The Last Cuentista
by Donna Barba Higuera
The Last Cuentista won the prestigious Newbery Medal and Pura Belpré Award in 2022. This post apocalyptic Middle Grade Novel starts just as comet is scheduled to hit and cause catastrophic damage to the earth. Petra’s parents want her to follow in their footsteps and study science, but she longs to be a storyteller, like her abuelita (grandmother). Her family are part of the few picked to travel to a new world to start over. Petra is supposed to sleep through the transit to a new world, but when she wakes up she discovers that the other sleeping passengers who have survived have had their mind’s erased by a genetically modified collective who seeks peace through wiping out all memories of Earth and its culture. This story is definitely a bit dark and could be triggering for those who have recently lost family members themselves, but it also brings with it a sense of hope that we can each do our parts to create a better world. I also think its message of the importance of remembering our traditions and stories and how they can be an uplifting source of good is an important one that will resonate with many.
Night Owls
by A.R. Vishny
Night Owls is a winner of a National Jewish Book Award Winner and Sydney Taylor Book Award. This paranormal fantasy for teens set in New York, focuses on two “sisters” who are estries (female vampires who shape shift into owls and feed on men, as depicted in Jewish folklore). Molly is in love with a human girl who goes missing and will need her sister, Clara’s help to find her, despite Clara’s rules that neither of them should ever fall in love. Boaz, the young Jewish man who works at their theater, may also be of help or a hindrance as Clara tries to stop her own romantic feelings towards him from taking flight. I found this to be an engaging story and I enjoyed the exploration of family relationships as well as romantic and friendship bonds that the story explores.
The Darkness Outside Us
by Eliot Schrefer
The Darkness Outside Us was one of the Stonewall Honor books chosen by the ALA, for LGBTQIA+ Young Adult Literature in 2022. The story focuses on two 17 year olds who are sent in to space for a rescue mission of the one’s sister. The story is told from the perspective of the child of wealthy industrialist from a liberal country and the other teen is from the only other country left on earth, which is more conservative and communist. Despite their differences, they are drawn to each other. This novel will appeal to to older teens who enjoy their Science Fiction with a bit of romance. I enjoyed the epistemological exploration throughout the story. Also refreshing is that the story feels truly humanity against their environment and circumstances with the two main characters having different perspectives, but neither being portrayed as “right.”
These books are so well crafted that they also have appeal to adults as well as teens. We read The Last Cuentista for our Science Fiction and Fantasy discussion in March and Night Owls in April. The Darkness Outside Us is scheduled for the July discussion.
Sincerely,
Aimee Harris
Information and Digital Services Manager
Hoboken Public Library Blog 