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The Worst Bestsellers

Episode 64 – Bests & Worsts of 2016 (Part 1, Children’s & YA)

The Worst Bestsellers

Worst Bestsellers

Books, Comedy, Arts

4.5609 Ratings

🗓️ 16 January 2017

⏱️ 107 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Tune in to our Bests & Worsts of 2016 episodes to hear us discuss these titles and read excerpts from our favorites and least favorites! Please note:

  • We counted things that we read in 2016, regardless of publication year.
  • We didn’t count anything that we read specifically for this podcast, so our worst books are aside from those.
  • For that reason, we picked top 5 favorites and only 1 least favorite–we have this whole podcast to talk about bad books, so for these episodes we’re choosing to focus on the positive!
  • Some of our “worsts” are really just “least best.” Listen to the podcast to hear more detail!

Children’s/Middle Grade

Kait’s Top 5 Best

How This Book Was Made by Mac Barnett & Adam RexSome Kind of Happiness by Claire LegrandGhost by Jason Reynolds

Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer by Kelly JonesGeorge by Alex Gino

5.) How this Book was Made by Mac Barnett and Adam Rex

4.) Some Kind of Happiness by Claire Legrand

3.) Ghost by Jason Reynolds

2.) Unusual Chickens For the Exceptional Poultry Farmer by Kelly Jones

1.) George by Alex Gino

 

Kait’s Worst

The Billionaire's Curse by Richard Newsome

The Billionaire’s Curse by Richard Newsome

 

Renata’s Top 5 Best

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (Young Readers Edition) by William Kamkwamba & Bryan MealerOut of My Mind by Sharon DraperGhost by Jason Reynolds

Where the Mountains Meet the Moon by Grace LinUnusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer by Kelly Jones

 

5.) The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (Young Readers Edition) by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer

4.) Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper

3.) Ghost by Jason Reynolds

2.) Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

1.) Unusual Chickens For the Exceptional Poultry Farmer by Kelly Jones

 

Renata’s Worst

I Survived: The Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 by Lauren Tarshis

I Survived: The Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 by Lauren Tarshis

 

Young Adult

Kait’s Top 5 Best

Bone Gap by Laura RubyI'll Give You The Sun by Jandy NelsonThe Diviners by Libba Bray

Six of Crows by Leigh BardugoShadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older

5.) Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

4.) I’ll Give You The Sun by Jandy Nelson

3.) The Diviners by Libba Bray

2.) Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

1.) Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older

 

Kait’s Worst

A Spy in the House by Y. S. Lee

A Spy in the House by Y. S. Lee

 

Renata’s Top 5 Best

The Lair of Dreams by Libba BrayScarlett Epstein Hates it Here by Anna BreslawStill Life With Tornado by A. S. King

Symphony for the City of the Dead by M. T. AndersonLucy and Linh by Alice Pung

5.) The Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

4.) Scarlett Epstein Hates it Here by Anna Breslaw

3.) Still Life with Tornado by A. S. King

2.) Symphony for the City of the Dead by M. T. Anderson

1.) Lucy and Linh by Alice Pung

 

Renata’s Worst

Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky

Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky

 

* Worst Bestsellers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

(But no pressure, we’re also happy if you get these items from your local library or independent bookstore.)

Transcript

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0:00.0

Welcome to the worst bestsellers where sometimes we actually read good books.

0:15.0

I'm Kate.

0:15.9

And I'm Renata.

0:17.1

And this is our 2016 book year in review episode.

0:22.0

Well, part one of our book year in review episodes, plural.

0:25.9

Woo, books.

0:28.6

If you're not familiar with the podcast, if for some reason this is the first episode that you're listening to, or maybe you have listened to other ones but skipped previous

0:39.0

year-in-review episodes.

0:43.2

Or maybe you did listen to previous year in-reviews, but then you got amnesia.

0:48.0

True. Also, that could have happened.

0:52.8

I just want to cover all the bases.

0:55.4

I don't want to make anyone feel excluded from this introduction.

0:59.3

It's true.

0:59.9

We don't want to shame anyone with amnesia.

1:02.1

We accept you here.

1:04.6

Much like Quicksand and being held hostage.

1:08.2

If you are listening to this while trapped in quicksand, do not panic.

1:13.3

Lay yourself flat and horizontal and do not struggle. And I'll come get you.

1:21.8

Yes, much like quicksand and being held hostage, amnesia is something that the media led me to believe would be much

1:29.1

more important and common in my life than it actually is.

1:32.7

Yes.

1:33.6

But if you have amnesia or any of those other things that I mentioned 20 minutes ago when we

...

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