12 Days of Giving: RomComs

I'll be posting themed book lists with book giving ideas for a variety of ages and interests every day Dec. 1 - 12. Check the label Twelve Days of Giving for all the lists. Shopping for someone specific? Drop me a comment with ages/interests (including adults!) and I'll be happy to make some suggestions. Don't forget your local indie bookstore and if you don't have a favorite indie, might I suggest ordering from The Bain Lair Bookstore? 

This list is for teens who choose the books with pink covers, teens who are looking for a light love story to enjoy over the holiday break. These are great for beach reads or any time your reader wants to just relax with a love story. 

I Believe in a Thing Called Love by Maurene Goo (Farrar, Strauss, & Giroux, 2017). Laugh-out-loud funny, this romance features a determined heroine and lots of Korean drama references. When Desi gets a crush on a boy at school, she's determined to get a boyfriend just like she would accomplish any goal: make a plan, follow the steps, achieve the goal. So she comes up with a plan based on her father's favorite Korean soap operas where the heroine always gets the guy by the final episode. Turns out love is more complicated than that and hilarity ensues. 

The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo (Farrar, Strauss, & Giroux, 2018). Why stop at one Maurene Goo title when you could have two? (Answer: don't. Don't stop. Buy them both.) This one's also funny and sweet and would make a particularly good gift for foodie teens. Clara's a prankster but when her homecoming prank goes too far she finds herself sentenced to a summer of hard labor at her dad's Korean-Brazilian food truck. Worse? Her arch-nemesis is sentenced to work alongside her. Of course there's a cute boy at one of their regular stops and even though Clara's never had a long-term relationship, she just might give this one a chance. 

The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding (Sky Pony Press, 2018). This book just oozes summer and it's the perfect read to channel that warm and carefree season. Abby's landed her dream internship at a local fashion boutique - an opportunity that could end in a full-fledged job for the school year. But something unprecedented has happened and the boutique owner has hired two summer interns. Only one of them will get the job and Abby really wants it. The trouble is, she quickly develops a crush on her fellow intern Jordi, which makes it a little hard to compete. 

Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle (Speak, 2008). With authors like these, this is a sure bet for the romance crowd. It'd be super perfect for devouring all in one day, say if your reader is spending the holidays with family they don't know too well. These three interconnected stories from YA superstar authors take place over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, making this a super choice for holiday reading. This would make a great stocking stuffer!

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon (Simon Pulse, 2017). Dimple Shah has big plans for herself and nowhere in them is having an arranged marriage (much to her parents' chagrin). Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic, eager to meet the girl his parents have chosen for him - a girl who will be attending the same summer web development program as him. The problem? Dimple's parents have arranged her match with Rishi without letting her know. When Dimple meets Rishi, the first thing she does is throw her iced coffee in his face. This is a fun love story about two teens who have very different feelings about their shared culture and different ideas about the ideal relationship. 

Any of these would make a great gift for the teen on your list who's looking for love (or just looking to read about love). What other love books do you love? 

12 Days of Giving: Book to Screen

I'll be posting themed book lists with book giving ideas for a variety of ages and interests every day Dec. 1 - 12. Check the label Twelve Days of Giving for all the lists. Shopping for someone specific? Drop me a comment with ages/interests (including adults!) and I'll be happy to make some suggestions. Don't forget your local indie bookstore and if you don't have a favorite indie, might I suggest ordering from The Bain Lair Bookstore? 


There have been so many great books turned into movies recently! A book or series that's been turned into a movie or TV series makes a great gift because it's likely to be a title that all the kids are talking about. It's a great family activity to read a book together and then watch the movie together.



The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials series) by Philip Pullman (Knopf, 1996). This epic fantasy set in a version of Oxford, England was turned into a terrible movie many years ago (SKIP IT), but it's about to be turned into a wonderful-looking BBC/HBO series in 2019. Buy the boxed set of the series so your tweens and teens can read it before you all watch the series.




