Book review - Muffled

 

Title: Muffled

Author: Jennifer Gennari

Genre: realistic fiction

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Genre: realistic fiction

Rating: 

 

more complex than it first appears

Summary (provided by publisher): Ten-year-old Amelia does not like noise. From subway brakes to squeaky sneakers, she is sensitive to sound, just like her dad. Amelia has always worn noise-canceling headphones, but now that she’s going into fifth grade, her parents want her to stop wearing them. To make matters worse, she must learn to play an instrument! Or, as Amelia sees it, make noise on purpose.
To help Amelia cope, her father gives her a pair of earmuffs to wear instead. Even with her new earmuffs, Amelia struggles at school…until she gets partnered with Madge in music class. Madge is loud and bold and goofy—everything Amelia is not. And so Amelia is surprised when Madge wants to be friends.
Still, it’s not long though before Amelia’s quiet nature clashes with Madge’s loud personality. And when Madge disappears after an argument, Amelia fears Madge might be in trouble. If she’s going to help her friend, she will have to find a way to let in the noisy world she’s muffled for so long.

My opinion: At first glance, this plot seems pretty straightforward: Amelia is misunderstood by her peers and by her mother, all of whom become frustrated when she is overwhelmed. As the book progresses, though, we begin to see the complexities. It's hard for people to understand how difficult it is for Amelia to cope with noise. Her father is perhaps a bit permissive in his desire to make things easier for her, thus he never challenges her to expand her comfort zone. And Amelia herself is quick to dismiss people and ideas. If something isn't easy right away she gives up. It ends up being a book about recognizing your limits but being willing to try had things and to fail on occasion. Amelia is a charming if not entirely likeable protagonist. She's a bit standoffish, difficult for the average reader to relate to, but still worth the read.

More information: Muffled releases December 2. 

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Listen with me

 

The Brave by James Bird

This book surprised me with the degree of mysticism. I was expecting the standard "fish out of water" sort of tale, though I began to think that might not be the case with the introduction of the grandmother. What we get here is a sort of magical realism. Its firmly rooted in the world as we know it but with magical elements: spirits, vision quests, and the world beyond our own. At heart, this is a story of a boy learning to be comfortable with himself in all his aspects and to accept life changes in every form, even when they are painful. 

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Serena Says

 

Title: Serena Says

Author: Tanita Davis

Genre: realistic fiction

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Rating: 

 

more emotional complexity than we see sometimes

 

Summary (provided by publisher): JC shines like a 4th of July sparkler. She has the best ideas, the biggest, funniest laugh, and the party starts when she arrives. Serena St. John is proud to be known as her best friend.
Everything changes when JC returns from the hospital with a new kidney—and a new best friend. Out of the spotlight of JC’s friendship, suddenly things aren’t quite so sparkly in Serena’s world.
Lonely Serena works on perfecting her vlogs, hoping to earn a shot at becoming a classroom reporter. If she can be smart and funny on video, why can’t she manage that in real life? If only she could always pause, edit, or delete conversations. It would be so much easier to say the right thing at the right time . . . instead of not saying what she should, or, even worse, blurting out a secret that wasn’t hers to share.
Life doesn’t have a pause button—but as Serena discovers her voice through vlogging, she learns that she’s not just there to reflect JC’s light—she’s fully capable of shining on her own.

My opinion: The first thing I note about this book is that both Serena and JC are at fault for the change in their relationship. Both have changed and both of their decisions are making things worse between them. Additionally, we're dealing with a kid post-transplant. She doesn't feel like a new person - she's trying to go back to "normal" and thus ignores medical advice. She skips her meds and struggles with feelings that divide her from her life the ways she wants it to be. But the central focus, of course, is on Serena and her exploration of herself. She's learning to define herself apart from her friend, deciding what kind of person she wants to be. While these are typical goals for middle grade fiction, Davis acknowledges that the emotions involved are not clean cut, that somethings are not fixable and that the best we can hope for is a new normal.

More information: Serena Says releases November 3.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Graphic novel spotlight - Space Battle Lunchtime

Space Battle Lunchtime: Lights, Camera, Snacktion! by Natalie Riess

I didn't expect much from this book, but I found it surprisingly entertaining. It's not especially deep. We have a human who finds herself a part of an alien cooking show. While she is out of her depth, she's willing to take chances, to experiment with food and take chances with people. There's no fear or distrust, only openness. The plot, for the most part, goes in the directions we expect. The real strength here is the illustrations. This book leads with art, telling the subtle parts of the story with images. The characters are incredibly expressive and whole sequences are told with little to no text. This is a great book to flip through. And since the story is incomplete, it could develop complexity with future volumes.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Non-fiction book review - The Everyday Workings of Machines

The Everyday Workings of Machines by Steve Martin

These kinds of books are always going to go over well with young readers. As children we love examining how things are put together, what makes them run. Consider the sustained popularity of books like The Way Things Work. This one looks at the internal mechanisms of a wide variety of machines but only in a very simple way. We get one or two vital parts of complex machines, the whole only with simple things like balance scales or thermometers. It's a short, pleasant version of a familiar concept. 

 Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Kitty and Dragon

 

Title: Kitty and Dragon

Author: Meika Hashimoto

Genre: beginning chapter book

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Rating: 

 

cute

 

Summary (provided by publisher): Book 1 of this early reader series features three adorable stories about Kitty and Dragon—best friends, even when one of them is snoring, being messy, or having a sad day. Even though they are quite different from one another, Kitty and Dragon have learned that there’s nothing better than being together, just the way they are

My opinion: Kitty and Dragon is reminiscent of Henry and Mudge. This is the adventure in the commonplace, the exploration of friendship and conflicting personality types. While the plots are fairly standard, the illustrations are absolutely charming and Hashimoto adds enough little quirks to make the stories memorable. The writing is easy for a child to follow and well supported by the artwork.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Measuring Up

 

Title: Measuring Up

Author: Lil LaMotte

Genre: graphic novel/realistic fiction

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Rating: 

 

checks all the right boxes

Summary (provided by publisher): Twelve-year-old Cici has just moved from Taiwan to Seattle, and the only thing she wants more than to fit in at her new school is to celebrate her grandmother, A-má’s, seventieth birthday together.
Since she can’t go to A-má, Cici cooks up a plan to bring A-má to her by winning the grand prize in a kids’ cooking contest to pay for A-má’s plane ticket! There’s just one problem: Cici only knows how to cook Taiwanese food.
And after her pickled cucumber debacle at lunch, she’s determined to channel her inner Julia Child. Can Cici find a winning recipe to reunite with A-má, a way to fit in with her new friends, and somehow find herself too? 

My opinion: I'm a big fan of books for kids that have a focus on cooking, that show us kids exploring cuisines and experimenting with combinations. This particular book also goes deep on the ways that food is inextricably tied to culture. There's a whole sequence about rice and how it is cooked and used differently by different cultures. While the other plot elements (being the new kid, cultures clashing, parental expectation) are fairly standard for middle grade fiction, the exploration of food really sets this apart. The plot is easy to follow and makes for a very pleasant read.

More information:  Measuring Up releases October 27.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley