Task #1: Read a YA nonfiction book

[Pankhuri]

Elizabeth wrote: "ChezJulie wrote: "They Called Themselves the K.K.K.: The Birth of an American Terrorist Group by Susan Campbell Bartoletti was fascinating. Important history that I didn't know much ..."

Thanks a lot for the idea. I'm going to end up reading both! Truly excited.

[Alexis]

I'm going to do The Complete Maus. Nonfiction because it's the true account of Spiegelman's father and it won YA awards (even if that apparently annoyed the author a bit), so I argue it counts.

[Sarah]

I just started Blood, Bullets, and Bones: The Story of Forensic Science from Sherlock Holmes to DNA!

[Jackie]

Lea wrote: "I feel uncertain with the YA category. Does anyone have thoughts on Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death? It is directed at children/youth but I ..."

I don't know that it's directed at children actually. The questions come from kids, but it's not necessarily meant *for* kids, if that makes any sense. It's more general audience.

Good book, though. Would recommend you read it, just not sure if it's specifically YA as opposed to just general nonfiction.

[[deleted user]]

Just finished The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club by Phillip Hoose, and highly recommend it for anyone interested in WWII history.

The author spent a considerable amount of time interviewing and corresponding with Knud Pedersen--one of the founders of a group of boys who helped to spark Denmark's resistance to German occupation-- shortly before Pedersen's death in 2014. It's a fascinating story and unavailable elsewhere in English. It's marketed as a young adult book and definitely written for that audience, but appeals to readers of any age.

[Mya]

Lea wrote: "I feel uncertain with the YA category. Does anyone have thoughts on Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death? It is directed at children/youth but I ..."

Lea, when I am uncertain about an age range for a book I check to see where it’s shelved in my local library. They divvy them more-or-less by the same categories that book riot uses.

That said, there’s plenty of nonfiction aimed at adults that is also suitable for (and interesting to) kids and teens. Depends on how much you want to stick to the prompts. :)

[Donnisha]

just finished my first book for this challenge. No Choirboy

[Mandie]

I just finished Yes She Can: 10 Stories of Hope & Change from Young Female Staffers of the Obama White House for this prompt and it was wonderful.

[Julia]

Just picked up Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science because I fall too quickly into the trap of only reading non fiction about historical events or people and never science.

[Shelley]

I went with Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers (Thanks Sabrina for the suggestion). I am a huge Van Gogh fan so hearing about his actual background gave me a new appreciation. I had known that he was born into a middle-class family, he had a lot of mental health issues, and that he died "penniless", but it was great to see just how much his family played a part in his life and legacy.

[Tammy]

I read The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano, by Margarita Engle for this. It was good, and an interesting format for non-fiction, in my opinion. It's written in verse from the perspective of different people in JFM's life, and also from his own perspective. To me it felt like a fictionalized version of someone's life, and so wouldn't count as non-fiction, but it has the word biography in the title and seems to be clearly categorized as non-fiction. I guess since none of it is fabricated, it counts. In other words, it's not "based on a true story", it IS a true story. ??

[Brooke]

Piper wrote: "Does anyone know a book that's similar to Queer, There, and Everywhere by Sarah Prager?"

I'm planning to read Brave Face by Shaun David Hutchinson If you are looking for a biography of a queer author.

[Gretel]

I'm thinking of giving Flowers in the Gutter a go.

[Evelyn]

Reading The Story Collector by Kristin O’Donnell Tubb. A delightful middle grade true story of a young girl
Living in one of the apartments in the New York
City Library.

[Emerging]

I am currently reading The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater for this prompt and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Excellent!

[Rebecca]

I read The 57 Bus for this one!!

[Emerging]

Rebecca wrote: "I read The 57 Bus for this one!!"
So, so, so good!!!

[Tammy]

Emerging wrote: "Rebecca wrote: "I read The 57 Bus for this one!!"
So, so, so good!!!"

Yes, this book is really good. I listed to the audiobook last year after hearing about it on these challenge discussions. :)

[Jackie]

I ended up slotting Chasing Down the Dawn in for this prompt. I don't think it's specifically meant to be YA, but Jewel was only 26 when she wrote it, and large parts of the book are about her teenage years. I was very much struck by how it seemed like she was trying to sound more grown up than she really was. In any case, it wasn't a terrible read.

[Sherri]

I used Girl Code Gaming,Going Viral, and Getting It Done by Andrea Gonzales & Sophie Houser. Very good.

[Richard]

Mya wrote: "where it’s shelved in my local library"

This has been the toughest part of this challenge. I haven't found a library or bookstore that has a "YA Nonfiction" section, just general YA or more specific fiction genre sections. I usually like to pick these challenge books by browsing, so I've been checking out harder-looking middle grade or teen-friendly general nonfiction or sifting through the thousands of paranormal romances that a general YA shelf is packed with. I still haven't found something that has hit the spot, but I need to soon!

[Jane]

Most libraries shelve their YA nonfiction with the adult nonfiction. Usually they do have YA on the label though as a way to know.

[Elizabeth]

^ Many libraries also have books that would be considered YA nonfiction shelved with their children's nonfiction.

[Gina]

cecil Rhodes
flawed calousus
just finished it. great book but I will say if I didn't already know a lot about the era and people of the day already I probably would have been confused. the writer is clean and concise but he does assume that you know a lot is already.

[Emily]

I read Hidden Girl: The True Story of a Modern-Day Child Slave by Shyima Hall. It was intense and heart wrenching, but I highly recommend it.

[Tanya]

I've read Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson. A memoir about rape in free verse.

[Melissa]

I am going to read No Summit out of Sight: The True Story of the Youngest Person to Climb the Seven Summits. I have a few students who I think will really enjoy this book, so I hope to read it with them.

[Eric]

I’m starting with Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team by Steve Sheinkin. I am familiar with Jim Thorpe as one of the greatest all-around athletes in sports history, but I didn’t know much about his early life or how his Native American ancestry affected him. I’ve read a little over half of it. It’s a good read for the sports history fan looking for something a little different, but it will probably not resonate with the non-sports-fan reader.

[Catie]

I just finished Jane Against the World: Roe v. Wade and the Fight for Reproductive Rights. It goes into a good deal of detail about the history of birth control in the U.S., the people and groups who helped patients access abortion before Roe, the work of the attorneys who brought the issue to the Supreme Court, what went on behind the scenes at the Supreme Court (particularly Justice Blackmun's personal journey as he wrote the opinion in Roe), and the backlash and restrictions to abortion access that have followed in the decades since. I knew most of this history already, but Blumenthal presented it well in terms of narrative and clever formatting, and there were plenty of tidbits and anecdotes I hadn't heard before, which kept me interested. A great read for those curious about the history of abortion in the U.S., and a good refresher for those already familiar with the subject!

[Eric]

My first group event through Goodreads, so thank you. I read: I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced. Deceptively simple read, but the courage and strength of this young girl is something I can't claim to always have in 5o years on the planet.

[Bonnie G.]

I went with Rapture Practice: A True Story About Growing Up Gay in an Evangelical Family and was pleased with my choice. The author knows how to tell a story.

[Hope]

Tanya wrote: "I've read Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson. A memoir about rape in free verse."
I just started this yesterday.

[Dorothy]

Rachael wrote: "Mine will be The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century"

I just finished this and I enjoyed it. Although no new earth shattering information, it very clearly laid out the murder facts and trial. I liked that the author inserted shaded boxes which gave additional information related to the law, clothing and customs of the time, etc.

[Leslie (updates on SG)]

Jason Reynold's excellent YA remix of Ibram Kendi's book is perfect for this prompt: Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You.

[Westiegirl]

I read Popular a Memoir by Maya Van Wagenen. It was a fun read!

[Tyler]

I’m reading Acid for the Children by Flea !

[Bonnie G.]

Tyler wrote: "I’m reading Acid for the Children by Flea !"

I read an excerpt of this, and I would say it is definitely not YA, but maybe I just did not get that from a few pages..

[Jacob]

For this challenge, I read The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives, a well-researched and detailed look at the intersection of two distant lives and the problems that arise when we ignore what isn't happening around us.

[Payhton]

I read Free Lunch by Rex Ogle for this challenge. It was a fantastic book to kick off with. I'd highly recommend it for those participating who work in the public school system, or who work with children generally.

[Tammy]

Payhton wrote: "I read Free Lunch by Rex Ogle for this challenge. It was a fantastic book to kick off with. I'd highly recommend it for those participating who work in the public school system, or ..."

Thanks, Payhton! I have been curious about that book and it's good to hear that you recommend it.

[Rebecca]

I'm note sure if this is strictly in the category, but my (15-year-old) sister recommendedI Will Always Write Back: How One Letter Changed Two Lives (and my library had it available) so I am going to give that a shot.

[Jasmine's]

I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban

loved it!

[Krees]

Heather, I would say Born a Crime by Trevor Noah would definitely work bc it is written from his perspective as a child and teen.

[Elizabeth]

I read Bad Boys of Fashion: Style Rebels and Renegades Through the Ages, which was interesting and entertaining. I'm sure to read more in this category though, I love YA and MG nonfiction.

[Virginia]

I listened to The 57 Bus for this challenge.

[Teresa]

I read Flowers in the Gutter: The True Story of the Edelweiss Pirates, Teenagers Who Resisted the Nazis. It was good. I didn't know about this beforehand.

[Sheri]

I read This Book Is Anti-Racist: 20 Lessons on How to Wake Up, Take Action, and Do the Work which might be somewhere on the line between middle grade and YA, but it felt like a timely read so I'm counting it.

[Rachel]

I read Alice + Freda Forever: A Murder In Memphis. It's a twisted love story between two girls in 1910's Memphis, TN that ended with one dead and the other in an asylum. I learned a lot, and when I shared some of the things I learned about queer history with my friends, they were very interested. I was nervous about this challenge, since I normally dislike YA, but I'm glad I read this book. I might actually buy it!

[Jennifer]

I read Shout by Laurie Halse-Anderson which was amazing. I read Speak years ago, and this was really an incredible book told in verse, sharing her story in a really meaninful way.

[Megan]

I forgot to post when I finished the book, but I read Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen by Jazz Jennings for this prompt.