Book review - When the Rain Came

 

Title: When the Rain Came

Author: Matt Eicheldinger

Genre: dystopia

Age range: teen

Similar book: Rebel Darling by Valerie Best

Summary (provided by publisher): “If we stay here, if we keep wandering without a real plan, we won’t last. Maybe The Hill is dangerous. But maybe it’s not. It’s the only plan we have.”

Seventeen-year-old Aurora knows how to survive. Life in the foster system has taught her how to stay quiet, stay smart, and stay ready. But nothing could prepare her for this: a never-ending storm that swallows cities, drowns forests, and turns the world into a flooded wasteland.

Trapped in a collapsing house with her strict prepper foster parents, Aurora is forced to live by their rules just to stay alive. Until the day they disappear without a trace.

Alone. Abandoned. And running out of time.

All Aurora has is a waterlogged scrap of paper and a name: “The Hill.” 

With looters closing in and the floodwaters rising higher each day, she’s left with one impossible choice—stay and wait for the storm to take her, or risk everything on a journey through the drowned remains of the world, to a find a place that may or not exist.

It’s forward or nothing.

What I liked: The scenario here is strong and reasonably plausible. We have a character with enough information to stand a chance of survival and a background that makes her flexible and willing to take chances. The pacing is strong and there is enough action to propel the reader forward

What I didn't like: The characters aren't especially complex. The plot takes some logical leaps. This is clearly the first in a series so the ending isn't particularly satisfying. While the individual moments are engaging the plot overall isn't especially beleivable.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Non-fiction book review - Pretty Close But Not the Same

 

Pretty Close But Not the Same by Meg Fleming

This book straddles the line between standard picture book and non-fiction. In the non-fiction column , it is not a story book. There is no true plot. It's a basic comparison of similar animals, pointing out simple ways that the two differ. In the picture book column, it is fairly playful. The focus is more on having fun than strict scientific classifications. The text rhymes. It's a book that would be fun to enjoy with preschoolers and the simple illustrations will appeal to that age range as well.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Bowtie hairpins

 When I made my bowtie bowtie, I had an idea that you could also use it as a hairbow. Then, looking at my scraps, I realized that I had pieces that could be turned into pasta-sized bowties. And at that size, they were perfect for hairpins.

Listen with me

 

Three Sisters by David Macinnis Gill

At first, I was pretty on board with this book. It is, to be clear, a fairly standard survival book. We have three sisters and their dad trapped on a mountain during a natural disaster, balancing survival and grief. Along the way we learn a fair amount about hiking, survival skills, and the science of volcanoes. The final chapters, though, go rather off the rails. We move beyond just being trapped on a mountain due to a closed trail and some injuries to literally having to outrun an eruption. It tends to take away from the emotional impact of the plot as the physical challenges become increasingly extreme. This is not a book for the squeamish, nor for the skeptical.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

WWW Wednesday

 What are you currently reading?

The Song of the Bees by Tim Chapman - Sent to live with his grandmother in Wisconsin, a boy and his new friends investigate what is happening to local bees.

What did you recently finish reading?

Found Sound by Meg Wolitzer and Charlie Panek - A boy living in the shadow of his prodigy younger brother investigates a mystery with his summer neighbor.

What do you think you'll read next?

When the Rain Came by Matthew Eicheldinger

Graphic novel spotlight - Harper Sharp, Kid Detective

 

Harper Sharp Kid Detective by Jarrett Williams

When it comes to kid appropriate mysteries, picking a book can be a bit dicey. Some are too intense. Others don't have much in the way of stakes. The most successful mysteries often center around school. Missing items or mysterious vandalism are relatable and can feel, in the context of a child's social world, meaningful. And that is the approach this book takes. Harper investigates defacement of posters in his school. If it were just the mystery this would be an acceptable but probably forgettable book. Williams elevates the novel by incorporating a great deal of economics in the plot. As he investigates, Harper is also learning the ins and outs of running a business. With brightly colored, dynamic illustrations this is a fun read.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

WWW Wednesday

 What are you currently reading?

Morbid Curiosities by S. Hati - A girl attending an elite science academy discovers there is more to the school, it's experiments, and the strange happenings in the surrounding communities.

What did you recently finish reading?

Auntie Q's Golden Claws Nail Salon by Van Hoang - After getting in trouble a girl is sent to work off her debt at her estranged aunt's nail salon.

What do you think you'll read next?

Harper Sharp, Kid Detective by Jarrett Williams

Book review - Eureka

 

Title: Eureka

Author: Victoria Chang

Genre: historical fiction/verse novel

Age range: middle grade

Similar book: One Big Open Sky by Lesa Cline-Ransome

Summary (provided by publisher): The year is 1885. San Francisco is dangerous for Chinese immigrants like twelve-year-old Mei Mei. She must venture on her own, without her family or friends, to Eureka, California, where it is supposedly safe.

But 300 miles from home, Mei Mei misses her Ma Ma's kindness, helping out in her Ba Ba's store, and playing hide-and-seek with her best friend, Hua Hua. Despite her fear and the increasing violence against her community, she finds hope in an unexpected friend, the giant Redwood trees, and a new dream: learning how to read in English. As the world around her grows more scary, Mei Mei discovers her own power, as well as the joy of found family, the importance of courage, and the nature of freedom.

What I liked: Oftentimes a verse novel focuses only on a character's thoughts and emotions, leaving us with little action or setting. This book manages to balance description with reflection. The resulting text is sparse but meaningful. It is able to reflect dangers and cruelty without becoming exploitative.

What I didn't like: The problems and solutions are a bit over-simplified and the exploration is, necessarily, fairly shallow. This is the sort of book you might use in conjunction with other, more in depth, information about racial violence in the 1880s.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Listen with me

 

Three Sisters by David Macinnis Gill

I've long been a fan of survival stories, so this book about sisters stranded on a mountain during a volcanic event sounds right up my alley. Let's give it a listen and see if it lives up to it's promise.

WWW Wednesday

 What are you currently reading?

Where Ella Went by Laurie Morrison - When their friend and soccer captain leaves town without warning, a group of middle schoolers dig into what happened and why she left.

What did you recently finish reading?

Penelope Positano Sees it All by Katie Cotugno - Penelope is finally allowed to get a dog. She doesn't know what her perfect dog will be, just that she'll know it when she sees it.

What do you think you'll read next?

Coyote Queen by Jessica Vitalis