Here’s more 2019 goodness, brought to you by the teens of the Winnipeg Public Library Youth Advisory Councils and staff.
BOOKS
Children of Blood and Bone may have been published in 2018, but if you read it in 2019, you know this novel is stunning: author Tomi Adeyemi drew from West African mythology to weave a powerful tale of magic, friendship, power and oppression, loss, and betrayal.
Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
Wayward Son is Book 2 of the Simon Snow series, which Rainbow Rowell wrote after having a number of fans express interest in the story after it was mentioned in her book Fangirl, where the main character writes a popular Simon Snow fanfiction on the internet. And, lucky us, it looks like there will be a book 3!
Wayward Son follows Simon and friends as they deal with the fallout of winning the battle and living the “happily ever after.” In this case, Simon, Penny, and Baz end up in a vintage convertible, tearing across the American West to save their friend Agatha. Along the way, they find trouble (of course), dragons, vampires, and Vegas.
MOVIES
The Hate U Give, a 2017 novel by Angie Thomas, was made into a movie in 2018. Amandla Stenberg stars as the main character, Starr, who witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Now, facing pressures from all sides of the community, Starr tries find her voice in order to stand up for what’s right.
MUSIC
Hamilton is a 2015 musical written by Lin-Manuel Miranda about Alexander Hamilton, a poor kid from the Caribbean who fought the British, defended the Constitution, and helped to found the United States. Fusing hip-hop, pop, R&B, and the best traditions of theater, this once-in-a-generation show broadens the sound of Broadway, and reveals the storytelling power of rap. This musical is in turns catchy, sassy, and sad.
Would any roundup of favourites be complete without a mention for Queen? Whatever your day, week, year, or decade bring, there is a Queen song that will give you the perfect background music.
