Monday, March 25, 2024

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
 

Friday, March 22, 2024

Non-fiction book review - The Enigma Girls

 

The Enigma Girls by Candace Fleming

This book brings together some truly appealing elements to provide a compelling, straightforward read. We learn about the grand scope of the project to crack the Enigma codes and the importance of code breaking and secrecy for success in World War II.  Because of the sheer number of people involved it can be too much to understand, so Fleming has focused on a handful of specific figures to help provide focus. And because the central figures here are teenagers instead of the well-known names the text is more relatable for a young audience. The narrative is broken up with sections about ciphers and cryptography more generally. This is an easily understood book and one I highly recommend.  

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Book review - The Underdogs of Upson Downs

 

Title: The Underdogs of Upson Downs

Author: Craig Silvey

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Wish by Barbara O'Connor

                     Underdog City by Chris Negron

Rating:

gentle and heart-filled

Summary (provided by pubisher): Annie Shearer lives in the country town of Upson Downs with her best friend, an adopted stray dog called Runt. The two share a very special bond.
After years evading capture, Runt is remarkably fast and agile, perfect for herding runaway sheep. But when a greedy local landowner puts her family's home at risk, Annie directs Runt's extraordinary talents toward a different pursuit--winning the Agility Course Grand Championship at the lucrative Krumpets Dog Show in London.
However, there is a curious catch: Runt will only obey Annie's commands if nobody else is watching.
With all eyes on them, Annie and Runt must beat the odds--and the fastest dogs in the world--to save her farm.

My opinion: There are many things to love about this book. Annie is a loner but not especially lonely. She's happy with her life and determined to maintain it unchanged. Her family is supportive and quirky. There is conflict in the plot but it tends towards the ridiculous. The "villain" reads like something out of a cartoon, closer to Count Olaf from A Series of Unfortunate Events than a real person, so the sense of danger and risk is low. It keeps the tone light-hearted. Silvey plays with reality, suggesting something akin to magic without ever fully committing to the supernatural. We could see this as a mystical connection or just good luck. Either way, the book is pleasant and surprisingly gentle with enough humor to keep us from taking it too seriously.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

WWW Wednesday

 What are you currently reading?

In the Orbit of You by Ashley Schumacher - Teens who were best friends as small children are thrown back together by random chance and a school personality test.

What did you recently finish reading?

We are Mayhem by Beck Rourke-Mooney - While this is superficially a book about a teen finding her purpose in professional wrestling after loosing her dream of gymnastics, in practice it is more of a discourse about gender, societal expectations, and the lenses through which we view ourselves and others.

What do you think you'll read next?

Dead Girls Walking by Sami Ellis

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Book review - Ellie Haycock is Totally Normal

 

Title: Ellie Haycock is Totally Normal

Author: Gretchen Schreiber

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz

                      It's My Life by Stacie Ramey

Rating:

reasonable and realistic

Summary (provided by publisher): Ellie Haycock has always separated her life into sections: Ellie at home and Ellie at the hospital. At home, Ellie is a proud member of her high school’s speech and debate team alongside her best friend and her boyfriend. At the hospital, Ellie has a team of doctors and a mom who won’t stop posting about the details of her illness online. It’s not hard for Ellie to choose which of the two she prefers.
But this latest hospital stay is different. Ellie becomes close with a group of friends, including Ryan, a first-timer who’s still optimistic about the doctors that Ellie stopped trusting years ago. Despite their differences, she can’t seem to keep him out of her head. Ellie’s life has never been ordinary—but maybe this time it will be extraordinary.

My opinion: There's been an increase, recently, in books about characters with chronic illnesses. These books show us "sick" kids who are realistic and complex. They don't soldier bravely through and teach us a lesson about strength and dignity or whatever. They're kids. Ellie, in this book, is in many ways a normal teen. She cares about what her peers think. She wants to ignore distasteful things. She's self-centered and stubborn. She's also atypical. Her history informs her view of everything she encounters. Being chronically ill changes everything in her life. And that's the central struggle here, finding a balance between these two views. She isn't always a likable character but that's okay. It's very human. While the plot is predictable the characters and their interactions are dynamic enough to make for compelling reading.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Monday, March 18, 2024

King of the skirts

I try to be thrifty, to avoid spending money unless necessary, and to reduce waste. This often means reusing things, including worn-out clothes. Take, for example, this shirt.
 

 
 While somewhat worn on the edges, there's still a lot of life left in this fabric. And since it was my dad's shirt and too big for me to wear as a top, I decided to turn it into a skirt. First step was to cut off the sleeves and collar.

Then I cut the top straight across to make the waistline. Since I believe all clothes should I have pockets, I wanted to add some here and the armholes are well situated for that. I used sleeves from an old t-shirt, the ends sewn shut, for pockets.

Once I had the pockets sewn in and the waistband hemmed it could have been finished but it was a little dull. So I decided to embroider a Godzilla type monster on it. Because why not.
The green tabs are belt loops to help with fit.





Friday, March 15, 2024

Book review - Finally Heard

 

Title: Finally Heard

Author: Kelly Yang

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: No Talking by Andrew Clements

                      Daisy Wormwood Changes the World by Melissa Hart

Rating:

a nice read

Summary (provided by publisher): When ten-year-old Lina Gao sees her mom’s video on social media take off, she’s captivated by the potential to be seen and heard! Maybe online she can finally find the confidence she craves. Whereas in real life she’s growing so fast, she feels like microwave popcorn, bursting out of her skin!
With the help of her two best friends, Carla and Finn, and her little sister, Millie, Lina sets off to go viral. Except there’s a lot more to social media than Lina ever imagined, like:
1. Seeing inside her classmates’ lives! Is she really the only person on the planet who doesn’t have a walk-in closet?
2. Group chats! Disappearing videos! What is everyone talking about in the secret chats? And how can she join?
3. A bazillion stories about what to eat, wear, and put on her face. Could they all be telling the truth? Everyone sounds so sure of what they’re saying!
As Lina descends deeper and deeper into social media, it will take all her strength to break free from the likes and find the courage to be her authentic self in this fast-paced world.

My opinion: Unsurprisingly, when a book addresses social media it's going to be a negative portrayal. Lina quickly descends into the dangers of living her life online. We aren't going to be especially surprised by the directions this book takes. But it certainly has some positives. For instance, there are several points in the book that discuss what is going on in our brains when we use social media and rely on our devices. Lina doesn't just fall victim to cyber-bullying - she sees how easy it is to engage in those behaviors from behind a screen. And it isn't just the kids. We see multiple adults engaging in unhealthy online behaviors as well as modeling better interactions both online and in person. While the ultimate conclusions are a bit idealized, overall this is a pleasant read that might encourage some deeper conversations with young readers.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley