Book review - Wilder Girls

Title: Wilder Girls
Author: Rory Power
Genre: sci-fi
Similar books: Green Class by Jerome Hamon
                      Viral Nation by Shaunta Grimes Rating:

not as compelling as I'd hoped

Summary (provided by publisher): It's been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty's life out from under her.
It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don't dare wander outside the school's fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything.
But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there's more to their story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true.

My opinion: I want to start by pointing out that some of the promotional material for this novel makes a comparison to Lord of the Flies, a comparison that didn't ring true to me. This novel is a world with the trappings of society already stripped away, but without descending into complete savagery as in Golding's novel. Power's characters have abandoned unnecessary etiquette. They don't revel in cruelty but rather acknowledge that a certain about of aggression is necessary for survival. Beyond the decent of society, this is a story of disease, climate change, and scientific experimentation. A capricious and sometimes cruel government. We get the contrast of the remaining rules of devolved society with the ongoing cruelty of structured society. It's a sometimes interesting exploration but wasn't as engaging as I'd hoped. The characters remain emotionally distant.
More information: Wilder Girls releases July 9.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Book review - Knighthood for Beginners

Title: Knighthood for Beginners
Author: Elys Dolan
Genre: Humor/fantasy
Similar books: Julius Zebra series by Gary Northfield
                      The Jolley Rogers series Rating: 

silly fun

Summary (provided by publisher): Meet Dave (a dragon who wants to become a knight) and his trusty steed (a German-speaking, worldly goat named Albrecht) in this illustrated, laugh-out-loud chapter book.
Dave is terrible at all the things dragons are supposed to be good at: hoarding gold, eating villages, telling riddles...and don’t even ask about his knitting skills. So when he becomes the first dragon ever to fail the Dragon Test, he finds a book called Knighthood for Beginners and decides he’s found his destiny! Before long, Dave is decked out in a new suit of armor and is off on a series of adventures with his trusty steed—a German-speaking, life coach, explorer, and goat named Albrecht. The ultimate goal? Dave the dragon being knighted by the King of Castletown.

My opinion: This novel has the perfect humor construction for young readers: characters are oblivious to facts that will be obvious to the reader. Knights who are fooled by a mustache on a dragon. A king who doesn't recognize that a goat is not a person. That kind of thing. It will likely have young readers in giggles, and might just elicit a chuckle or two from parents. Even better, very little of the humor resorts to the gross out factor. It's not especially complicated but remains fairly innocent and has an underlying message of acceptance.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Impossible Music

Title: Impossible Music
Author: Sean Williams
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Curveball by Jordan Sonnenblick
                      Brave Enough by Kati Gardner
Rating:

interesting ideas

Summary (provided by publisher): Music is Simon’s life—which is why he is devastated when a stroke destroys his hearing. He resists attempts to help him adjust to his new state, refusing to be counseled, refusing to learn sign-language, refusing to have anything to do with Deaf culture. Refusing, that is, until he meets G, a tough-as-nails girl dealing with her own newly-experienced deafness.
In an emotionally engaging tale crackling with originality, Simon's quest to create an entirely new form of music forces him into a deeper understanding of his relationship to the hearing world, of himself, and of the girl he meets along the way.

My opinion: This is an idea we encounter occasionally in fiction: how we define ourselves when our central focus is taken from us. Usually these books focus on finding a new dream. Williams' book looks instead at approaching the dream from new angles. It asks us to consider the philosophical aspects of music and art. The plot itself is equal parts defining music and Simon coming to terms with his new reality. It's the difference between coping with and accepting his deafness. Or, as the text says, becoming deaf and accepting your life as a Deaf person. This is a character driven, literary novel. It suffers from some development issues, largely centering on G, but is still interesting to mull over.

More information: Impossible Music releases July 2.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Book review - Forever Neverland

Title: Forever Neverland
Author: Susan Adrian
Genre: Fantasy
Similar books: Secrets of the Book by Erin Fry
                      Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke
Rating:

a solid re-imagining

Summary (provided by publisher): Clover and Fergus are the great-great-grandchildren of Wendy Darling (yes, that Wendy). And now Peter Pan wants to take them to Neverland for the adventure of their lives! But Clover is a little nervous--she's supposed to look after her brother. Fergus is autistic, and not everyone makes him feel welcome. What will happen to him in this magical world?
Fergus isn't nervous at all. To him, Neverland seems like a dream come true! He's tired of Clover's constant mothering and wants some independence, like Peter and the Lost Boys have. He wonders, Why can't the real world be more like Neverland?
Neverland is fun and free, but it's also dangerous and even scary at times. Unfamiliar creatures lurk in the shadows, and strange sounds come from the waters. And then the mermaids start to go missing. . . .
In an imaginative and thoughtful continuation of the story of Peter Pan, Susan Adrian explores Neverland with a fresh perspective and indelible warmth, offering a new adventure based on a beloved classic!

My opinion: You might not expect Neverland and Greek/Roman mythology to mesh well, but Adrian pulls it off. This is largely because she establishes early on that Neverland reshapes itself based on the current occupants and visitors. It only makes sense, then, that an adventure for mythology obsessed Fergus would have a mythological bent. Not only are the plot elements well integrated, Fergus and Clover are well developed characters. They go through significant changes, forced to address the flaws in their characters that are addressed in the early chapters. 
I do have a single, major complaint. In the early chapters we meet the children's grandfather, a gruff man who has no patience and no understanding of Fergus. This early conflict is never resolved. It's never even addressed again. Clover and Fergus have interactions with their mother and grandmother but the grandfather is notably absent in the novel's resolution.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Window decoration

Some of my old family friends have been medical missionaries in Haiti for several years now. They come back to the state occasionally to give updates on the hospital and training program. On one of their last trips they brought some crafts made by local women. Among the items was this little wooden fish that immediately struck my fancy. 

I've been wanting to make something with it ever since. I finally found some hemp cord and beads and designed a macrame hanger. Its simple but looks great in my room. The green and brown beads go nicely with my green striped shag carpet (yeah, decor in my house is super dated).

 

Book review - Cursed

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.

Picture books for everyone

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