Venturing into the World of YA

I have a new job as a high school librarian... and my reading habits have changed accordingly!  YA is a whole new world - one that I've dipped my toes into over the years, and have always wanted to dive into.  I find myself somewhat overwhelmed by the depth and breadth of books that I need to inhale - I was an elementary school librarian for 15 years and I knew the shelves of my library so well.  Kids loved to ask if I'd read EVERYTHING in the library and while the answer was "No, not quite everything," I felt comfortable recommending just about everything.

Now I have a whole new community of students to get to know, and a whole lot of books that I haven't read.  It's both exciting and daunting.  So, once again I am attempting to get back into blogging, this time with a focus on new YA titles.

Although it hasn't quite come out yet, I am psyched to soon share Julia Drake's The Last True Poets of the Sea with my new students. Inspired by Twelfth Night, set in Maine, The Last True Poets of the Sea tells the story of Violet, a NYC teen who is sent to live with her uncle in rural Maine after running dangerously wild in the city.  Drake slowly unveils the reasons for Violet's actions and pain, while at the same time digging into her family's history (including an epic shipwreck), which is closely tied to the history of little Lyric, Maine.

Touching on some pretty heavy issues (drug and alcohol use, suicide, eating disorders), it is ultimately a heart-full and heartfelt story of coming into being and coming out into the world.