Non-fiction book review - We the People

We the People by Aura Lewis and Edan Sargent

Most of us learn very little about the Constitution in school. Additionally, many books about foundational documents are dense and full of complex political theory. And that's where books like this one step in. It walks us through the constitution, first the base articles and then the amendments. For each point we are shown the actual text, given a brief clarification of it's meaning, and some examples of the information in practice. Even more importantly, it presents us with questions to consider. The ultimate goal is to understand our rights and the structure of our government. This is a book I'd recommend to most anyone, kids or adults.

More information: We the People releases July 1.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Curse of the Night Witch

Title: Curse of the Night Witch
Author: Alex Aster
Genre: fantasy
Similar books: Silverworld by Diana Abu-Jaber
                      Changeling by William Ritter
Rating:

a solid introduction to a series

Summary (provided by publisher): On Emblem Island all are born knowing their fate. Their lifelines show the course of their life and an emblem dictates how they will spend it.
Twelve-year-old Tor Luna was born with a leadership emblem, just like his mother. But he hates his mark and is determined to choose a different path for himself. So, on the annual New Year's Eve celebration, where Emblemites throw their wishes into a bonfire in the hopes of having them granted, Tor wishes for a different power.
The next morning Tor wakes up to discover a new marking on his skin...the symbol of a curse that has shortened his lifeline, giving him only a week before an untimely death. There is only one way to break the curse, and it requires a trip to the notorious Night Witch.
With only his village's terrifying, ancient stories as a guide, and his two friends Engle and Melda by his side, Tor must travel across unpredictable Emblem Island, filled with wicked creatures he only knows through myths, in a race against his dwindling lifeline

My opinion: At first, this seems like every other fantasy adventure. It has all of the standard elements - an unlikely group is thrust into a journey, a quest that pits them against a series of incredible odds and unimaginable dangers. In it's details, it is has many similarities to Harry Potter, Tor standing in for Harry, Engle for Ron, and Melda for Hermione. They are traveling towards a confrontation with a legendary, mysterious villain. With that framework, it had the possibility of becoming incredibly derivative. It's the final confrontation that makes this one truly stand out. The reveal of the nature of the Night Witch and her role in the structure of Emblem Island not only sets this book apart, it sets up the ongoing plot of the series and lends a sociological complexity that most middle grade fantasy lacks. And the whole plot asks the reader not only to question our own role in society but also the role of legend and story. Well worth a read.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Peg dolls continued

When I started painting my famous ladies peg dolls, I thought I might be able to come up with a couple dozen figures to highlight. The more I paint, though, the longer my list grows. I'm really enjoying learning about and sharing what I've learned about some truly inspiring women. This group includes: Ada Lovelace, Bessie Coleman, Caroline Herschel, Dolores Huerta, Frances Glessner-Lee, and Hypatia.

 

Book review - The Last Tree Town

Title: The Last Tree Town

Author: Beth Turley

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: The Water Bears by Kim Baker

                      Where You'll Find Me by Natasha friend

Rating:

well developed

Summary (provided by publisher): Cassi has always been proud to be Puerto Rican, but when others comment on her appearance, telling her she doesn’t look like the rest of her family, Cassi begins to question everything.
At school, Cassi finds a distraction in the Math Olympics, where she is able to do what she loves and soon befriends Aaron, the new boy who tells her stories about all the tree towns he’s lived in. Just when everything seems to be getting better, a painful video goes viral and Cassi wonders if Mapleton is just another stop on Aaron’s list.
As the seasons change, Cassi must learn to solve the pieces of her life that are varied and emotional and at times, beautiful. And even when they don’t equate, reveal a rewarding answer. 

My opinion: There's a lot of complexity at play in this novel. The plot combines issues of race, mental illness (especially as it affects the entire family and how race affects our reaction to it), and grief for things we've lost. Grief for significant life changes rather than for death. Add in the base struggles that are a part of life in the preteen years, puberty and the changes in friendships and the beginning of romantic interests, and we have a very complex plot. It could easily be too much for this age group if not carefully handled. It really speaks to Turley's skill as an author that she is able to create a cohesive narrative out of all of those elements. The key is that this remains Cassi's story. The other elements are important only in that they inform Cassi's decision making. They lead her through increasingly poor decision making before she seeks outside help. It's a painfully nice book for kids coping with big changes in their lives.

