#MustReadin2014 Update

The fabulous Carrie Gelson over at There is a Book for That has started a reading challenge called #MustReadin2014. Since it fits in with my reading plans, I have added it to my list of challenges. As part of the challenge, we each created a list of books that we "must read" in 2014. These lists are very individualized. I have included the Printz books since I started that challenge last year. I also added the books that were on the Best Multicultural Books of 2013 list created by The Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature. Since the challenge was designed to whittle down our To Be Read lists, there are also books on my list that have been waiting for years. One has been on my list since the summer of 2010. My To Be Read shelf on Goodreads has well over 1,000 books on it, but I kept only 110 for by #MustRead2014 shelf.

My first update was posted back in April here. At that point, I had finished reading 26/110. Since then, I have read 16 more for 42/110. I had hoped to get to the half-way point, but I keep getting sidetracked. Here are the books I've read in the past three months:

April

I enjoyed every single one of these. Wild Berries is beautiful, My Basmati Bat Mitzvah was a lot of fun, Killer of Enemies was amazing action-adventure, and Rickshaw Girl was a wonderful story of family and challenging gender roles.

May

The Surrender Tree and Yes! We are Latinos really helped me learn a lot of Latino history. The Grand Plan to Fix Everything was cute and quite fun. Kenta and the Big Wave was a nice picture book that takes place during a Japanese tsunami. Both Jimi and Me and Red Kite, Blue Kite dealt with father and son relationships. I really had a good time reading all of these except Tender Morsels. It was grim, unsettling and did not resolve in a way that I appreciated at all. It left me scratching my head. If it wasn't a Printz book, I would have abandoned it.

June

The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano was a wonderful look into the 1960s activism in Spanish Harlem. I'm having a good time using the writing prompts from Picture Yourself Writing Poetry. My Heartbeat was a unique story of relationships. It was a nice change to read some fantasy in The Ropemaker. I've read a lot of historical and realistic fiction lately. Round is a Tortilla is a great concept book with a fun cultural setting.

Overall, I am a bit behind on my goal, but am still making steady progress. I am looking forward to closing the gap over summer. Are you working on a "must read" list too?