The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (Balzer + Bray, 2017). This powerhouse of a social justice teen novel has been on the New York Times Best Seller list for over 90 weeks and was turned into a movie released this fall. Make a date to take your favorite teen to this movie (or look for it on DVD, estimated January 2019) and grab coffee to have a talk about it.




The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (Candlewick, 2008). This teen dystopian novel is being turned into a movie slated to release in March 2019. Beloved by many, this is a particularly good pick for teens who enjoy dark dystopian fiction. Grab the series so your teen can read it before the movie comes out and everyone's clamoring for it.




Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Crown, 2011). This science fiction novel is a great choice for teens and adults who love video games and/or pop culture. The movie came out this past spring and is on DVD and Blu-Ray, so bundle them up with the book. OR grab the audiobook, narrated by Wil Wheaton, for your next road trip or for teens who prefer to read with their ears.




Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (Balzer + Bray, 2015). The movie Love, Simon, based on this book, came out earlier this year and is now out on DVD and Blu-Ray. Book and movie would make a great gift for teens who love inclusive romantic teen movies. It's sweet and touching. If your reader's already read this, maybe grab Albertalli's Leah on the Offbeat, a sequel focusing on Simon's best friend Leah.



To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han (Simon & Schuster, 2014). This teen romance novel was turned into a super sweet Netflix movie earlier this year. Pick up the entire trilogy for the tweens and teens in your life looking for a fun, funny read.



A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 1962). This modern children's classic is a great addition to any home library and it's a story beloved by many. It was turned into a movie earlier this year, so another one you can bundle with the DVD or Blu-Ray. Buy the entire Time Quintet for readers who just can't get enough.

These books make a great pairing with the DVD/Blu-Ray of the movie or with a movie gift certificate and the promise of a movie date (or transportation for your reader and their friends!).

12 Days of Giving: Gorgeous Picture Books

I'll be posting themed book lists with book giving ideas for a variety of ages and interests every day Dec. 1 - 12. Check the label Twelve Days of Giving for all the lists. Shopping for someone specific? Drop me a comment with ages/interests (including adults!) and I'll be happy to make some suggestions. Don't forget your local indie bookstore and if you don't have a favorite indie, might I suggest ordering from The Bain Lair Bookstore? 

Sometimes you find yourself shopping for a family that you might not know particularly well or kids that you don't get to see all the time but you still want to send them a little gift. Books with amazing illustrations can be appreciated by a wide range of ages (and adults) and make great additions to anyone's home library. If you happen to be shopping for kids you don't know very well, gorgeous picture books are a good sure bet and I tried to select these with that audience in mind. Bonus: these are also wonderful gifts for kids you do know very well and see all the time!

I'm including books here that I particularly love for their illustrations. I know that everyone's tastes are different, so the Caldecott winners and honor books are great resources for choosing your own gorgeous picture books if you don't happen to share my taste.




A Big Mooncake for Little Star by Grace Lin (Little Brown, 2018). Grace Lin is one of my favorite authors and her striking illustrations in this book make this one of my favorite picture books of the year. The story is a whimsical telling about the origins of the phases of the moon as one little girl can't stop herself from sampling the big mooncake her mother told her not to touch.




Blue Sky, White Stars by Sarvinder Naberhaus, illustrated by Kadir Nelson (Dial, 2017). You can't go wrong with Kadir Nelson's brilliant oil painting illustrations, and he's illustrated a ton of books. You should definitely check them all out, but I think this one in particular has a wide general appeal as it presents different iconic American images.



The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson, illustrated by Rafael Lopez (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2018). This gorgeous picture book is a universal story of a child feeling like they don't quite fit in with everyone else. It's a feeling that most can identify with and this will be an especially poignant read for families with elementary school children.



A Different Pond by Bao Phi, illustrated by Thi Bui (Picture Window Books, 2017). This Caldecott-Honor-winning title is a great choice for families with elementary school children as it examines the life of an immigrant family. Paintings in blues and yellows set the scene as a boy and his father fish for their supper and the father tells his son about a different pond in his home country of Vietnam.



