Welcome to the first Friday in November and our very first Fri-YA. Sorry, we couldn’t resist. Two things to know about our Friday review posts.
First, Fiction Fridays will be sharing space with Poetry Friday. Each edition of Fri-YA will include a young adult fiction title and a YA graphic novel. Second, we’ll showcase a YA Speculative Fiction book every Saturday.
Our judges thoroughly enjoyed these nominees. That said, you need to know that both books are quite graphic.
- TheNextGenLibrarian includes these content warnings for Five Survive: murder, blood, death of a parent, death, hospitalization, gun, alcohol use, physical assault, violence.
- Vulpixbookpix explains that The Librarian of Auschwitz depicts “malnourished prisoners, naked and scared bodies, and even shows the mass graves that people were put in.”
YOUNG ADULT FICTION
Red (18) and her friends are on a road trip in an RV, heading to the beach. When the RV suddenly breaks down in the middle of nowhere, with no phone reception and nobody to help, the friends slowly realize There’s a sniper out there in the dark watching them and he knows exactly who they are. One of the group has a secret that the sniper is willing to kill for.
Gina @ Goodreads – It was very compelling to read as far as reveals and plot rises and falls went, just as I expected from Holly Jackson. There are very clear character motivations behind most of the characters in this book, and they’re all revealed along the way, mostly at crucial moments, but hints are dropped as you go, too. The stakes are appropriately high, and there were lots of times where I had no clue what was going to happen next. As usual with a thriller, there’s really not much else I can say about this without ruining your fun. But I will say I fully recommend this,
Cindy on behalf of Kiss the Book, review by Carolina Herdegen – Tensions are high from the start, and Jackson doesn’t let up. These desperate characters are up all night, and readers get caught up in the fear and frustration. New chapters bring more complications, not the relief everyone is hoping for – and it was thrilling to read, except for those times when I wanted to reach in and punch that one guy in the face. While the ending is somewhat open-ended, I was satiated by the denouement.
YOUNG ADULT GRAPHIC NOVEL
Fourteen-year-old Dita is one of the many imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Taken, along with her mother and father, from the Terezín ghetto in Prague, Dita is adjusting to the constant terror that is life in the camp. When Jewish leader Freddy Hirsch asks Dita to take charge of the eight precious volumes the prisoners have managed to sneak past the guards, she agrees. And so Dita becomes the librarian of Auschwitz.
vulpixbookpix @ Bookish Things – The art in this graphic novel spares no expenses at telling and showing the dreadful event that was the Holocaust. There are malnourished prisoners, naked and scared bodies, and it even shows the mass graves that people were put in. All of this is absolutely necessary to know what horrors the past held so we can speak out against future atrocities. Five stars.
Deborah @ Goodreads – A beautifully illustrated graphic novel version of the novel. While it doesn’t do a true deep dive of the actual novel, the story itself is straight forward. Only thing that would prevent me from including this in my MS library is the illustrations of the selection process, due to their graphic nature. Otherwise, this is a GN I would highly recommend.
TheNextGenLibrarian @ Goodreads – A gorgeous and truthful adaptation of a powerful book that’s needed in every library.