Book review - The Hatmakers

 

Title: The Hatmakers

Author: Tamzin Merchant

Genre: fantasy

Similar books: The Crooked Sixpence by Jennifer Bell

                      The Voyage to Magical North by Claire Fayers

Rating:

 

some unique elements

Summary (provided by publisher): When Cordelia Hatmaker’s beloved father fails to return from an ingredient-hunting expedition, Cordelia is the only member of the family who knows in her heart that he can’t be gone for good. Her grief-stricken aunt and uncle forge ahead to continue the work of their guild and to fulfill a crucial order from the King for a magical Peace Hat. But the enchantments woven into the carefully crafted goods of the Hatmaker, Bootmaker, Cloakmaker, Watchmaker, and Glovemaker guilds begin causing sudden inducements of rage and chaos. As war looms and the Peace objects backfire, Cordelia must find out who is using the Makers’ creations for dark purposes and uncover the truth about her father’s disappearance.

My opinion: I appreciate what Merchant has done here. We see so many books with magic that it can be difficult to find a unique take on the idea. By tying magic to clothing, to materials and the state of mind of the maker, we have both a clear set of rules and endless possibilities. We see actual results that differ from what was intended. I can get behind that structure. I'm less fond of the actual plot.The twists aren't always well tied together, so the plot can jump around a lot and feels a bit scattered. There are, perhaps, too many disparate elements. And the final resolution is heavily telegraphed in the first scenes, so there isn't much surprise there. With underdeveloped characters and a tone that creates a marked emotional distance from the reader, I found it less than compelling.

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Non-fiction book review - White All Around

 

White All Around by Wilfrid Lupano

 I am a bit dismayed that this is the first I've heard of the Prudence Crandall School. It's the exact sort of story that fascinates me: a woman bucking societal norms for the greater good. Crandall was already pushing boundaries by having her girl's school curriculum emphasize science and math. She was encouraging her students to think and ask questions, to really explore the way that the world works. It was a logical step, then, to include Black students. Of course, that was completely revolutionary in the 1800s. Lupano shows us all of the challenges the school faced: low enrollment, public ridicule, lack of support, and outright threats. But we also see the students challenged by what they were learning in school and from public opinion. They are questioning religion, their role in society, what to protest and what to accept. They come from different backgrounds and it affects how they interact with one another. The school's eventual downfall is disappointing but unsurprising, given the political climate of the time. The cartoony illustrations keep the events from feeling too intense but remain highly expressive. It's absolutely compelling. Even cooler, the afterward includes brief biographies of Crandall and of each of the students. To have a paragraph about most of the students is a bit astonishing, given how little we know about most women from the era.

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Book review - Bug Boys

Title: Bug Boys Outside and Beyond

Author: Laura Knetzger

Genre: fantasy graphic novel

Similar books: Last of the Sandwalkers by Jay Hosler

                     The Glorkian Warrior Delivers a Pizza by James Kochalka
 Rating:

 

Fun

Summary: Little bugs, big feelings! Rhino-B and Stag-B are back for more in this all-new graphic novel perfect for readers of Investigators and Catstronauts.
These best friends are ready for new adventures!
Meeting a bat? They're on it! Getting lost in a labyrinth? Might be scary.
Each day is new and exciting for these two beetles, and together they'll face challenges and help their friends along the way.
Laura Knetzger returns with a story filled humor, hijinks, and a lot of adventure. Rhino-B and Stag-B lead the way on a life filled with mindfulness, fun, and an exploration of the natural world perfect for kids.

My opinion: This story is a little bit weird, but weird in a good way. It's not exactly like every other graphic novel you're going to find. The stories are more contemplative. Events that seem a bit random do eventually tie in to a loose larger plot. Most of the stories are Rhino-B and Stag-B exploring some small part of their world, meeting other bugs and learning how their world is structured. Those small adventures all come together when they go to the big city, learn about it's differences and opportunities. They are excited and overwhelmed. They end up choosing their home but don't dismiss city living as bad. This is a book that can be appreciated on multiple levels and has a quirky enough tone for outsiders to enjoy.

