Wednesday, April 17, 2024
I'm Trying to Love Germs by Bethany Barton - ESSENTIAL
Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Skybound! by Sue Ganz-Schmitt and Jacopo Bruno - ADVISABLE
Monday, April 15, 2024
The Fabulous Fannie Farmer by Emma Bland Smith and Susan Reagan - ADVISABLE
Sunday, April 14, 2024
The Fastest Drummer: clap your hands for Viola Smith by Dean Robbins and Susanna Chapman - ADVISABLE
Saturday, April 13, 2024
The Wrong Kind of Weird by James Ramos - OPTIONAL
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Cameron is a bicultural senior (mom is latina, father is black), who has a small group of geek friends in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They even have a club (GANU - Geeks And Nerds Unite) where they watch anime, design cosplays, and celebrate that #geeklife. However, when one of the most popular girls in school starts working with Cameron, he tries to break down the rigid clique system at his school to make their relationship more acceptable to their different friend groups. However, Cameron's complicated web of half-told truths and posturing catches up with him and falls to pieces around him. Can Cameron figure out who he really is and what he really wants?
This was not my favorite contemporary YA rom-com that I’ve ever read. I had a hard time getting into it and the storyline kept jumping back and forth, from the summer when Cameron and Karla first met to the current school year, without a lot of rhyme or reason. Add to that, there was a LOT of language throughout the book. The one thing I liked about it was the celebration of multicultural students in geek culture. It shouldn’t be that revolutionary, but it was nice to see someone other than sickly white boys being the nerds.
Reviewer: Kiera Beddes, #bookswithbeddes
Friday, April 12, 2024
The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson - HIGH
The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson, 448 pages. Random House Children's/Delacorte Press, 2024. $16
Language: R (53 swears 121 'f'); Mature Content: PG (kissing); Violence: PG-13 (assault)
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Rachel Price, mother of 18yo Bel, has been missing for over sixteen years. Bel’s father needs money to care for his elderly father, so he decides to participate in a documentary about the disappearance of his wife, Rachel Price. Bel doesn’t want to rehash everything over and over again but she wants to help her dad. She wonders if the documentary will help find her mom by rekindling the investigation. Also, Bel can’t shake the thought that her mom abandoned her all those years ago and that she just might be alive somewhere. The documentary is just the beginning of the chaos that's to come.
I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery! The character development was interesting and the author showed Bel’s coping mechanisms of cruelty and shoplifting small items as a way to deal with the abandonment she’s had in her lifetime. The documentary idea was great as it helped show the changes in the family and Bel’s perspective of the situation. The ethnicity is predominantly white with mention of a brown skin background character.
LynnDell Watson, DHS Library
Thursday, April 11, 2024
Murtagh by Christopher Paolini - HIGH
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
A Place for Vanishing by Ann Fraistat - OPTIONAL
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Evil Spy School: The Graphic Novel by Stuart Gibbs and Anjan Sarkar - ADVISABLE
Monday, April 8, 2024
Bright Red Fruit by Safia Elhillo - ESSENTIAL
Sunday, April 7, 2024
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna - OPTIONAL
I love the cover of this book. Deka's strength is inspiring. Deka and Keita have a cute romance. "Deka has dark skin and her father is pale with blonde hair. The Emperor has bluish black skin. People with dark brown skin, golden skin, pink skin, and every shade from deep brown to eggshell are mentioned.
Saturday, April 6, 2024
The Summer She Went Missing by Chelsea Ichaso - OPTIONAL
Friday, April 5, 2024
Kendrick Lamar Platinum Rap Artist by Heather E. Schwartz - OPTIONAL
Thursday, April 4, 2024
The Heartbeat of the Universe by Emily Hockaday - OPTIONAL
The Heartbeat of the Universe by Emily Hockaday, 110 pages. POETRY. Interstellar Flight Press, 2024. $18.
Language: PG (1 swear, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW
Hockaday believes that poetry is not limited by reality or literalness, and the poems in this collection illustrate her belief. With facts and emotions meeting over topics of identity, love, discrimination, hope, family, time, and more, there is a poem for everyone.
I loved the meeting point between science and creativity that these poets embrace, though overall only a couple of the poems spoke to me. The concept was enjoyable. The mature content rating is for mentions of alcohol and sexual harassment. The violence rating is for mentions of assault.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
One Last Breath by Ginny Myers Sain - OPTIONAL
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Otherworldly by F. T. Lukens - OPTIONAL
Otherworldly by F. T. Lukens, 352 pages. Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon and Schuster), 2024. $20.
Language: R (22 swears, 9 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Winter began five years ago and then never turned to spring. With the farm failing, Ellery (17yo) had to move and work in the city while her parents continued to foolishly petition the goddess. When a regular at the diner Ellery works at runs her over, he introduces himself as Knox, a magical familiar that serves the goddess Ellery no longer believes in—and he needs her help.
The magic and mythological creatures are the most interesting parts of the story. Most of the characters are flat, and the story was more about Ellery and Knox’s growing relationship than about solving the winter issue. While I was expecting more from the story than fluff romance, Lukens did the fluff romance well, and the conclusion was satisfying.
Ellery and Knox are described as “pale,” Zada is described as having “dark brown” skin, Lorelei is described as having “golden brown” skin, and the goddess is described as having “olive” skin. Charley and Zada are part of the LGBT community. The mature content rating is for mentions of alcohol, innuendo, and sexual harassment. The violence rating is for blood, assault, and fantasy violence.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
The Perfect Guy Doesn’t Exist by Sophie Gonzales - OPTIONAL
Language: R (101 swears, 15 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Living across the street from her ex-best friend, Mack, is made impossible when Ivy’s parents ask Mack’s family to check in on Ivy while they’re out of town. On her first night alone, a huge storm comes, and all Ivy wants is to not be alone—so she writes a short fanfic about her favorite TV character being with her. And, when she wakes up, he is.
Honestly, the whole situation with the TV character appearing in Ivy’s life is as disorienting for the reader as for Ivy and her friends—maybe more so because they accepted the situation faster than I did. The creativity involved in crafting this story astounds me, and I laughed out loud several times. Furthermore, Gonzales writes about struggling friendships and trying to get a grip on how to life in a way that makes readers happier with imperfect reality.
Ivy is White on the cover, and Mack is Black on the cover. Also, Ivy is bi, Mack is lesbian, and Henry describes himself as “aroace.” The mature content rating is for innuendo and mentions of sex. The violence rating is for assault and for mentions of murder and fantasy violence.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
Monday, March 25, 2024
What Was the Children's Blizzard of 1888? by Steve Korté and Dede Putra - ADVISABLE
Sunday, March 24, 2024
Guts for Glory by Joanna Lapati - ADVISABLE
Cindy, MS Librarian, MLS