Dreamers by Yuyi Morales (Neal Porter Books, 2018). A love letter to a new child, a story from a parent to their progeny, this is a story of one mother's journey to America, everything she left behind and everything she brought with her. The idea of dreaming of a better future for your family is universal and this is a story that celebrates those who have made their home in a new place. The colorful, dreamlike art makes this book stand out.



Dusk by Uri Shulevitz (Farrar, Strauss, & Giroux, 2013). This is a picture book that I always think of this time of year when the days grow shorter. I love the stunning sunset colors and the quiet peace that this book portrays. I also love Shulevitz's Snow for another gorgeous book that evokes the winter season.



Green (Roaring Brook, 2012) and Blue (Roaring Brook, 2018) by Laura Seeger. I have long loved Green, a treatise on different shades of green, and this year Laura Seeger released Blue along the same lines. These would be particularly good choices for children or families who are into art, but the strong vocabulary and stunning artwork makes this a great choice for preschool children in general.


Hank Finds an Egg by Rebecca Dudley (Peter Pauper Press, 2013). Maybe more cute than outright gorgeous, this is still a picture book that kids of all ages will love poring over to see all the miniature stuff that Rebecca Dudley created and posed to make this picture book.




Journey by Aaron Becker (Candlewick, 2013). This wordless picture book, the first in a trilogy, shows a young girl drawing a door on her bedroom wall and going through it to have a marvelous, whimsical journey as she creates different vehicles to carry her on her way. The trilogy continues with Quest and Return, each just as gorgeous and perfect to buy together for a full set.




Martin Rising by Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney (Scholastic, 2018). This book of beautiful poetry and art is about the life and last days of Martin Luther King, Jr. It's not an easy read, but it's a poignant addition to home library shelves, particularly those with older elementary and teen readers. Even though it's a heavily illustrated book, the serious subject matter makes this a moving read even for parents who might want to read this along with their children.




Robert Sabuda books. Robert Sabuda is the name to know when it comes to intricate pop-up books. All of his books are stunners and he's designed a ton of them. Be wary about buying these for young children - they're super intricate and will not hold up to heavy handling - but for families with older kids these are sure bets and parents will love them as much as the kids.

Whether you're buying for a child you don't know too well or a child you see every day, any of these books would make a great addition to home library shelves.

12 Days of Giving: Books for Babies and Toddlers

I'll be posting themed book lists with book giving ideas for a variety of ages and interests every day Dec. 1 - 12. Check the label Twelve Days of Giving for all the lists. Shopping for someone specific? Drop me a comment with ages/interests (including adults!) and I'll be happy to make some suggestions. I'm an Indie Bound affiliate, so if you purchase books through the links on my site you're not only supporting an independent bookstore, you're supporting me, too!

To kick off our 12 Days of Giving, a list that is near and dear to my heart: books for babies. My newest nieces are 2 years old and 2 months old, so I've certainly kept my eyes open for great board books to give them. Here are my favorites!

Baby Loves Science series by Ruth Spiro, illustrated by Irene Chan (Charlesbridge). There have been lots of board book science series published over the past couple of years as more and more interest has built in STEM concepts (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). This is my favorite science series for babies. I think they do a nice job of introducing very basic science concepts in ways that relate to toddlers and ways that appeal to adults, whether or not the adults have a background in science. Baby's not going to build a rocket right away, but these books are great for introducing vocabulary and starting with the building blocks of science to make these concepts less daunting later on.

BabyLit series by Jennifer Adams and Alison Oliver (Gibbs Smith). Chances are you have seen this series somewhere - they've been popular for years. Each board book is based on a classic tale and boils it down to concepts that babies can learn and that literature-loving parents will be entertained by. Frankenstein, for example, talks about body parts. The Jungle Book talks about animals. Etc. They might seem kind of corny, but they are well done and fun reads for both literary-minded parents and growing toddlers.

