Building Community: Join 'York County Reads!'
Our Third Annual York County Reads will be April and May 2022! This exciting program connects readers throughout York County as they read the same books at the same time. Our goal is to promote literacy and community engagement for this year's theme, "building community." All ages can read one or all of our featured books to get inspired, encourage others around you to sign up and read together, and tag us on social media with #yorkcountyreads2022. You can also join our community to meet the authors for discussions and Q&As and enjoy other special York County Reads events!
Taking the challenge is simple! Beginning April 1, go to Beanstack to record your participation and earn digital badges for completing each activity. You can also download the Beanstack Tracker App, available for both Android and Apple devices. When setting up the app, make sure to select York County Library (SC). Readers who complete the challenge will earn a prize: their choice of a special 2022 York County Reads wristband keychain or rainbow pencil!
Featured Books
A biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in — both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. When her family is struck by tragedy, Daunis puts her dreams on hold to care for her fragile mother. The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother’s hockey team. Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into an FBI investigation of a lethal new drug.
Reluctantly, Daunis agrees to go undercover, drawing on her knowledge of chemistry and Ojibwe traditional medicine to track down the source. But the search for truth is more complicated than Daunis imagined, exposing secrets and old scars. At the same time, she grows concerned with an investigation that seems more focused on punishing the offenders than protecting the victims. Now, as the deceptions — and deaths — keep growing, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she’ll go for her community, even if it tears apart the only world she’s ever known.
Lou Bulosan-Nelson is going to build her dream. She shares a room with her mom in her grandmother's house in San Francisco, and longs for a place of her own where she can escape her lovable but large extended Filipino family. Lou has a talent for woodshop class and creating projects, and plans to build a tiny house, 100 square feet, all her own, on land that she inherited from her dad, who died before she was born.
Then Lou discovers it's not so easy to build one, not when her beautiful land may not be hers for much longer and her mom may want to move out of state. But she won't give up on her dream, and her friends and family won’t either. This heartwarming coming-of-age story explores culture and family, forgiveness and friendship, and what makes a house a true home.
When Daisy Ramona zooms around her neighborhood with her papi on his motorcycle, she sees the people and places she's always known. She also sees a community that is rapidly changing around her. But as the sun sets purple-blue-gold behind Daisy Ramona and her papi, she knows that the love she feels will always be there.
With vivid illustrations and text bursting with heart, My Papi Has a Motorcycle is a young girl's love letter to her hardworking dad and to memories of home that we hold close in the midst of change.
Author Visits
This event is limited to 100 families. Register online or call 803-981-5841. This event will be virtual; instructions for joining with Zoom will be sent after registration.
Isabel Quintero is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and the author of the multi-award-winning YA novel Gabi, A Girl in Pieces, the hilarious and fun Ugly Cat and Pablo series, the Boston Globe Horn Book Award-winning Photographic: The Life of Graciela Iturbide, and the highly praised picture book My Papi Has a Motorcycle, which was featured on NPR’s Book Concierge List 2019. One of her favorite memories is riding on the back of her papi's motorcycle as a little girl.
Richardson Ballroom, Winthrop University, DiGiorgio Campus Center
269 DiGiorgio Center, Rock Hill, SC 29733
Registration begins Monday, May 2. This event is limited to 400 participants. Register online or call 803-981-5841.
Angeline Boulley, an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, is a storyteller who writes about her Ojibwe community in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. She is a former Director of the Office of Indian Education at the U.S. Department of Education. Angeline lives in southwest Michigan, but her home will always be on Sugar Island. Firekeeper's Daughter is her debut novel, and was an instant #1 NYT Bestseller. The book has been named the Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature, the Printz Award, the William C. Morris award for YA debut literature, and was an American Indian Youth Literature Award Honor Book.
Events & Partners
Visit our Events Calendar for special York County Reads events at each Library!
Thank you to our community partners:
The Catawba Nation • Clinton College • Clover School District • Lifelong Learning @ Rock Hill • The Mercantile
Pathways Community Center • Rock Hill Educational Community Garden • Rock Hill Poet Laureate Committee
Rock Hill School District • Victory Gardens International • Winthrop University • York School District