Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina

When I was at ALAMW14 in January, I met author Meg Medina at the Library of Virginia booth.  Shannon @ River City Reading had read her book, Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass (her review is here!!!), and mentioned she was a must-meet author.

Well, I was shocked when we started talking.  It turns out that Meg Medina lived in the same smallish town where I grew up, and we overlapped by a sizable chunk of years.  She even taught at my middle school (before I got there, though).

Author Meg Medina, myself, & Katie @ Doing Dewey at ALAMW14

Anyway, after that, how could I not pick up her book???

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina is a fictional, young adult (not very much a book for adults, too!) story about Piddy, a new girl at a rough school.

Unfortunately for Piddy, a bully named Yaqui Delgado, is upset with her – so upset that she wants to beat her up.  Why is Yaqui so angry?  Piddy is apparently getting some attention for shaking her behind (which she didn’t even know she had or did!), and some of that attention is coming from Yaqui’s boyfriend, neither of whom has Piddy met.

Piddy, an A student at her old school, is consumed with fear.  Her grades drop, she starts having a tough time with her friends and mother, and she starts skipping school.

Only when the situation gets physical, does Piddy finally find a little bit of courage to change the situation.

This book is one for everyone – mainly because it’s so REAL.  Piddy is a fictional character, but she is a representation of many students in high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools across the country.

As I was reading it, I was trying to think of how to help solve Piddy’s problem – as a former teacher, as an eventual-parent . . . how can we help teens who are too terrified to speak up?

Don’t judge this book by its title – Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass is titled in a way to shock you a little.  And it should, but not because of the title, but because similar phrases are being spoken in our schools and need to be stopped.

Interested in getting your own copy? Check it out on Amazon & Indiebound. I get a small percentage if you purchase from those links, and it doesn’t cost you any extra.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Photo Credit: Goodreads

I was on the waiting list for months for The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, feeling like the only person on the planet who hasn’t read this one.  And I devoured it.

I read it almost in one day, having to put it down near the end because I was going on the Metro and just knew I was at an almost-sad part and didn’t want to be “that girl” crying on the Metro.

The Fault in Our Stars is about Hazel, a sassy, honest, super-smart teenager with cancer.  At a support group, she meets Augustus, who basically sweeps her off her feet.

Hazel and Augustus are just awesome characters.  They are smart, philosophical, and fun.

I enjoyed every minute of this book, and if you haven’t picked it up yet, you must.  I can see why everyone on the planet (now I’m included!) has picked this one up.

What book touches your heart, in maybe a sad, but also smart, way?

Interested in getting your own copy? Check it out on Amazon & Indiebound. I get a small percentage if you purchase from those links, and it doesn’t cost you any extra.

 

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

I’m not sure what I thought this Newbery Medal winning book would be like, but Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse was not what I expected – in a good way!

In 1934-1935, Billie Jo is living in Oklahoma, in a terrible economic time.  There’s a depression and horrific dust storms that are tearing up the land, which is what her family lives off of.  How can crops grow when dust covers them?  How can crops grow without rain?

In the midst of this, Billie Jo’s mother is part of a horrific accident, and she is left alone with her father.  How will the two of them survive?

I love the format of this novel!  Out of the Dust is written in prose, as if Billie Jo had a diary that she wrote in, but in poetry form.  But don’t let that scare you away if you’re not a poetry fan!  It’s not written to rhyme, and it is easy to read.

Also, this is a young adult version of the adult depression world we normally learn about (like in Grapes of Wrath).

I recommend this book as a young adult read and also for adults, although it is a quick read for sure.

 Is the depression a subject you enjoy reading/learning about?

Interested in getting your own copy? Check it out on Amazon & IndieBound. I get a small percentage if you purchase from those links, and it doesn’t cost you any extra.

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys – Book 71

Before you write this book off, don’t think that this novel has anything to do with any sort of book that has in the title “shades” and “gray/grey.”  Not even closely related.

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys is a historical fiction novel about how the Lithuanians were affected by World War II, specifically by Stalin and Hitler.

This is technically a young adult novel, but definitely has value for adults.  I had no previous background about the Lithuanian situation during WWII, and this book has inspired me to do a little more research on the subject.

Lina, her mother, and her younger brother Jonas are taken away from their home in Lithuania and placed onto cattle cars.  They are separated from their father, who was also taken but placed with other men.

Lina and family are taken to the frozen land of Siberia where they are made to work in camps, complete hard labor, and struggle to survive.  Throughout the story, you learn about Lina’s past through flashbacks that illuminate the relationship she has with her father and her cousin Joana.

This book has received mixed reviews, both by bloggers and on the review websites.  I can see the value in the the reviews, but I disagree with the negative ones.  I enjoyed the unique take on the stories normally told about WWII.

Lina shows great strength for a teenager, working hard while retaining a quest to survive, but she still shows vulnerability while experiencing a growing crush on a boy, even during this harsh time.

If you are interested in World War II and historical fiction, I think you would enjoy this story of Lina, told from a more unique perspective as a Lithuanian teenager during this troublesome time.

What do you think of historical fiction? Do you think it’s a valuable way to learn about history?

The Kill Order by James Dashner – Book 67

Unfortunately, I can’t tell you anything about The Kill Order by James Dashner.  

Why, you ask?

Because it’s the fourth book of, and the prequel to, The Maze Runner series which includes The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure, and lastly, The Kill Order.

And if you know anything about me, you know I HATE spoilers.  So you don’t find any in this post, and therefore, I can’t tell you about the prequel!  I now see why book bloggers stay away from series books, since they are almost impossible to describe without giving things away!

Basically, something is wrong with the world, seemingly caused by global warming, which ends up placing some teenagers in strange, precarious positions.  The Maze Runner series is in a dystopian future, and while these are classified as YA reads, the adult content (death, not sexual) and mature subject matter of the world possibly ending and many, many people dying, allows the books to be enjoyed by adults as well.

Here’s the Goodreads summary of The Maze Runner, the first book in the series:

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every thirty days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. 

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

The Maze Runner books would be good for you to read if you enjoyed The Hunger Games but would love male main characters.  They literally kept me confused and guessing the entire time, and then reading the prequel, The Kill Zone, was great closure to any unanswered questions I still had.

Are you a fan of dystopian novels?