Book review - The Underwood Tapes

 

Title: The Underwood Tapes

Author: Amanda Dewitt

Genre: mild sci-fi

Age range: teen

Similar book: Yesterday is History by Kosoko Jackson

Summary (provided by publisher): Thirty years ago, Grace’s mom left her hometown of Hermitage, Florida and never looked back—which is exactly why Grace thinks it’s the safest place to spend her summer now. Since her mom died in a car crash, Grace has been desperate to get away from the memories and reminders of her loss. Spending the summer transcribing cassette tapes for the Hermitage Historical Society might be boring, but boring is just what Grace needs.

Until she hears the voice of Jake Underwood—the boy who first recorded the cassette tapes back in 1992. When Grace realizes he can hear anything she records, despite thirty years of time between them, they strike up an impossible conversation through the tapes.

But the past isn’t any simpler than the present, and a mystery has haunted Hermitage through the generations. In the 1970’s, a hurricane made landfall and resulted in the tragic death of Jake’s uncle Charley. In a town as suffocatingly small as Hermitage, it’s impossible not to notice how no one talks about that storm, or Charley, and as the mystery unfurls, Grace can’t help but realize a worse truth: No one talks about Jake either. 

What I liked: Time travel(ish) narratives can be a tricky thing to maneuver. Discovering you have a way to communicate with the past always introduces the question: can you change what has already happened? Dewitt's handling of this question is stellar. Without the conversational nature of the tapes this would be a standard true crime investigation, with Grace digging into the town's secrets. Giving her an interactive link to the past humanizes the victims, reminds us that the people involved were real, not just names on a screen. And I feel like the ultimate conclusion is realistic as well.

What I didn't like: The tension isn't always consistent. This is less a mystery than it is a story of a relationship. While Grace and Jake are reasonably complex, the other characters leave a little something to be desired.

Advanced Reader Copy provided b NetGalley

Non-fiction book review - The Greatest Stuff on Earth

 The Greatest Stuff on Earth by Steve Tomecek

When  I was a kid we were fascinated by the book The Way Things Work which broke down the mechanics of all sorts of inventions. This is in many ways the literary grandchild of that book. Only it doesn't stop at inventions. Or mechanics. This is the deep science of a lot of things. The selection of topics feels a bit random but does amount to a fair amount of scientific understanding. It's a book you can pick up in fits and starts and always learn something new.

More information: The Greatest Stuff on Earth releases March 4.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

WWW Wednesday

What are you currently reading?

Bea Mullins Takes a Shot by Emily Deibert - After a bad experience on a basketball team, Bea vows never to play team sports again. But when circumstances for her to look into sports, she finds herself thrown onto a hockey team.

What did you recently finish reading?

Racing the Clouds by Sydney Dunlap - A car accident changed everything for Sage and opened the door to meeting her grandparents for the first time. Now she's uncovering secrets and finding out what happened to her family.

What do you think you'll read next?

The Quiet Unravelling of Eve Ellaway by Melanie Hooyenga

Listen With Me

 

What Fell From the Sky by Adrianna Cuevas

Stories about kids finding and helping aliens can be interesting. Add in a setting of Cold War era Texas and we could have a real winner. Let's give it a listen and find out.

Book review - Werewolf Hamlet

 

Title: Werewolf Hamlet

Author: Kerry Madden-Lunsford

Genre: realistic fiction

Age range: middle grade

Summary (provided by publisher): 10-year-old Angus is unique. He quotes Shakespeare and wants to stage a Werewolf Hamlet play for his 5th grade legacy project. Angus's 17-year-old brother, Liam, is like a werewolf now—Angus never knows if he'll be nice or mean or when he'll sneak out to get drunk or worse.

Meanwhile, tension continues to build for Liam's family in Los Angeles. Mom and Dad are going to default on the mortgage. Older sister Hannah is fed up and ready to move herself to Maine, and little sister Sidney doesn't really get what's happening. Then Liam goes missing, and Angus decides he has to find him.

A realistic, heartfelt look at the complexities of family relationships and struggles. Along with Angus's loveable charm, sense of humor, and desire to stage his original play, Werewolf Hamlet is sure to win its audience—on and off the page—over.

What I liked: The topics discussed in this book are pretty heavy. The family is losing their house and the relationships are increasingly tense. It becomes apparent pretty quickly that big brother Liam has a substance abuse problem. That could make for a pretty dreary read. But Madden-Lunsford manages to make the bulk of the plot fairly light-hearted without ever making light of the serious issues. It allows the characters to address what is happening without making the book too intense.

What I didn't like: While the relatively light text is mostly beneficial it does tend to make the plot feel almost silly and unrealistic at times. It's a fine balance that is mostly positive but can be a bit eye-roll inducing on occasion.

More information: Werewolf Hamlet releases February 18.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Cards

I decided I wanted to make Valentine's Day cards this year. I had some cards I'd made some errors on, so they seemed like the perfect base for some fun cards. I figured I'd just draw over the old designs. Because the cards I have are nice vibrant colors I thought I'd make them Pokemon themed. And that's where things went a bit off the rails. It seems I am incapable of being sincere when writing the sentiment on the card and I wanted these to be clever. So the result isn't exactly Valentines themed. Like, at all. But they are fun.

WWW Wednesday

 What are you currently reading?

(S)kin by Ibi Zoboi - A verse novel about two girls with vastly different lives, pulled together by forces they don't understand and deep family secrets.

What did you recently finish reading?

Ruby Finley vs the Interstellar Invasion by K Tempest Bradford - Ruby finds a strange bug in her yard that seems to cut it's way out of her room through the window screen. When she posts about it online, strange men appear in her neighborhood.

What do you think you'll read next?

Werewolf Hamlet by Kerry Madden-Lunsford