Besos for Baby: A Little Book of Kisses by Jen Arena, illustrated by Blanca Gomez (LB Kids, 2014). This is a sweet book with lots of Spanish words thrown in. Baby gets lots of besos (kisses) throughout this book from all members of the family.

Jane Foster's Colors by Jane Foster (little bee, 2016). If you're looking for concept books, Jane Foster's are some of my personal favorites with her stylized illustrations. She covers colors, ABCs, numbers, and more in her series. These are great for building a little learning library.

Peck Peck Peck by Lucy Cousins (Candlewick, 2013). This is a new-to-me favorite with a great bouncy, rhyming text and super cute die-cut illustrations. As a baby woodpecker learns about pecking, things begin to get out of control with die-cut holes appearing all over the pages. This one is especially cute as a board book with holes that are enticing to tiny fingers.

Peekaboo Morning by Rachel Isadora (Putnam, 2002). Your little one will love playing peekaboo along with you as you read this book together. Throughout the morning, the little baby sees so many members of the family, so this is a great one to practice naming family members.

Please Baby Please by Spike Lee & Tonya Lewis Lee, illustrated by Kadir Nelson (Simon & Schuster, 2002). This is a great one for new parents or even older preschoolers ready to laugh at the exasperating things that babies sometimes do. The text is super simple and the illustrations carry the story as baby dumps cereal on her head, draws on the walls, eats sand at the playground, and all the other things active babies might do. Fans of the No, David! books will enjoy this funny and sweet book, too.

Quiet, Loud by Leslie Patricelli (Candlewick, 2003). All of Leslie Patricelli's board books are awesome and you can't go wrong with any of them. Each explains concepts like quiet/loud, yes/no, bedtime, potty time, and more with cute and funny illustrations.

Sharks by the American Museum of Natural History (Sterling, 2017). I feel like the Baby Shark phenomenon is creating an entire generation of marine-animal-obsessed toddlers and I am so on board. If you, too, have a shark-obsessed toddler in your life, this is a great book for teaching different kinds of sharks. It features different species on die-cut pages that are shaped like the sharks they're showing. It features real photos of sharks, so perfect first nonfiction for little brains. Pair this with aquarium tickets for an extra super gift.

Tickle My Ears by Jörg Mühle (Gecko Press, 2016). This interactive book gives you lots of actions to do together as you put bunny to bed. From fluffing up the pillow to tickling bunny's ears, there is lots to do to get ready for bed. And of course it ends with tucking bunny in and turning out the light. This is a sweet bedtime story that celebrates and involves the reader in the bedtime routine.

We Belong Together by Joyce Wan (Cartwheel, 2011). Joyce Wan's sweet board books have adorable kawaii illustrations and messages of affirmation and love perfect to share with your littlest readers. These are books my niece constantly chooses because they're just so darn cute. There's not a story to them, but they're the perfect excuse for an extra hug and a cuddle.

Twelve Days of Giving

It's the season for gift giving and books make such great gifts that I'm bringing back a feature that I've done on this blog before: 12 Days of Giving. Starting tomorrow, each day for the next 12 days I'll post a themed list of gift ideas for the kids in your life.

Why give books? Research has indicated that having books in the home is strongly linked to academic achievement. You're setting kids up for success when you give them books. Plus, books are amazing and provide hours of fun and learning way after the tree is down and the toys have run down their batteries. And I know you are here because you are a book lover. Spread that love with the kids in your life!

But how to choose the right books? That's where I come in with themed lists for the next 12 days. I'll be sharing some of my favorite gift books for a variety of ages and interests. I'd also be happy to make suggestions for any specific folks you're buying for this season - let me know ages/interests (including adults!) in the comments and I will be happy to help!

Please don't forget your local indie bookstores this holiday season! If you don't have a favorite indie bookstore, let me suggest visiting or ordering online from The Brain Lair in South Bend, IN. Kathy Burnette is one of us - a kidlit blogger and former school librarian - who recently opened her dream bookstore. She carries an amazing array of inclusive books for all ages!

