Title: Rooting for Rafael Rosales
Author: Kurtis Scaletta
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: A Long Pitch Home by Natalie Dias Lorenzi
The Distance to Home by Jenn Bishop
Rating:
 |
| So much to love |
Summary (provided by publisher): Rafael has dreams. Every chance he gets he plays in the street games trying to build his skills, get noticed by scouts, and—someday—play Major League Baseball. Maya has worries. The bees are dying all over the world, and the company her father works for is responsible, making products that harm the environment. Follow Rafael and Maya in a story that shifts back and forth in time and place, from Rafael’s neighborhood in the Dominican Republic to present-day Minnesota, where Maya and her sister are following Rafael’s first year in the minor leagues. In their own ways, Maya and Rafael search for hope, face difficult choices, and learn a secret—the same secret—that forever changes how they see the world.
My opinion: If you had told me that one book could make me care about bees, business ethics, the Dominican Republic, and the politics of baseball I'd have laughed. But Scaletta has put together a pretty remarkable story here. What strikes me most is that it's about caring - caring about people, the environment, and that hard to define "right thing". It draws a line between legal and right and asks the reader to consider complicated moral issues. These are big questions for a middle grade novel and Scaletta doesn't really try to answer them, only to get kids thinking about them, which is far more important to my mind. This a great book to discuss with a group.
More information: Rooting for Rafael Rosales releases April 25.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.
The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo by Drew Weing
Graphic novels about magic, monsters, and hidden realms are certainly nothing new. I like the approach in this one, the notion that monsters are, in fact, all around but seldom have dealings with people. Given the tile, I expected this book to be more horror based. Instead it is rather light-hearted, almost humorous. This is reflected in the art style, which is loose, almost sketchy. Weing does some interesting things with design, building Margo with lines and points, the boy with soft lines and curves. The muted color palette prevents it from becoming overly cartoony.
Racial Profiling by Alison Marie Behnke
There are a number of different approaches that authors take to writing nonfiction. Behnke's tends toward the intellectual rather than the emotional, which is particularly noteworthy given the emotionally charged topic. The book is divided neatly into topics and well supported by statistics and individual stories. This isn't a book one would choose for pleasure reading or to inspire action, given the more dry approach and general lack of images. It would be an excellent choice for use in a research project.
Title: Grendel's Guide to Love and War
Author: A. E. Kaplan
Genre: realistic fiction/retelling
Similar books: Second Star by Alyssa B. Sheinmel
Olivia Twisted by Vivi Barnes
Rating:
 |
| entertaining |
Summary (provided by publisher): The Perks of Being a Wallflower meets Revenge of the Nerds in this tale of a teen misfit who seeks to take down the bro next door, but ends up falling for his enemy’s sister and uncovering difficult truths about his family in the process.
Tom Grendel lives a quiet life—writing in his notebooks, mowing lawns for his elderly neighbors, and pining for Willow, a girl next door who rejects the “manic-pixie-dream” label. But when Willow’s brother, Rex (the bro-iest bro ever to don a jockstrap), starts throwing wild parties, the idyllic senior citizens’ community where they live is transformed into a war zone. Tom is rightfully pissed—his dad is an Iraq vet, and the noise from the parties triggers his PTSD—so he comes up with a plan to end the parties for good. But of course, it’s not that simple.
One retaliation leads to another, and things quickly escalate out of control, driving Tom and Willow apart, even as the parties continue unabated. Add to that an angsty existential crisis born of selectively reading his sister’s Philosophy 101 coursework, a botched break-in at an artisanal pig farm, and ten years of unresolved baggage stemming from his mother’s death . . . and the question isn’t so much whether Tom Grendel will win the day and get the girl, but whether he’ll survive intact.
My opinion: This book is exactly what I wanted to see from a retelling: so masterful and creative that the reader does not immediately realize that the story is, in fact, a retelling. Grendel is a truly sympathetic character, not entirely without blame for the situation but largely likeable and believable. He's a little hapless. Kaplan has built this book more off of the broad concepts of the original rather than the literal details (it would be far bloodier otherwise), which means that even a reader who doesn't know the original can enjoy this novel and allows for some original plot twists. While it's not particularly deep, it is a solidly entertaining read.
More information: Grendel's Guide to Love and War release April 18.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.
I've been on this kick of making superhero peg dolls lately. I had no intention of making any other pegs.
And then I watched Stranger Things.
Even before I finished the season I knew I needed to make a peg of Eleven. I originally intended to depict her in her hospital gown with the leads on her head. In the end, though, I knew she needed to be in the pink dress and jacket. The look is too iconic.
Title: Definitions of Indefinable Things
Author: Whitney Taylor
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Life Unaware by Cole Gibsen
When We Collided by Emery Lord
Rating:
 |
| it grew on me |
Summary (provided by publisher): Reggie isn’t really a romantic: she’s been hurt too often, and doesn’t let people in as a rule. Plus, when you’re dealing with the Three Stages of Depression, it’s hard to feel warm and fuzzy. When Reggie meets Snake, though, he doesn’t give her much of a choice. Snake has a neck tattoo, a Twizzler habit, and a fair share of arrogance, but he’s funny, charming, and interested in Reggie. Snake also has an ex-girlfriend who's seven months pregnant. Good thing Reggie isn’t a romantic. Definitions of Indefinable Things follows three teens as they struggle to comprehend love, friendship, and depression—and realize one definition doesn’t always cover it.
My opinion: It's a risky move, making your protagonist aggressively abrasive. Reggie goes out of her way to make herself unlikable. It is to Taylor's credit, then, that Reggie is ultimately a likeable characters. Even before we witness her vulnerabilities there is something charming about the way she calls out people about their failings, doesn't let anyone get away with anything I also admire the presentation of mental illness here. We are presented with two clinically depressed teens. They are medicated. They don't get "fixed" or reject conventional treatment. They are miserable, just tying to find a away to hold on to a slightly less miserable existence. They don't aim for "normal", just functional. While the secondary characters lack much depth, it's a relatively enjoyable read.
More Information: Definitions of Indefinable Things releases April 4.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.
I'm
always interested to see how novels treat sensitive topics. They explore
an issue like grief from a number of perspectives. Here are six novels
written in the last six months that have grief as a central issue.
6 new novels about grief
1. We are Still Tornadoes by Michael Kun and Susan Mullen
2. The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland by Rebekah Crane
3. The Warden's Daughter by Jerry Spinelli
4. The Sky between You and Me by Catherine Alene
5. A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstrom
6. Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner
