by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Deb Caletti's Girl, Unframed Description from Publisher: "A teen girl’s summer with her mother turns sinister in this gripping thriller about the insidious dangers of unwanted attention, from Printz Honor medal–winning and National Book Award finalist author Deb Caletti—perfect for fans of Courtney Summers’s Sadie. "Sydney Reilly has a bad feeling about going home to San Francisco before she even gets on the plane. How could she not? Her mothe

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) I'm a sucker for the movie scene when a team--maybe it's gunfighters in the Old West, maybe it's superheroes fighting to save the world--comes together. There's usually been some sort of establishment of backstory, and we come to know the characters individually, diving into each origin story. And then, there's that electricity, that feeling of the whole being more than the sum of its parts, that makes you just know that the good guys (or whoe

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) We at Unabridged stand with the Black Lives Matter movement. There are SO many books that we love by Black authors, and we look forward to lifting up those amazing books. We wanted to start our celebration of Black authors with some of our favorite YA authors and books that we think would be outstanding in any classroom library. This is by no means a complete list, but this features some of our favorite authors for YA, includ

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) “You have to decide for yourself. It is you who must live with the outcome.” “Lies are as dangerous as a sword. They can cut to the bone.” (from The Belles, book 1) "If I accomplish one thing in this life... it will be to ensure the old way of doing things is done." (from The Everlasting Rose, book 2) I loved Dhonielle Clayton's The Belles and was so excited to read the sequel, The Everlasting Rose. Set in the dystopian world

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) As we struggle to learn more in response to the injustices we're seeing across the United States, we are highlighting three works by Black authors that are being published today. Brit Bennett's The Vanishing Half Description from Publisher: "The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it's not just the shape of their daily lives that is di

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) Kelly Yang's Parachutes Description from Publisher: "They’re called parachutes: teenagers dropped off to live in private homes and study in the United States while their wealthy parents remain in Asia. Claire Wang never thought she’d be one of them, until her parents pluck her from her privileged life in Shanghai and enroll her at a high school in California. "Suddenly she finds herself living in a stranger’s house, with no o

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) We recently had the chance to chat with Jill Hames, director of the James L. Hamner Public Library and host of the Connections podcast. Our agenda? To think about classics--like Gary Paulsen's Hatchet, Wilson Rawls's Where the Red Fern Grows, Mildred D. Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, and Fred Gipson's Old Yeller--and develop a list of books that we could recommend to fans of these tried-and-true options. (For the record, we endorse the

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Last week, we released our Book Club episode focusing on Katharine McGee's American Royals, a book that questions what would have happened if George Washington had accepted the offer to become King instead of President. Alternate histories like this one can be an intriguing way to explore what matters to us and what decisions in our history have been most important. (They're also just fun!) Ta-Nehisi Coates's The Water Dancer - Check out my re

This week, we're talking about all of the things that work for us and that have worked for our students to keep the reading momentum going! We talk about favorite authors like Jason Reynolds, Jacqueline Woodson, and Mo Willems, and we share about awesome audio options like Lavar Burton's weekly reading opportunities. To get full access to all of the resources we curated, be sure to sign up for our newsletter where you'll be able to download our guide! Bookish Check In Sara -

by Ashley Dickson-Ellison (@teachingtheapocalypse) This week, we wanted to share some light reads that we've been loving. We've each had different reading experiences during this stay at home time, but all of us are finding comfort and joy in reading light reads that are fun (sometimes funny) and engaging. From favorite authors like Rainbow Rowell and Katharine Center to other less familiar authors like Lyssa Kay Adams and Emily Henry, we're reading a wide mix of great books

In this Unabridged podcast episode, we're discussing some bookish turn offs we each have and when it's worth it to push past those turn offs (and when to accept them and move on!). We discuss tons of books including some of our collective favorites like John Boyne’s The Heart’s Invisible Furies, Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See, and Alan Gratz’s Refugee. While we each have different turn offs, we all agree that there are certainly things that attract us and repel u

In this episode, we have a great time discussing what we've each learned about the enneagram. We each chose a book (Ashley chose Millenneagram: The Enneagram Guide for Discovering Your Truest, Baddest Self, Jen chose The Essential Enneagram, and Sara chose The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery) to read that explored the enneagram, and we did our best to figure out our numbers. It was an adventure, and we had fun sharing with you! Stick around for our bo

by Jen Moyers (@jen.loves.books) Last week, we released episode 120 in which we recommended books that could be Comfort Reads for you during this very stressful time! Check out my long list of recommendations, and let us know what books you'd recommend to round out these lists. What other books are bringing you comfort? Books to Escape Sarah J. Maas’s House of Earth and Blood Tomi Adeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone Elana K. Arnold’s Damsel Brigid Kemmerer’s A Curse So Dark

In this episode, we talk about what kinds of reads are bringing us comfort during these challenging times. Sara shares her love of cookbooks like Michelle Smith’s The Whole Smiths Good Food Cookbook, Ashley shares her love of poetry including the grief anthology Kevin Young’s The Art of Losing: Poems of Grief and Healing, and Jen shares some great fantasy reads that she's loving including Sarah J. Maas’s House of Earth and Blood. We'd love to know what you're reading that is

I (Jen) had a really hard time narrowing my choices today to just three--so if you scroll down, you'll find that I cheated and recommend a few extras (sorrynotsorry). Julia Alvarez's Afterlife Description from Algonquin Books: "Antonia Vega, the immigrant writer at the center of Afterlife, has had the rug pulled out from under her. She has just retired from the college where she taught English when her beloved husband, Sam, suddenly dies. And then more jolts: her bighearted b

Here are three books coming out today that I (Jen) am excited to read! Alexandra Chang's Days of Distraction Description from HarperCollins: "The plan is to leave. As for how, when, to where, and even why—she doesn’t know yet. So begins a journey for the twenty-four-year-old narrator of Days of Distraction. As a staff writer at a prestigious tech publication, she reports on the achievements of smug Silicon Valley billionaires and start-up bros while her own request for a rais

Sarah J. Maas is an auto-buy author for me. (I can hear Sara and Ashley snickering right now because I DO have a lot of auto-buy authors . . . but seriously, I've pre-ordered every Maas book since her first.) I had pre-ordered House of Earth and Blood as soon as I could, but I didn't pick it up to read it immediately. It's 800ish pages, and I wanted to be able to read without stress or tons of interruptions. So, now we're under quarantine, and my "to do" list has shifted radi

Let’s talk YA fantasy today. I recently finished a YA backlist title, Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. This came highly recommended to me by bookworms that I trust, so it has been on my list for quite some time. I had read other of Rowell’s work (Eleanor & Park, Fangirl), both of which I loved, so I felt sure Carry On would be no different. I also read this in anticipation of Rowell’s most recent novel, Wayward Son, the follow up to Carry On. The beginning of this novel was a litt

Today, we have reached the final round of the Sweet Sixteen of The Morning News Tournament of Books. (If you'd like to read a little more background on what I (Jen) am up to here, check out this post.) This is not, I have to admit, my favorite section of the bracket (*hides face in shame*), but I'm making a valiant effort to share my opinions here. Day 7 (March 17) - Trust Exercise v. Overthrow Susan Choi's Trust Exercise - I recently listened to a podcast in which the guest

Today, I (Jen) am discussing the third section of the Sweet Sixteen of The Morning News Tournament of Books. (If you'd like to read a little more background on what I'm up to here, check out this post.) I have some tough choices here, with THREE books that I really loved. And check out the end of the post, where I provide an update from the very first match-up of the competition Day 5 (March 13) - The Water Dancer v. Optic Nerve Ta-Nehisi Coates's The Water Dancer - ". . . me