Amy Townsley's Bookish Corner

  Week 10 Blog Entry Camp by L.C. Rosen Randy is sixteen and headed to Camp Outland where queer teens spend the summer preparing for the big event: a camp musical; but Randy’s focus is on getting Hudson, who is only attracted to masculine boys, to fall in love with him even though it means changing everything about himself. I found this book on display in our Teen Room for the “Beyond the Beaten Path” Summer Reading theme and did select it for its cover I must admit but also because it is not just a fluffy summer read (which can also be important to include in reading lists) but also looks closely at gender and identity in a seemingly authentic way. I would especially like to find out what Randy learns about himself as he tries to pretend he is someone else and think that is an important storyline for teens to delve into. A Million Quiet Revolutions by Robin Gow Author Robin Gow explores a transgender coming of age story in verse about a relationship between Aaron, a Puert...

  Week 9 Blog Entry: Victor LaValle's Destroyer by Victor LaValle 2018 winner of the Bram Stoker Award: Best Graphic Novel and the 2019 YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens, Victor LaValle creates a violent world with hints of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein where Dr. Baker has brought back her son, Akai, to life after he was shot by police. I was very excited to find a graphic novel horror novel depicting African American characters and takes on present day themes around race relations in a science fiction format. I read in may reviews how well the author shared the intense grief and rage of Aika's mother throughout this story and felt it was an important opportunity for teen readers to get their arms around. I checked this out from the teen and adult section of the Southborough Library's graphic novel section. What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo This fantasy and gothic-horror novel takes on themes of family history and estrangement, accepting yourself when Eleanor returns home...

Week 8 Blog Entry: A Phoenix First Must Burn: Sixteen Stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance, and Hope  edited by Patrice Caldwell Award-winning authors, including Elizabeth Acevedo, Justina Ireland, L.L. McKinney and Ibi Zoboi, share magical tales that delve into the Black experience and create a space where readers can rejoice together in an inspiring community of fantasy and science fiction literature. This book was found in the Young Adult room in the Southborough Library after researching the catalog and selected to address the idea that not all dystopian stories must include hopelessness. This also appealed to me as this week's choice especially because it is important that not all stories with characters of color deal only in trauma but instead provide readers with a sense of fun and play. This book also got me thinking about another book we ordered for our adult collection about race in this genre called The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the...