Book review - Serena Says

 

Title: Serena Says

Author: Tanita Davis

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: The Mighty Heart of Sunny St James by Ashley Herring Blake

                     The 47 People You'll Meet in Middle School by Kristin Mahoney 

Rating: 

 

more emotional complexity than we see sometimes

 

Summary (provided by publisher): JC shines like a 4th of July sparkler. She has the best ideas, the biggest, funniest laugh, and the party starts when she arrives. Serena St. John is proud to be known as her best friend.
Everything changes when JC returns from the hospital with a new kidney—and a new best friend. Out of the spotlight of JC’s friendship, suddenly things aren’t quite so sparkly in Serena’s world.
Lonely Serena works on perfecting her vlogs, hoping to earn a shot at becoming a classroom reporter. If she can be smart and funny on video, why can’t she manage that in real life? If only she could always pause, edit, or delete conversations. It would be so much easier to say the right thing at the right time . . . instead of not saying what she should, or, even worse, blurting out a secret that wasn’t hers to share.
Life doesn’t have a pause button—but as Serena discovers her voice through vlogging, she learns that she’s not just there to reflect JC’s light—she’s fully capable of shining on her own.

My opinion: The first thing I note about this book is that both Serena and JC are at fault for the change in their relationship. Both have changed and both of their decisions are making things worse between them. Additionally, we're dealing with a kid post-transplant. She doesn't feel like a new person - she's trying to go back to "normal" and thus ignores medical advice. She skips her meds and struggles with feelings that divide her from her life the ways she wants it to be. But the central focus, of course, is on Serena and her exploration of herself. She's learning to define herself apart from her friend, deciding what kind of person she wants to be. While these are typical goals for middle grade fiction, Davis acknowledges that the emotions involved are not clean cut, that somethings are not fixable and that the best we can hope for is a new normal.

More information: Serena Says releases November 3.

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Graphic novel spotlight - Space Battle Lunchtime

Space Battle Lunchtime: Lights, Camera, Snacktion! by Natalie Riess

I didn't expect much from this book, but I found it surprisingly entertaining. It's not especially deep. We have a human who finds herself a part of an alien cooking show. While she is out of her depth, she's willing to take chances, to experiment with food and take chances with people. There's no fear or distrust, only openness. The plot, for the most part, goes in the directions we expect. The real strength here is the illustrations. This book leads with art, telling the subtle parts of the story with images. The characters are incredibly expressive and whole sequences are told with little to no text. This is a great book to flip through. And since the story is incomplete, it could develop complexity with future volumes.

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Non-fiction book review - The Everyday Workings of Machines

The Everyday Workings of Machines by Steve Martin

These kinds of books are always going to go over well with young readers. As children we love examining how things are put together, what makes them run. Consider the sustained popularity of books like The Way Things Work. This one looks at the internal mechanisms of a wide variety of machines but only in a very simple way. We get one or two vital parts of complex machines, the whole only with simple things like balance scales or thermometers. It's a short, pleasant version of a familiar concept. 

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Book review - Kitty and Dragon

 

Title: Kitty and Dragon

Author: Meika Hashimoto

Genre: beginning chapter book

Similar books: Horace and Bunwinkle by PJ Gardner

                     Mercy Watson by Kate DiCamillo

Rating: 

 

cute

 

Summary (provided by publisher): Book 1 of this early reader series features three adorable stories about Kitty and Dragon—best friends, even when one of them is snoring, being messy, or having a sad day. Even though they are quite different from one another, Kitty and Dragon have learned that there’s nothing better than being together, just the way they are

My opinion: Kitty and Dragon is reminiscent of Henry and Mudge. This is the adventure in the commonplace, the exploration of friendship and conflicting personality types. While the plots are fairly standard, the illustrations are absolutely charming and Hashimoto adds enough little quirks to make the stories memorable. The writing is easy for a child to follow and well supported by the artwork.
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Book review - Measuring Up

 

Title: Measuring Up

Author: Lil LaMotte

Genre: graphic novel/realistic fiction

Similar books: Original Recipe by Jessica Young

                      Front Desk by Kelly Yang

Rating: 

 

checks all the right boxes

Summary (provided by publisher): Twelve-year-old Cici has just moved from Taiwan to Seattle, and the only thing she wants more than to fit in at her new school is to celebrate her grandmother, A-má’s, seventieth birthday together.
Since she can’t go to A-má, Cici cooks up a plan to bring A-má to her by winning the grand prize in a kids’ cooking contest to pay for A-má’s plane ticket! There’s just one problem: Cici only knows how to cook Taiwanese food.
And after her pickled cucumber debacle at lunch, she’s determined to channel her inner Julia Child. Can Cici find a winning recipe to reunite with A-má, a way to fit in with her new friends, and somehow find herself too? 

