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A Blog
Readers Review: “Dress Coded,” and “And Then She Was Gone”
Welcome to a new review series featuring book reviews written by teens, for teens! Each season, our reviewers will share their thoughts, critiques, and recommendations based on what they’ve read.
Dress Coded by Carrie Firestone
In a school (FMS), the main character, Molly Frost, is fed up that girls keep getting dress coded for wearing tank tops or shorts below their fingertips. So she creates a podcast that turns into a protest for girls’ rights. Carrie Firestone was able to give Dress Coded the most interesting plot twists and gossip in the story. Every time I turned a page, another new or interesting thing with a character would pop up and tangle with the plot. One thing I didn’t like about the story, though, was some of the family drama. Teens are definitely able to read this stuff but some of it was dark and depressing, and almost a bit extreme. Overall, the book was highly enjoyable and fun to read, and I completely recommend!
Submitted by Athena Karambelas
And Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell 
And Then She Was Gone is an engaging mystery that will hook any reader very early on. Laurel is a middle aged woman whose daughter, Ellie, disappeared ten years ago. She believes her life is over until she meets a newfound lover. However, his many connections to Ellie’s disappearance can’t possibly all be a coincidence and Laurel finds herself beginning to wonder what really happened to her daughter and if her new boyfriend has anything to do with it. Lisa Jewell’s And Then She Was Gone is a great read for anyone looking for a story that will captivate them quickly. However, this book can be easily predicted towards the end which can take away from the suspense.
Submitted by F. Gabre
Want to share your book opinions as a reviewer? Email the YA Librarian at abigail.hsu@mmt.mainlib.org.
Book Playlist: This Ends in Embers by Kamilah Cole
From NOVL:
“This duology is everything and more, so of course I had to make a playlist to celebrate this epic finale. Listen now if you need convincing, listen while reading for the vibes, listen afterward to revisit the emotions, but whatever you do, read So Let Them Burn and This Ends in Embers. You won’t regret it. This fiery saga will burn its way right into your heart.”
Readers Review: “Six of Crows”, “Scythe”, and “Lying in the Deep”
Welcome to a new review series featuring book reviews written by teens, for teens! Each season, our reviewers will share their thoughts, critiques, and recommendations based on what they’ve read.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Ketterdam is a mischievous city filled with gangs, robbers, and shady businessmen, but the main character, Kaz Brekker, may be the most cunning of all. In Six of Crows, Brekker leads an unlikely gang of six to try and pull off the biggest heist Ketterdam has ever seen; if they succeed in their impossible journey, the gang will end up becoming some of the richest people in the whole city. With this novel, Bardugo creates an creepy, yet infectious world with complicated rivalries and shocking twists by using vivid, grimy imagery. She develops each character in such a way that the reader cannot help but root for them, despite their many human flaws.
Scythe by Neal Shusterman 
In a future world, humanity has found a way to get rid of death, sickness, and sadness, which could only be described as a utopia. However, to help deal with overpopulation, scythes are instructed to be the only killers in the world. The book follows two teens’ journey to becoming the only people who can take another’s life, crushing any dreams of creating a perfect society. Shusterman creates one of the most well-developed worlds in any sci-fi book, taking time to set up a complex, yet easy to grasp dystopia. On the other hand, the novel takes a long time to set up the world and develop the characters, and only towards the end of the book and in future novels in the series does the plot truly begin to pick up.
Lying in the Deep by Diana Urban
After the feeling of betrayal and heartbreak have taken over Jade’s life, she embarks on her Campus on Board journey, hoping that she will make new friends and forget about the old, all while learning and exploring 11 different countries in a span of 4 months. Jade’s plan is foiled, though, when her ex-best friend and ex-boyfriend show up on the ship as well, hoping to enjoy their own journey together. To top it all off, after traveling to both London and Lisbon, Jade and her newfound friends realize they aren’t safe when their fellow CoB classmates start turning up dead. Now it is up to Jade to clear her name before the ship reaches the mainland, and before any more bodies turn up. This fast paced story line will have any reader on the edge of their seat, as the characters develop and the plot unfolds. Most of the story takes place in the span of about two days, and Diana Urban executed this perfectly, keeping the story engaging all throughout.
Want to share your book opinions as a reviewer? Email the YA Librarian at abigail.hsu@mmt.mainlib.org.
2025 ALA Youth Media Awards
On Monday, January 27, the American Library Association (ALA) announced the top books, digital media, video and audio books for children and young adults – including the Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Newbery and Printz awards – at its LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience held January 24-27 in Phoenix..
A list of the 2025 award winners and honor selections from the Young Adult category follows:
Coretta Scott King (Author) Book Award: Twenty-four Seconds from Now…, written by Jason Reynolds
- King Author Honor Book: Black Girl You Are Atlas, written by Renée Watson, illustrated by Ekua Holmes
Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults: Brownstone, written by Samuel Teer, illustrated by Mar Julia
- Printz Honor Books: Bright Red Fruit, written by Safia Elhillo; Compound Fracture, written by Andrew Joseph White; The Deep Dark, written by Molly Knox Ostertag; and Road Home, written by Rex Ogle
Schneider Young Adult Award for books that embody an artistic expression of the disability experience: Chronically Dolores, written by Maya Van Wagenen
- Schneider Young Adult Honor Books: Light Enough to Float, written by Lauren Seal; and On the Bright Side, written by Anna Sortino
Odyssey Award for the best audiobooks produced for young adults: How the Boogeyman Became a Poet, written by Tony Keith Jr. and narrated by Tony Keith Jr.
- Odyssey Honor Audiobooks: Black Girl You Are Atlas, written by Renée Watson, illustrated by Ekua Holmes and narrated by Renée Watson; Dispatches from Parts Unknown, written by Bryan Bliss and narrated by Joy Nash; and Girls Like Her, written by Melanie Sumrow and narrated by Melanie Sumrow and January LaVoy
Pura Belpré Awards honoring Latinx writers and illustrators whose young adult books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience: Shut Up, This Is Serious, written by Carolina Ixta
- Belpré Young Adult Author Honor Books: Libertad, written by Bessie Flores Zaldívar; and Wild Dreamers, written by Margarita Engle
Stonewall Book Award given annually to English-language young adult books of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience: Canto Contigo, written by Jonny Garza Villa
- Stonewall Honor Books: Most Ardently: A Pride and Prejudice Remix, written by Gabe Cole Novoa; Navigating with You, written by Jeremy Whitley, illustrated by Cassio Ribeiro; Road Home, written by Rex Ogle; and Time and Time Again, written by Chatham Greenfield
William C. Morris Award for a debut book published by a first-time author writing for teens: Not Like Other Girls, written by Meredith Adamo
- Morris Award Finalists: Aisle Nine, written by Ian X. Cho; Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear, written by Robin Wasley; Shut Up, This Is Serious, written by Carolina Ixta; and The Wilderness of Girls, written by Madeline Claire Franklin
YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults: Rising from the Ashes: Los Angeles, 1992 – Edward Jae Song Lee, Latasha Harlins, Rodney King, and a City on Fire, written by Paula Yoo
- Finalists: A Greater Goal: The Epic Battle for Equal Pay in Women’s Soccer—and Beyond, written by Elizabeth Rusch; Homebody, written by Theo Parish; Shackled: A Tale of Wronged Kids, Rogue Judges, and a Town that Looked Away, written by Candy J. Cooper; and The Unboxing of a Black Girl, written by Angela Shanté
Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, which promotes Asian/Pacific American culture and heritage and is awarded based on literary and artistic merit:
Everything We Never Had, written by Randy Ribay
- Youth Literature honor title: Lunar New Year Love Story, written by Gene Luen Yang, illustrated by LeUyen Pham; Dragonfruit, written by Makiia Lucier
The Sydney Taylor Book Award, presented annually to outstanding books for children and teens that authentically portray the Jewish experience: Night Owls, written by A.R. Vishny
- Young Adult Silver Medalists: The Forbidden Book, written by Sacha Lamb; and Trajectory, written by Cambria Gordon
Alex Awards for the 10 best adult books that appeal to teen audiences: Beautiful People: My Thirteen Truths About Disability, by Melissa Blake; Big Jim and the White Boy: An American Classic Reimagined, written by David F. Walker, illustrated by Marcus Kwame Anderson; Daughters of Shandong, by Eve J. Chung; Dead Cat Tail Assassins, by P. Djèlí Clark; How to Solve Your Own Murder: A Novel, by Kristen Perrin; I Feel Awful, Thanks, written and illustrated by Lara Pickle; I Was a Teenage Slasher, written by Stephen Graham Jones; The Witch of Colchis, by Rosie Hewlett; The Witchstone, by Henry H. Neff; and Woman, Life, Freedom, created by Marjane Satrapi, translated by Una Dimitrijević
Coming Soon to Screens: “Children of Blood and Bone”
From Kirkus Reviews:
“Thuso Mbedu will star in the upcoming film adaptation of Tomi Adeyemi’s young adult fantasy novel Children of Blood and Bone, Variety reports.
Adeyemi’s novel, published in 2018 by Henry Holt, tells the story of Zélie, a 17-year-old girl in the kingdom of Orïsha who is determined to bring back magic to the land after a king does his best to eradicate it. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus called the book—the first in a trilogy—“powerful, captivating, and raw” and “exceptional.”
The rest of the cast will include Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), Viola Davis (Fences), Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), Idris Elba (The Wire), and Lashana Lynch (Captain Marvel). Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Woman King) will direct from a script that she co-wrote with Adeyemi.
Click here for the full article. To request Children of Blood and Bone and/or its sequel Children of Virtue and Vengeance from a library, click here.
Book Playlist: The Grandest Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
From NOVL:
“The Grandest Game is finally here, and I have the perfect playlist to accompany your reading (or rereading). This book is as unputdownable as they come. They’re not just players—they’re players with a backstory. And don’t even get me started on the romantic tension. It’s giving there can only be one, but I want you anyway. And if none of that makes sense, just hit play and pick up a copy today. You will not regret it.”
2024 Teen Summer Reading: Book clubs, crafts, and more!
Teen summer reading programs at the Morristown & Morris Twp. Library run from July 1 – August 7. Participants can earn raffle tickets for summer reading prizes by attending book clubs, craft programs, and playing book bingo. For more details, please see the flyer below.
Quiz: Choose Your Aesthetic, We’ll Tell You What to Read Next
From NOVL:
“These days, different ‘aesthetics’, as Dorothy Gale so famously said, “Come and go so quickly!” From “Barbiecore” to “Tomato Girl Summer” sometimes these micro-trends seem very random, and very fleeting. But it’s all about embracing what feels right… So however you woke up feeling today, pick an aesthetic and we’ll give you a book recommendation.”
Click the graphic above to take the quiz!
Quiz: What Type of Dragon Would You Bond With?
From NOVL:
“If you tell me there are different categories of anything in a fantasy book (be it course of study, magic type, companion, or otherwise), I simply must know what I would be/have/do in this world that does not and will never exist. There is nothing I won’t turn into a personality quiz… And if there are dragons?! All bets are off. Please enjoy imagining your fantasy life along with me by finding out which dragon type from So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole you would bond with.”
Click the graphic above to take the quiz!