There’s just one trade out so far, and I’m really hoping we get more because there’s so much to juice in this story line. This darkly humorous comic plays with expectations on gender and the way the story intersects with the vintage-style art works so, so well. The story is engaging and the art is to die for.

RichĪ classy/classic 60s housewife who moonlights as a hitwoman? Yeah, I’m 100% here for this. This book is haunting, gorgeous, and so, so different from what’s on the market. My love for books featuring ballet meets my love for books about juvenile justice and incarceration in one creepy, Shirley Jackson-esque package. This one gets called a modern day Anne of Green Gables set in poor, rural Northern California. But as she pushes more and more, she discovers a best friend and a romantic interest. When she’s given the chance to intern at a farm in Northern California, she finds herself so cautious about losing the opportunity that she loses a bit of herself. Ana is a Latina teen who got lost and shuffled through the foster system in LA. I think this book really got lost due to marketing - it was published for the adult audience, even though this book screams YA (the voice isn’t perfectly YA but the story is). It’ll be one that lasts in YA for a long, long time, since it explores, without any shyness, the way the world treats girls, especially girls who have been victims. There’s nothing I haven’t really said about what a powerful, important book this is. In no particular order, here are 15 of my favorite things in books, movies, television, and ~internetting~ from 2015: We thought in honor of 2015, we’d each share 15 of our favorite things from the past 12 months, ranging from novels to movies to music and more. We’re so happy that we’ve been invited to take part in Smugglivus 2015. Please give a warm welcome to Kelly and Kim, everyone! Kelly is also an associate editor and community manager at Book Riot. Who: Kelly and Kim, the amazing librarian-reader duo who run Stacked, a book blog that is an incredible source of go-to information, reviews and commentary on literacy, Contemporary YA, Kidlit and more. Welcome to Smugglivus 2015! Throughout this month, we will have daily guests – authors and bloggers alike – looking back at their favorite reads of 2015, looking forward to events and upcoming books in 2016, and more.

When Was the Last Time by Kelly Jensen