Rated YA-MA discussion
Reading Challenges
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Representation Matters - 2021 Year Long Challenge
Participant List:♦ Ashley- post #15, goal 12 books
♦ Cat- post #66
♦ Cyn- post #20
♦ Dee- post #5
♦ Diane- post #4
♦ DivaDiane- post #8, goal 6 books
♦ Eva- post #14
♦ Jennifer- post #12
♦ Leticia- post #13
♦ Melanie- post #7, goal 12 books
♦ Raya- post #6, goal 11 books
♦ Sara- post #70, goal 10 books
♦ Zia- post #12, goal 12 books
Final Challenge: December/ Human RightsThe final challenge (DECEMBER) is to read books that feature knowledge about and /or the struggle for Human Rights. Remember, they can be any genre and for any age level.
Need help choosing a book? Here are some lists to get you on track:
-Amnesty International's Recommendation List: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/ten-great-...
-Amnesty International's YA List: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/best-young...
-Social Justice Books: https://socialjusticebooks.org/bookli...
-Brightly: https://www.readbrightly.com/books-on...
-GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
I'm in - I am determined to get my reading back on track for 2021! I think this is a great idea. Is this taking the place of our monthly reads or in addition to them?
in - i've been doing a diversity challenge the last few years so this ties in well
I'll join and read 11 books from the categories
Hoping to read all 12 book!♦ January- Middle Grade- Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes read
♦ February- BLM / Africa- Concrete Rose read
♦ March- Europe- Inkheart read
♦ April- Middle East- Once Upon an Eid read
♦ May- Asia / Pacific Islands- A Thousand Beginnings and Endings read
♦ June- LGBTQIA- The Song of Achilles read
♦ July- religious minority- Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal read
♦ August- New Adult- House of Earth and Blood read
♦ September- LatinX / South America- Nocturna read
♦ October- Persons with Disabilities- Strings read
♦ November- Indigenous Peoples- A Snake Falls to Earth
♦ December- Human Rights
I think I can probably manage to read at least 6 books from this challenge using books I've already planned for other challenges! If that's allowed, then I'm in. Otherwise, I am already hopelessly overextended!✔︎♦ January - middle grade: Who Let the Gods Out?
✔︎♦ February - BLM YA: The Poet X
✔︎♦ March- Europe Momo
♦ April- Middle East
♦ May- Asia / Pacific Islands
✔︎ ♦ June- LGBTQIA - Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
♦ July- religious minority
♦ August- New Adult
♦ September- LatinX / South America
♦ October- Persons with Disabilities - I purchased A List of Cages but haven’t read it yet.
✔︎ ♦ November- Indigenous Peoples - Elatsoe
♦ December- Human Rights
I always double up on challenges. I do have to work in addition to read books.
January’s category is Middle Grade books.DEFINITION- “Middle-grade fiction refers to books written for readers between the ages of 8 and 12, while young adult fiction refers to books written for readers roughly between the ages of 12 and 18. It is important to understand that the terms do not refer to genre but instead are an age-based categorization that can apply to science fiction, mystery, coming-of-age, and other types of fiction. The terms reflect the reading level, world-view, thematic interests, and maturity of readers.” (from masterclass.com)
Compared to YA:
typically does not contain profanity, graphic violence, or any sexual contact beyond kissing
typically shorter than YA books
tends to be told in third person and deals with characters’ relationships to their immediate family and friends
This should be an easy category for a challenge starter with book lists easy to search for.
What will you read? What do you recommend to others?
I’ve been reading a LOT of middle grade books the past few years because my son is that age. I used to read things to him that are a little above his level, but not so much anymore. This past year we’ve read a couple of Judy Blume books, Bridge to Terabithia, the Westing Game, Mrs. Frisby and the rats of NIMH, some of the Trixie Belden series (mystery), Space Boy (OSCard), A Stitch in Time (Penelope Lively), The Famous Five, Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja, the Phantom Tollbooth, Poems to Live Your Life By (which isn’t MG actually but good for them nonetheless), The White Mountains.
Last year we read more Trixie Belden, Littlest Lovecraft (a series of Lovecraft stories in graphic novel format told in verse), the Halloween Tree, The Mystery of the Whistling Cave (Helen Moss), Alice in Wonderland, Roald Dahl.
I'll join! I hope to read all 12 if time allows me~
I'm in, not sure how many books yet. In January, I plan to read the Middle-Grade The Lost Years because I got it as a present years ago and I still haven't finished it. :-)
Reading a more diverse catalog is my reading resolution this year. So I will aim for all 12.January - Middle Grade
February - Africa/BLM
March - Europe
(Adult - Read in April)April - Middle East
(Read in May)May - Asia/Pacific Islands
June - LGBTQ+
July - Religious Minority
August - New Adult
September - Latinx
October - Persons with Disabilities
November - Indigenous
December
DivaDiane wrote: "I’ve been reading a LOT of middle grade books the past few years because my son is that age. I used to read things to him that are a little above his level, but not so much anymore. This past yea..."
Bridge to Terabithia is my all time favorite book. I read it in the 4th grade for the first time and have read it multiple times throughout my life, and own multiple copies. And I cry EVERY TIME
The participant list is updated (post#2).
I think I am going to read Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes. It is the third book in a middle-grade series. It is light, has a female protagonist, and centers on Asian mythology.
I will be reading Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga.
I have had Aru Shah and the End of Time on my list for awhile. I will read the first book in the trilogy for the Representation Matters reading challenge.
I'm in. I will try to get each of the categories. 1/month should be doable. Here's to a better year for reading for me!♦ January- Middle Grade -
****♦ February- BLM / Africa - Middle Grade -
**** ♦ March- Europe
♦ April- Middle East
♦ May- Asia / Pacific Islands
♦ June- LGBTQIA
♦ July- religious minority
♦ August- New Adult
♦ September- LatinX / South America
♦ October- Persons with Disabilities
♦ November- Indigenous Peoples
♦ December- Human Rights
Zia wrote: "I will be reading Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga."I love this book. I read it a few months ago. I hope you enjoy it as well!!
Cyn wrote: "I have had Aru Shah and the End of Time on my list for awhile. I will read the first book in the trilogy for the Representation Matters reading challenge."
I should read this one with you Cyn. It's been on my list for awhile as well.
I recommend it :) ... obviouslyIf you want to do an official Buddy Read, let me know and I'll set up a thread for y'all.
Zia wrote: "I will be reading Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga."This looks good. I have added it to my seemingly infinite TBR.
I am reading Who Let the Gods Out?. It occurred to me that my son started to read this aloud to us on our road trip to Italy this summer and I hadn't gotten back to finishing it.
i'm going to read The Sea in Winter and Other Words for Home (cause my library had them both in ebook and available now)
Jennifer wrote: "Cyn wrote: "I have had Aru Shah and the End of Time on my list for awhile. I will read the first book in the trilogy for the Representation Matters reading challenge."
I should re..."
Great!!!
Melanie wrote: This looks good. I have added it to my seemingly infinite TBR."
I just finished it and it was really good! I probably wouldn't have picked it up if it wasn't for this challenge. So thank you for the great monthly prompts :)
Awesome!
I read
and am almost done with
Both very good and very relevant
Yeah Ashley!!Does anyone else want to share how their pick for this month went?
I'm still working on Aru Shah and the End of Time. I'm not very far, but I'm enjoying it so far.
I finished Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes a while ago, but have been busy. It's the best book in the series so far, IMO. Hope you like book 1 Jennifer.
Question to all- Do you want me to keep a tally of your reads in post #2 or is that excessive organization?... I might have some issues in that department but I DO know how to control myself.
Hi Melanie,I’d hate to ask you to do that for me/us. I’m pretty sure I can manage to take care of that myself. I’ll just edit my first post of the thread to keep track. You could link to that post in your post about participants, if that suits?