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Bob's Burgers peg dolls

I've been wanting to make a Louise Belcher peg doll for a while now. Originally, I'd intended to paint her with her makeover look from one of the Valentines episodes, because it gives me no end of amusement.

 

 In the end, though, I decided to make a pair of peg dolls. And who better to pair with Louise than Boo-Boo. Since Louise is obsessed with slapping him, I've added a little hand print on Boo-Boo's face.

 

Book review - Bump

 

Title: Bump

Author: Matt Wallace

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Chirp by Kate Messner

                      Sidetracked by Diana Harmon Asher

Rating:

 

a surprising read

 

Summary (provided by publisher): MJ knows what it means to hurt. Bruises from gymnastics heal, but big hurts—like her dad not being around anymore—don’t go away. Now her mom needs to work two jobs, and MJ doesn’t have friends at school to lean on.
There is only one thing MJ loves: the world of professional wrestling. She especially idolizes the luchadores and the stories they tell in the ring. When MJ learns that her neighbor, Mr. Arellano, runs a wrestling school, she has a new mission in life: join the school, train hard, and become a wrestler.
But trouble lies ahead. After wrestling in a showcase event, MJ attracts the attention of Mr. Arellano’s enemy at the State Athletic Commission. There are threats to shut the school down, putting MJ’s new home—and the community that welcomed her—at risk. What can MJ do to save her new family?

My opinion: I never would have expected to enjoy a book about wrestling as much as I enjoyed this one. I never really watched wrestling so I expected that I would feel lost by the terminology, or just by the focus on the sport. But Wallace does an excellent job of integrating definitions naturally into the plot via MJ's introduction to various skills. This book celebrates how a wrestler's individual skills and showmanship works towards the overall benefit of the school. The plot of the Athletic Commission trying to shut down the school serves to ratchet up the tension but bay not have been entirely necessary and makes extreme. Personally, I have liked a bit more about luchadores and their relationship to American wrestling. Even so, its a highly entertaining read.
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Listen with me

 

The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost-Kiss by Amy Noelle Parks

I love that the math/science elements of this book are more than just a gimmick. It's not just that it is set at an academy or that Evie is "really into math". It's a vital part of the plot. It forms the lens through which Evie views the world. Also, there are some frank discussions about privilege and prejudice. How much harder it will be for Evie to get taken seriously because she's a girl. How she has to consider things that Caleb never even thinks about. And yet, her own place of privilege based on her private school education and whiteness. And I liked the view of relationships. Sure, we all know from the start that Evie and Caleb will end up together. But that doesn't invalidate their other relationships. They can like different people in different ways.

There were elements I didn't like as well, most of them involving Bex. To be clear, I liked the character. I like the way she supports and challenges the main characters. She presents her own concerns and biases. But she's also largely there to prompt discussions about religion and femininity. The religious discussions are fairly elementary, not what we would expect of advanced students. I do appreciate that Bex is both a woman of science and a religious person, a combination generally not present in books. But her conversations about beauty and femininity bothered me. She won't let Evie wear bland clothes when presenting. She has to look "amazing", like she has some obligation to natural beauty, like she has an obligation to play up her feminine characteristics.

Overall, I feel like the positives outweigh the negatives but I also would want to discuss them with teen readers, to encourage them to read those scenes critically and consider the messages they convey. 

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Non-fiction book review - Unspeakable

 

Unspeakable by Carole Boston Weatherford

The first thing I feel the need to point about this book is that it refers to the event correctly. Other things I've read or heard about this call it the "Tulsa Race Riot". And Weatherford correctly identifies it as a massacre. The information ire relayed in a gentle, measure way. Each new element starts with "once upon a time" and then tells us a little information that influences what happened. Thus we learn about the population of the region; how Greenwood became segregated and the Black population became successful and the growing financial disparity between the two groups. We learn about systemic racism and the outbreak of horrific violence ruled by anger and jealousy. This story of cruelty and destruction is told in as gentle and sensitive a way possible and doesn't stop with the massacre. We're told how the event was covered up, only recently fully acknowledged and reconciled by the public. The illustrations are stylized but detailed and capture the feel of the era. And while the text doesn't go into much detail, there is a more involved author's note that give a fair amount of information. An absolute must have for a Black History collection. 

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