What am I reading today?

Micah McKinney and the Boys of Summer by Nina Chapman

Total read in March thus far: 25

Book review - Pop Flies, Robo-Pets and Other Disasters

Title: Pop Flies, Robo-Pets, and Other Disasters
Author: Suzanne Kamata
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: A Talent for Trouble by Natasha Farrant
                      Skateboard Sibby by Clare O'Connor
Rating:

interesting

Summary (provided by publisher): Thirteen-year-old Satoshi Matsumoto spent the last three years living in Atlanta where he was the star of his middle-school baseball team—a slugger with pro potential, according to his coach. Now that his father's work in the US has come to an end, he's moved back to his hometown in rural Japan. Living abroad has changed him, and now his old friends in Japan are suspicious of his new foreign ways. Even worse, his childhood foe Shintaro, whose dad has ties to gangsters, is in his homeroom. After he joins his new school's baseball team, Satoshi has a chance to be a hero until he makes a major-league error.

My opinion: I like that this isn't your standard story of culture clash. This isn't a spoiled American kid learning about Japanese culture. This is a kid who lived in Japan, moved to the US for a while, and now has returned. He's a kid who doesn't fit in anywhere. He was out of place in the US but began to assimilate. So when the book begins and he is reintegrating his sense of coming home is disrupted by these changes he experienced. It takes that typical middle grade dilemma of trying to work out your place among your peers and ramps it up a couple of notches. I do feel like it leaves out some information, especially regarding the grandfather and the sister. There are elements related to Satoshi's feelings about them and their place in society that are hinted at but never really addressed. I would have liked to have seen more exploration of those issues instead of just his finding his place at school and on the baseball team.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

What am I reading today?

All the Pretty things by Emily Arsenault

Total read in March thus far: 25

Pick 6: super powers

Most kids have a fascination with superheroes. The promise of powers beyond our peers, unsurprisingly, captures the imagination. Here are six books published in the last six months that explore what it means to have super powers.

6 new superhero novels

1. Black Canary: Ignite by Meg Cabot
2. Captainz by Texier
3. Diana Princess of the Amazons by Shannon Hale
4. Drew and Jot Dueling Doodles by Art Baltazar
5.  Wonder Woman Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo
6. Green Lantern Legacy by Minh Lee

What am I reading today?

Jasmine Green Rescues a Piglet Called Truffle by Helen Peters

Total read in March thus far: 23

Non-fiction book review - Apollo 13

Apollo 13 by Laura B Edge

Like most people, I had a passing understanding of what had happened with the Apollo 13 mission due to references in other books about space exploration. This was the first text I'd read dedicated to the subject and it was enlightening. Edge takes us through an abridged history of the space program and how those previous missions influenced the approach and goals of Apollo 13. A fair portion is dedicated to the disaster itself and the complications it presented to the astronauts. The final portion of the book is focused on what we learned from the mission. Not only about what cause the explosion but about improvising solutions, having disaster plans, and the efficiency of the teams in Houston and aboard the craft itself in making calculations and running simulations. Its a fascinating, multi-faceted event well conveyed by this book.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

What am I reading today?

Sparrow by Mary Cecilia Jackson

Total read in March thus far: 22