Must Read in 2018 - April Update

I can hardly believe that it is already April! As we stop to check in our our #mustread lists, I am excited to say that I am about 75 percent through the books that I chose. I have stuck closely to my list, which has helped my progress. Most years I start digging into the Illinois Bluestem List about now, but when this year's list was announced I realized that I had already read all but four of the titles, so that hasn't pulled me away too much this time. One of my goals was to do more writing about my reading, and while I have jotted down a few notes here and there, I have not been very successful in this area. This remains on my To-Do list!

For the first time, I posted my Must Read in 2018 List on our circulation desk. It has been so much fun talking to students and teachers about the books I have been reading from it. I often share pictures of books I read, but for some reason several kids have taken more of an interest in the fact that I have a goal and that I am marking the books off. I have been highlighting each book as I read it, recording the month read, and sharing my rating (out of five stars) for each book. I also noted if a title was a Young Adult book, just so our students would know that our school library wouldn't be purchasing it. It has sparked great conversations and recommendations. 

It is rare that I like the second book in any series as much as the first, but I enjoyed The Wild Robot Escapes, Knock Out, and Bat and the Waiting Game as much as the earlier books. I read Breakout as an e-book from NetGalley, and I absolutely cannot wait for the actual book to be available to share with students. Amal Unbound, Halfway Normal, and Hope in the Holler were other standout books to me.

I look forward to reading these remaining books, and I am also eager to see posts from other readers. I think I will be adding some to my list, and it will be fun to get ideas from everyone else. I would honestly recommend every book I have read so far. Happy 2018 reading!

Must Read in 2018

When I first started thinking about composing my #mustread list for 2018, I feared that it was going to be more difficult than usual, as it did not seem like I had marked too many upcoming books or prepared well. Once I started going through my stack of ARCs, looking over my Goodreads list, and seeing end of year posts, I found that my problem has been not in coming up with great books, but in narrowing it down. This may be my longest list yet, with 42 books, but I am excited about a wonderful year of reading!

Most of my titles are middle grade fiction, although there are a few YA books mixed in. Several are new 2018 releases, although many are books that I have missed reading during the past couple of years.

• Ahimsa by Supriya Kelkar
• Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed
• Bat and the Waiting Game by Elana K. Arnold
• Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead
• Breakout by Kate Messner
• Chasing Augustus by Kimberly Newton Fusco (1/2/18)
• Checked by Cynthia Kadohata
• Code of Honor by Alan Gratz
• Code Word Courage by Kirby Larson
• Everything I Know About You by Barbara Dee
• The Exact Location of Home by Kate Messner
• Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes
• Good Dog by Dan Gemeinhart
• Granted by John David Anderson
• Grump by Liesl Shurtliff
• Halfway Normal by Barbara Dee
• Hope in the Holler by Lisa Lewis Tyre (1/6/18)
• I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez
• The Journey of Little Charlie by Christopher Paul Curtis
• Just Dance by Patricia MacLachlan
• Just Like Jackie by Lindsey Stoddard
• Knockout by K. A. Holt
• Loser's Bracket by Chris Crutcher
• One Amazing Elephant by Linda Oatman High (1/6/18)
• The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson (1/14/18)
• The Perfect Score by Rob Buyea
• Playing Atari with Saddam Hussein by Jennifer Roy
• Rebound by Kwame Alexander
• A Pup Called Trouble by Bobbie Pyron
• Scythe by Neal Shusterman
• In Sight of Stars by Gae Polisner
• The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore (1/13/18)
• Sunny by Jason Reynolds
• Supergifted by Gordon Korman
• Tradition by Brendan Kiely
• Turtles All the Way Down by John Green (1/2/18)
• The Van Gogh Deception by Deron R. Hicks
• Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heiligman
• We Were Here by Matt de la Pena
• The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown
• Winterhouse by Ben Guterson
• You Go First by Erin Entrada Kelly

My other reading goal involves keeping better notes on some of the books I read. I find that I read quickly and am struggling to keep information straight when I am making recommendations to students down the road. I am working on a journal to help me out in this area. 

I look forward to viewing the lists of other participants and to sharing an exciting year of books. Thank you so much to Carrie Gelson for hosting this group.  Happy reading in 2018!