My opinion: I'm a big fan of books for kids that have a focus on cooking, that show us kids exploring cuisines and experimenting with combinations. This particular book also goes deep on the ways that food is inextricably tied to culture. There's a whole sequence about rice and how it is cooked and used differently by different cultures. While the other plot elements (being the new kid, cultures clashing, parental expectation) are fairly standard for middle grade fiction, the exploration of food really sets this apart. The plot is easy to follow and makes for a very pleasant read.

More information:  Measuring Up releases October 27.

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Pick 6: horror

October means it's time for my annual list of horror stories. Who doesn't love a good scare in October? It's almost required to prepare for Halloween by scaring yourself silly. Here are six horror books published in the last six months.

6 new horror novels

1. Something is Killing the Children y James Tynion IV
2. The Glare by Margot Harrison
3. Beach Nightmare by Steve Foxe
4. Whispering Pines by Heidi Lang
5. The Inkberg Enigma by Jonathan King
6. The Mutant Mushroom Takeover by Summer Rachel Short
   

Non-fiction book review - Emmy Noether

Emmy Noether by Helaine Becker

Noether was a new name to me. After this book, she's among my favorite historical figures. She's an impressive figure. For her accomplishments to be sure, but even more because of her dedication.  She didn't care about compensation or recognition. She really only cared about the math. She didn't care that people thought her too loud, big, sloppy, or clumsy. She was completely herself. I already admire her for that. Her accomplishments are hard to explain to a child audience given that they deal with theoretical physics and mathematics, Still, I'm all for giving kids a wide variety of heroes Noether is one who hasn't gotten enough attention.

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Book review - Arlo and Pips

Title: Arlo and Pips: King of the Birds

Author: Elise Gravel

Genre: comedy/graphic novel

Similar books: Narwhal and Jelly by Ben Clanton

                     Fox and Rabbit by Beth Ferry

Rating:

 

a sneaky way to teach

Summary (provided by publisher): Like most crows, Arlo has a big brain. But Arlo has something else: a little pal who’s not afraid to tell him when he’s being insufferable!
In the first of three episodes, a battle of the brains and bird-to-bird banter soon turns into an unexpected friendship. Arlo and Pips' adventures include a visit the big city and the beach on their hunt for shiny things and French fries. Cool crow facts are included throughout the book.

My opinion: Gravel has two aims here. On the surface, this is a simple story about a braggy crow. Arlo boasts about how wonderful he is and Pips points out the flaws in what he says. It's Pips' rejoinders that allpw the second aspect to come into play - the science facts. For each thing Pips says, Arlo shares a true fact about crows that proves his boast. There's not much more to this plot but it's a fun little book for young readers.

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Book review - Cinders and Sparrows

Title: Cinders and Sparrows

Author: Stefan Bachman

Genre: fantasy

Similar books: The Cursed Inheritance of Henrietta Achilles by Haiko Hornig

                     The Bone Thief by Alyson Noel 

Rating:

 

a solid example of the genre

Summary (provided by publisher): Twelve-year-old Zita, an orphan and a housemaid, has resigned herself to a life of drudgery when a strange letter arrives, naming her the only living heir to the Brydgeborn fortune. Now the mistress of the castle, Zita soon realizes foul play led to the death of her family. And as she is guided through lessons in the art of witchcraft by the somewhat mysterious Mrs. Cantanker, Zita begins to wonder who is friend and who is foe.

My opinion: Orphans are pretty standard in middle grade fantasy. Especially the orphan who is lifted out a life of hard work to discover they have inhereted a magical legacy. In that aspect, this book is entirely what you would expect. And of course, Zita discovers that her family history is covering up some secrets. Finding her magical strengths leads her to the truth about what happened to her parents. There are a few surprises in the final chapters that I won't get into here (no spoilers) but overall this book treads familiar ground. A shame since ti's set in a world and magical worlds that held a lot of promise.
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Listen with me

The Brave by James Bird

This audiobook promises a combination of culture clash, discovering your family, the sensitive portrayal of mental illness, and a kid learning self confidence. It could be perfection, so I'm pretty excited about this one. 

 

Non-fiction book review - A Garden in Your Belly

 A Garden in Your Belly by Masha D'Yans

 The microbiome fascinates me. Not just because it's this whole world inside of your body but because it is vital to good health. We have this idea that the body does its thing all on its own but that simply is not true. We can't digest without the microbiome. Microscopic life protects and cleans our skin. It's amazing. Its also complex and we can't fully understand it. That makes it a tough subject for a kids book. How do you ex.plain something to kids when we don't fully understand it? D'yans has handled it correctly, making it very representative and artistic. Not a lot of hard facts, more fact based statements. By starting us with the image of a garden and the various life forms in it, the way they work together for the health of the garden on the whole we have a vague structure to consider the microbiome. We don't get into the hows, just the whats. It aids in digestion. We need it. Everyone's is different. It gets started when we are born, a gift from our mother, but is changed by our environment and experiences. With highly artistic illustrations, this book occupies a strange place between non-fiction and a picture book, but it's a solid way to start understanding a complicated idea. 

