The Toll/Arc of a Scythe Trilogy by Neal Shusterman (Featuring Jeff)

Welcome to Book Bites! Hosted by teen services librarian Josh Sanchez, each episode will feature a guest who will talk about one of their favorite YA or teen books. We'll make recommendations for similar books, as well as movies, music--even food. New episodes are released on the first Tuesday of every month!

This month, we're talking to Ana about one of her favorite authors,  Julio Cortázar, and his collection of short stories, Bestiario. We discuss a lot about the author's background, innovative techniques, and the value of reading short stories. Ana discusses how Cortázar's writing spoke to her rebellious nature and need to break down the rigid traditions of literary fiction.

Items Referenced:
Bestiary - Julio Cortázar
Rayuela - Julio Cortázar
Fever Dream - Samantha Schweblin
Nuestra Parte de Noche - Mariana Enriquez
Las Cosas que Perdimos en El Fuego - Mariana Enriquez

Enjoy this bonus episode that highlights recent YA books by some of LBPL's favorite AAPI authors!


Items Referenced:

These Violent Delights - Chloe Gong
Skyhunter - Marie Lu
Beyond the Gender Binary - Alok Vaid-Menon
Super Fake Love Song - David Yoon
Last Night at the Telegraph Club - Malinda Lo
We Are Not Free - Traci Chee

Welcome to Book Bites! Hosted by teen services librarian Josh Sanchez, each episode will feature a guest who will talk about one of their favorite YA or teen books. We'll make recommendations for similar books, as well as movies, music--even food. New episodes are released on the first Tuesday of every month!

This month, we're celebrating Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage month with LBPL staff member, writer, and youth advocate Pamela, who recommended a book by Filipino-American author Randy Ribay titled Patron Saints of Nothing. The book is a heartfelt but raw look at the violent war on drugs still ongoing in the Philippines and a Filipino-American teen's search for answers about the murder of his cousin.

In this episode, we touch on themes of identity and belonging as a result of the diaspora, the social and educational pressures put on young people, and the effects of social media on activist movements.

Items Referenced:
Patron Saints of Nothing  - Randy Ribay
My Heart Under Water - Laurel Flores Fantauzzo
American Panda - Gloria Chao
Aswang (Trailer)

Welcome to Book Bites! Hosted by teen services librarian Josh Sanchez, each episode will feature a guest who will talk about one of their favorite YA or teen books. We'll make recommendations for similar books, as well as movies, music--even food. New episodes are released on the first Tuesday of every month!

I had the pleasure of talking with Christina about a recent release that we both loved: Frankly in Love by David Yoon. It's not-your-typical romcom that centers around a Korean-American teen falling in love for the first time--with a girl that isn't Korean--and his plan to set up a fake relationship with a Korean girl from his parents' friend group. We explore identity and how we can feel like outsiders in our own community, the need for more representation of APIA folks in media, code switching, and Southern California as a setting in teen books.


Items Referenced:
Frankly in Love by David Yoon
To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
The Education of Margot Sanchez by Liliam Rivera
Super Fake Love Song by David Yoon

Welcome to Book Bites! Hosted by teen services librarian Josh Sanchez, each episode will feature a guest who will talk about one of their favorite YA or teen books. We'll make recommendations for similar books, as well as movies, music--even food. New episodes are released on the first Tuesday of every month!

We're talking to Brian for this month's episode and discussing one of his favorites: The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. It's your classic coming of age story written in an interesting format by a young man with a troubled past but looks optimistically to the future while he experiences many of his "firsts". We talk about the strong current of popular culture that flows through the story, the value of mixtapes, and the universality of the "teen experience."


Items Referenced:
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
Farenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Dead Poets Society

Welcome to Book Bites! Hosted by teen services librarian Josh Sanchez, each episode will feature a guest who will talk about one of their favorite YA or teen books. We'll make recommendations for similar books, as well as movies, music--even food. New episodes are released on the first Tuesday of every month!

We have Jeff back on the show to talk about one of Josh's favorites: The Toll/Arc of a Scythe Trilogy by Neal Shusterman. The science fiction trilogy follows protagonists Citra and Rowan as they become Scythes--people chosen to glean the population (permanently kill) to prevent overpopulation. The Toll is the series's thrilling conclusion that sees the duo team up against the corrupt Scythe Goddard. In this episode, Jeff and Josh talk about the pros and cons of living in a future utopia and the how challenging it is to wrap up stories like the Arc of a Scythe.


Items Referenced:
The Toll by Neal Shusterman
Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
The White Mountains by John Christopher

Between each of our full-length episodes, I'm going to be talking about some of my favorite new releases! We're calling these mini-bites because they're shorter and will not feature a guest. I'm still going to be recommending similar books, movies, music, TV, and food, but just in an even more bite-sized format! These episodes will be released the third Tuesday of every month.

In this week's episode, I talk about the captivating fantasy Each of Us a Desert, the sophomore effort by Mark Oshiro. The novel tells the story of a young woman who has the magic ability to take people's stories and offer them as appeasement to her sun god. It's a great book that I've been excited to share!

Items Referenced in this Episode:
Anger is a Gift - Mark Oshiro
The Giver - Lois Lowry
The Grief Keeper - Alexandra Villasante
Ambient 4: On Land - Brian Eno
Within the Wires

Welcome to Book Bites! Hosted by teen services librarian Josh Sanchez, each episode will feature a guest who will talk about one of their favorite YA or teen books. We'll make recommendations for similar books, as well as movies, music--even food. New episodes are released on the first and third Tuesday of every month!

This month, we're talking to Carl about Little Bee by Chris Cleave. It's the story of a young asylum-seeker fleeing Nigeria for England in search of the family that saved her life. Carl and I discuss how difficult books like this can give perspective while teaching us more about the world; we also talk about the often unfair hurdles asylum seekers and migrants must overcome when entering a new country.

Items Referenced:
Beloved by Toni Morrison
His House (Trailer)

Welcome to Book Bites! Hosted by teen services librarian Josh Sanchez, each episode will feature a guest who will talk about one of their favorite YA or teen books. We'll make recommendations for similar books, as well as movies, music--even food. New episodes are released on the first and third Tuesday of every month!

We'll be talking with Alana about To Stay Alive in this week's episode, a harrowing recounting of the ill-fated Donner Party that set out for the idyllic West Coast but was met with unforeseen challenges that doomed the party. We'll be talking about novels in verse and which celebrity would help most in our Oregon Trail party.

Items Referenced:
To Stay Alive by Skila Brown
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
Terrible Typhoid Mary by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Between each of our full-length episodes, I'm going to be talking about some of my favorite new releases! We're calling these mini-bites because they're shorter and will not feature a guest. I'm still going to be recommending similar books, movies, music, TV, and food, but just in an even more bite-sized format! These episodes will be released the third Tuesday of every month.

In this week's episode, we go out of this world with Tillie Walden's Hugo-nominated On a Sunbeam. This graphic novel has so much packed into its story including LGBTQ representation, a found family, beautiful art and more! I will also discuss the validity and merits of graphic novels as a legitimate literary format.

Items Referenced in this Episode:
On a Sunbeam - Tillie Walden
Spinning - Tillie Walden
Are You Listening? - Tillie Walden
Depression Cherry - Beach House
Prospect  (DVD)
Prospect (Kanopy Streaming)

Recommended Reading (Graphic Novels):
Maus - Art Spiegelman
The Sandman Series - Neil Gaiman
Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi