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Big Blue Marble Bookstore Young Adult Newsletter
 May 17, 2017
   December front window

Community news:
On Monday morning, a group of eighth graders from our neighborhood school, C.W. Henry, were in a bus that overturned on the way to a field trip in Washington, D.C.  One teacher and one student were hospitalized in critical condition, and everyone else was treated for more minor injuries.  Latest information is that the teacher and four children are still in hospital and have regular contact from the school.

For those interested in expressing support for the students and families affected by the bus accident:
1) Henry School families are having a card-making time after school today (Wednesday), and the bookstore is having a parallel event for the wider community this afternoon from 1-6pm. Here's a link to the bookstore's Facebook event page.
2) For monetary help for the travel and other expenses for the 8th graders and their families, the school's PTA is accepting donations on their website, and also the local businesses will be organizing a fundraiser in early June. 
3) There will also be ways to contribute food and other material help; check the PTA website for updates.

11th Annual Mt Airy Kids' Literary Festival coming up on Saturday!!  See details below, along with summaries of some of the YA novels whose authors will be on hand to sign.

Readings from Writers Resist!
We have at the front counter a set of the readings from Writers Resist Philadelphia. Local authors read these readings downtown in January, with pieces ranging from HRC to FDR, from Angelina Grimké to James Baldwin! See the list below, and come pick up a set!

Another giveaway: First person to email me will receive an Advance Reader Copy of a new book!

Book lists on our  blog (with broken links now fixed): 
- On Immigration and Refugees: Books for Kids and Teens

Archive: 
As I'm no longer adding to the  past-selections list on the book club page of our website, I'm keeping  links to the most recent newsletters on the blog!

Keep warm, or cool (as relevant), and keep reading! 
Jen
Newly released this week!
Thick as Thieves
by Megan Whalen Turner 

Megan Whalen Turner's Thick as Thieves cover
It's the newest book in the Attolia/Queen's Thief series!  And it's from the point of view of the Mede. Or, to be specific, from the point of view of Kamet, the slave/secretary whom we met back in Queen of Attolia. Also, for the first time, there's a map!

11th Annual Kids' Literary Festival 
Saturday, May 20th
10 am - 6 pm
with special guests Frog and Toad!

Check out our Festival Page with full schedule, author bios, and links to blog interviews and introductions.

10 am : Story Time at the Bookstore 
11 am: Parade to Ned Wolf Park
11:30 am: Story Time at the Park 
1 2 pm Picnic with Frog and Toad
2-6 pm Author Extravaganza 
with
· Amy Ignatow (MG) 
· Alex London (YA)
·  Judy Schachner  
·   Ame Dyckman   
·   M ô nica Carnesi 
· Sandy Asher 
· Julie Fortenberry 
·   Margo Rabb (YA)  
·   Sonia Belasco (YA) 
·  Justina Ireland (YA) 
·   Victoria Scott (MG) 
· Tiffany Schmidt (YA)

Full schedule and more details on our Festival page! 
Readings for the Resistance
as presented on January 15, 2017, at Writers Resist Philadelphia Event at the National Museum of American Jewish History.

Writers Resist Philly logo Writers reading other writers' work, at a grand event in January shortly before the inauguration. Writers Resist Philly has presented us with written excerpts of some of the readings, to hand out to our customers. Come by and check them out!

1) Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Matilda Joslyn Gage, National Women Suffrage Association, Resolution to authorize members to deliver a Declaration of Rights of Women of the United States, May 1876.
(Read by Lise Funderburg.)

2) Allen Ginsberg, "Friday the Thirteenth," delivered at Earth Week, Philadelphia, April 22, 1970.
(Read by Frank Sherlock.)

3) Hillary Rodham Clinton, Remarks for the United Nations Fourth World Congress on Women, Beijing, September 5, 1995
(Read by Lorene Cary.)

4) James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time, 1963 (Dial Press)
(Read by Dawn Lonsinger.)

5) Voltairine de Cleyre, Statement to North American newspaper, December 21, 1902
(Read by Liz Moore.)

6) Angelina  Grimké, remarks during the Antislavery Convention of American Women, Philadelphia, May 17, 1838
(Read by Maori Holmes.)
 
7) Reverend Absalom Jones, Petition of the People of Colour, Freemen within the City and Suburbs of Philadelphia, to U.S. Representative Robert Waln, Philadelphia, 1799
(Read by P.E. Garcia.)
 
