Book review - Beatrice Zinker Upside Down Thinker

Title: Beatrice Zinker Upside Down Thinker
Author: Shelley Johannes
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Clementine by Sara Pennypacker
                      Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park
Rating:

quirky fun

Summary (provided by publisher): Beatrice does her best thinking upside down.
Hanging from trees by her knees, doing handstands . . . for Beatrice Zinker, upside down works every time. She was definitely upside down when she and her best friend, Lenny, agreed to wear matching ninja suits on the first day of third grade. But when Beatrice shows up at school dressed in black, Lenny arrives with a cool new outfit and a cool new friend. Even worse, she seems to have forgotten all about the top-secret operation they planned!
Can Beatrice use her topsy-turvy way of thinking to save the mission, mend their friendship, and flip things sunny-side up?

My opinion: Beatrice Zinker is more than just the humorous aspects of the nontraditional thinker. She's an absolute celebration of the unusual. Does her way of thinking get her in trouble? Of course it does, but it also gets her out of it. The element that Johannes really explores, unlike others of this genre, is how a non-traditional thinker can struggle to relate to family members and peers, especially as they get older and the pressure to fit in increases. A sweet and funny story with little nuggets of social truth.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Sock beasts

Sometimes you have craft supplies that seem too useful to throw out but that you have no clear plans to use. (That happens to other people, right?) I've had the feet of some knee socks sitting in my craft bins for months. With a craft fair coming up I racked my brains to come up with a plan for these socks. And these little critters are what I came up with.
 

Book review - Landscape With Invisible Hand

Title: Landscape With Invisible Hand
Author: M.T. Anderson
Genre: dystopia
Similar books: Shattered Warrior by Sharon Shinn
                      And All the Stars by Andrea K Host
Rating:

a thinking person's book

Summary (provided by publisher): When the vuvv first landed, it came as a surprise to aspiring artist Adam and the rest of planet Earth—but not necessarily an unwelcome one. Can it really be called an invasion when the vuvv generously offered free advanced technology and cures for every illness imaginable? As it turns out, yes. With his parents' jobs replaced by alien tech and no money for food, clean water, or the vuvv's miraculous medicine, Adam and his girlfriend, Chloe, have to get creative to survive. And since the vuvv crave anything they deem classic Earth culture (doo-wop music, still life paintings of fruit, true love), recording 1950s-style dates for the vuvv to watch in a pay-per-minute format seems like a brilliant idea. But it's hard for Adam and Chloe to sell true love when they ate each other more with every passing episode. Soon enough, Adam must decide how far he's willing to go—and what he's willing to sacrifice—to give the vuvv what they want.

My opinion: If a more bleak view of the future is you bag, Anderson is the author for you. There is no need to wrap up the book neatly with the promise of a better future. The humans in this book live in a generally desperate situation. Yet their desperation doesn't cause them to band together and start a rebellion. If anything they become more isolated and self-serving. And all of the issues that plague societies - uneven distribution of wealth, the collapse of the nuclear family, etc - are magnified. The plot is not entirely linear, framed instead around paintings, so it's a little strange and isn't likely to have a broad mainstream following. But if you're cool with something a little different this may be the book for you.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Picture books for everyone

ABCs of Physics by Chris Ferrie

Normally I wouldn't consider an alphabet book to be multi-age. Older kids, who read on their own, find "a is for apple, b is for bear" tiresome. And if this book were simply "a is for atom, b is for black hole" it would remain the domain of the very young. But it's so much more, my friends. It can be understood on three levels: identifying a word that starts with the letter in question, a brief description of the concept, and a more complex exploration. Everyone (apart from physics students and teachers, I suppose) will learn from this book. If you and your kids have even a passing interest in science, give this book a try.

Non-fiction book review - The Life and Times of Martin Luther

The Life and Times of Martin Luther by Meike Roth-Beck

How many of us can say we really know anything about the Reformation, beyond its simple existence, much less about the life of Martin Luther? Visually, this is an intriguing book. The illustrations and text blocks are styled on medieval manuscripts, using an old English typeface and woodblock style illustrations. The exploration of Luther's life isn't particularly deep. The focus is on the ways his life events influenced his eventual decision to challenge the Catholic church. Most importantly, the final pages summarized some of the major theses. It's a niche biography but a good introduction to a less known figure.

Book review - Odd & True

Title: Odd & True
Author: Cat Winters
Genre: fantasy
Similar books: Jackaby by William Ritter
                      The Diviners by Libba Bray
Rating:

it will keep you guessing

Summary (provided by publisher): Trudchen grew up hearing Odette’s stories of their monster-slaying mother and a magician’s curse. But now that Tru’s older, she’s starting to wonder if her older sister’s tales were just comforting lies, especially because there’s nothing fantastic about her own life—permanently disabled and in constant pain from childhood polio.
In 1909, after a two-year absence, Od reappears with a suitcase supposedly full of weapons and a promise to rescue Tru from the monsters on their way to attack her. But it’s Od who seems haunted by something. And when the sisters’ search for their mother leads them to a face-off with the Leeds Devil, a nightmarish beast that’s wreaking havoc in the Mid-Atlantic states, Tru discovers the peculiar possibility that she and her sister—despite their dark pasts and ordinary appearances—might, indeed, have magic after all.

My opinion: Initially, I was on the fence about this book. As I read, though, my appreciation increased. I started out certain that their link to the supernatural was pure fiction, the product of covering up their pain. As the plot progressed, though that certainty was weakened. And that's the brilliance of this novel. Winters is quite skilled at making us question everything that the characters experience. While the closing chapters were a touch tidier than I generally prefer, the bulk of the novel was thrilling and well paced, exploring the influence of both the supernatural and the mundane on the lives of two sisters.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Book review - The Exact Location of Home

Title: The Exact Location of Home
Author: Kate Messner
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones by Wendelin Van Draanen
                      Hold Fast by Blue Balliett
Rating:

an emotional journey

Summary (provided by publisher): Kirby "Zig" Zigonski lives for the world of simple circuits, light bulbs, buzzers, and motors. Electronics are, after all, much more predictable than most people—especially his father, who he hasn't seen in over a year. When his dad's latest visit is canceled with no explanation and his mom seems to be hiding something, Zig turns to his best friend Gianna and a new gizmo—a garage sale GPS unit—for help. Convinced that his dad is leaving clues around town to explain his absence, Zig sets out to find him. Following one clue after another, logging mile after mile, Zig soon discovers that people aren't always what they seem . . . and sometimes, there's more than one set of coordinates for home.
An important story of love and hope that will capture readers' hearts, The Exact Location of Home is another must read from beloved author Kate Messner.

My opinion: While geocaching is an unusual focus for a middle grade novel, homelessness is the more interesting element. Messner really puts us Zig's place. We feel what he feels, his shame and desperation. I loved how being forced into all of these situations opened his eyes to the complexity of his peers and of the world in general. There are subtle messages about judgement and the value of hard work. A few of the plot twist were rather obvious, but overall its a pretty complex and enjoyable book.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.