Jasmine Warga’s Other Words for Home was recently named a Younger Readers Category Honor Book in the 2020 Walter Dean Myers Awards for Outstanding Children’s Literature. Told as a prose poem, the book is full of beautiful and powerful language, and readers will find themselves immediately immersed in the life of a young Syrian girl named Jude.

I am a huge book and television person. However, for whatever reason, I tend not to watch as many movies. But the last two films I’ve watched have been Parasite and To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, and although polar opposite in tone, both had me thinking: I definitely need to watch more films. And since Parasite just won the Academy Award for Best Picture, I decided to do a double-feature review.

Pippa Park Raises Her Game is on sale in five days! So I am sharing five behind-the-book facts about our newest heroine...

I adore haunted houses. Actually, let me rephrase. While I would never want to go inside a haunted house, I find them fascinating and enjoy researching and watching videos about them from the safety of my own bed. So when I picked up Ellen Oh’s Spirit Hunters while browsing Powell’s Books and saw that it features both a haunted house and a Korean protagonist, I nearly did a little happy dance right there in the store. Korean shamanism plays a role in this book too—something I haven’t seen explored in other horror novels. I wanted this book so badly. Have no fear (ha)—it didn’t disappoint.

Baba Yaga lives in a hut that moves around on chicken legs. She rides through the air in a mortar driven by a pestle. She eats children. If any of those things entice you, you’d definitely be a fan of Baba Yaga.

We’re now in the thick of winter, and just as I bury myself in blankets and sip steaming hot tea to stave off the cold, sometimes I need books to help melt my icy insides as well. While Stargazing, a graphic novel by Jen Wang, delves into issues such as feeling different within your own community and parental expectations, it’s told with such sweetness that this relatable and intimate story about friendship warmed my heart. 

From the editors of Fabled Films Press:  

It’s the time of year for making resolutions, whether your goal is to start a regular workout routine or to try more teas in 2020. This year, we have a resolution for you that will strengthen your relationship with your children, encourage reading and learning, and motivate you to spend quality time with your family: read together!

I’ve always been a big fan of retellings. I love returning to characters or plots or tropes that I’ve heard before but experiencing those elements in a completely new way. That’s why I knew I had to pick up a book by Liesl Shurtliff, the best-selling author of several fractured fairy tales. Grump was the first book of hers that I picked up, and after racing through this fun, exciting Snow White retelling, I know I’ll definitely be back for her others.

So, I have a secret to admit. Don’t tell anyone...but I just recently finished Coraline by Neil Gaiman. Really, I have no excuses. I adore Neil Gaiman. American Gods? Legendary. The Graveyard Book? Magical. Neverwhere? More like right here on my shelf. I’ve even watched the Coraline movie at least three times. And yet, somehow, someway, I just never got around to actually reading Coraline until now. Was the wait my own fault? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely. 

I’ve never been great at coming up with prank ideas. Back in high school, it thrilled me to watch the creativity other students displayed during Senior Week (from blasting that “Peanut Butter Jelly” song on the speakers to having a professional band follow around the principal), so it’s not that I ever disapproved of a good prank, it’s more that I just never knew where to start. For those in a similar boat, Kim Baker’s middle-grade book, Pickle, will definitely get the inspiration churning.

Now that the weather in New York has finally reached that perfectly crisp temperature, I’ve been craving snug evenings spent buried under a massive pile of blankets, with a good book in my hands, and a cup of tea to the side. And what goes better with a cozy night like that then a little romance? With that in mind, I picked up David Yoon’s debut novel, Frankly in Love. I’ve been hearing tons of buzz about this book lately, and what with the Korean representation and rave reviews, I had a feeling that I, too, would be . . . well . . . frankly in love with it. However, while I was expecting a fluffy love story, this book delved into deeper issues, balancing family matters with struggles of navigating identity. If you’re anything like me, Frankly in Love will bounce you back and forth between laughter and tears.