble with my dad where I found this amazing graphic novel full of science fiction epicness. I know students are going to ADORE this book!
- Odd Duck by Cecil Castellucci, Illustrated by Sara Varon: My sister and nephew found this book at the library and LOVE it. Though I had read it in the past, it had been a very long time, so I picked it up after Trent and my sister started talking about which Duck I was. I am so glad I reread it because it is just a joy!
- Cat’s Café by Matt Tarpley: I went to the library with my sister and when checking out the kids graphic novel section, I found this that I had not seen before, but I knew that cats + graphic novels = Trent win! And guess what–I was right! Trent loved it so much, he asked me to read it after him, and it was so funny and cute and everything you want in a book like this.
- Hold Hands by Sara Varon, Circus Ship by Chris Van Dusen, & Are You a Cheeseburger? by Monica Arnaldo: All of these were picture books my nephew picked out, and we read together.
- Ain’t Too Bright by Jason Reynolds, Illustrated by Jason Griffin: This book is brilliant. Get it. Then listen to it too. And I promise you–read it. Phew! SO beautiful!
- Inheritance: A Visual Poem by Elizabeth Acevedo, Illustrated by Andrea Pippins: Elizabeth Acevedo knows how to craft words in a way that is exquisite and with Pippins’s artwork, this poem is fantastic.
- Piranesi by Susanna Clarke: My dad bought this book for me after he read it because he felt that I would love it, and you know what? He was right. This magical little book was more than I could even expect. Piranesi is one of two people in his world; a world filled with beautiful sculptures in a spectacular maze. But the world is so much more than it seems! Just read it.
- If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy: What a great twist on Cinderella and The Bachelor! I read this all in one sitting!
I have finally made a small dent in my #mustreadin2022 list! So far I have enjoyed them all, and they all have been so different!
To learn more about any of these books, check out my 2022 Goodreads Challenge page or my read bookshelf on Goodreads.
Ricki
Because Kellee is rotating weeks, I am going to do the opposite week to make sure we are sharing lots of books each week!
Kellee
I’m reading The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory now then will read A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
Tuesday: Odd Birds: Meet Nature’s Weirdest Flock by Laura Gehl, Illustrated by Gareth Lucas
Thursday: Hope Wins: A Collection of Inspiring Stories for Young Readers edited by Rose Brock
Saturday: Guest Post: Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora
Link up below and go check out what everyone else is reading. Please support other bloggers by viewing and commenting on at least 3 other blogs. If you tweet about your Monday post, tag the tweet with #IMWAYR!
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I didn’t realize there is a third book in the Merci series. I look forward to it. I loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo! Her book Malibu Rising is great, too. It Ends With Us is the only Colleen Hoover book I’ve ever read. I stayed up to about 2 a.m. because I couldn’t stop reading!
Kellee, I do not know how you can get through so many books in just two weeks, but it’s always amazing to see the cool things you’ve been reading! You mentioning Flying Lessons & Other Stories made me realize why the Merci Suárez story seemed so familiar—because I read the short story version when I read that anthology! (I had the same feeling when I heard about Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero by Kelly J. Baptist, because that one grew out of a short story as well.) All of these other books look amazing too—I made note of Cat’s Café because it looks so delightful, and I have a copy of Across a Field of Starlight that I should probably get to now that you mention it!
Ricki, I look forward to seeing your latest reads next week! Thank you both for the great post and link round-up!
You have read some fantastic books in the last couple of weeks. I am so glad you enjoyed All Four Stars. I loved the entire series. I have only read Merci Suárez Changes Gears and need to get to the next one. I adored Flying Lessons. I ended up in tears on the bus when I was reading one of the stories. I’m looking forward to reading Odd Duck!