#kim johnson

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Aurora Borealis Dec. 1, 2023, 06:32 am

Good Measure Farm, Atlanta, MI, 2004

By Kim Johnson

[richincolor]

Interested in adding to your summer reading list? Check out these five books that are out today:

The Color of a Lie by Kim Johnson Random House Books for Young Readers

In 1955, a Black family passes for white and moves to a “Whites Only” town in the suburbs. Caught between two worlds, a teen boy puts his family at risk as he uncovers racist secrets about his suburb. A new social justice thriller from the acclaimed author of This Is My America! Calvin knows how to pass for white. He’s done it plenty of times before. For his friends in Chicago, when they wanted food but weren’t allowed in a restaurant. For work, when he and his dad would travel for the Green Book. This is different. After a tragedy in Chicago forces the family to flee, they resettle in an idyllic all-white suburban town in search of a better life. Calvin’s father wants everyone to embrace their new white lifestyles, but it’s easier said than done. Hiding your true self is exhausting — which leads Calvin across town where he can make friends who know all of him…and spend more time with his new crush, Lily. But when Calvin starts unraveling dark secrets about the white town and its inhabitants, passing starts to feel even more suffocating–and dangerous–than he could have imagined. Expertly weaving together real historical events with important reflections on being Black in America, acclaimed author Kim Johnson powerfully connects readers to the experience of being forced to live a life-threatening lie or embrace an equally deadly truth.

Dancers of the Dawn by Afzal Zulekha Rock the Boat

Dancer. Warrior. Executioner. Deep in the desert a storm is brewing. Under the blazing sun, an elite troupe of dancers are trained to harness their magic. They are the queen’s most formidable assassins. Aasira has one of the rarest talents – for she is a flame-wielder. Feared by all and envied by some, she uses her power to execute enemies of the crown. Aasira’s greatest wish is to serve her queen. But on the eve of her graduation, with tensions rising among the dancers and secrets stirring in the shifting sand dunes, she begins to question whether she was truly born to kill…

Hearts of Fire and Snow by David Bowles and Guadalupe Garcia McCall Bloomsbury YA

Award-winning authors David Bowles and Guadalupe García McCall reimagine a beloved Aztec tale of star-crossed lovers with one last chance to reunite. Blanca Montes wants to make a difference in the world, to do more than her wealthy godfather and spoiled boyfriend think her capable of. So when Greg Chan shows up as a new student at her Nevada school, she is more than intrigued by this handsome, brilliant stranger. But Greg and Blanca are drawn to each other by something stronger--their fates entwined centuries ago. In his first life, Greg was Captain Popoca, and Blanca is the reincarnation of Princess Iztac, who took her own life after believing her beloved Popoca was sent to his death in battle. Greg has spent a thousand years searching for his lost love, and now the fates have given them one more chance to reunite. Will their hearts finally beat as one?

Icon and Inferno (A Stars and Smoke Novel, 2) by Marie Lu Roaring Brook Press

Spies meet romance meet popstars in this thrilling follow up to Stars and Smoke by bestselling author Marie Lu. A year has passed since superstar Winter and secret agent Sydney Cossette went undercover - on a dangerous mission to bring down the baddest man in London. Winter hasn't stopped thinking about Sydney since, and she's been trying not to think about him Family secrets and nasty newspapers has Winter desperate to re-enter the secret world. And it's not long before he gets his chance. Sydney is back, and this time the mission goes right to the heart of the United States of America. A rescue gone wrong, an assassination attempt - and the return of an old flame - puts Winter right back into the action . . . and into a country on the brink of chaos. And when a murder accusation has Sydney on the run, suddenly it's not just a life at stake, but all-out war.

Seasick by Kristin Cast & Pintip Dunn Delacorte Press

There's a killer on board a luxury yacht, and two former friends must team up to figure out which of their privileged classmates has a penchant for murder before they become victims themselves. Don't miss out on this gripping thriller from New York Times bestselling authors Kristin Cast and Pintip Dunn! Ex–best friends Naya Morgan and Yana Bunpraserit have always felt like outsiders in their small Oklahoma town. But this year, everything changes when they’re inducted into an exclusive society of Yatesville High’s top recent graduates. Unimaginable opportunities await them, starting with a celebratory yacht trip to Bermuda. Despite the likely onslaught of microaggressions and backhanded compliments from their peers—in addition to their own rocky past—Yana and Naya are ready for an epic voyage. Then one of their classmates is brutally murdered, leaving them stuck at sea with a killer. Yana and Naya may have avoided each other for years, yet as the body count rises, rekindling their friendship might be the only way they’ll both survive.

[bookaddict24-7]

(New Young Adult Releases Coming Out Today! (June 11th, 2024)

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Have I missed any new Young Adult releases? Have you added any of these books to your TBR? Let me know!

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New Standalones/First in a Series:

There is a Door in this Darkness by Kristin Cashore

The Ghost of Us by James L. Sutter

Love, Off the Record by Samantha Markum

Brownstone by Samuel Teer & Marina Julia

The Wilderness of Girls by Madeline Claire Franklin

Hearts of Fire & Snow by David Bowles & Guadalupe Garcia McCall

Dead Girls Talking by Megan Cooley Peterson

Six More Months of June by Daisy Garrison

How to Get Over Your (Best Friend's) Ex by Kristi McManus

The Color of A Lie by Kim Johnson

New Sequels:

Icon & Inferno (Stars and Smoke #2) by Marie Lu

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Happy reading!

[topcat77]

"Wind Day"

 Kim Johnson

[the-final-sentence]

Our lips met again as we ignored yelps and claps from the girls on her floor.

