Book review - We Can Be Heroes

 

Title: We Can Be Heroes

Author: Kyrie McCauley

Genre: realistic fiction/magical realism

Similar books: Love and Vandalism by Laurie Boyle Crompton

                      I Hope You're Listening by Tom Ryan

Rating:

 

gives us plenty to think about

Summary (provided by publisher): Beck and Vivian never could stand each other, but they always tried their best for their mutual friend, Cassie. After the town moves on from Cassie’s murder too fast, Beck and Vivian finally find common ground: vengeance.
They memorialize Cassie by secretly painting murals of her around town, a message to the world that Cassie won’t be forgotten. But Beck and Vivian are keeping secrets, like the third passenger riding in Beck’s VW bus with them—Cassie’s ghost.
When their murals catch the attention of a podcaster covering Cassie’s case, they become the catalyst for a debate that Bell Firearms can no longer ignore. With law enforcement closing in on them, Beck and Vivian hurry to give Cassie the closure she needs—by delivering justice to those responsible for her death.

My opinion: The elements at play here are not especially common in fiction: graffiti and true-crime podcasts. We have a tragedy in a town with an injustice that the town would rather ignore. So Beck and Vivian respond in a big, unavoidable way. With the addition of a podcast picking apart the stories that the people in power are insisting upon and it's a town on the verge. McCaughley is asking us to consider some big questions: gun culture and rights, community responsibility in the face of a tragedy. The heart of the story, though, is much smaller: broken and grieving girls who have things to prove or that they are desperate to escape. Girls who are angry and terrified and utterly trapped by grief. We have a ghost at play who isn't entirely necessary but it works over all.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Sock cat

I've been designing some sock puppets. When I found a brightly colored leopard print, it just begged to be a cat. 

 

Book review - Carry Me Home

 

Title: Carry Me Home

Author: Janet Fox

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Isaiah Dunn is My Hero by Kelly J Baptist

                      Wrong Way Summer by Heidi Lang

Rating:

 

gives the reader plenty to think about

Summary (provided by publisher): Twelve-year-old Lulu and her younger sister, Serena, have a secret. As Daddy always says, “it’s best if we keep it to ourselves,” and so they have. But hiding your past is one thing. Hiding where you live—and that your Daddy has gone missing—is harder.
At first Lulu isn’t worried. Daddy has gone away once before and he came back. But as the days add up, with no sign of Daddy, Lulu struggles to take care of all the responsibilities they used to manage as a family.
Lulu knows that all it takes is one slip-up for their secret to come spilling out, for Lulu and Serena to be separated, and for all the good things that have been happening in school to be lost.
But family is all around us, and Lulu must learn to trust her new friends and community to save those she loves and to finally find her true home

My opinion: I appreciate seeing stories about the affects of homelessness on children. These characters make do and conceal truths when their existence is boiled down to just a few necessities. Books like this one show us how a "normal" low income family cam be thrown completely off balance and lose absolutely everything when there is no safety net. Lulu does a solid job keeping her family together projecting normalcy and protecting herself and her sister. This book carries a message of knowing your strength but also how it is okay to ask for help, to turn to even strangers who largely turn out to be good and kind. The plot is ultimately a bit overly optimistic but largely affirming.

More information: Carry Me Home releases October 1

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Listen with me

 

The Icepick Surgeon by Sam Kean

 My hopes were high for this one and it really paid off. Kean certainly tells a complete story with these scientists: what they did, their scientific background, and how they justified their actions. And it's more than just a story of science gone wrong. Probably a quarter of each chapter explores general scientific ethics. Each chapter typically contains a second example of the same breach of ethic, reminding us that this is not the work of isolated monsters. These are lines that any scientist can cross given the right motivation. Not only am I glad I listened to this one, I'm already thinking of people who will enjoy it as well.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Non-fiction book review - The Science of Song

 

The Science of Song by Alan Cross

 We get "science of sound" books occasionally that are largely focused on the simple mechanics of sound - vibrations, the ear drum, etc. That is certainly present in this book. But it's so much more. We learn about harmonics, about the cultural and psychological elements of music, assorted technologies used to created and record music. Cross absolutely does not skimp on the details. You'll learn a great deal just by skimming. I could see this as a resource that a budding scientist returns to often.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Blog tour book review - Egg Marks the Spot

 

Title: Egg Marks the Spot

Author: Amy Timberlake

Genre: humor

Similar books: Kitty and Dragon by Meika Hashimoto

                      Freya and Zoose by Emily Butler

Rating:

 

a sweet story with surprising depth

Summary (provided by publisher): “X Marks the Spot!”
Buried in the heart of every animal is a secret treasure. For rock scientist Badger, it’s the Spider Eye Agate he found as a cub, stolen years ago by his crafty cousin, Fisher. For Badger’s roommate, Skunk, the treasure is Sundays with the New Yak Times Book Review. When an old acquaintance, Mr. G. Hedgehog, announces his plan to come for the Book Review as soon as it thumps on the doorstep, Skunk decides an adventure will solve Badger’s problems as well as his own. Surprisingly, Badger agrees. Together
they set off on an agate-finding expedition at Badger’s favorite spot on Endless Lake.
But all is not as it seems at Campsite #5. Fisher appears unexpectedly. Then a chicken arrives who seems intent on staying. Something is up!
Indeed!
Secrets, betrayals, lies
. . . and a luminous, late-Jurassic prize. 

My opinion: At face value, the Skunk and Badger stories are exactly what you'd expect. They are a standard odd couple with the curmudgeonly Badger gradually opening up to the more playful Skunk. Timberlake has included enough weird and humorous details to keep young readers entertained. The plot is fairly straightforward and the sentence structure is basic, making the book easy to follow. Beneath that simplicity there are deeper messages at play. The first book talked about biases and long held misconceptions and the accompanying cruelties we can perpetrate. This volume addresses bullying, certainly, but also letting go of things and people. We see how the same things can motivate and hold us back. The final chapters suggest that nothing lasts forever and we sometimes have to say goodbye to things and friends even if we'd rather not. Sweet.

More information: Egg Marks the Spot releases today!

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

A truly unique doll

 My dad got some doll parts in a box at an auction. And among the box was this package:

Now, a sensible person would probably throw away the extra arm. But no one has ever accused me of being sensible. I figured the best way to use this kit was to make a three-armed doll. And if you're giving it three arms you might as well give it four legs. And a tail.