Book review - A Duet for Home

 

Title: A Duet for Home

Author: Karina Yan Glaser

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Hold Fast by Blue Balliett

                      Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate

Rating:

 

a more complex picture of life in a shelter

Summary (provided by publisher): It's June’s first day at Huey House, and as if losing her home weren’t enough, she also can’t bring her cherished viola inside. Before the accident last year, her dad saved tip money for a year to buy her viola, and she’s not about to give it up now. Tyrell has been at Huey House for three years and gives June a glimpse of the good things about living there: friendship, hot meals, and a classical musician next door. Can he and June work together to oppose the government, or will families be forced out of Huey House before they are ready?

My opinion: There is a growing trend of books that explore the reality of life for unhoused families. We see the sense of shame and helplessness, the downward spiral and the struggle to regain any ground once it begins. The point of these books, of course, is to put a face on the unhoused, on people in shelters. I like that this one shows us a couple of families at different points in their journey. We have long term families and new arrivals. We see how all of the residents together form a sort of loose extended family. Sure they don' t always get along and often antagonize each other but they also look out for one another and work together when they can. Glaser also points out how policy is often focused entirely on statistics and budgets, forgetting about the personal and emotional toll to the people involved. Some of these elements were cut short but that makes sense given that this is intended for a middle grade audience. A solid read.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Listen with Me - Bright Ruined Things

 

Bright Ruined Things by Samantha Cohoe

The Tempest isn't my favorite of Shakespeare's plays but I am intrigued by the idea of setting it in the jazz era. Join me in what promises to be a complex world of magic and privilege.

Non-fiction book review - Animal BFFs

 

Animal BFFs by Sophie Corrigan

Symbiosis is one of those concepts that seems a bit magical when you first learn about it. The idea of vastly different animals working together for their shared benefit makes animals seem just a little bit more human so I can understand the appeal here. What I don't love is the construction. Corrigan presents us first with the cartoon version of the relationship: animals having sleepovers and giving each other makeovers, that sort of thing. It's cute at first but by the last example it's rather tiresome. I'd have preferred just the facts. I did like that Corrigan gives us examples of all three forms of symbiosis: mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. Interesting, just a little annoying.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Stella Diaz to the Rescue

 

Title: Stella Diaz to the Rescue

Author: Angela Dominguez

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Alley & Rex by Joel N. Ross

                     Ways to Make Sunshine by Renee Watson

Rating: 

 

nicely done

Summary (provided by publisher): It’s a new calendar year, and Stella is determined to make it her best one yet.
Not only are Stella and her family finally becoming U.S. citizens, but the Sea Musketeers are also presenting their plastics pledge to the school council. With her trusty schedule in hand, Stella is ready for anything!
But after life takes unexpected turns, Stella will have to fight to keep her perfect year on track.
Not to worry, because Stella Diaz is to the rescue! Right?

My opinion: There are some interesting elements at play here. At heart, it is a fairly standard elementary school narrative. We have the desire to belong; wanting to help others; jealousy about friends and power. It's the details that make the difference. It's Stella and her family becoming citizens and considering their relationship to their culture. And I like how Stella is a bit of a rigid character. She has these ideas about how things ill go, specific plans for helping and fixing everything. She has to learn to relax a little and adjust when things don't go according to plan. She also learns to listen, to be an ally instead of a savior. The ideas are addressed in a fairly straightforward way but that's appropriate for this age range.

Natural beauty care

 I have short hair, so I've always bought mousse to keep it tidy. Mousse is not without it's problems though. I find the scent overwhelming and I hate throwing away the empty cans. So this spring I decided to try something new. I've started making pomade out of beeswax, coconut oil, cornstarch, and essential oils. It works so much better than mousse ever did, even taming my cowlick sometimes! And with the scent combination of cinnamon, orange, and cedar it smells so nice I have caught myself occasionally sniffing my own hair. 

The pomade is the most recent addition to my homemade beauty/skin care collection. I also make this salve out of beeswax, lanolin, and peppermint and eucalyptus oils (both for their soothing qualities and for their ability to mask the rather pungent scent of lanolin). The salve is great for small scratches, chaffing, and badly chapped lips.

 

The thing I made that started me on the natural care path was this lip tint made from beeswax, coconut oil, and beet powder. It leaves your lips shiny, conditioned and evens out lip color in a pleasant way.

Book review - Wrecked

 

Title: Wrecked

Author: Heather Henson

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: What She Found in the Woods by Josephine Angelini

                      Burn Girl by Mandy Mikulencak

Rating:

 

stretches believability

Summary (provided by publisher): For as long as Miri can remember it’s been her and her dad, Poe, in Paradise—what Poe calls their home, hidden away from prying eyes in rural Kentucky. It’s not like Miri doesn’t know what her dad does or why people call him “the Wizard.” It’s not like she doesn’t know why Clay, her one friend and Poe’s right-hand man, patrols the grounds with a machine gun. It’s nothing new, but lately Paradise has started to feel more like a prison.
Enter Fen. The new kid in town could prove to be exactly the distraction Miri needs…but nothing is ever simple. Poe doesn’t take kindly to strangers. Fen’s DEA agent father is a little too interested in Miri’s family. And Clay isn’t satisfied with being just friends with Miri anymore. But what’s past is prologue—it’s what will follow that will wreck everything.

My opinion: I'm okay with the idea behind this book. A teen who grows up with a parent who manufactures/sells drugs is going to find that her perception of the world and of other people is profoundly affected by that reality. I think, though, that Henson tries too hard to make Poe an admirable or at least redeemable character. We get this hole other arc for him apart from his desire to keep their life isolated from prying eyes. The plot with the DEA stretched my willing suspension of disbelief almost to the breaking point. It pretends at being a deep exploration of character but instead treads largely familiar ground.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Graphic novel spotlight - Surviving the Wild

 

Surviving the Wild series by Remy Lai

A quick glance will tell you most of what you need to know about the plot of these books. Most books about juvenile animals are intended to do a couple of things: teach us facts about the animal species and teach us to empathize with the animal and thus to be more open to conservation/ecology efforts. This is done through subtle coding, slipping in the message with cute behavior. First we see Rainbow and Star interacting with their mothers, learning to survive their natural environments. Then they are threatened by fires, habitat loss, hunting, etc. It's a pretty basic formula. We learn from the afterward in each book that these stories are based on real situations. The factual basis will be appealing to adults, the simple illustrations appealing to very young readers. 

 Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley