Book review - Girl from Nowhere

Title: Girl from Nowhere
Author: Tiffany Rosenhan
Genre: thriller
Similar books: SilverFin by Charlie Higson
                      Damage Done by Amanda Panitch
Rating:

entertaining enough

Summary (provided by publisher): Ninety-four countries. Thirty-one schools. Two bullets. Now it's over . . . or so she thinks.
Sophia Hepworth has spent her life all over the world--moving quickly, never staying in one place for too long. She knows to always look over her shoulder, to be able to fight to survive at a moment's notice. She has trained to be ready for anything.
Except this. Suddenly it's over. Now Sophia is expected to attend high school in a sleepy Montana town. She is told to forget the past, but she's haunted by it. As hard as she tries to be like her new friends and live a normal life, she can't shake the feeling that this new normal won't last.
Then comes strong and silent Aksel, whose skills match Sophia's, and who seems to know more about her than he's letting on . . .
What if everything Sophia thought she knew about her past is a lie?

My opinion: In large part, this is a pretty standard thriller. Think of it like an entire family of Jason Bourne. While it starts out as a fish out of water story, a girl used to political intrigue and globe trotting learning to adjust to "normal life" in the United States while coping with trauma in her past. When their past interferes in their present, the plot abandons all of those early themes. In fact, the idea that she needs to learn to relax, to not be constantly on her guard, is what puts the family in danger. What we learn from it, then, is that one can never truly relax. It takes a sharp turn from contemplative to standard thriller, with a central focus on physical threats and old feuds. The characters, while interesting, are not convincing as real teens. A solid beach read, but I don't imagine it would hold up to close scrutiny.
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Graphic novel spotlight - Billy Johnson and His Duck are Explorers

Billy Johnson and His Duck are Explorers by Mathew New

As you might expect based solely on the title, this is kind of a silly book. But it's silly in the good way. It doesn't take itself too seriously. Instead, New is having fun with the plot. The adventures go to ridiculous extremes but are never truly dangerous. Billy and the duck encounter ghosts, monsters, magic, and shadowy figures. And by pushing these ideas well past the sensible point, we primarily humor with just a hint of heart behind it. There are suggestions of a larger plot at play: references to Billy's parents and a hooded villain. For the most part, though, each adventure is a complete story on it's own and can be enjoyed in isolation. The cartoon style adds to the lighthearted approach. A fun romp that can be appreciated even with repeat readings.

More information: Billy Johnson and His Duck are Explorers releases August 1.
Advance Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.
 

Non-fiction book review - Corpse Talk

Corpse Talk: Groundbreaking Scientists by Adam &  Lisa Murphy





At heart, this is a fairly standard collection of profiles, centering on scientists and their discoveries. There is little exploration of their lives outside of the field of science, only as necessary to explain an influence on their research. The framework is what sets this book apart. Firstly, it's a graphic novel, so there's a strong visual element. And since the narrator is interviewing the undead, there's a bit of a gross-out humor element. Even without corpse jokes, the tone is certainly humorous. Now, the subjects are all well-known figures. No surprises here. An entertaining approach to stories we may already know.


More information: Corpse Talk releases August 4.
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Book review - Beach Nightmare

Title: Beach Nightmare
Author: Steve Foxe
Genre: horror graphic novel
Similar books: Curse of the Dead Eyed Doll by Thomas Kingsley Troupe
                      Fraternity by Juan Diaz Canales
Rating:

less than I wanted

Summary (provided by publisher): Emma can't believe her luck when her phone mysteriously reappears after she dropped it in the ocean. She thought she'd lost her vacation pictures forever! But when Emma returns home, her phone starts flashing strange underwater images and receiving calls with no sound but crashing waves. Turns out Emma didn't just bring back souvenirs from the beach, but a spirit who is tired of swimming alone . . . In this Scary Graphics tale, easy-to-read text and eerie, full-color art combine to deliver just-right scares for kids who crave chills and thrills.

