Welcome back for another monthly recap! It’s funny because February is the shortest month of the year… and I still managed to read over 4,000 pages of books. What can I say? I live a wild life. (By wild, I refer to playing the dangerous game of “just one more chapter” and staying up way later than intended.)
During the first half of February, I pounded through several YA fantasy novels, including the first two installments of Brigid Kemmerer’s Cursebreakers series and the conclusion to Laini Taylor’s Strange the Dreamer duology. All were solid, 4-star reads, with great world-building. YA fantasy is the genre of my heart and it was wonderful hanging out with so many good stories in a row. Plus, there’s a special satisfaction that comes with finishing three 500-page long books back-to-back.
I also read this year’s recipient of the Newbury Award, which is given for outstanding writing in a children’s book. New Kid by Jerry Craft made history because it’s the first graphic novel to receive the award–a huge step forward for the genre! Naturally, I got myself on the holds list as soon as I could. I really enjoyed Craft’s novel. The characters were well-formed, the art easy to follow, and Craft handles the struggles of fitting in and racism very well.