Book review - The Keeper

 

Title: The Keeper

Author: Guadalupe Garcia McCall

Genre: horror

Similar books: The Smashed Man of Dread End by J W Ocker

                     Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar

Rating:

 

didn't really work for me

Summary (provided by publisher): James always knew moving from Texas to Oregon was going to be horrible.. But no sooner have he and his family arrived in their "perfect" new home in their "perfect" new town than he starts getting mysterious letters from someone called the Keeper. Someone who claims to be watching him. Someone who is looking for “young blood.”
James and his sister, Ava, are obviously in danger. But the problem with having a history of playing practical jokes is that no one believes James—not even his parents. Now James and Ava need to figure out who is sending the letters before they become the next victims in their neighborhood’s long history of missing children.
Because one thing is clear: Uncovering the truth about the Keeper is the only thing that will keep them alive.

My opinion: Middle grade horror is a tricky thing. You have to find the right level of spooky without becoming extreme or unbelievable. This is especially difficult when you aren't dealing with ghosts. While I can understand the desire to tread new ground, it's much harder to create a convincingly scary atmosphere without ghosts. This book goes too far, going to weird horror cliches for the threat. And until the danger is revealed, it's not especially frightening. The town is more uncanny than truly creepy. I think for a middle schooler, I would stick with a ghost story.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Graphic Novel spotlight - Rosa Parks

 

Rosa Parks by Mariapaola Pesce and Matteo Mancini

If you're anything like me, your first thought about this book is going to be "do we really need another book about Rosa Parks". She was basically the only figure of the Civil Rights movement I learned about in school apart from MLK. But it doesn't take much research to realize that the picture of Rosa Parks we were given was an inaccurate one. We were shown Rosa as a quiet, unassuming woman who was just tired one day, becoming an icon by happenstance. This book introduces us to Rosa Parks the Revolutionary, a woman who with calm intention set out to change the world. And Pesce and Mancini tie the bus boycotts into the modern social movements, viewing BLM as the direct descendant of MLK and the Black Panthers. It's beautifully illustrated, though text heavy, and leaves the reader with plenty to think about.

 Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Non-fiction book review - Revolutionary Prudence Wright

 

Revolutionary Prudence Wright by Beth Anderson

In school we learn almost nothing about women during the Revolutionary War, just a few stories of women who disguised themselves as men to become soldiers or spies. WE are left to assume that most of them sat on their hands at home, waiting to see if their men would return. This book clears up some of those misconceptions. First we see the role w0men played in the early days, their rejecting of British goods and leading protests. And then, when the men were gone and their homes were threatened, forming their on militia and standing up in their own defense.This is a clear, easy to follow story that is well illustrated. A solid addition to a kid's history collection. 

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Dream, Annie, Dream

 

Title: Dream, Annie, Dream

Author: Waka T. Brown

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Dara Palmer's Major Drama by Emma Shevah

                      Violets are Blue by Barbara Dee

Rating:

 

a good thinker for middle graders

Summary (provided by publisher):As the daughter of immigrants who came to America for a better life, Annie Inoue was raised to dream big. And at the start of seventh grade, she’s channeling that irrepressible hope into becoming the lead in her school play.
So when Annie lands an impressive role in the production of The King and I, she’s thrilled . . . until she starts to hear grumbles from her mostly white classmates that she only got the part because it’s an Asian play with Asian characters. Is this all people see when they see her? Is this the only kind of success they’ll let her have—one that they can tear down or use race to belittle?
Disheartened but determined, Annie channels her hurt into a new dream: showing everyone what she’s made of.

My opinion: I think what I like best about this book is that it doesn't over-simplify race relations. Does Annie face racism? Absolutely. But she see it in different forms. It's less about slurs and discrimination than it is about micro-aggression. Annie isn't allowed to be a "normal" kid when it seems like everyone points out her racial heritage at every turn, usually in a negative way. And the realizations of her community's unhealthy racial attitudes are focused more on how other adults treat her parents than on how her peers treat Annie. It's a great book to read with your kid or in a group discussion, to help them interpret what they have read.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Wooden box

 I was given one of these little wooden boxes with an image pressed into the top from the dollar store. While the plain box was kind of cute, it's even better with a little brightly colored paint.

Book review - Wayward Creatures

 

Title: Wayward Creatures

Author: Dayna Lorentz

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: House Arrest by K.A Holt

                      Trash Mountain by Jane Yolen

Rating:  

 

well integrated elements and a clear theme

Summary (provided by publisher): Twelve-year-old Gabe doesn’t know where he belongs anymore. His family is caught up in their own lives and his friends barely have time for him now that they’re stars on the soccer team. In a desperate plea for attention to impress his friends after school, Gabe sets off fireworks in the woods near his house and causes a small forest fire that destroys several acres of land.
In the chaos of the destruction, a coyote named Rill—tired of her family and longing for adventure—finds herself far from home. Already on animal control’s watch for wandering into a backyard and snapping at a child, Rill crawls into a cave, where she nurses her wounds alone.
Gabe and Rill’s paths irrevocably cross when Gabe is tasked with cleaning up the forest through the court's restorative justice program. The damage to the land and both their lives is beyond what the two can imagine. But together, they discover that sometimes it only takes one friend to find the place where you belong.

My opinion: I don't always like books with animal characters. They can give the animals too much human personality. Lorentz has kept Rill fairly true to her animal reality. While she "talks" with other animals, most of her behavior is true to her species. and her story is mostly meant to reinforce the messaging we see in Gabe's plot, how a single bad decision made in a moment of frustration can send us down a spiral of bad behavior. And how when people see that "bad" thing, it colors all future interactions. It's compelling reading and is well balanced with ideas of true justice.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Listen with me

 

You Truly Assumed by Laila Sabreen

I've been trying, recently, to read more challenging books with a special focus on narratives that present a life experience different from my own. So my next listen is this book about Muslim teens and the online community.