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Book review - A Thousand Questions

 Title: A Thousand Questions

Author: Saadia Faruqi

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: Pop Flies, Robo-Pets, and Other Disasters by Suzanne Kamata

                      Extra Credit by Andrew Clements

Rating:

 

a solid exploration

 

Summary (provided by publisher): Mimi is not thrilled to be spending her summer in Karachi, Pakistan, with grandparents she’s never met. Secretly, she wishes to find her long-absent father, and plans to write to him in her beautiful new journal.
The cook’s daughter, Sakina, still hasn’t told her parents that she’ll be accepted to school only if she can improve her English test score—but then, how could her family possibly afford to lose the money she earns working with her Abba in a rich family’s kitchen?
Although the girls seem totally incompatible at first, as the summer goes on, Sakina and Mimi realize that they have plenty in common—and that they each need the other to get what they want most.

My opinion: The set up here is one we don't often see in middle grade fiction - a child visiting her mother's homeland for the first time, experiencing a vastly different culture, feeling like an outsider while also feeling like she should understand it better. We get culture clash paired with degrees of class since Mimi and her mother are, by American standards, low income while her grandparents are, by any standards, wealthy. Then we meet Sakina who lives in poverty. So Mimi learns to recognize her own privilege while Sakina also gets a bit of a lesson about assumptions of another culture. We get a simple presentation of the responsibility of the "haves" to the rest of the world. We're also confronted with openly corrupt politics and the complexities of relationships with parents. Most interesting is the ending. Unlike most books for this age group this plot doesn't tie up all of the loose ends. It's more of a snapshot, the events that happen while Mimi and her mother are in Pakistan. A few plot points get resolved but most do not. We're left to draw our own conclusions, making this a great choice for book clubs.

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Book review - Izzy in the Doghouse

Title: Izzy in the Doghouse

Author: Caroline Adderson

Genre: realistic fiction/early chapter book

Similar books: Meet Yasmin by Saadia Faruqi

                     Mi Vida Loca by Jacqueline Jules

Rating:

 

cute

Summary (provided by publisher):From the author of the Jasper John Dooley series comes a new lovable character: Isabel! The first title in this early chapter book series tells us why Isabel just has, has, has to get a dog! Isabel and Zoë are favorite friends --- most of the time. They have side-by-side cubbies at school. They never take off their friendship bracelets. And they make each other laugh like nobody else. But some of the time, Isabel isn't Zoë's favorite friend at all. Because some of the time, the fun things they do end in a no-fun way. Like how they've been sent to the principal's office because of Isabel's shenanigans with some kindergartners. Now Zoë is mad at Isabel, and Isabel is miserable. Isabel is trying everything to win her friend back. Will getting a new puppy help Isabel mend her friendship with Zoë? 

My opinion: Izzy is an irrepressible, entertaining hero in the vein of Junie B Jones or Clementine. She has too much energy and often doesn't think before she acts, leading to trouble that she seldom sees coming. Getting a dog, as we might expect, teaches her to think ahead and pay attention. It forces her to be more responsible. While the plot is fairly predictable, it's easy for young readers to follow and the vocabulary is accessible.
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Picture books for everyone

 Julia's House Moves On by Ben Hatke

Julia's House for Lost Creatures taught readers that there is a place for everyone. In this follow-up volume, Hatke tackles a more subtle lesson: change. The beginning of this book finds the house and it's inhabitants preparing to move. The resourceful Julia has a plan. Of course, that plan is immediately disrupted. The house moves before Julia is ready and she has to change her plans. But each of her plans fails. Eventually, Julia has to accept that you cannot plan for everything, that you just have to let things happen and trust that it will work out. It's something of a melancholy, yet hopeful story. The messaging may not land with a very young audience but the illustrations are so active and charming  that it probably won't matter. It's a joy just to leaf through the pictures. But for older kids, especially those going through a major life change, the message will be affirming.

