Book review - The Reckoning

 

Title: The Reckoning

Author: Wade Hudson

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Take Back the Block by Chrystal D Giles

                      The Probability of Everything by Sarah Everett

Rating:

 

doesn't live up to potential

Summary (provided by publisher): Lamar can’t wait to start his filmmaking career like his idol Spike Lee.  And leave behind his small town of Morton, Louisiana. But for now, Lamar has to learn how to be a filmmaker while getting to know his grandfather.
When Gramps talks about his activism and Black history, Lamar doesn’t think much about it. Times have changed since the old Civil Rights days! Right? He has a white friend named Jeff who wants to be a filmmaker, too, even though Jeff’s parents never let him go to Lamar’s Black neighborhood. But there’s been progress in town. Right?
Then Gramps is killed in a traffic altercation with a white man claiming self-defense. But the Black community knows better: Gramps is another victim of racial violence. Protesters demand justice. So does Lamar. But he is also determined to keep his grandfather's legacy alive in the only way he knows how: recording a documentary about the fight against injustice.

My opinion: This is a solid concept for a middle grade novel. We have a young Black man starting to have an awakening to racism and history. He's learning how to be an activist and what things are worth fighting for. He's also starting to become aware of the difference between himself and his white peers. An unexpected tragedy becomes a catalyst for real change in his community. That all sounds quite solid and important. Unfortunately, the reading experience is stiff. The dialogue doesn't read like a real kid. The topic is important enough to be worth reading but it doesn't live up to the potential.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Graphic novel spotlight - Punycorn

 

Punycorn by Andi Watson

When we think of the unlikely hero in a quest narrative we probably don't think of a unicorn. But that's what Watson gives us and it works spectacularly well. With a unicorn in training the only one available to defend the city, Punycorn sets out on a quest to collect necessary elements to defeat a villain who is equal parts threatening and silly. While Punycorn's interpretations of the necessary items are perhaps not what was intended, his adventure is kind-hearted and noble. This is fun and exciting and a joy to read.

 

Yip-yip

 Remember these muppets from Sesame Street?

My sister and I have fond memories of them from our childhood so when I found a pattern to make one, I knew she needed one for her birthday.

Here's what I made:

 

Book review - The Unbeatable Lily Hong

 

Title: The Unbeatable Lily Hong

Author: Diana Ma

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Underdog City by Chris Negron

                     Sanford Wong Flunks Big-Time by Lisa Yee

Rating:

 

a solid experience

Summary (provided by publisher): If there’s one thing Lily Hong can’t stand, it’s being second best. That’s why she and Max Zhang have been bitter rivals ever since he swooped into town as the new kid with the cool clothes and his fancy downtown Chinese school and showed her up in the fifth-grade reading challenge.
She had wanted to be the one to win the pizza party for their class. Okay, so that was two years ago . . . her best friends Kelli and Lauren didn’t totally get it, but they were on her side. And that’s why they agreed to help Lily with her submission for the Clarktown’s Got Talent video competition. Filmmaking is Lily’s passion—which means winning is more important to her than ever.
Unfortunately, finding time to work on her video submission is proving harder than ever. In addition to doing regular homework and attending the Chinese school her parents own and run out of the Clarktown Community Center, Lily’s been getting weird vibes from her parents lately and she can tell something is up. Then her mom announces that the Clarktown Community Center is having its first showcase, and the students of Hong Chinese Academy will be performing as a group—traditional Chinese dance!
Lily is more confused than anything else—the community center is practically falling apart and they think this is a good time to put on a show? Could it be that the community center is in trouble and the only way to save it is to make the showcase a huge success? Lily has no choice. She’ll have to juggle the video competition and the art of Chinese dance simultaneously. But when Max Zhang unexpectedly shows up in her class at Chinese school with his perfect Mandarin and his surprisingly good dance skills, Lily might just have to embrace her longtime rival as a key part of her plan to save the community center.