Kim Johnson, from The Color of a Lie

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: This is My America

Author: Kim Johnson

Series or standalone: standalone

Publication year: 2020

Genres: fiction, contemporary, mystery, social justice, family

Blurb: Every week, 17-year-old Tracy Beaumont writes letters to Innocence X asking the organisation to help her father, an innocent black man on death row. After seven years, Tracy is running out of time - her dad has only 267 days left. Then, the unthinkable happens: the police arrive in the night, and Tracy’s older brother Jamal goes from being a bright, promising track star to a thug on the run, accused of killing a white girl. Determined to save her brother, Tracy investigates what really happened between Jamal and Angela down at the Pike...but will Tracy and her family survive the uncovering of the skeletons of their Texan town’s racist history that still haunt the present?

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[Free Audiobooks] Mississippi Trial, 1955 by Chris Crowe & This is My America by Kim Johnson [Award-Winning YA Historical Fiction]

The annual SYNC Summer of Listening program continues, promoting literacy among teens by giving away YA-friendly weekly paired audiobooks—1 modern, 1 classic/drama performance—free for a limited time courtesy of the the participating publishers and sponsor AudioFile Magazine.

This 10th week's featured selections, free through Wednesday July 6th, have a theme of “Justice for All”, with stories showcasing casual and systemic inequality as seen from both sides of racial divisions in the US:

Mississippi Trial, 1955 by Chris Crowe, an award-winning professor of English at Brigham Young University, read by Victor Bevine from Listening Library. This is a YA historical novel centred around a teenaged white boy from Arizona visiting his grandfather in Mississippi, who is horrified to discover that a childhood friend may have been involved in the real-life murder of black 14 year old Emmett Till, and gradually begins to notice the deep-seated racism in his former hometown community as the trial unfolds. This won the 2003 International Reading Association Children's Book Award for Young Adult Fiction, the Jefferson Cup Award for best US historical fiction, as well as being featured on the American Library Association's annual list of Best Books for Young Adults.

This is My America by Kim Johnson, read by Bahni Turpin from Listening Library. This is a YA contemporary novel centred around a teenaged black girl in Texas whose family, already trying to maintain hope in the face of her innocent father facing a death sentence, is further stressed when her track star brother is accused of killing a white girl. The audiobook performance of this was a winner of AudioFile Magazine's own Earphone Awards as well as making the American Library Association's Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults 2021 list, and the print book was also an ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults selection.

The freebies are claimed via the Overdrive Sora app for iOS & Android or directly via the Sora website. You'll need to register just once with a valid email address and the signup code provided via the front page of the promotion and follow the instructions on the FAQ page to “Borrow” each week's featured selections for a permanent loan you can listen to anytime via online streaming on all devices or download for just the apps. NB: if you need to free up space on your device later, be sure to follow the FAQ instructions to ONLY delete the downloaded files and NOT “Return” which would remove your future access.

Offered free worldwide through Wednesday July 6th (until just before midnight Eastern Time), available directly from the Sora website and apps, and you can sneak peek the upcoming featured selections to see if there's anything you'd be particularly interested in.

[mscoyditch]

"Windy Day".

By Kim Johnson.

> Rita M Sjöholm > World of Washing

[covergirlnay]

My favorites 2023

1. My favorite albums: Lady London- S.O.U.L., Ciara- Ci Ci, Chris Brown- 11:11, Lola Brooke- Dennis Daughter

2. My favorite movies: Barbie (that was for the 60s-90s babies 😄) & The Little Mermaid 🧜🏽‍♀️

3. Favorite Picture book: Big- Vashti Harrison

4. Favorite young Adult Novel: Invisible Son- Kim Johnson. This book was on my heart for days after finishing it.

*honorable mention: Love in Winter Wonderland

5. Favorite Nonfiction book: I’m not yelling- Elizabeth Leiba

6. Favorite Graphic novel: Curlfriends- Sharee Miller

7. Pivot point: Passing that test 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

8. Lesson: Continue to have hope 😌❤️‍🩹

[ianchisnall]

Women’s drug and alcohol treatment proposed

At the end of this week in Parliament on Thursday Rachael Maskell, the Labour MP for York Central raised a document that is entitled Women’s drug and alcohol treatment and 9 other MPs supported her call. On Friday an additional MP has signed it as well. The text is below and the document can be obtained from here. The first extra 5 MPs that endorsed the document are the people needed to “The…

[bookaddict24-7]

New Young Adult Releases! (June 27th, 2023)

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Have I missed any new Young Adult releases? Have you added any of these books to your TBR? Let me know!

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New Standalones/First in a Series:

You Won't Believe Me by Cyn Balog

Plus One by Kelsey Rodkey

The Shadow Sister by Lily Meade

The Quiet Part Out Loud by Deborah Crossland

Someone You Loved by Robin Constantine

Gloria Buenrostro Is Not My Girlfriend by Brandon Hoàng

Sing Me To Sleep by Gabi Burton

What Happens After Midnight by K.L. Walther

Starlings by Amanda Linsmeier

Invisible Son by Kim Johnson

House Party by Various

Monstrous by Sarah Myer

New Sequels:

Manslaughter Park (Jane Austen Murder Mystery #3) by Tirzah Price

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Happy reading!

[onebluebookworm]

Black History Month 2023 - February 14

This Is My America - Kim Johnson

[the-final-sentence]

Bright and seen and never forgotten.

Kim Johnson, from Invisible Son

[prettiestluxury]

black women in fur >>>>

[greeneteens]