Mrs. Zed's Book Blog

I am a librarian at KSS. This blog is where I'll update the new books that come in, blog about what I'm reading and discuss what books are being talked about. Please note that I am having difficulty formatting titles so they are not showing up italicized as they should be. Thanks for reading, Mrs. Z.

[mrszedsbooks]

Death Valley, Zion, and Bryce Canyon!

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I really enjoyed this book by a first time novelist still in her teens. I am confident that there are more stories to come. This novel examines why a girl named Liz attempts suicide so it requires a trigger warning, but I found it very interesting and believable.

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I've been on a Tumblr break, but here are some of the most recent novels I've read.

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Grrrrr typed up and lost 3 reviews. I recommend each of these novels, though Us is an adult novel that likely would not appeal to anyone under 20 and I attach strong caution to When Everything...due to language. Us **** I Was Here *** When Everything Feels Like the Movies ***

[mrszedsbooks]

I really enjoyed WeWereLiars by E. Lockhart and hope some of my students will read it soon so I can hear what they think. I don't want to give anything away so I won't say much other than I enjoyed trying to figure out what happened to Cady and I'll admit that I did NOT figure it out until she did. Give this novel a whirl!

[mrszedsbooks]

So while I've been neglecting Tumblr I have been reading, but not a lot and not YA. I read these two non-fiction books over break and really enjoyed them (I read Wild originally when it first came out, and then again because I was going to see the movie). They have inspired me to look into greater hiking destinations such as Death Valley and to challenge myself with a solo trek of the North Coast Trail sometime this summer. Priorities constantly shift, but I never stop reading altogether!

[theslashpile]

Here are some fantastic webcomics which feature transgender and genderqueer characters and explore the issues they face. For more, see our LGBTQ webcomics masterlist.

Rooster Tails (samorchard): (teen, wip) Rooster Tails is a weekly autobio comic and pet project (to keep me out of trouble), exploring the life of a simple transguy transitioning in New Zealand.

Khaos Komix (khaoskomix): (mature, complete) Coming of age story anthology revolving around 8 main characters.

Becoming Me (bmcomic): (teen, wip) A loosely autobiographical comic about life in hormone replacement therapy and not having a job. 

Validation: (teen, wip) The story of Ally, a transgender girl doing her best to live a fulfilling day-to-day life.

Knights-Errant: Pavane (knightserrantcomic): (teen, wip) Wilfrid is on a quest. A quest for what, you ask? They won’t say. Either way, it’s going to be bloody.

What’s Normal Anyway?: (teen, complete) A comic that discusses the trans male experience through the story of Mel, who takes the big risk of being himself and transitioning from female to male.

Queermo’s Journey (qmjourney): (teen, wip) Life is confusing. One artsy queer dude’s attempts to muddle through it.

The Princess: (teen, wip) A webcomic about a little transgender girl.

GQutie (gqutie): (teen, wip) A comic about one artist’s gender adventures.

3PM in the Morning: (teen, wip) The not-so-extraordinary life or a half-orphan transgender night owl.

[thetrevorproject]

Oh hey, web comics with trans and genderqueer characters! Pretty cool. Check them out! 

[mrszedsbooks]

Yay for more diversity!

[ffordefans]

In Iceland, books are exchanged on Christmas Eve, and you spend the rest of the night reading. People generally take their books to bed along with some chocolate. How cozy and wonderful does that sound? (More fun facts: Iceland publishes more books per capita than any other country, and new books are typically published only during the Christmas season—the frenzy is called Jólabókaflóð, or the Christmas Book Flood.)

(via ffordefans)

I love this idea!

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Book three in the Mara Dyer trilogy takes some interesting twists including a storyline that begins in India

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Sometimes you just need a little reminder.

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I am about one-third of the way through Winterkill by Kate A. Boorman and while it includes some seemingly necessary YA cliches (feisty heroine who breaks community rules yet still finds herself in some kind of love triangle) I am still enjoying it. It reminds me of a cross between Blood Red abroad by Moira Young and In the Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan.

I definitely enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to fans of dystopian fiction and strong female characters. It would be quite a fast read, but I didn't have much reading time. ***

[mrszedsbooks]

The Treatment is the second book in The Program series by Suzanne Young. If you liked The Program then you'll like this sequel as it picks up where its predecessor leaves off and continue in the vein of complicated love triangles, moral questions, being on the run and escaping. The pacing was good but I did find the ending a little anti-climactic. ***

[mrszedsbooks]

The sequel to The Fifth Wave is, just as good as the first, but not as long! I really like the layers between the characters and the element of mystery as to what is really going on. I will certainly read book three next year. ***1/2

[penguinteen]

We love these Banned Books Week literary mug shots created by Kate Boryeskne, especially the one she made of Alaska Young from Looking for Alaska. We got these from her website. It’s so great when literature inspires other great art—yet another reason why the freedom to read is so important! 

[mrszedsbooks]

What a great idea!

[mrszedsbooks]

So I’m reading two novels again…I must stop doing this, especially since I have two hotly anticipated novels to read after these (Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld and The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey). Fortunately, Serena and I’ll Give You the Sun are very different books! Serena is set in a logging camp in NC in the 1930’s whereas I’ll Give You the Sun is a contemporary YA novel that so far reminds me a lot of John Green (not complaining). I am enjoying both for different reasons, but really like both main characters.

I’ve finished I’ll Give You the Sun and I highly recommend it. Jandy Nelson is a beautiful wordsmith which made the story of Noah and Jude all the more powerful. I felt for both characters, hated some of the choices they made and rooted for a happy ending. I don’t want to give away too much, but the novel deals with sibling rivalry, artists, love, family, grief… **** Serena is a solid novel that I enjoyed, and would have enjoyed more had I been able to read it over a few sittings. I knew early on that the strong female protagonist was an anti-hero but that lack of mystery didn't lessen the overall feel of the book. There were no real surprises anywhere, but the characters and setting were well drawn and I can definitely picture it as a movie (which will be in theatres come winter). ***

[mrszedsbooks]

Violence 101 is a first time novel from NZer Denis Wright. It's been out for around 5 years, but it is still relevant and accessible today. What I really liked was that the main character, Hamish, is convincingly arrogant--I was swept up in his tale and actually felt like I was on his side, when the rational part of me said to believe his teachers and counsellors. I'm not "an easy sell" but his intelligence and straight forward explanations made me consider his side. Maybe he isn't evil / sick...could someone with his makeup be "saved" and eventually thrive in society? I am also recommending it for anyone who enjoyed Touching Spirit bear because there are some interesting overlapping themes. Is the story a bit cliche /predictable / unrealistic? Absolutely. But, it still might make you think.

[buckets2bookstrinaz]

This is a difficult review to write because I was feeling rather depressed when I read this book about a teenage boy dealing with depression and anxiety. I feel like I would have enjoyed the book and it’s protagonist, James Whitman, more had I been in a better mood. Nonetheless, I have to go,with a rating based on my actual reading, so I give it **1/2 but expect I would have given *** or ***1/2 if I had read it at a different time. There are a ton of Walt Whitman quotes and references interspersed in this novel so I can see it being appreciated by stronger readers even though the actual reading level is quite low (when I was actually sitting and reading I was able to fly through this novel). It does pose interesting questions about family dynamics, mental health, growing up in a difficult environment, and self-discovery. I also really liked how James had an imaginary therapist (Dr. bird, the pigeon), but also sought out a real therapist when he felt the need for one grow. **1/2

[mrszedsbooks]

Worth a look