I'll update this page as I add lists. You can also check out the label Twelve Days of Giving to see all the lists I've posted (and lists from previous years!). And remember to let me know if you're shopping for someone specific and I will be happy to help!

If You Galley Chatted...

If you tuned in to this afternoon's Early Word MG/YA Galley Chat (which you can still do by checking out the Twitter hashtag #ewgcya), you heard about:

Tiffany D. Jackson's upcoming novel 

Let Me Hear a Rhyme (Katherine Tegen, May 2019)

Brandy Colbert's upcoming novel 

The Revolution of Birdie Randolph (Little, Brown, August 2019)

Meredith Russo's upcoming novel 

Birthday (Flatiron, May 2019)

The sequel to Claire Legrand's Furyborn

Kingsbane (Sourcebooks Fire, May 2019)

Debut author Sabina Khan's 

The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali (Scholastic, January 2019)

And WAY MORE! You can find the complete list posted on Edelweiss here. Make sure you check it out to get a head's up on some of librarians' most anticipated YA and middle grade titles. 

This was the last YA/MG Galley Chat of the year, but mark your calendars for January's chat on Thursday, January 24 from 2:30-3:30pm Eastern Time. Not only is it a great place to hear about upcoming books, but it's a great opportunity to connect with other librarians who love looking forward to and talking about upcoming books!

Do You GalleyChat?

Do you know about EarlyWord's monthly Galley Chats on Twitter? They are not only super fun but can also be great collection development tools, even if you're not able to make the live discussion. I have noticed that while the adult galley chat is always robust with lots of participants, there are not as many voices joining in to the YA/middle grade chats. I would love for more of you to join us, so I thought I'd give a little rundown of what Galley Chat is and how it can be helpful.

Screenshot of a tweet from last month's
YA/middle grade GalleyChat

What is GalleyChat? 

It's just what it sounds like: librarians chatting about galleys, i.e. upcoming books we're excited about. Participants share super-brief reviews of galleys they have read and/or tweet about upcoming titles they're excited about. Sometimes publishers join in to spread the word about their upcoming titles and to hear what librarians are buzzing about.

When is GalleyChat?

There are two live Twitter chats each month - one for adult titles and one for YA/middle grade titles. You can always find the schedule for upcoming chats on EarlyWord (in the left-hand bar near the top). Typically the adult chat is the first Tuesday of the month and the YA/middle grade chat is more towards the end of the month and rotates Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday.

So, how does it work?

If you want to participate, all you have to do is be on Twitter at the designated time and use the hashtag #ewgc (adult) or #ewgcya (YA/middle grade) on your tweets. You can use a platform like TweetChat to help you follow the conversation, but I usually just use the Twitter website on my desktop computer. I like to have a second tab open with notifications so I can switch back and forth easily.

What's in it for me?

As a collection development librarian, I find it extremely useful to participate as often as I can. Not only do I hear about all kinds of upcoming titles so I can put them on my radar, it also gives me the chance to talk up titles I've been reading. And it's a monthly reminder to be seeking out, reading, and nominating titles (especially inclusive titles!) for LibraryReads. Not to mention, it's a great way to connect with other librarians who are in the business of collection development and reader's advisory.

Often I hear about new-to-me books and they're readily available as digital review copies that I can download right away. Sometimes, publishers even offer to send print ARCs to folks participating in the chat.

I can't make the chat; I have a program/on desk/a meeting/etc. etc.

Never fear! The wonderful folks organizing the chats compile the list of books mentioned in the chat each month. You can find them on EarlyWord.com. Participating in the chat is a fun way to meet and interact with other librarians interested in what's new and upcoming, but you can totally use these compiled lists to help with your collection development even if you can never make the meetings.

I hope you'll join us for GalleyChat! The next YA/middle grade Galley Chat will be held on Wednesday, November 28 from 2:30pm-3:30pm.

