Book review - One Word Six Letters

 

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

Book review - Sprout

 

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

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