Listen with me

 

Our Shouts Echo by Jade Adia

I can't quite settle on how I feel about this book. From the start, when it was clear that the protagonist's prepper tendencies were rooted in a traumatic incident, I was anticipating a dramatic reveal. Because Adia very carefully talks around what happened without ever making it clear. And that reveal never came. There were a couple of other grand dramatic encounters that I expected that were never realized. In that way Adia defies the cliche scenes but it may not be to the book's ultimate benefit. There is no emotional resolution to some pretty significant set up. While the characters are compelling and the line by line reading is engaging, the book on the whole left a little something lacking.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Needy Little Things

 

Title: Needy Little Things

Author: Channelle Desamours

Age range: teen

Genre: mystery

Similar book: To Whatever End by Lindsey Frydman

Summary (provided by publisher): Sariyah Lee Bryant can hear what people need—tangible things, like a pencil, a hair tie, a phone charger—an ability only her family and her best friend, Malcolm, know the truth about. But when she fulfills a need for her friend Deja who vanishes shortly after, Sariyah is left wondering if her ability is more curse than gift. This isn’t the first time one of her friends has landed on the missing persons list, and she’s determined not to let her become yet another forgotten Black girl.

Not trusting the police and media to do enough on their own, Sariyah and her friends work together to figure out what led to Deja’s disappearance. When Sariyah’s mother loses her job and her little brother faces complications with his sickle cell disease, managing her time, money, and emotions seems impossible. Desperate, Sariyah decides to hustle her need-sensing ability for cash—a choice that may not only lead her to Deja, but put her in the same danger Deja found herself in.

What I liked: I love this variant of the psychic ability. I've seen a lot of restrictions on abilities but they usually are limits on the moment a person sees or a need for physical contact. Sariyah's ability and its intrusive nature make for an excellent plot device.

What I didn't like: The mystery here, while initially compelling, never made a lot of sense to me and that only deepened as the plot progressed. It goes in directions that are too extreme. While it makes an effort to highlight the unequal treatment of missing persons based on race, the plot follows dubious logic that ultimately harms its message.

More information: Needy Little Things releases February 4.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

WWW Wednesday

What are you currently reading?

Digger by Deborah Cholette - A middle grade dystopian novel about kids in a race against time against a climate crisis.

What did you recently finish reading?

Needy Little Things  by Chanelle Desamours - A teen with the innate ability to give people the thing they most need searches for answers when her friend goes missing.

What do you think you'll read next?

A Better Nightmare by Megan Freeman

Book review - Under the Same Stars

 

Title: Under the Same Stars

Author: Libba Bray

Age range: teen

Genre: historical fiction

Similar books: Across So Many Seas by Ruth Behar

                    The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh (this one skews younger but has similar bones)

Summary (provided by publisher): It was said that if you write to the Bridegroom’s Oak, the love of your life will answer back. Now, the tree is giving up its secrets at last.

In 1940s Germany, Sophie is excited to discover a message waiting for her in the Bridegroom's Oak from a mysterious suitor. Meanwhile, her best friend, Hanna, is sending messages too—but not to find love. As World War II unfolds in their small town of Kleinwald, the oak may hold the key to resistance against the Nazis.

In 1980s West Germany, American teen transplant Jenny feels suffocated by her strict parents and is struggling to fit in. Until she finds herself falling for Lena, a punk-rock girl hell-bent on tearing down the wall separating West Germany from East Germany, and meeting Frau Hermann, a kind old lady with secrets of her own.

In Spring 2020, New York City, best friends Miles and Chloe are slogging through the last few months of senior year when an unexpected package from Chloe’s grandmother leads them to investigate a cold case about two unidentified teenagers who went missing under the Bridegroom’s Oak eighty years ago.

What I liked: It is apparent to the reader from very early on how these three narratives are connected. Sort of. We know that characters in the 80s and 2020 sections represent the older versions of characters from the earliest narrative; it isn't entirely clear until the end who is who, though. I spent a fair amount of my reading time guessing and changing my mind about identities. This is a deeply complex narrative but with enough in each section to drive the reader forward towards the inevitable conclusions.

What I didn't like: It is, perhaps, overly wordy at passages, lingering unnecessarily on some descriptions. And there is an element of predictability that will drive some readers away.

More information: Under the Same Stars releases February 4.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Danilo Was Here

 

Title: Danilo Was Here

Author: Tamika Burgess

Age range: middle grade

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar book: A Long Pitch Home by Natalie Dias Lorenzi

Summary (provided by publisher): Danilo Osorio Jr.’s baseball skills were once the pride of his father and entire hometown of El Chorrillo, Panamá. But that was then, and this is now…

Following 1989's Operation Just Cause, a US military invasion that left his neighborhood decimated, Danilo couldn’t care less about baseball or the father who abandoned him for opportunities in the States. Now Danilo’s focus is taking care of his mamá and sister and trying to save them all from needing to relocate to a refugee camp.

When Danilo unintentionally catches the eye of a baseball recruiter and is offered the opportunity to visit and train in California—the same place as his father’s last known address—he is tasked with deciding to go or stay. But if playing baseball could help him find his father and secure the extra funds his family needs, Danilo is willing to travel anywhere, even to the very country responsible for destroying his home.

Between his tough-as-nails baseball coach, ultracompetitive teammates, and overly enthusiastic host family, Danilo’s plans encounter some curveballs. And when his turn to bat finally comes, he’ll have to decide what and who he’s actually fighting for.  

What I liked: I'm all for a book that explores the impact of an historical event, especially one that we learn next to nothing about. Personally, I'm not sure that I could have told you that the US invaded Panama. Seeing the impact on the people of the region was certainly eye-opening. Not only do we learn about the destruction, Burgess is careful to point out the impact of relief efforts, the ways that it dehumanizes the victims. That makes for some pretty compelling reading.

What I didn't like: I won't say that I didn't like this, exactly, but I will admit that this is not a comfortable read. Danilo is very self-centered. While that's certainly normal for a character in this age group it makes for some pretty bad decision making and blindness to other's feelings. So this is not a book if you, like me, get itchy when characters are setting themselves up for embarrassment or to destroy their own friendships.

More information: Danilo Was Here releases January 21.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

WWW Wednesday

What are you currently reading?

The Vanished Ones by Chad Lucas - When boys start disappearing from the Mission and no one in charge seems to care, a young trainee searches for answers.

What did you recently finish reading?

Safe Harbor by Padma Venkatraman- A verse novel about a young immigrant struggling to fit in.

What do you think you'll read next?

Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray

Headband

 Over the summer, a friend of mine gifted me with a rabbit. Galactus the Devourer of Worlds is a fuzzy French Lop and while she was still a baby when I got her she's now around 10 pounds of attitude and fur.

Much like my angoras, Galactus regularly sheds a great deal of soft fur and while it's not as long as angora fiber, I was quite certain that this fur could be spun.

Here's a small sample of the fiber.

And what it looks like spun, first as a single and then a plied yarn.

Once I had a small ball of yarn, I decided to crochet a headband for the friend who gave me Galactus in the first place. It's a simple design but super soft and should be quite warm.