Cybils 2022 Finalists
Happy New Year! 🥳 And Happy Cybils Finalists Announced Day! 😜 I participated as a round one judge, working through the longlist to shortlist seven books in the middle grade speculative fiction category. Here are the standout titles. You can read more about each book in blurbs written by the round one judges on the Cybils website. Winners will be announced on February 14. There are eight other categories (including picture and board books, young adult fiction, non-fiction, and graphic novels) so be sure to check those out too.
- Children of the Quicksands by Efua Traoré
- The Clackity by Lora Senf
- Eden’s Everdark by Karen Strong
- Fenris & Mott by Greg Van Eekhout
- Freddie vs the Family Curse by Tracie Badua
- The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton
- The Mirrorwood by Deva Fagan
Life Updates
Well, December turned out to be an intense month. I thought I was going to spend most of the month working from home, in my cozy winterified apartment, while the office was under renovation. Which I did! But then a homicide happened at my workplace on Dec 11. (I was not in the building when this happened and I do not work with the public.) I don’t like to talk about work much here so suffice to say that has shaken things up. Work challenges aside, I kept busy this month with Cybils reading and soaking in the build up to Christmas. This is my first full December in a wintry city since 2016, and my first winter in my new apartment. So that has been nice.
Books Finished
- Ravenfall by Kalynn Josephson
- Dragon City by Katie Tsang and Kevin Tsang
- A Long Way From Home by Laura Schaefer
- J.R. Silver Writes Her World by Melissa Dassori
- Omega Morales and the Legend of La Lechuza by Laeken Zea Kemp
- The Marvellous Land of Snergs by Veronica Cossanteli
- Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega
- Hummingbird by Natalie Lloyd
- The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton
- Eden’s Everdark by Karen Strong
- Secrets of the Shadow Beats by Diane Magras
- The Clackity by Lora Senfa
- Cece Rios and the King of Fears by Kaela Rivera
- Freddie vs the Family Curse by Tracie Badua
- Haven: A Small Cat’s Big Adventure by Megan Lloyd Turner
Books Reviewed
- Siren Queen by Nghi Vo (adult historical fantasy)
- The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy by Anne Ursu (MG fantasy)
- The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera (MG scifi)
Posts Written
- Completed my bookshelves tour with middle grade and young adult fiction
- Shared books gifted in my household for Christmas
- Completed the 2022 End of Year Book Survey
Shared on Twitter
On My Radar in January
- 10 Jan – Release date of Emily Wilde’s Encylopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett (adult historical fantasy)
- That’s it!
How was your December? What new books, or bookish events, are you looking forward to this month?
There are a few books on your list that I still need to read. Your reviews of those books let me know that they’re worth reading.
Thanks Lois! Hope you get to enjoy some of them this year.
I’m glad you are safe and cozy in your apartment. It’s hard to deal with work stuff, especially when you aren’t in the building. Best wishes for a more peaceful new year, with lots more reading!
Thank-you so much! I had my first day back at the office today and it was nice to chat with some colleagues. Happy New Year 🙂
so sorry to hear about your work stuff, but glad you have been enjoying your lovely apartment! ❤ hoping this year grants you loads of good books.
Thanks Sarah! I’ve got a promising stack of reads beside me right now, so I think I’m off to a good start. 😊
Your apartment looks beautiful! I hope transitioning back to in-person goes smoothly and you and your co-workers have space to recover from that trauma
Thank-you so much! We’re still in a weird space waiting to find out what will change… I think it will be a tough year for a lot of folks.