Mark your calendar or set a reminder on your phone; I hope to see you there!!

Cybils Season

I'm late in writing about this - Cybils season has been going on since October 1 - but I want to share this great resource with you since you can use it to help you spend your budget money. What are the Cybils? The Cybils are the Children's and Young Adult Blogger Literary Awards, book awards that have been given out by Children's and YA bloggers since 2006. The judges are all kidlit bloggers and they aim to choose books that have a blend of high literary merit and kid appeal.

One amazing thing about the Cybils is that the organizers provide an amazing amount of transparency. You can see exactly who the judges are and who has nominated what. You can see what books have been nominated and ANYONE can make one nomination per category.

And it's these nominations that I find really useful at this time of year. I'm at the point in the year when I'm trying to wrap up my spending before our purchasing cut-off. I want to try to make sure I didn't miss anything, since it'll be a couple of months before I can start placing regular orders again as we close out the books on 2018. The Cybils nominees are often books that have high kid appeal, so I love to check out what's on those nomination lists each year.

Particularly helpful to me are the categories that have high circulation at my library but are rarely professionally reviewed: board books and easy readers. I also pay special attention to the picture books and graphic novel lists as those categories also check out frequently. Of course, I read professional reviews of these titles, too, but the nomination lists can bring titles to my attention that I may have missed.

There are a bunch of nomination categories, so whatever age you buy for, you're likely to find something that could help you out. Don't miss this great resource!

One State One Story

This October, my library participated in Indiana's One State One Story program celebrating the 200th anniversary of the original publication of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. We've not done a program like this during my time at the library and I was so interested to see how it would go. I wasn't certain we could get people interested in reading a classic or engaging with us about it.

Abby holding up our Frankenstein event booklet.

It turns out we had a total blast and I can't wait for our next community read!

Not everything we tried was successful, but here are some things that made our community read a success for us:

• Staff buy-in. We ordered everyone Frankenstein t-shirts that they could wear on Fridays or days that we had Frankenstein programs. Our town harvest festival happened during this month and we themed our library booth around Frankenstein and STEM, showing off our new 3D printer from the Makerspace at our branch and providing science activities for kids to stop in and try. This gave our staff concrete ways they could engage patrons in the discussion, whether or not staff members were willing to read Frankenstein (some did, some didn't). 
• Marketing! Our marketing director created a really snazzy-looking booklet with all the Frankenstein related events so we could promote everything at once. 
• Giveaway copies. We won 50 copies of Frankenstein as part of our grant from Indiana Humanities, but we ended up purchasing 100 additional copies so that we could give out copies to all our book discussion participants and to other patrons throughout the month. This was possible in part because this particular book has many versions and is available at an affordable price. Being able to actually hand patrons a free copy got them excited about it and each copy had discussion questions inside (more on that later). 
• A variety of events. We hosted STEM and Frankenstein-themed children's and teen programs, as well as a variety of programs for adults. Some of these were grant-funded and some were paid for from our normal programming budget.
• Special book discussions. Instead of just holding our book discussions at the library, we held a Frankenstein Tea at a local state historic home and at our Carnegie building (which is now a museum branch of the library). These extra touches (and FOOD!) gave these events some additional appeal. 

One of the things that I tried and that flopped was posting discussion questions on our Facebook account throughout the month. My thinking was that people who might not come out for a program might prefer to engage that way and participate in the discussion. I used Indiana Humanities' "big idea" questions because they are more general questions that mostly do not require you to have read the book and linked to the downloadable ebook and audiobook available through Hoopla. I did not get any engagement on those posts, even when I commented and shared them myself. I still think there's something in creating an online book discussion, but next time I'd experiment with some different platforms, or maybe hold a discussion at a certain time, like a Twitter chat or even Facebook Live? 

Book discussion leaders posing with tea and a book at the Culbertson Mansion.

My big event of the month was our book discussion and tea, held at the Culbertson Mansion State Historic Site. It was really neat to be having a literary discussion in a similar kind of environment to where Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein. It was my first time hosting a book discussion for adults and I was not sure how it was going to go. I utilized some of the discussion tips from the Indiana Humanities event guide and the event went REALLY well. 

I opened up our talk by asking everyone to go around and say their name and one word that describes how they feel about the advances in science and technology in our world. This was a nice icebreaker with vary varied responses that helped get the conversation started. I had prepared a TON of discussion questions beforehand, but I wanted the conversation to flow from the participants, so I let that happen as much as possible and only chimed in with my questions if we seemed to have reached a stopping point. I wish I had made the event longer - we could have talked about Frankenstein for another hour, I think! 

Lots of libraries around the state participated in One State One Story and I'm pleased that it was so well-received by our patrons and staff. I can't wait to hold another one! 

Have you done a community read at your library? What tips would you share? 

Four Crossover Books by Native American Authors

November is Native American Heritage Month and it's a great time to promote Native American authors. Of course, you can and SHOULD be doing this throughout the year, but I know this is a time of year when folks might be particularly paying attention. There have been some AMAZING books by Native American authors published in 2018 and here are some of my favorites. Bonus: these titles, two published for teens and two published for adults, are all great crossovers for both teens and adults.

Give Me Some Truth by Eric Gansworth (Arthur A. Levine Books, 2018. 432 pages). It's 1980 and Carson has his heart set on winning Battle of the Bands. One problem - he needs a band. Second problem - he's caught up in a movement against a racist restaurant owner that ends up meaning more than Carson ever imagined. Maggi has just moved back to the Tuscarora reservation after years of living as a "City Indian" and she's desperate to get out of making the traditional bead art that her family sells and make her own art. With a strong sense of time and place, and The Beatles tying everything together, this is a novel for teen or adult readers of John Green or fans of classic rock. This one's published for teens, but adults who have '80s nostalgia or love music will dig it, too.

Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Candlewick, 2018. 304 pages). When Louise's boyfriend mocks Native people in front of her, she dumps him over email. It's her senior year and Lou doesn't have time for anyone who's going to disrespect her people. She concentrates on navigating relationships and her Muscogee culture while competing for bylines on her school's newspaper. When a huge story breaks - a controversy about the non-white casting for the school musical The Wizard of Oz - Lou finds herself in the middle of it as her little brother, cast as the Tin Man, starts becoming a target of attacks. Here you'll find a super smart protagonist trying to balance romance and her principles while learning more about life and herself each day. Hand this to readers of contemporary social justice titles like Love, Hate and Other Filters. Published for teens, adult readers of contemporary YA will dig this one, too.

There, There by Tommy Orange (Knopf, 2018. 294 pages). Alternating viewpoints tell a story of a wide cast of intergenerational Native American characters, all building up to a modern powwow in Oakland, California. Each character has a reason for traveling to the powwow and they are connected in unexpected ways. Readers of character-driven fiction will love getting to know these characters and piecing together their connections. Hand this to readers of literary urban fiction. Published for adults, teens, especially lovers of urban fiction, will find characters here to identify with.

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga Press, 2018. 287 pages). After the Big Water, not much is left of North America except the Navajo reservation Dinetah, protected by walls that their leaders had the foresight to build. But with the rise of the waters came the end of the Fifth World and the beginning of the Sixth and the return of mythical monsters to Dinetah. Maggie is a monsterslayer - a vocation she's particularly suited to due to her supernatural Clan gifts. But now there is a new kind of monster appearing in the mountains - a monster that must have been created by humans. And Maggie, who always works alone, must join forces with an apprentice medicine man to seek out the evil that's taken root in her home. This is an action-packed, blood-soaked read by an Ohkay Owingeh author, perfect for fans of urban fantasy. Published for adults, there is definitely teen crossover potential for teens who don't mind a bloody story.

There's no better time than the present to pick up or hand a reader a book by a Native author. Have you read any of these? What did you think?