What Should I Read? Book Talks and More

The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds Matt is seventeen and his mother recently died.  His grief makes him feel lost and alone, even at school where he has friends.  He needs a job and finds one at the local funeral home.  It doesn't seem like a very pleasant job, but he works with Mr. Ray who is a respected person in the Brooklyn community.  He finds that the funerals he attends as part of his job soothe him and help him understand his grief as he sees it in others.  He meets Lovey at a funeral and they quickly form a bond, can their friendship develop into more? This is realistic fiction.  Jason Reynolds is now one of my favorite authors. 

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale Miri wants to work with her father and sister as a miner in Mount Eskel's quarry.  It doesn't seem like the kind of job a fourteen year old girl would want, but the mine is as important to Miri as it is to the village.  Mining is a respected and admired occupation and the special stone, linder, that the mine provides is prized by the kingdom.  In Miri's kingdom, girls are selected as a great honor to attend the Princess Academy and she is the girl selected from her school.  Miri finds that she has a mystical telepathic ability to speak through the linden stone using a language based on the quarry songs.  this ability gives her the courage to rally her classmates to gain fair treatment as she learns many ways that will help her improve her village. This book is in the fantasy genre.