Book review - The Do-Over

 

Title: The Do-Over

Author: Rodrigo Vargas and Coni Yovaniniz

Genre: realistic fiction/graphic novel

Similar books: Zebrafish by Sharon Emerson

                      Shark Summer by Ira Marcks

Rating:

 

a cute twist on a standard set-up

Summary (provided by publisher): Shy Mariana is looking for her chance to shine. She's having trouble making friends after a cross-country move to Ohio, plus, her dad refuses to let her help out at his hair salon, despite the fact that she's a social media expert!
So when she meets science whiz Zoe and creative maven Everly, and the three decide to start their own hair styling studio, she finally finds the friends—and the calling—she’s been searching for. The trio's studio, True Colors, is a smash hit, and the girls are having a blast. Not to mention, Mariana loves helping her fellow middle-school clients express themselves.
But with the town Harvest Fest on the horizon and a line of customers always at the door, the friends have to scale up quickly, and they don't always agree on how. Can Mariana find the courage to speak up for what she wants? And does True Colors have what it takes to succeed in business and friendship?

My opinion: Middle grade fiction is full of stories about kids moving to a new town and finding "their people". This narrative skews a little young but doesn't suffer for that fact. Instead it provides us with a fairly straightforward example of being true to yourself while also learning to care about the concerns of other people. The messaging alone makes it worth a read but it's presented with appealing illustrations and quirky characters. A solid choice for young middle graders.

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Graphic novel spotligh

 

Squire & Knight by Scott Chantler

The plot of this book doesn't bring a lot of surprises based on the set up: a braggart knight and his bookish squire arrive in a town troubled by a dragon. It's classic brains versus brawn as the knight charges into a fight and the squire questions the stories he hears from the villagers. The power of this book is in the artwork. Each panel contributes to the narrative, lending action, details, and dynamic facial expressions. The limited color palate keeps the page from becoming chaotic. It's a book you can read repeatedly and be entertained every time. 

 Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Ruby Lost and Found

 

Title: Ruby Lost and Found

Author: Christina Li

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: The Half-True Lies of Cricket Cohen by Catherine Lloyd Burns

                      Friendship Over by Julie Sternberg

Rating:

 

great characters

Summary (provided by publisher): Thanks to her Ye-Ye’s epic scavenger hunts, Ruby Chu knows San Francisco like the back of her hand. But when he dies, she feels lost. It seems like everyone, from her best friends to her older sister, is abandoning her—and after Ruby gets caught skipping lunch to avoid sitting alone, she’s staring down a summer spent at her Nai-Nai’s senior center. When a new boy from Ruby’s class, Liam Yeung, starts showing up too, Ruby’s humiliation is complete.
But Nai-Nai, her friends, and Liam all surprise Ruby. She finds herself working with Liam, who might not be as annoying as he seems, to help save a historic Chinatown bakery that’s being priced out of the neighborhood. Alongside Nai-Nai, who is keeping a secret that threatens to change everything, Ruby retraces Ye-Ye’s scavenger hunt maps in an attempt to find a way out of her grief—and maybe even find herself.

My opinion:  Dealing with grief and major life changes are, individually, enough to carry a middle grade novel. Li combines the two deftly. This books hits all the major themes of a middle grade novel - changing friendships, feeling like your life is out of control, parental disapproval, unexpected relationships. Each flows naturally into the next. It doesn't offer simple solutions, more of the reassurance that any issue is manageable with help and taken one small step at a time.

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Hat hanger

 What do you do when you have a couple of nice structured hats and no good place to hang them? You could buy a hat-rack, of course, but if you're me you look for a solution you can make for yourself. Preferably something not too expensive and relatively space saving. I took my inspiration from this pin. I did a much simpler design and used cord made from an old jersey knit sheet. 

Book review - The Takeout

 

Title: The Takeout

Author: Tracy Badua

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Happily for Now by Kelly Murpy

                     Measuring Up by Lily LaMotte

Rating:

 

well plotted

Summary (provided by publisher): When a celebrity chef’s new restaurant threatens Mila’s family’s food truck, she plans to expose them for the recipe thieves they are—even if that means dabbling in the Filipino folk magic she’s tried to avoid. Fans of Tae Keller and Lily LaMotte will cheer for this charming story about food, family, and finding the place you belong.
Mila may have moved to Coral Beach months ago, but it still doesn’t feel like home. She wants to belong, but a few awkward incidents with her new friends make her wonder if she’ll ever neatly fit into the super-samey small town.
Mila feels the only place she can be herself is at her dad’s Filipino-Indian food truck, The Banana Leaf. But when celebrity chef twins the Fab Foodie Brothers open a restaurant nearby, it turns out the food they are serving is exactly the same as The Banana Leaf's--right down to the recipes!
Suspicious of the similarities, Mila teams up with family friend Ajay to investigate. She soon realizes that she needs to take the beloved Fab Foodie Brothers down before they run her family's tiny truck out of town. But that means dabbling in the Filipino folk healing and magical traditions that she has shied away from her whole life . . . as well as alienating her new friends.  
Does Mila have to choose between her family and fitting in? Or, like the best recipes, will a blend of the traditional and the unexpected mix into something truly special?

My opinion: This book could easily have fallen into an easy good vs evil dichotomy. Consider the set up: a food truck accuses a celebrity restaurant of stealing their recipes. The little guy goes against seemingly impossible odds to take down the big guy who is lying and cheating. Basic stuff. But Badua elevates the plot by adding in more complexity. The powerful restaurant promises to bring more traffic to all of the businesses in their struggling town, so fighting will harm all of their friends. And side elements include the exploration of colorism, the complexities of cultural identity, and folk magic. None of the elements are explored in deep ways but with likeable characters and engaging writing this is a solid read for middle graders.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Picture books for everyone

 

Unicorn Not Wanted by Fred Blunt

We're seeing this construct more often now in picture books: the text starts with the narrator telling us explicitly what we won't find within the pages. Almost immediately the book is interrupted by a cheeky character determined to disrupt the plan. Of course, if the narrator tells us there are too many unicorn books and thus our book will have only cowboys, we're bound to have a unicorn intruding. The rest of the book follows a predictable pattern, with the unicorn and it's pug friend trying to sneak into the story and the narrator becoming increasingly frustrated. We know what's going to happen but it doesn't really matter. This style of narrative can be very appealing to a kid's sense of humor as it relies on disguises and wild excuses. The illustrations are exaggerated and expressive, making it a lot of fun to look at. This book would make an excellent read aloud for a mixed audience primed for a laugh.

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Book review - When Clouds Touch Us

 

Title: When Clouds Touch Us

Author: Thanhha Lai

Genre: historical fiction

Similar books: In the Beautiful Country by Jane Kuo

                     Red White and Whole by Rajani LaRocca

Rating:

 

well developed

Summary (provided by publisher): Hà and her family have worked hard to make a life for themselves in the US, but it hasn’t come easy. Hà has only just started to feel settled when Mother decides that the family will move to Texas for a new job.
Hà knows how hard starting over is and doesn’t want to have to do it again. But sometimes even an unwanted change can bring opportunity, new friends, and a place to call home.

My opinion: If you've read Inside Out and Back Again you'll know what to expect from this book. The first volume introduced us to a refugee family and their struggles to find a place to belong in small town Alabama. This volume extends those ideas. Book one had them getting their feet under them. This book introduces more change as their mother is no longer satisfied with just surviving. She wants a better life for them so this book is all about making sacrifices in the name of a better future while her children try to find a place to belong again. While it builds on the events of the previous book, familiarity isn't necessary to understand this one.

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