Book review - The Wrong Way Home

Title: The Wrong Way Home

Author: Kate O'Shaughnessy

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: The Wild Journey of Juniper Berry by Chad Morris

                      Watch the Sky by Kirsten Hubbard 

Rating:

 

interesting and sympathetic

Summary (provided by publisher): Fern’s lived at the Ranch, an off-the-grid, sustainable community in upstate New York, since she was six. The work is hard, but Fern admires the Ranch's leader, Dr. Ben. So when Fern’s mother sneaks them away in the middle of the night and says Dr. Ben is dangerous, Fern doesn't believe it. She wants desperately to go back, but her mom just keeps driving.
Suddenly thrust into the treacherous, toxic, outside world, Fern thinks only about how to get home again. She has a plan, but it will take time. As that time goes by, though, Fern realizes there are things she will miss from this place—the library, a friend from school, the ocean—and there are things she learned at the Ranch that are just...not true.
Now Fern will have to decide. How much is she willing to give up to return to the Ranch? Should she trust Dr. Ben’s vision for her life? Or listen to the growing feeling that she can live by her own rules?

My opinion: There are a lot of elements of this book that we could discuss. Most important is the relationship between Fern and her mother, of course. The dynamic between them informs a great deal of the plot. The same could be said for the mother and her relationship with adults in her life. As her history is revealed we come to understand how her relationships lead her to living on the Ranch. It's all quite thoughtfully and carefully laid out. But I'm most interested in Fern herself. From the book's opening we see how Dr. Ben manipulates his followers. We can see and understand the toxicity of their environment. So Fern's insistence on returning to the Ranch is pretty clearly "wrong" to the reader. We know she's making choices that won't benefit her. But she is a consistent and empathetic character. Even as we understand that her decisions are wrong we can see why she makes them, why they are the logical choices for her. It's quite skillfully done and opens up an avenue for discussion with young readers. It's a great opportunity to talk about how environment and experience color perception and may contribute to helping young readers become more empathetic.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
 

Listen with me

 

The Summer She Went Missing by Chelsea Ichaso

It's becoming a familiar premise - a teen investigates the disappearance of her friend (or sometimes a sister) and uncovers secrets in her town. Still, it's a thriller which makes for good listening while running and I'm interested to see how Ichaso handles the concept. Let's find out together.

Book review - The Pinchers and the Diamond Heist

 

Titles: The Pinchers and the Diamond Heist

Author: Anders Sparring and Per Gustavsson

Genre: early chapter book/humor

Similar books: Good Crooks series by Mary Amato

                      Claude series by Alex T Smith

Rating:

 

silly fun

Summary (provided by publisher): Theo is good at most things. He can almost count to a thousand, knows several French words, and can operate the washing machine. But he can't lie or steal.
"You must try harder," says his mother sternly.
The Pincher Family love to steal things. It's what they are born for! When his parents leave to visit the diamond exhibition, Theo's heart sinks. After breaking Grandma out of prison (his little sister needs someone to read her bedtime story), Theo sees no alternative but to stop his parents stealing the diamond. His shout of "Stop! Police!" brings them only delight—Theo's lie has shown he is a true Pincher.

My opinion: It is worth noting that this book is a translation, though one might not guess it while reading. The only real indicator is the use of terms not common in the US. The English translation has a natural feel. The vocabulary is accessible and the plot is easy to follow. The humor is strong as well, with pun-based names that lend themselves to being read aloud and ridiculous events in equal measure. With appealing illustrations that support the text this is a solid choice for a young reader.

More information: The Pinchers and the Diamond Heist releases April 2.

Graphic novel spotlight - Nothing Special

 

Nothing Special by Katie Cook

If you like magical adventures and offbeat humor then this is the series or you. It starts with a fairly standard premise - a couple of teens discover they are not fully human and set out on a quest to find a missing parent. It dips into the quirky side when the are quickly accompanied by the ghost of a radish. And things get weirder from there. It doesn't take itself too seriously but remains true to it's premise the whole time. A fun and quick read, well worth the effort.

 Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

WWW Wednesday

 What are you currently reading?

The Pinchers and the Diamond Heist by Anders Sparring - A boy in a family of thieves struggles to act like his parents expect while secretly wishing to be good. It's a quick and silly read.

What did you recently finish reading?

Ranger Academy by Maria Ingrande Mora - I was just a bit too old for Power Rangers when they were initially popular so I've never gotten into the fandom. If you're like me this is probably a good introduction since the protagonist is equally uninitiated. It does a solid job of world building and introducing unique characters.

What do you think you'll read next?

The Wrong Way Home by Kate O'Shaugnessy

Book review - In the Orbit of You

Title: In the Orbit of You

Author: Ashley Schumacher

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Every Time You Go Away by Abigail Johnson

                      Some Other Now by Sarah Everett

Rating:

 

a surprising amount to chew on

Summary (provided by publisher): It's been years since Nova Evans last saw Sam. She was too young then to understand why he had to move away—and what it had to do with the cuts and bruises he got from home and never wanted to talk about. All she knew is that they promised to find each other when they were older, something she thought was impossible thanks to her and her mom moving around constantly. Until she bumps into Sam in her new school, and realizes he has clearly forgotten their childhood promise.
Sam Jordan has a plan for his life: accept his college football scholarship, date his girlfriend Abigail, and—most importantly—hide how much he wants to do something, anything other than The Plan™ his parents and coaches have set before him. It doesn't matter if sometimes he finds himself thinking about the new girl he met in the cafeteria, a girl who reminds him of a past that hurts to remember.
When a school-wide personality test reveals Nova and Sam to be each others' top matches—not only that, but a match of 99%, the highest in the school—they begin to remember why they were such close friends, all those years ago. As well as the myriad of reasons this new-yet-familiar, magnetic, sparkling thing between them will never, ever work out.

My opinion: Let's start with the obvious - this is a teen romance so the general thrust of the plot is going to be obvious. And it hangs on a lot of coincidence. Old friends who meet up again in their teens and are immediately entranced with one another. A personality test puts them on each other's radar. The reconnection forces them to address truths about their lives. And if that's all this book was it would be pretty eye-roll inducing. But it doesn't shy away from asking difficult questions and forcing characters to deal with the consequences of their decisions. It manages to achieve what a lot of romances aim for - more depth.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
 

Graphic novel spotlight - Absolute Zeros

 

Absolute Zeros by Greg Smith and Michael Tanner

The central elements here are pretty standard ones: kids at a summer camp with conflicting personalities have to find a way to work together to save their camp from a more privileged rival.  Really, it's not doing much in terms of breaking new ground. The characters generally fall into expected types, especially the rivals. Really, though, that's okay. Because it's space camp. Rockets and drones and low gravity simulators are inherently appealing and provide a strong backdrop for those familiar themes. It's visually well designed with panels drawing our eye naturally down the page and balances text and action.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley