Just another reminder: the applications for Cybils judges is open until September 9th! If you even have a (minimal) presence reviewing children’s books on the web (no matter the platform), then please apply! We’d love to have you, and you’ll love the experience. Promise.

On to the books!

My favorite this month, hands down:

Seafire

Seriously: SO good.

Middle Grade

The Mysterious Benedict Society
Front Desk
Rules for Thieves
Mac B., Kid Spy: Mac Undercover

Graphic Novels

Cancer Vixen
Faith: Hollywood and Vine
Monstress Awakening
Sheets

YA Fiction

Sea Witch
Heart of Thorns

Adult Fiction

The Dinner List

Non-Fiction

So Close to Being the S**t, Y’all Don’t Even Know (audio)

My reading skewed heavily on the YA and adult this month, which surprised me (I don’t really keep track of these things while I”m reading). I’m not sure I have a hands-down favorite this month, partially because it’s all bled into itself (between vacations and class) but if I had to pick one that surprised me how much I liked it, it would be this:

 Fulllmetal Alchemist

Really an interesting and good manga. As for the rest:

Middle Grade

Encyclopedia Brown Boy Detective
The Secret of the Old Clock

YA Fiction

The Bird and the Blade
Girl Mans Up
Moonrise
Arrows of the Queen
Thunderhead

Adult Fiction

The Last Cruise
Crazy Rich Asians (audio)
The Lost for Words Bookshop

Graphic Novels

Peter & Ernesto: A Tale of Two Sloths
Watchmen
The Prince and the Dressmaker
Read but not reviewed:
Maus
Persepolis
Ms. Marvel: No Normal

What was your favorite book this month?

I have no excuses for not putting this up yesterday; I went to work, I mowed the lawn, and then I spent the rest of the day finishing a book. I could have written a blog post, but… I didn’t. Whoops.

Here’s my favorite from last month:

Sythe

They’d been telling me for a couple of years at work to read this, and I didn’t and I didn’t… and then I did, and yes, it is as good as everyone says it is.

And here’s the rest:

Middle Grade:

Lions & Liars

YA:

145th Street
From Twinkle, With Love
Tess of the Road
Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik

Adult:

Eleanor Olipahant is Completely Fine (audio)
A Short Stay in Hell
My Name is Asher Lev
Still Life

Non-Fiction:

Tyrant (audio)

Graphic Novel:

Scarlett Hart, Monster Hunter

What was your favorite this month?

This month flew by! May is always so busy… and this was no exception. I have another month break before class starts up again, so I have another month to read what I want. Yay!

My favorite this month:

The Penderwicks at Last

Such a very fitting ending.

And the rest:

Middle Grade:

Dying to Meet You
Flashcards of My Life
Bob
Amal Unbound
The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle

YA:

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Volume 1
Love & Luck
Legendary
Bronx Masquerade

Graphic Novels:

My Hero Academia
March Book 2 and 3

Non-Fiction:

Escape! The Story of the Great Houdini
Imprisoned

What were some of your favorites this month?

There was a lot of good books this month, but the audio of this one had me completely entranced:

Children of Blood and Bone

It’s a good book in any form, but the audio? That’s excellent.

As for the rest this month…

Middle Grade:

Granted (audiobook)
The Book of Boy
The Wild Robot Escapes
The Case of the Mistaken Identity
Ghost Boys
Rebound
The Maze of Bones
Breathing Room
The Adventures of Captain Underpants
Ivy & Bean
Into the Wild (DNF)

YA Fiction:

Long Way Down
Shine
Anna & the French Kiss (reread, for a class assignment; link to the original review)
Challenger Deep (reread, for book group; link to the original review)
East (reread, for book group; link to the original review)

Graphic Novels:

Be Prepared
All Summer Long
Outlaw: The Legend of Robin Hood (I read this one for class, and didn’t remember that I had until I was done and went to put it in Goodreads. The review I wrote when I first read it still holds!)

Adult Fiction:

Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories

Non-Fiction:

Let Me Play
Yes! We are Latinos!

What was your favorite book this month?

