Title: Go With the Flow
Author: Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Moxie by Jennifer Matthieu
Rebel Girls by Elizabeth Keenan
Rating:
Summary (provided by publisher): Good friends help you go with the flow.
Best friends help you start a revolution.
Sophomores Abby, Brit, Christine, and Sasha are fed up. Hazelton High never has enough tampons. Or pads. Or adults who will listen.
Sick of an administration that puts football before female health, the girls confront a world that shrugs—or worse, squirms—at the thought of a menstruation revolution. They band together to make a change. It’s no easy task, especially while grappling with everything from crushes to trig to JV track but they have each other’s backs. That is, until one of the girls goes rogue, testing the limits of their friendship and pushing the friends to question the power of their own voices.
Now they must learn to work together to raise each other up. But how to you stand your ground while raising bloody hell?
My opinion: I'm all in favor of the message of this book. The sheer cost and lack of availability of feminine hygiene products is frustrating. And then when you tack on the associated shame ... infuriating. As females we're made to feel like we can't talk about menstruation. The marketing for period products tends to be more about discretion than empowerment or hygiene. So I get what Williams and Schneeman are going for. The lack of conversation and the dismissal of female issues is a real problem and one that we can help to correct with small achievable steps. We can make strides just by refusing to be quiet. So, on messaging alone this book is worth the read. I found the plot sort of scattered. Side plots are introduced but never resolved.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.
All of a Sudden and Forever by Chris Barton
The Oklahoma City Bombing was such a formative event in my childhood that it interests me to see how it is presented as an historical event. Especially how it's done in a way appropriate for even young children. The key here is that Barton doesn't go into details and doesn't put the central focus on the bombing itself. The bombing is presented as a life changing event. A single moment that changed everything. We get a very brief summary to the effect of "a bomb exploded and many people died". The main focus of the text is on the trauma experienced by people and the efforts made to recover. And on the element I'd never heard of: the tree. The tree that became a symbol of resilience. The tree that they cultivate seedlings from to hand out at the memorial and transport to sites of other disasters. Barton's narrative is gentle enough for young children and could be of great benefit to any young person experiencing grief or loss.
More information: All of a Sudden and Forever releases February 4.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
Fights by Joel Christian Gill
Gill's story is one of violence and the way that it becomes an intrinsic part of a person's life. Even a person who is naturally gentle. It is circumstance and fear that leads a young Joel to violent action. And once it finds entry into his life he comes to rely on in more and it becomes harder to separate. This memoir invites the reader to consider the background of people involved in fights and riots that we hear about on the news, to see them as a whole person rather than the action we've heard about. It's a thoughtful journey that doesn't hold back when it comes to harsh realities.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
Title: Nessie Quest
Author: Melissa Savage
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly
Little Green Men at the Mercury Inn by Greg Leitich Smith
Rating:
 |
| a sweet story |
Summary (provided by publisher): Ada Ru finally thought her parents were going to agree to a Fitzhugh family vacation in Disney World the summer before sixth grade, until her father announces he's taking a teaching position in Scotland, and moving the family there for the entire summer.
Ada Ru is anything but happy. She doesn't like their new home, she hates haggis, and she certainly doesn't like the idea that she will be away from her best friend all summer. To top it all off, there is said to be a monster in the lake near their house!
That's when she meets Hamish Bean Timmy, Hammy Bean for short, captain of the Nessie Quest Monster Chaser boat tour. He knows everything there is to know about the fabled Loch Ness Monster and Scotland. But as the two unlikely friends embark on an epic adventure to spot the lake monster, they end up discovering more than they ever could have imagined.
My opinion: Aliens and cryptids are, invariably, a metaphor for social or personal issues. They represent a character's isolation. This book deviates from the standard by lowering the stakes. Ada doesn't really have a lot of concern here. She's spending a summer away from home. The isolation is Hammy Bean's. Ada's involvement in the plot is entirely through Hammy Bean. She isn't even directly involved in the biggest dramatic scene. This means that the reader is somewhat emotionally isolated from the plot. It's a nice exploration of friendship and how we interact with each other but not an especially deep one.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.
Ever have a weekend where you can't settle on a project? I definitely had one of those this weekend. I couldn't seem to get y act together enough to focus on a big project. I did assemble a kit: a solar powered plant monitor.
And after binging The Mandalorian, I couldn't help but draw the Child.
Title: Race to the Sun
Author: Rebecca Roanhorse
Genre: fantasy adventure
Similar books: Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi
The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste
Rating:
 |
| a solidly pleasant read |
Summary (provided by publisher): Lately, seventh grader Nizhoni Begay has been able to detect monsters, like that man in the fancy suit who was in the bleachers at her basketball game. Turns out he's Mr. Charles, her dad's new boss at the oil and gas company, and he's alarmingly interested in Nizhoni and her brother, Mac, their Navajo heritage, and the legend of the Hero Twins. Nizhoni knows he's a threat, but her father won't believe her. When Dad disappears the next day, leaving behind a message that says "Run!", the siblings and Nizhoni's best friend, Davery, are thrust into a rescue mission that can only be accomplished with the help of Diné Holy People, all disguised as quirky characters. Their aid will come at a price: the kids must pass a series of trials in which it seems like nature itself is out to kill them. If Nizhoni, Mac, and Davery can reach the House of the Sun, they will be outfitted with what they need to defeat the ancient monsters Mr. Charles has unleashed. But it will take more than weapons for Nizhoni to become the hero she was destined to be . . . Timeless themes such as the importance of family and respect for the land resonate in this funny, fast-paced, and exciting quest adventure set in the American Southwest.
My opinion: At first glance, this is little more than a Percy Jackson clone. This is another writer following Riordan's formula with a different culture's mythology. It follows a standard hero journey: seeking an object that will allow them to defeat the villain, traveling with companions, confronting your personality flaws along the way. The over all plot is, thus, fairly predictable. But Roanhorse does a pretty good job of putting interesting flesh onto those standard bones. The characters have reasonable complexity. And Nizhoni's personal journey is a compelling one. As always, books like this one encourage the reader to learn more about a culture and it's mythology.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
Now that we're nearly a month into the new year, I feel like it's time to try something new. For a couple of years now I've been listening to audio books, usually while I run. But I've never had a good place to discuss them here on the blog. That changes now.
Here's the plan: I'll post about audio books as I start listening to them. This first post will be about what drew me to the book and my thoughts going into it. Once I finish the audio, I'll post again about my opinions. Feel free to listen along with me and share your impressions as well. It should be fun!
Our inaugural audio:
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
I've been looking forward to this one since I watched the first episode of the Amazon series and was utterly enchanted. And I've never read a Neil Gaiman book that wasn't good, so I have high hopes for the humor and entertainment value of this book so long as it is well read.
Full disclosure: I started listening to this one on Monday so I'm about and hour and a half in as of this post.