My opinion: Chinese American culture and the sense of community take center stage in this novel but they don't fully define Lily. She is a complex, realistic character. She's a middle school kid trying to be her best self and struggling to please her parents. So while Chinese culture is essential to the plot, there is a universality to the characters that makes this a book that anyone can enjoy.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - The Five Impossible Tasks of Eden Smith

 

Title: The Five Impossible Tasks of Eden Smith

Author: Tom Llewellyn

Genre: adventure

Similar books: The Eureka Key by Sarah L Thomson

                      Holes by Louis Sachar

Rating:

 

clever

Summary (provided by publisher): When Eden Smith moves into the beautiful and bizarre old mansion housing her grandfather, she discovers a strange society of elderly metalworkers whose mastery verges on the magical. Deadly mechanical birds, a cavernous chamber full of dirty dishes, a highly dangerous game of Machinist BINGO–life at the guild is not only strange, it’s also dangerous.
Eden’s grandfather, Vulcan Smith, the most gifted of all the metalsmiths in the mansion, has just been sentenced to live out the rest of his days locked in a tiny basement room for rebelling against the guild. To save him, Eden will have to complete The Five Impossible Tasks, a series of deadly feats that have already killed off many of Eden and Vulcan’s ancestors. With the help of her new friend Nathaniel and a cast of eccentric old silversmiths, blacksmiths, and inventive machinists, Eden sets out to do the impossible before her newfound grandfather is lost to her forever.

My opinion: Take elements of curse and chosen one narratives. Add in secret societies and puzzles. It should be too much, too many directions. But Llewellyn makes it work. It draws the most compelling aspects of each of these types of stories. It helps that the cast of characters is quirky and vast but well distinguished. Each character has distinct elements and develops, at least a little, throughout the course of the novel. Pacing is tight and the stakes are high. The world of the smiths is introduced in a bit of an info dump but the details are parceled out through the rest of the novel in a way that is never overwhelming. While the beginning moves a little slowly this is by necessity. Once Eden takes on the Tasks, the action is constant and well interspersed with moments of reflection and growth. The ending falters a little but over all it's a solid read.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
 

Non-fiction book review - Anatomical Oddities

 

Anatomical Oddities by Dr. Alice Roberts

Most books about the human body, unless you get quite deep into your study of anatomy, focus on the basic elements of our body systems and the major organs. Not this book. Here we learn about names for pathways and channels, aspects of organs and sectors of the brain. Dr. Roberts explains the function of these parts of the body and how they got such unusual names. The result is a combination of biology and medical history. It highlights how our understanding of bodily functions has changed. This is a fascinating read for anyone interested in scientific trivia. 

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Gone Wolf

 

Title: Gone Wolf

Author: Amber McBride

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: The Probability of Everything by Sarah Everett 

                      The Giver by Lois Lowry

Rating:

 

thought provoking

Summary (provided by publisher): In the future, a Black girl known only as Inmate Eleven is kept confined—to be used as a biological match for the president's son, should he fall ill. She is called a Blue—the color of sadness. She lives in a small-small room with her dog, who is going wolf more often—he’s pacing and imagining he’s free. Inmate Eleven wants to go wolf too—she wants to know why she feels so Blue and what is beyond her small-small room.
In the present, Imogen lives outside of Washington, D.C. The pandemic has distanced her from everyone but her mother and her therapist. Imogen has intense phobias and nightmares of confinement. Her two older brothers used to help her, but now she’s on her own, until a college student helps her see the difference between being Blue and sad, and Black and empowered.

My opinion: This is a book that is going to require some patience and emotional intelligence to properly process. At first, it seems quite straightforward. The narrative about Inmate Eleven is clear and easy to follow. The messaging is accessible and the general thrust of the plot is simple enough. Then, at a pivotal moment, the focus shifts. And we begin to understand what this book is really about. That's the point that requires a great deal more reflection and careful consideration to properly process. It's a fantastic read, well worth the effort.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley