Book review - This is Not the Jess Show

 

Title: This is Not the Jess Show

Author: Anna Carey

Genre: sci-fi

Similar books: Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix

                      Vicarious by Rhett C. Bruno

Rating:

 

a bit lackluster

Summary (provided by publisher): The year is 1998: Titanic just won six Oscars, boy bands are dominating MTV’s airwaves, and like any other teenager Jess Flynn is just trying to survive high school. Between a crush on her childhood best friend, overprotective parents, and her sister’s worsening health, the only constant is her hometown of Swickley, which feels smaller by the day.
Jess is resigned to her small-town life, until the day she discovers a mysterious device with an apple logo, causing her to question everything and everyone she’s ever known. As more cracks appear in Jess’s world, she faces a choice: can she live the rest of her life knowing it’s a lie, or should she risk everything for the truth?

My opinion: The concept here is decent, a plot clearly influenced by "The Truman Show", though the plot centers more on staying out of the clutches of the show than in the slow reveal of the nature of reality. It's a darker view of human nature and what we'll do for money. In the early chapters Jess is surprisingly oblivious to some pretty obvious holes in here reality. Luckily these are just a temporary road block. Once she learns the truth, the pacing and details improve. The plot relies on some pretty intense coincidence, though. It is more about things happening to Jess than her making conscious changes for her future.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

March 1 check in

 Since my elementary school days I've loved March as reading month. In school we marked it with reading contests and special "read and feed" days. As an adult, I've had to find new ways to mark the occasion. This year I've decided to do daily check-ins here on the blog. Join me in the afternoons for my regular posts but if you're interested in what I'm reading, you can find an extra post every morning where I'll list what's open on my shelf as well as the running total of how many books I've read in March.

Open on my shelf today:

Wrath by Marcus Sedgwick

Shadow Hero by Gene Luen Yang

Seven Dirty Secrets by Natalie D Richards

Total Read in March: 0

Book review - Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman

 

Title: Required Reading for the Disenfranchised Freshman

Author: Kristen R. Lee

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Dear Martin by Nic Stone

                      Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro

Rating:

 

a conversation starter

Summary (provided by publisher): Savannah Howard sacrificed her high school social life to make sure she got into a top college. Her sights were set on an HBCU, but when she is accepted to the ivy-covered walls of Wooddale University on a full ride, how can she say no?
Wooddale is far from the perfectly manicured community it sells on its brochures, though. Savannah has barely unpacked before she comes face to face with microagressions stemming from racism and elitism. Then Clive Wilmington's statue is vandalized with blackface. The prime suspect? Lucas Cunningham, Wooddale's most popular student and son of a local prominent family. Soon Savannah is unearthing secrets of Wooddale's racist history. But what's the price for standing up for what is right? And will telling the truth about Wooddale's past cost Savannah her own future?

My opinion: Given the title, we are prepared for this to be a challenging read. We should expect it to push us out of our comfort zone and lead us to question the way we view the world. With that in mind, I'm not sure if this goes quite far enough. The racism that Savannah faces is so blatant. Lucas is a simple bigot, using his family's influence to get away with whatever he wants. That being said, the obvious nature of the racism might be the point. This young man gets away with something that is obviously wrong because he has power. And the Black students are expected to put up with it because they are a small part of the population. Now there are some side elements about what it means to be an ally that could have been developed more completely, making this a more complex and compelling read. Even so, it's a decent read that could lead to good discussion with teen readers.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Listen with me

 

You Truly Assumed by Laila Sabreen

Based on the set-up, we expect a couple of things from this book. All three main characters occupy an intersection of oppressed groups: they are Black, Muslim, and female. The world wants them to be silent and invisible and tears them down when they try to assert themselves. When they start a blog they become a target. We expect the bulk of the plot to be focused on fighting that oppression. While that is certainly a surface part of the plot, it is even more about the things that challenge our identity. Each girl is faced by significant changes in her world. Addressing the issues brought up by their blog empowers them to address their own issues as well. Family, future plans, love, betrayal. There's a universality to these issues that makes this book accessible to a wider group of readers than it might otherwise. Powerful, empathetic, and accessible. Definitely orth a read.

Non-fiction book review - A World Full of Journeys and Migrations

 

A World Full of Journeys and Migrations by Martin Howard

 There's a lot of information packed into this book. It's organized into regions, but within each region we learn about different methods and reasons for migration and how it shaped the culture. Climate change, trade, slavery, religion, exploration. We look at it all. The text is accompanied by stylized illustrations. There's enough information packed into these pages that I wouldn't recommend trying to read it all in one sitting. It's best absorbed one short section at a time. It would also work well as a supplemental text fro social studies lessons.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Each of Us a Universe

 

Title: Each of Us a Universe

Author: Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo and Ndengo Gladys Mwilelo

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Peak by Roland Smith

                     The Magic of Melwick Orchard by Rebecca Caprara

Rating:

 

the right level of contemplative for the age group

Summary (provided by publisher): What do you do when you’re facing the impossible?
Ever since the day when everything changed, Cal Scott’s answer has been to run—run from her mother who’s fighting cancer, run from her father whom she can’t forgive, and run from classmates who’ve never seemed to “get” her anyway. The only thing Cal runs toward is nearby Mt. Meteorite, named for the magical meteorite some say crashed there fifty years ago. Cal spends her afternoons plotting to summit the mountain, so she can find the magic she believes will make the impossible possible and heal her mother. But no one has successfully reached its peak—no one who’s lived to tell about it, anyway.
Then Cal meets Rosine Kanambe, a girl who’s faced more impossibles than anyone should have to. Rosine has her own secret plan for the mountain and its magic, and convinces Cal they can summit its peak if they work together. As the girls climb high and dig deep to face the mountain’s challenges, Cal learns from Rosine what real courage looks like, and begins to wonder if the magic she’s been looking for is really the kind she needs. 

My opinion: Ferruolo has managed to combine grief, sports, and a refuge story into a single cohesive story, even including hints of magic. And somehow it is still a simple story. There is surprisingly little action. It's primarily an emotional journey - anger and grief and our tendency to run away from hard things. Because of the relative simplicity, kids have plenty of room to contemplate the emotions involved. A solid choice for discussion.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Mandalorian rag doll

 After I watched the first season of The Mandalorian, I made a rag doll of the child. Recently, I got it in my head to make a similar doll of the Mandalorian. It was freehanded, so I don't have any process photos. It also turned out a bit rough. But it's still pretty fun. And even better, it's the perfect size for Grogu to hold.