 

More information: The Last Tree Town releases June 1.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Pick 6: Sports

While I’m not a fan of most things athletic myself, I must admit sports and the personalities that come along with athletics have great natural drama for stories. Competition reads well on the page and can provide other natural lessons on teamwork and fair play. Here are six books with strong athletic elements published in the last six months.

6 New Sports Stories

1. Chirp by Kate Messner
2. This Train is Being Held by Ismee Williams
3. Pop Flies, Robo Pets, and Other Disasters by Suzanne Kamala
4. Micah McKinney and the Boys ofSummer by Nina Chapman
5. We are the Wildcats by Siobhan Vivian
6. The Summer of Impossibilities by Rachael Allen
   

Book review - Once Upon a Space-Time!

Title: Once Upon a Space-Time!
Author: Jeffrey Brown
Genre: sci-fi/graphic novel
Similar books: Star Scouts by Mike Lawrence
                      Earthling by Mike Fearing
Rating:

cute and informative

Summary (provided by publisher): Jide and Petra are just two normal kids until they are selected to leave Earth and join their new alien classmates on an intergalactic research mission to Mars. Too bad Petra has no idea how she ended up in the program, seeing as the closest she wants to get to space is being a sci-fi writer. Jide, on the other hand, is the brains of the mission, but his helicopter parents make it clear he hasn't left their gravitational pull behind quite yet.
What is meant to be an intra-species bonding experience soon turns to hijinx as the kids discover The Potato orbiting around their new space classroom and accidentally launch a mission of their own without any adult commanders around to supervise--or help!

My opinion: This is Brown's second journey into using a narrative to educate in the graphic novel format. Previously, in the Lucy and Andy Neanderthal series he taught us about prehistoric life. This book takes on the science of space travel. As in that previous series, this book uses the story as a loose framework for teaching us about space. There is no strong conflict, more a series of quirky circumstances. Some of the complications work a bit too hard to integrate the facts into the text. Additionally the humor is pretty random, sometimes drawing focus away from the plot. The art is charming enough to support this through a single read though I don't know that it will hold up to a repeat.
More information: Once Upon a Space-Time! releases June 2
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Book review - Nowhere on Earth

Title: Nowhere on Earth
Author: Nick Lake
Genre: sci-fi
Similar books: When Light Left Us by Leah Thomas
                      From a Distant Star by Karen McQuestion
Rating:

I had some issues with it

Summary (provided by publisher):Sixteen-year-old Emily is on the run. Between her parents and the trouble she's recently gotten into at school, she has more than enough reason to get away. But when she finds a little boy named Aidan wandering in the woods, she knows she needs to help him find his way home. But getting home is no easy matter, especially when Emily finds out that Aidan isn't even from Earth. When their plane crashes into the side of a snowy mountain, it's up to Emily to ensure Aidan and their pilot, Bob, make it off the mountain alive. Pursued by government forces who want to capture Aidan, the unlikely team of three trek across the freezing landscape, learning more about each other, and about life, than they ever thought possible.

My opinion: I think I wanted to like this book better than I did. There was a strong sense of unreality to the plot and I don't think that the presence of aliens is to blame. The alien worked best for me, actually. The idea that aliens aren't going to look even vaguely human, that they might occupy more dimensions, be formed of different elemental combinations, defy our ability to fully perceive them, and utilize perceptual camouflage, all seemed quite reasonable to me. It was Emily that I struggled with. Her extraordinary survival skills, her flight from shadow agents, this was my struggle. Her backstory of struggles at school and her desire to dance were only tenuously tied to the main plot. The final chapters relied a bit more on happenstance than I generally prefer. While the ideas are interesting, it's just a bit too scattered.
More information: Nowhere on Earth releases May 26.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley