What are you currently reading?
The Edge of Forever by Meghan Brown - After her father's death Maisie is sent to spend the summer with her Aunt Gertie in a small Texas town.
What did you recently finish reading?
Drop Dead Famous by Jennifer Pearson - Stevie's superstar sister Blair is murdered at the start of her comeback tour and Stevie is desperate to understand what happened to her.
What do you think you'll read next?
In the Blood by April Henry
In my quest to utilize craft supplies that I already own I'm also trying to focus on projects that are practical. While I love a whimsical plushie, I also don't need a lot of clutter. So when I found another fleece garment waiting for upcycling I didn't want to just make something funny. I decided that a neck pillow for travel would be practical and a good use of fleece. But I'm still me and I crave silliness. With that in mind, I designed this squid neck pillow.
Title: Heiress of Nowhere
Author: Stacey Lee
Genre: historical fiction/mystery
Age range: teen
Similar book: Where the Heart Should Be by Sarah Crossan
Summary (provided by publisher): 1918. Orcas Island, Washington.
Lucy Nowhere has spent her eighteen years working on the vast estate of the eccentric shipbuilder who took her in after she washed ashore in a green canoe as a baby. But she has long wished for a life off the island, and in a matter of days, she is set to leave for college—and, for the first time, choose her own future.
Then she finds her employer’s severed head on the beach. Rumors swirl that a mischievous spirit and its minions, the sea wolves, have struck again. Lucy doesn’t believe in myths. She knows that a human—a human murderer—killed him. And when she is unexpectedly named heiress to the estate, she understands the next target is her.
Her closest friend, the estate’s vigilant young guard, begs her to escape while she can. But Lucy knows the only way she can discover who she is, and free the island of its curse, is to find the real killer—before she becomes the next victim.
What I liked: Lee balances character and plot nicely. We are quickly invested in Lucy and her wishes for her life, the complications of her situation. This is also a deeply atmospheric book, using its time period and geography to great effect. There are enough twists and racial tensions to keep us engaged even as the plot takes some odd directions.
What I didn't like: Some of the plot twists certainly stretch the bounds of believability and the large cast of characters can become unwieldly at times. This is a book that benefits from careful attention so it's not a good choice for the casual reader.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
What are you currently reading?
Heiress of Nowhere by Stacey Lee - When her employer is murdered, Lucy races to find out what happened to him before the blame falls on her and in the process uncovers secrets about the island where they live and her own past.
What did you recently finish reading?
The Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall by Charis Cotter - Something is going on with a cabin of girls at their summer camp and it's up to Bee and her new friend Zippy to find out what.
What do you think you'll read next?
How Can I Help You Today by Julia L. Rule
Title: The Mystery of the Haunted Dance Hall
Author: Charis Cotter
Genre: mystery
Age range: middle grade
Similar book: The Secret of the Mansion by Julie Campbell
Summary (provided by publisher): Bee's mom has a job in New York City for the summer, so Bee is being sent to summer camp. She's not excited about it. Being around other people is hard for her, plus she knows nothing about campfires, she's not a good swimmer and she's never even been in a canoe.
When she first arrives, things go pretty much as she expected. The other girls either make fun of her or ignore her, and the woods surrounding the camp give her the creeps: she keeps hearing elusive music coming from somewhere in the distance, and there's something unearthly about it.
But then Zippy comes on the scene — an oddball like Bee, but with a lot more confidence and hard-won knowledge gleaned from many summers spent at this exact camp. And most importantly, Zippy has also discovered mysterious behavior going on at the camp: the older girls from the Hawks cabin are sneaking out to do . . . something. They're always exhausted, and their flashlight batteries are running out at an alarming rate. But their counselors are never woken up by girls sneaking out, no one on staff doing nightly rounds ever sees them outside the cabin, and even when they start doing a bed check at night, the girls all seem to be in their bunks.
Zippy and Bee are on the case, and with the help of an unlikely ally, they try to figure out what the Hawks are up to. But they soon discover there's more going on than just the usual summer-camp hijinks. How are the Hawks getting out at night? What is the deal with the (very cute) mysterious boy who seems to be working with the groundskeeper? Where is the distant music coming from? And what does the reclusive camp founder know about all of it?
What I liked: A mystery at a summer camp is a solid set-up for a book. After all, where do kids have more freedom to explore and investigate than at camp? Additionally, this book really captures the vibe of a 1960's story. Reading this book feels very much like reading a book written for kids at that time.
What I didn't like: The characters are middling in their presentation. Their motivations are unclear and they aren't especially complex. This is a book driven more by action than by character so there aren't really deep explorations of themes or relationships. It's simple entertainment and not much more.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
Title: One Word, Six Letters
Author: Adib Khorram
Genre: realistic fiction
Age range: teen
Similar book: Prom Babies by Kekla Magoon
Summary (provided by publisher): Freshmen Dayton and Farshid couldn’t be more different—or so it seems.
When Dayton takes a dare and shouts the f-slur at a visiting author during a school event, it sets off a chain reaction that forces both boys to face parts of themselves they’d rather ignore.
Dayton, grappling with the fallout of his actions, faces rejection from his friends, disappointment from his parents, and a growing awareness of the harm he’s caused. Meanwhile, Farshid is left to untangle his own feelings—about himself and about the quiet struggle of coming to terms with his queerness in a world steeped in heteronormativity.
As their lives unexpectedly intersect, Dayton and Farshid must reckon with what kind of men they want to become and whether they have the courage to defy toxic masculinity and societal expectations.
What I liked: This could easily have been a simplistic exploration of toxic masculinity. We could have Dayton painted as a shallow bully, not understanding the harm of his actions and Farshid as a simple victim. But Khorram does not fall into that trap. Instead we have two characters who are influenced by culture in small but important ways. Little experiences drive their behavior in extreme but believable ways. This results in characters who are not always likeable but are always realistic. The book is much stronger for it.
What I didn't like: There are moments in this book that are deeply uncomfortable. That's not something I dislike, per se, but I do feel the need to point it out. A deeply sensitive or innocent reader may struggle some but overall the plot is careful not to go to extremes.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
Title: Sprout
Author: Taylor Tyng
Genre: magical realism
Age range: middle grade
Similar book: Bloom by Nicola Skinner
Summary (provided by publisher): Sprout has gotten used to hiding. Having antlers growing out of your head will do that. But when she learns that another girl with wild antlers has been spotted, Sprout is determined to see if there is someone else out there who understands the strangeness she feels.
Soon she attracts the attention of E.B., a fellow oddball, who remembers everything he has ever seen, read, or heard. And he's not the only one fascinated by Sprout. A curious doctor and a set of terrifying twins are tracking Sprout's every move. But nothing could have prepared Sprout for the dark secrets that have taken root in her town. Digging up the truth might help Sprout understand her past--or it might spell the end of her town forever.
What I liked: Sprout centers on a pair of compelling characters. They are defined as people beyond the thing that makes them peculiar. While the plot is certainly odd, the characters keep us grounded.
What I didn't like: I can roll with some odd plot decisions. I'm cool with plots about kids with inexplicable antlers. But the explanation this book gives for Sprout's condition is a stretch. It attempts to explore some larger societal issues but doesn't really go deep enough. With a plot that feels like it wraps up too quickly, it doesn't quite make it onto my top tier of book choices.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley
