Calling all suspense fans! Today’s featured review looks at YA Fiction nominee Here Lies Daniel Tate by Cristin Terrill, a page-turning read about a young con artist who takes on more than he bargained for. Round 1 YAF judge Pamela Thompson, a YA librarian and book reviewer, wrote about this one on her blog Young Adult Books – What We’re …
Interview with Ruta Sepetys
How did you find out about the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff, and what about it grabbed you as a subject suitable for YA historical fiction? My father’s cousin told me about the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff. I was shocked that I had never heard of it. When I asked her how she came upon the story she told …
REVIEW: The Serpent King
Our featured review for today looks at Young Adult Fiction finalist The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner, a debut novel that has already racked up quite a few awards, such as being a William C. Morris Award finalist. YA Fiction judge and Cybils regular Kim Baccellia reviewed it on Young Adult Books Central: “Dill and his fellow outcast friends must …
REVIEW: A Study in Charlotte
Our featured blog review for this January Monday comes courtesy of Round 2 YA Fiction judge Jessica Holland, who is a freelance fiction editor, writer, curriculum developer, and blogger at Tales Between the Pages. This past year, she reviewed YA Fiction Cybils finalist A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro: “Just when you think she’s a carbon copy of Sherlock, …
REVIEW: Highly Illogical Behavior
Happy Monday! Today’s featured review is a nominee from the YA Fiction category: Highly Illogical Behavior by John Corey Whaley. Earlier this year, Round 1 judge William Polking (a high school teacher and coach) reviewed the book for Guys Lit Wire, a group blog devoted to highlighting great books for guys and the people who love them. According to William: …
REVIEW: Afterward: A Novel
Round 1 YA Fiction judge Jenni Frencham is a Goodreads librarian as well as a real-life librarian–specifically, she’s Youth Services Director at a rural public library. She reviewed today’s title, YA fiction nominee Afterward by Jennifer Mathieu, on her Goodreads account earlier this year. This suspenseful novel about recovery from trauma, living with a disability, and healing through friendship earned …
REVIEW: Salt to the Sea
Today’s featured review is from Round 1 YA Fiction panelist Kelly Hager, an avid reader from Baltimore who blogs at KellyVision (tagline: “That’s what she read.”). Earlier this year, she read and reviewed YA Fiction nominee Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys, author of Between Shades of Gray. This novel, also set in WWII, got a thumbs up from …
Cybils 2016: YA Fiction Judges
Round 1Kim BacciellaSi, Se Puede@ixtumea Jenni FrenchamFrom the Biblio Files @jennifrencham Rose GarrettThe Spirited Librarian@roseinglis Kelly HagerKellyVision@khager Jennifer HubbsLost in a Great Book@lostingreatbook William PolkingGuys Lit Wire@polking Melissa WileyHere in the Bonny Glen@melissawiley Round 2Stormy Campbell Book.Blog.Bake.@stormydawnc Jessica HollandTales Between the Pages@JessicaTBTP Maureen KearneyConfessions of a Bibliovore@mosylu Amanda MacGregorTeen Librarian Toolbox@CiteSomething Laura ShovanLaura Shovan@LauraShovan
The 2015 Cybils WINNERS!
Happy Cybils Day! As always, we want to thank all our judges for their reading, discussing, and ultimately deciding on our fantastic winners. And to our organizers who rose to the challenge of wrangling said judges, making sure everything ran smoothly, on top of everything else that was going on in life. (Life, it does get in the way of …
REVIEW: Infandous
Young Adult Fiction finalist title Infandous by Elana K. Arnold takes center stage in today’s featured blog review, which comes courtesy of Kirkus Reviewer and inveterate Cybil-ite Leila Roy. Leila, who blogs at Bookshelves of Doom, was a Round 1 judge this year in YA Fiction, and back in the spring she posted about Infandous for Kirkus and gave it …