Wow, I read a lot! A lot of it is old, but not all of it. And not a single adult book in the mix. (Which is probably why I read a lot!) Even so, my favorite out of all of them is this:

The Parker Inheritance

Even more so, after hearing him talk about it at school visits. There’s so much to think about and talk about in this book, and it’s a great puzzle mystery as well!

As for the rest:

Middle Grade:

Gregor the Overlander
No More Dead Dogs
The Accidental Adventures of India McAllister
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key
Aru Shah and the End of Time
Capture the Flag
Ninth Ward
Hello, Universe
The War that Saved My Life

YA:

A Wizard of Earthsea
Ask the Passengers
Not if I Save You First
Does My Head Look Big in This?
The Drowned Cities
The Ship of the Dead

What was your favorite book you read this month?

I constantly get asked at work what I’m reading, mostly because they’re looking for recommendations. And I’m happy to give them! But what I’m reading as of late is a lot of OLDER books. I think that’s the thing I find most frustrating about the class. They’re either stuck in books written before 2013, when the last textbook came out (the other text book is from 2006!) or I’ve read pretty much everything on the list. There are SO many good books  coming out now, I wish I could read them. But, no. I’ve got to read something written in 1998. *grumble grumble* (Not that those books are bad. I just wish I could read something more, well, current.)

My favorite this month:

All American Boys

It was just SO good. And incredibly timely. And made for a really good book group discussion as well.

As for the rest…

Middle Grade:

Strawberry Girl
The Poet Slave of Cuba

Adult fiction:

Enchantress of Numbers
Back Home at Firefly Lake (audio)

YA:

The Witch of Blackbird Pond
The Grey King
Daughter of the Siren Queen
Midwinterblood

Non-Fiction:

When They Call You a Terrorist
Lincoln: A Photobiography

Graphic Novel:

Black Panther, Book 1

January, in which my reading comes to a screeching halt. Which isn’t true; I’ve been reading, but it’s all books that are out in February or March, so it just doesn’t look like I am. Also, class started. Can I tell you a secret about the class? I’m loving it. (No surprise.) And I’m kind of an instigator on the discussion boards (though no one has really taken me on); I’ve had to defend audio books, Madeline, and In the Night Kitchen so far. We’ll see how the rest of the semester goes.

My favorite this month:

The Cruel Prince

So, so very good.

Young Adult:

The Belles
The Burning Sky
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Middle Grade:

The Middle Moffat
Beezus and Ramona
The Wolf Hour (audio book)

Adult:

Holidays on Ice (audio book)

What were your favorites this month?

Ninety percent of my reading this month was for the Cybils (almost done! The shortlist announcements are on Monday!).

The best this month goes to one that’s not out until January:

Educated

Simply remarkable. Oh: and my best-of the year will be out tomorrow!

Middle Grade:

Frogkisser
Beyond the Doors
A Face Like Glass
Dragon’s Green
Miss Ellicott’s School for the Magically Minded
Winterhouse
Just Like Jackie
Penelope March is Melting
A Properly Unhaunted Place
Dominon
The Unicorn in the Barn
The Great Hibernation
Journey Across the Hidden Islands
York: the Shadow Cipher
Rise of the Jumbies
The Dragon with the Chocolate Heart

YA:

American Heart
A Land of Permanent Goodbyes
Gunslinger Girl
Truly Devious
Turtles All the Way Down

Adult Fiction:

Sing Unburied Sing (audio)

What were some of your favorites this month?

This was a Cybils month, in which I spent nearly all of it immersed in the world of Middle Grade Speculative Fiction, with a healthy dose of YA Speculative Fiction, as well.  There’s some great stuff out there, the best (that I read this month) of which is:

Last Day on Mars

Seriously. SO very good.

As for the rest…

Middle Grade:

The Supernormal Sleuthing Service
Danger Gang and the Pirates of Borneo
A Crack in the Sea
A Prisoner of Ice and Snow
Pablo and Birdy
Me and Marvin Gardens
Spirit Hunters
A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting

YA:

Scorpio Races
Renegades
Disappeared (audio book)

What was your favorite book you read this month?