8) President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Acceptance Speech for Renomination for the Presidency, June 27, 1936
(Read by Lori Tharps.)
Author Extravaganza
at the Kids' Lit. Fest.
Saturday, May 20, from 2-6pm

Here are some of the YA offerings whose authors will be there to greet you all afternoon:
 
Speak of Me as I Am
Speak of Me As I Am by Sonia Belasco:
Melanie and Damon are both living with loss. For Melanie, it's her mother, taken by cancer well before her time. For Damon, it's his best friend, Carlos, who took his own life. They struggle to fill the empty spaces their loved ones left behind: Damon takes pictures with Carlos's camera to try to understand his choices, and Melanie begins painting as a way of feeling closer to her mother. But when the two join their school's production of Othello, the play they both hoped would be a distraction becomes a test of who they truly are, both together and on their own.

Promise of Shadows by Justina Ireland:
Zephyr has never been very good at being a Harpy. She'd rather watch reality TV than learn forty-seven ways to kill a man, and she pretty much sucks at wielding magic. Zephyr was ready for a future pretending to be a normal human instead of a half-god assassin. But all that changed when her sister was murdered-and Zephyr used a forbidden dark power to save herself from the same fate. On the run from a punishment worse than death, an unexpected reunion upends Zephyr's world. It seems that Zephyr might just be the Nyx, a dark goddess that is prophesied to shift the power balance: for hundreds of years the half-gods have lived in fear, and Zephyr is supposed to change that. 

Kissing in America cover Kissing in America by Margo Rabb:
In the two years since her father died, 16-year-old Eva has found comfort in reading romance novels to dull the pain of her loss that's still so present. Her romantic fantasies become a reality when she meets Will, who can relate to Eva's grief. Unfortunately, after Eva falls head-over-heels for him, he picks up and moves to California with barely any warning. Not wanting to lose the only person who has been able to pull her out of sadness--and, perhaps, her first shot at real love--Eva and her best friend, Annie, concoct a plan to travel to the west coast. 
 
Hear the Wolves by Victoria Scott:
Sloan is a hunter. She shouldn't be afraid of anything. But ever since her mom left the family and she lost some hearing in a blizzard, it's been hard to talk to people, and near-impossible to go anywhere without her dad or big sister. When they leave her home alone for what should only be two nights, she's already panicked. Then the snow starts falling and doesn't stop. One of her neighbors is hurt in an accident. And the few people still left in Rusic need to make it to the river - their only way to get to a doctor from their isolated Alaska town. But the woods are icy cold, and the wolves are hungry.

Hold Me Like a Breath by Tiffany Schmidt:
In Penelope's world, almost anything can be bought or sold. She's the daughter of one of the three crime families controlling the black market for organ transplants. Because of an autoimmune disorder that causes her to bruise easily, Penny is considered too "delicate" to handle the family business. All Penelope has ever wanted is independence--until she's suddenly thrust into the dangerous world all alone, forced to stay one step ahead of her family's enemies.

Proxy cover Proxy by Alex London:
Syd's life is not his own. As a proxy he must to pay for someone else's crimes. When his patron Knox crashes a car and kills someone, Syd is branded and sentenced to death. The boys realize the only way to beat the system is to save each other so they flee. The ensuing cross-country chase will uncover a secret society of rebels, test the boys' resolve, and shine a blinding light onto a world of those who owe and those who pay.
Books from Years Past...

2010 
Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld 
Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt 
Feed by M.T. Anderson 
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 
The Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins 
Suite Scarlett  by Maureen Johnson 
Little Brother  by Cory Doctorow 
Flora Segunda  by Ysabeau Wilce 
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian  by Sherman Alexie 
Nation  by Terry Pratchett 
Graceling  by Kristin Cashore

Big Blue Young Adult Book Discussion

For adults who read YA and teens who like to talk about books  

 

We had our final meeting on May 19, 2016. Newsletters will continue, with recommendations and reviews, and relevant events.  Feel free to send a review or comment!

 

This is the continuing newsletter of the former Big Blue Young Adult Book Discussion, led by Jen Sheffield.  The young adult genre refers to the books under discussion; readers of all ages are welcome.  The books do not have to be big or blue, though that's always nice.

 

For a list of past selections, check out the Book Clubs page on the Big Blue Marble website. For links to the continuing newsletters and these new recommendations, see the bookstore blog.