My opinion: I can't say as I found this book especially frightening. It fails to create a spooky atmosphere and the choice of moments doesn't really lend itself to jump scares. The progression of the haunting doesn't work especially well either. We don't get a good explanation of how or why the ghost is haunting this particular girl. Without that explanation and with no real character development, there's not much to sell me on this book. If you're looking for a child friendly scary story, I recommend looking elsewhere.
More information: Beach Nightmare releases August 1.
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Book review - Being Toffee

Title: Being Toffee
Author: Sarah Crossan
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Hello? by Lisa M. Weimer
                      Solo by Kwame Alexander
Rating:

its got heart

Summary (provided by publisher): I am not who I say I am,
and Marla isn't who she thinks she is.
I am a girl trying to forget.
She is a woman trying to remember.
Allison has run away from home and with nowhere to live finds herself hiding out in the shed of what she thinks is an abandoned house. But the house isn't empty. An elderly woman named Marla, with dementia, lives there – and she mistakes Allison for an old friend from her past named Toffee.
Allison is used to hiding who she really is, and trying to be what other people want her to be. And so, Toffee is who she becomes. After all, it means she has a place to stay. There are worse places she could be.
But as their bond grows, and Allison discovers how much Marla needs a real friend, she begins to ask herself - where is home? What is a family? And most importantly, who is she, really?

My opinion: For the most part, this is a pretty standard verse novel. It doesn't break any new ground, doesn't especially experiment with form or structure. We don't even get a lot of detail about events. This is entirely an emotional exploration. Both Allison and Marla are hiding from truths. Truths that will eventually catch up with them and force them to face reality. We see the subtle change in their relationship from one of mildly guilty convenience to real emotional connection and concern. It's not always a comfortable read but the conversation it prompts is a valuable one and well suited to the verse novel format.
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Listen with me

Absolutely Everything by Christopher Lloyd

I've been trying to listen to more non-fiction audio books, trying to expand my knowledge of the world. Sometimes when you listen to the history of a specific event, though, it can feel like you don't understand the events that influenced. So what better way to remedy that than to listen to a history of everything?

Non-fiction book reveiw - Bright Dreams

Bright Dreams: the Brilliant Ideas of Nikola Tesla by Troy Dockery

In my childhood, the inventor we learned the most about was Edison. These days, Tesla is serving that role. Dockery shows us Tesla's brilliant mind, his determination, and his social innocence, his tendency to think only of the common good rather than his own interest. We follow him from childhood to his career in the United States. While the main text is simple and easy to understand, there are sidebars that explore some concepts in more detail and a fairly comprehensive glossary explores vocabulary terms. With utterly charming line drawings, it's compelling to read and a joy just to look at.

More information: Bright Dreams releases August 1.
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Book review - The Mulberry Tree

Title: The Mulberry Tree
Author: Allison Rushby
Genre: fantasy
Similar books: A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd
                      The Lost Boy's Gift by Kimberly Willis Holt
Rating:

Not as spooky as I expected

Summary (provided by publisher): Do naught wrong by the mulberry tree, or she’ll take your daughters . . . one, two, three.
Ten-year-old Immy and her family have run away from their storm cloud of problems to a tiny village in Cambridgeshire, England, where her depressed physician father can take a sabbatical and get back on his feet. Luckily, they find an adorable thatched cottage to begin a new life in. But their new home comes with one downside: in the backyard, there is an ancient, dark, and fierce-looking mulberry tree that has ceased bearing any fruit. There’s a legend that the towering tree steals away girls who live in the cottage on the eve of their eleventh birthday, and villagers even cross the street when they pass by the house. Of course, Immy thinks this is all ridiculous. But then she starts to hear a strange song in her head. . . . In a page-turner perfect for middle-graders, Allison Rushby folds themes of new-school travails, finding friends, being embarrassed by parents, and learning empathy into a deliciously goose-bumpy supernatural mystery.

My opinion: For a curse plot to be strong, it has to follow a strict rule structure. That's the strength of this novel. The curse follows a very specific pattern. So, then, does the plot: strange occurrences lead to the discovery of the curse, leading to specific steps being taken to break the curse. This book has a long lead in, devoting far more time to revealing the curse than to the curse breaking. This imbalance, though, allows for more development of the characters and their relationships, the subplots of mental illness and the ways we treat each other. The stakes are actually pretty low so it's not especially spooky. Still, an interesting exploration of the way a single action can have long ranging consequences.
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Book review - Burn Our Bodies Down

Title: Burn Our Bodies Down
Author: Rory Power
Genre: sci-fi/horror
Similar books: Engines of the Broken World by Jason Vanhee
                      The Glare by Margot Harrison
Rating:

more frustrating than frightening

Summary (provided by publisher): Ever since Margot was born, it's been just her and her mother, struggling to get along. But that's not enough for Margot. She wants family. She wants a past. And she may have just found the answer: A photograph, pointing her to a town called Phalene. Only, when Margot gets there, it's not what she bargained for.
As soon as they see her face, everyone in town knows who Margot belongs to. It's unmistakable--she's a Nielsen. And when a mysterious girl who could be Margot's twin is pulled from a fire, Margot realizes that her mother left Phalene for a reason. But was it to hide her past? Or was it to protect Margot from what's still there?
The only thing Margot knows for sure is there's poison in their family tree, and their roots are dug so deeply into Phalene that now that she's there, she might never escape.

My opinion: I'm a fan of the combination of sci-fi and horror. To me, speculation about technology is far more frightening than the supernatural, so long as the science makes sense. And that's the source of my struggle here. I couldn't reconcile how this all worked. The atmosphere is eerie and uneasy, to be certain. That's the strongest part of this book. The major characters are reasonably developed but secondary characters are quite flat. And the resolution didn't work for me at all.
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Picture books for everyone

It Happened on Sweet Street by Caroline Adderson

Adderson sets up a simple pattern, making the plot easy for a small child to follow. We see Sweet Street in it's normal state, meet a character who disrupts things, and return to uneasy stasis. This pattern escalates to a breaking point, exploding in a massive food fight that will amuse most children. Attributing the resolution to a small child empowers young readers to see the change they can make in the world. And the illustrations are brightly colored and whimsical without becoming riotous and overwhelming. It's a charming story with an accessible message.
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Book review - The Voting Booth

Title: The Voting Booth
Author: Brandy Colbert
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: This Train is Being Held by Ismee Amiel Williams
                      36 Questions that Changed My Mind About You by Vicki Grant
Rating:

raises some interesting issues

Summary (provided by publisher): Marva Sheridan was born ready for this day. She's always been driven to make a difference in the world, and what better way than to vote in her first election?
Duke Crenshaw is so done with this election. He just wants to get voting over with so he can prepare for his band's first paying gig tonight.
Only problem? Duke can't vote.
When Marva sees Duke turned away from their polling place, she takes it upon herself to make sure his vote is counted. She hasn't spent months doorbelling and registering voters just to see someone denied their right. And that's how their whirlwind day begins, rushing from precinct to precinct, cutting school, waiting in endless lines, turned away time and again, trying to do one simple thing: vote. They may have started out as strangers, but as Duke and Marva team up to beat a rigged system (and find Marva's missing cat), it's clear that there's more to their connection than a shared mission for democracy.
Romantic and triumphant, The Voting Booth is proof that you can't sit around waiting for the world to change?but some things are just meant to be.

My opinion: I assumed, at first, that the plot of this book would be primarily focused on voter suppression. While that issue is addressed, it's actually only tangentially present. It's not the main theme. There's quite a lot going on here: the assumptions people meake about teach other; the ways our parents influence our decision making; how we respond to finding out we were wrong; determining which issues are worth standing up for. All of those ideas hold equal footing in this plot and it's almost too much. It would be if these ideas weren't divided between two perspective characters. We see two sides to most issues, most events, giving balance to the plot. We see how their different experiences, privilege, and racial backgrounds influence their view of events and their responses to conflict. It's a lot of plot packed into a single day of book time, providing us with just a slice of life. The ending is left open, allowing us to contemplate what the future might hold for these characters. A solid choice for a group read, as it might prompt some solid discussion.
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Mask

Protective masks have become a part of our every day lives. I have a fabric one I've been using when I have to be in public but having to wash it regularly is getting to be tedious. And there's always the concern that you'll forget to clean it. So this weekend I made a second mask. My first mask was just woven cotton with elastic bands. I had long term comfort in mind with this mask, so I lined it with flannel and made the ear bands out of t-shirt strips.

 

Book review - Part of Your Nightmare

Title: Part of Your NIghtmare
Author: Vera Strange
Genre: horror
Similar books: Curse of the Dead-Eyed Doll by Thomas Kingsley-Troupe
                      The Fearsome Foursome by Amicus Arcane
Rating:

pass

Summary (provided by publisher): Eleven-year-old Shelly Anderson just wants to be popular. Her parents have split and she has to start over at a new school with different classes, a brand new swim team and an unfamiliar social scene. So what if she just wants the cool kids to like her? Is that really too much to ask? So when Shelly finds a mysterious nautilus shell that summons the infamous sea witch, Ursula, she jumps at her chance to make a deal that will solidify her as one of the coolest girls in school. But when Shelly's wish quickly goes belly-up, she must figure out how to back out of the witch's deal before it forever binds her fate.
Grab your night-light, dear reader, and prepare to be CHILL-ed!

My opinion: Let's be frank: I found this a failure across the board. It fails to create  complex characters, a frightening atmosphere, or a compelling plot. Shelly is a middle grade trope: a girl trying to be popular and willing to abandon all of her interests and beliefs to achieve that end. This might work if she were at all conflicted with her decisions. But she's not. She throws it all away without a thought. And the secondary and tertiary characters are no better. They have no depth, no complexity, no reality. There is no real tension in the progression of the plot, no threat that puts us on edge, no shivers or eeriness. The plot follows a predictable pattern up until the final chapters, each element telegraphed well in advance. This makes the ending that much harder to accept. It doesn't really resolve the plot. It just ends. If you're looking for a kid friendly scare, I'd look elsewhere.
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Pick 6: Sci-fi

There are many levels of science fiction, from mostly realistic with some mild sci-fi elements to tales entirely set in a fictional world. While my personal tastes lean more towards the former, I try to read novels that fit all over the spectrum. Luckily, there are some really good sci-fi novels being written for young people these days. Here are six sci-fi novels, from beginning readers to teen novels with a special emphasis on graphic novels, written in the last six months.

6 new sci-fi novels:

1. Subject A36 by Teri Polen
2. Samurai 8 by Masashi Kashimoto
3. Alien Nate by Dave Whamand
4. GenPet by Damion Campanario
5. Once Upon a Space-Time by Jeffrey Brown
6. Nowhere on Earth by Nick Lake

Non-fiction book review - Into the Streets

Into the Streets by Marke Bieschke

It's important to get a full understanding our our nation's history, both it's triumphs and it's failings. And a history of protest is going to inherently contain both elements. Why else do people protest than because they have been failed in some fundamental way? Bieschke starts at the nation's formation gives us an overview of times that people have turned to public protest to regain rights that have been denied them. This includes movements with which we are familiar (the Boston Tea Party, Suffrage March, Bus Boycotts, the Grape Strike) and some that are likely to be foreign (the Stonewall Riots, the Miss America Protest, the Occupation of Alcatraz). The reasons they protested were varied, as were the results of their action. And importantly, the protests highlighted include some we might consider "bad", like Klan rallies, highlighting the importance of rights for everyone, regardless of the unpopularity of their opinions. Highly readable, this is an excellent addition to resources for young people needing to understand their rights.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

Book review - The Dream Weaver

Title: The Dream Weaver
Author: Reina Luz Alegre
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: In Your Shoes by Donna Gephart
                      The Dollar Kids by Jennifer Richard Jacobson
Rating:

simple but decent

Summary (provided by publisher): Zoey comes from a family of dreamers. From start-up companies to selling motorcycles, her dad is constantly chasing jobs that never seem to work out. As for Zoey, she’s willing to go along with whatever grand plans her dad dreams up—even if it means never staying in one place long enough to make real friends. Her family being together is all that matters to her.
So Zoey’s world is turned upside down when Dad announces that he’s heading to a new job in New York City without her. Instead, Zoey and her older brother, José, will stay with their Poppy at the Jersey Shore. At first, Zoey feels as lost and alone as she did after her mami died. But soon she’s distracted by an even bigger problem: the bowling alley that Poppy has owned for decades is in danger of closing!
After befriending a group of kids practicing for a summer bowling tournament, Zoey hatches a grand plan of her own to save the bowling alley. It seems like she’s found the perfect way to weave everyone’s dreams together...until unexpected events turn Zoey’s plan into one giant nightmare. Now, with her new friends counting on her and her family’s happiness hanging in the balance, Zoey will have to decide what her dream is—and how hard she’s willing to fight for it. 

My opinion: We are seeing an increasing number of books about biracial kids trying to figure out their place in the world, how they fit into two cultures and feel isolated from both, torn between the two sides of their family. Alegre adds to the conflict by showing us the extended family, the father brother and grandfather, at odds with one another. We have not only culture clash but ideological conflict and years of resentment. That alone is interesting. Then we add in peers and their interactions. Bullies, class divide, and social pressure. All of that together could easily have been too much, but Alegre keeps it in check. Mostly side issues are introduced in small moments and resolved within a few chapters. Characters clash over an issue and hash it out just a few scenes later. None of these side plots carry on very long. The final resolution is a bit rough, the conflict underdeveloped. So there are flaws, but its readable and enjoyable.
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Book review - It's Girls Like You, Mickey

Title: It's Girls Like You, Mickey
Author: Patti Kim
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Front Desk by Kelly Yang
                      The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones by Wendelin Van Draanen

Rating:

a couple of great characters

Summary (provided by publisher): For the first time in her confident, bold life, Mickey McDonald is nervous about starting school. Her best friend, Ok, has moved away; her father has probably left town for good; and she can’t afford to go back-to-school shopping. But she’s going to make the most of things because that’s the kind of person Mickey is. Nothing’s going to stand in her way or get her down.
Still, the first few days of school are rough, until she becomes friends with Sun Joo, who has just moved to town. Their connection is instant and strong. But things get complicated when Sydney, the popular (and mean) girl in Mickey’s class, also takes a shine to Sun Joo. Suddenly Mickey is facing her first ever friend breakup, and it’s getting harder and harder to keep her chin up. Luckily, Mickey’s made of tough stuff. 

My opinion: I was a couple of chapters into this book before I began to realize that it was a sequel. There are moments of recaps, quick overviews of the events of the previous book, but for the most part the events of this novel stand on their own. Mickey is a fantastic protagonist. She's self-assured and outspoken. She wants to be liked, to have friends, but she won't change to make that happen. She's mostly cheerful, a positive person. But that doesn't mean that she doesn't get overwhelmed by life at times. She makes mistakes and snaps at the people in her life. She lets disappointments drag her down. She's nosy and bossy and talks too much. And I like that Sun Joo calls her out. In spite of being a more reserved person, she pushes back when Mickey goes too far. We get this message that even when we mean well, it's more important to listen than to push for "what's best". Some of the book is a bit underdeveloped, a bit reliant upon random happenstance. Even so, it's charming and entertaining.
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Graphic novel spotlight - Bolivar

Bolivar by Sean Rubin

Bolivar is the graphic novel for kids growing out of Imogene's Antlers or What the Mailman Brought. It takes a very strange occurrence - a dinosaur living in New York City - and makes it very commonplace. The bulk of the plot is Sybil either trying to see her neighbor or prove to others that he is a dinosaur. The adults in the neighborhood interact with Bolivar regularly but are so caught up in their own concerns that they cannot see that he isn't human. Or if they do notice something odd about him assume they can't possibly be right. This is actually a pretty high level concept for such a simple story since most of the plot is predicated on self absorption and willful ignorance. In the end, the plot doesn't even matter (though it's definitely worth reading). The illustrations are amazing. They are full of super fine details. It's a book you can enjoy simply leafing through.

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Non-fiction book review - Throw Like a Girl, Cheer Like a Boy

Throw Like a Girl, Cheer Like a Boy by Robyn Ryle

I make no secret of my general disinterest in sports. What does interest me, I'm realizing, is sociology. That means that I found this book fascinating. It looks at what sports can tell us about roles in society: gender, race, class, and identity. We look at how those roles and how the public's view of various sports have changed over time. As minorities began to achieve, to threaten the superiority of the majority, efforts to hold them back become common place. It's a lot of information, a lot of individual examples, and can be a little dense but I found it compelling enough to drive me to keep reading. Additionally, it's well documented and reliably sourced. There's a clear agenda and bias in the presentation but it's so well researched that it's hard to argue with.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.