Title: Cursed
Author: Karol Ruth Silverstein
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Sincerely, Harriet by Sarah Winifred Searle
Wired Man and Other Freaks of Nature by Sashi Kaufman
Rating:
 |
| painfully honest |
Summary (provided by publisher): As if her parents' divorce and sister's departure for college weren't bad enough, fourteen-year-old Ricky Bloom has just been diagnosed with a life-changing chronic illness. Her days consist of cursing everyone out, skipping school--which has become a nightmare--daydreaming about her crush, Julio, and trying to keep her parents from realizing just how bad things are. But she can't keep her ruse up forever.
Ricky's afraid, angry, alone, and one suspension away from repeating ninth grade when she realizes: she can't be held back. She'll do whatever it takes to move forward--even if it means changing the person she's become. Lured out of her funk by a quirky classmate, Oliver, who's been there too, Ricky's porcupine exterior begins to shed some spines. Maybe asking for help isn't the worst thing in the world. Maybe accepting circumstances doesn't mean giving up.
My opinion: Books about chronic illness tend to focus on finding positivity. We see sick kids as eternally sunshiny, plucky, inspirations. Ricky is the exact opposite. She suffers constant pain. She's cranky, angry at the world, and desperate to be "normal". If she can't feel normal she just wants to hide from her reality. Even once she begins to accept her new normal, she stays prickly. This isn't a flaw she needs to correct but rather an inherent part of her personality. It's nice to see a protagonist who isn't everyone's best friend. Even more than that, this book has an important message about medical care. Ricky learns about her condition, reads up on potential treatments. She's an informed patient and learns to advocate for her own care. While there were some less realistic elements, the messages are strong enough to make up for flaws.
More information: Cursed releases June 25.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.
I Really Love You by Tatsuya Miyanishi
Miyanishi's T-rex books are unlike most other dinosaur picture books. On the one hand, they're more realistic. Dinosaurs eat, or at least attempt to eat, smaller creatures. This is not seen as a moral issue but rather a part of nature. Carnivores must eat or die. Of course, these dinosaurs have complex thought and emotion. They can be reasoned with. And the emotions they experience are complicated and changeable. We see sacrificial love expressed non-verbally, through actions and protective instincts. This is the message for younger reader - the many kinds of love. For the older reader we explore forms of communication and the things that tie us together.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
The Artist Who Loved Cats by Susan Bernardo
I'm pretty sure I've seen images of some of these posters before, but it's not often presented to young readers. They're quite charming. And we don't usually see advertisements presented as art to children. That alone makes this an intriguing read for youngsters. It just might encourage them to look at ads from a new perspective. This would be a fun book to use in an art class, to put unexpected objects or animals into existing images.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
Title: Briar and Rose and Jack
Author: Katherine Coville
Genre: fantasy
Similar books: Snow & Rose by Emily Winfield Martin
The Secrets of the Pied Piper by Matthew Cody
Rating:
 |
| a truly inventive story |
Summary (provided by publisher): Lady Briar is scorned for her appearance. Princess Rose is adored for her looks. Unbeknownst to them, one or both may bear a curse that only true love can break. But the girls have little time for curses anyway—along with their friend Jack, they are busy plotting the downfall of the evil giant who plagues their kingdom. But how can children succeed when the adults are afraid to even try? And what if the curse manifests? Whose love could be true enough to save the day?
My opinion: It's always interesting to see how an author will re-imagine a familiar story. The more common the tale, the more inventive she has to be to make her book stand out. So Coville sets the bar high here, taking on both Sleeping Beauty and Jack And The Beanstalk. She manages it well, starting out with Sleeping Beauty as not one but two girls. And by combining the two stories, she closes long standing plot holes in both that might trouble a modern audience. All told, Coville's version of the stories makes a lot more sense. The ending is perhaps overly tidy but that's a minor flaw.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
I've been enjoying exploring drawing techniques with note cards. Here are a few cards I took to my last craft fair.
The Race to Space by Clive Gifford
With the anniversary of the moon landing this year, there is no shortage of new space program books for young readers. This particular effort is more than worth the time it takes to read. We start with the Cold War and it's influence on what would become the Space Race. We are presented with each achievement and failure, in chronological order, by both the American and Russian space missions. The reader can then see how each attempt by one team influenced future efforts by the other team. There is not much detail about each mission, of course. This is only a brief overview, but its still a compelling read and a great starting point for young readers with an interest in science and/or history. I can't wait to put this one in the hands of a couple of young readers I know.
I'm not usually one who wears leopard print, but it's hard to turn down dress shoes when they cost a dollar.
The solution? Paint them. A little multi-surface acrylic paint does wonders. I added little pterosaurs for personality.