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Non-fiction book review - Cryptocurrencies and the Blockchain Revolution

Cryptocurrencies and the Blockchain Revolution by Brendan January

Cryptocurrency and blockchain are terms that we hear fairly often but that most of us don't really understand. Personally, I had only a vague notion of how a cryptocurrency works. Thus, my reading of this book. This is a fairly technical read, so some understanding of computers and of programming helps, especially as there is only limited explanation of technical terms. If you can wade through that language, this is a fairly comprehensive explanation of the concepts. We learn about how cryptocurrency and blockchain intersect but also as separate entities. Most notably, there is a significant exploration of other uses of blockchain. I learned a lot from a quick read through and feel like I would glean even more from a second, more focused read. A solid addition to a tech-focused collection

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Book review - Premeditated Myrtle

Title: Premeditated Myrtle

Author: Elizabeth C. Bunce

Genre: historical fiction/mystery

Similar books: The Body Under the Piano by Marthe Jocelyn

                      The Lost Twin by Sophie Cleverly

Rating:

 

solidly entertaining

Summary (provided by publisher): Twelve-year-old Myrtle Hardcastle has a passion for justice and a Highly Unconventional obsession with criminal science. Armed with her father’s law books and her mum’s microscope, Myrtle studies toxicology, keeps abreast of the latest developments in crime scene analysis, and Observes her neighbors in the quiet village of Swinburne, England.
When her next-door neighbor, a wealthy spinster and eccentric breeder of rare flowers, dies under Mysterious Circumstances, Myrtle seizes her chance. With her unflappable governess, Miss Ada Judson, by her side, Myrtle takes it upon herself to prove Miss Wodehouse was murdered and find the killer, even if nobody else believes her — not even her father, the town prosecutor.

My opinion: My first reaction to this book is to judge it harshly because of it's pun-based title. Too many mysteries rely on a pun. Knowing that I had that bias, it is noteworthy how much I enjoyed reading this book. Myrtle is a compelling protagonist. Flawed but well meaning. She jumps to a few conclusions but largely relies on facts and logic. She doesn't let others refusal to listen hold her back. She follows clues to their inevitable conclusion. And she's not the only complex character. Even the tertiary characters have a reasonable amount of complexity and development. The historical setting may be a barrier for some readers, but it's worth working through that. It's a mystery that mostly takes itself seriously but has it's share of light-hearted moments as well, little sparks of humor to keep it from becoming too dark. A solid read for budding detectives and historians alike.

More information: Both Premeditated Myrtle and it's sequel, How to Get Away with Myrtle, release today. 

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More pegs

 When I feel the need for a little inspiration, I make more famous women peg dolls. Learning about these women is thrilling and I love the idea of kids having them as heroes. This grouping includes Julia Child, Victoria Woodhall, Marian Anderson, and Isabelle Eberhart.

Book review - Tristan Strong Destroys the World

Title: Tristan Strong Destroys the World

Author: Kwame Mbalia

Genre: fantasy

Similar books: Race to the Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

                     The Lost Wonderland Diaries by J Scott Savage

Rating:

 

a pretty excellent sequel

 

Summary (provided by publisher): Tristan Strong, just back from a victorious but exhausting adventure in Alke, the land of African American folk heroes and African gods, is suffering from PTSD. But there's no rest for the weary when his grandmother is abducted by a mysterious villain out for revenge.
Tristan must return to Alke--and reunite with his loud-mouthed sidekick, Gum Baby--in order to rescue Nana and stop the culprit from creating further devastation. Anansi, now a "web developer" in Tristan's phone, is close at hand to offer advice, and several new folk heroes will aid Tristan in his quest, but he will only succeed if he can figure out a way to sew broken souls back together.

My opinion: The best thing about the Tristan Strong series is that it's more than just mythology in the real world. It's an exploration of culture and cultural memory. It thrills me to see an author take that on for a middle grade audience. Mbalia doesn't underestimate his audience but rather challenges them with ideas and allows them to rise to the occasion. This volume not only continues to address grief and PTSD, as in the first one, but adds in the nature of story and culture and how they inform one another. We see how grief and shame can twist the soul, break people down perhaps beyond repair. There are fun and heroic characters, of course, but even the silliest have depth. There's enough action to keep the plot moving and the reader engaged but doesn't skim on messaging and depth. 

More information: Tristan Strong Destroys the World releases October 6.
Find my review of the first book, Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky here.

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Graphic novel spotlight - Frankie and the Creepy Cute Critters

 

Frankie and the Creepy Cute Critters by Caitlin Rose Boyle

Most of the time, fairies in books are sweet and delicate creatures clad in pastels. We don't get many like Frankie with bat wings, fangs, and a fondness for insects. Now, at heart this is a fairly standard fish out of water story. Frankie is judged by her new classmates by their first impression of her. Feeling lonely, she explores the creatures surrounding her new town. She judges many of them "creepy" at first glance but learns lots of fascinating positive traits about them. By observing nature, she learns not to judge by first glance and to appreciate or respect things that frighten her. While the message is a bit heavy handed, it's a quick appealing read well supported by charming illustrations. A great choice for upper elementary readers.

 More information: Frankie and the Creepy Cute Critters releases October 13.

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