Ha! I meant I tend to over organize things that don't need to be organized... but that's a really good idea DivaDiane.
February (Black history month in the US) is almost here. Time to start planning for the next challenge-- BLM friendly texts or books written by an African author. For this year long challenge YA books are encouraged but any age level, fiction and nonfiction count.Here are some book lists to get you started:
-BLM YA List: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
-BLM All Genres List: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
-YA African Authors: https://www.africanbookscollective.co...
-http://www.bookshybooks.com/2012/04/y...
-By Country List: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles...
-Female Afrincan Authors: https://whatsonafrica.org/50-books-by...
Do you know what you’ll read yet? Share your possibilities with us.
Or recommend a book to someone as of yet undecided.
I finally finished Who Let the Gods Out? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
This was a hilarious middle grade book that my son started reading aloud to us our epic road trip home from Italy in August. I checked the paperback out of the library just before our 2nd lockdown in the U.K. and I was not really compelled to read it quickly because the due date keeps getting postponed (libraries are closed). But this challenge did it!!
I enjoyed it and it is great for the target age range. There are MCs that will appeal to both boys and girls, the adventure is fun and the gods and constellations are mostly really silly and inept, which accounts for a lot of the hilarity. The author has done a good job with world building for the gods and constellations in a parallel world to ours.
So, for February, I’m actually going to use our Jan BOTM, the Poet X. I haven’t had time to read it and won’t until Feb. If not that one, or in addition, I can get The Hate U Give from the library (ebook), which is a book I keep hearing about and really want to read.
i'm hoping that i'll get Concrete Rose from the library in time - its the prequel to The hate U give
The wait at my library is 6 months, so I went ahead and bought Concrete Rose which I plan to be my book.I happily reccomend:
The Hate U Give
Akata Witch
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You
*Thinking about it this month's pick Binti can also apply to this category.
I updated my first post above (#8) to track my progress and plans.
Melanie wrote: "I finished Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes a while ago, but have been busy. It's the best book in the series so far, IMO. Hope you like book 1 Jennifer."I finished Aru Shah and the End of Time. I really enjoy the adventure and inter woven myths. Nice character development. I liked how she learned to be her own best friend and not just the best friend of her Pandava sister. I hope the next books in the series are just as cute.
:) They are.
Melanie wrote: "Question to all- Do you want me to keep a tally of your reads in post #2 or is that excessive organization?... I might have some issues in that department but I DO know how to control myself."
I don't think its necessary, but I'm not going to stop you if you want to.
As per DivaDiane's suggestion, I put the first post number where everyone signed up for the challenge and their stated goal if they announced one next to everyone's name in post #2.Everyone who wants to can update their personal post to show progress.
I snuck one more mg book in for January
Rated YA-MA
Books mentioned in this topic
Zara Hossain Is Here (other topics)Zara Hossain Is Here (other topics)
Who Let the Gods Out? (other topics)
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (other topics)
The Poet X (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Sarah J. Maas (other topics)Tomi Adeyemi (other topics)
Tomi Adeyemi (other topics)
Angie Thomas (other topics)
♦ January- Middle Grade
♦ February- BLM / Africa
♦ March- Europe
♦ April- Middle East
♦ May- Asia / Pacific Islands
♦ June- LGBTQIA
♦ July- religious minority
♦ August- New Adult
♦ September- LatinX / South America
♦ October- Persons with Disabilities
♦ November- Indigenous Peoples
♦ December- Human Rights
Explanation: Each month this year, read 1 book from the proposed category. If the category is a region, the goal would be to read a book written by an author from that region, not just set there. However, you are free/ encouraged to interpret the category as you will. You can use the GoodReads shelving feature (will not open until January 1) to track your progress or mark progress in your own special way.
Discussion: Each month, we can use this thread to recommend and review books for that month’s category.