Reviews for school librarians
Content: G
BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
King Alfred, a great king, learned Latin to translate global stories for his people. He recorded sailor Wulfstan's tale of a shipwreck and a northern land where a ruler's wealth was claimed by a horse race. Would Alfred believe and record Wulfstan's story?
King Alfred and the Ice Coffin is fascinating if you like Islandic and British history. Riddell's illustrations are superb.
PGPowers
Language: R (80 swears, 36 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: ADULTS - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Camilla wasn’t sure whether to dread or embrace the day she took her baby to daycare for the first time to return to work—but Camilla certainly didn’t want to do it without seeing her husband, Luke, all morning. Wondering where Luke could be and why he wasn’t answering her messages, Camilla went to work anyway, where police officers came looking for the wife of Luke Deschamps, the man currently holding three people hostage in a warehouse.
Following both the wife of the criminal and the hostage negotiator, McAllister unfolds the story skillfully, giving readers tidbits of information from one character that shifts the possible outcomes of the other’s actions. I enjoyed how complex and real so many of the side characters are, how they affected the main characters unintentionally in significant ways. There is a lot of grey area in this story for readers to wrestle with—between justice and doing the right thing, making decisions of who to trust and build relationships with, learning to give second chances or just move on. The end is about more than happily ever after—it’s about making a life you can be happy in now despite the imperfections of the past.
The majority of characters are implied British. Niall is described as having a Northern Irish accent. The mature content rating is for alcohol use, mentions of drugs, kissing, illegal activity, and innuendo. The violence rating is for gun use, mentions of terrorism and suicide, and murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SOME
In 1950’s and 1960;s Los Angeles, Sister Corita Kent taught high school art, bringing her exuberant outlook to everything she touched and opening her students’ eyes to the wide world around them. Her personality didn’t always mesh with the archbishop’s expectations and after 30 years she left the order to devote herself to her art and her activism.
I know - who is Corita Kent? Paley gives us a lot of information about her and her work. And a quick Google search will bring up many examples of her art. I would give this to your middle school or high school drawing and painting teachers - and probably to your Language Arts teachers - I love this as an example of a picture book biography. It puts many others I have read to shame.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
Language: PG (1 swear, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: ADULT - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Lauren tries to be the perfect pastor’s wife for her husband, Solomon, and his large, successful church, but she feels further from him, God, and happiness than ever. When Lauren is left a confused and grieving widow, she moves in with her best friend to figure out what comes next. Though she doesn’t want her life to include any more men, celebrities, or churches, God has a different plan.
Lauren’s and Aaron’s faith journeys are as much a part of the story as the romance. While the strong Christian themes are obvious, they are authentic and not preachy. The foreshadowing is as subtle as a brick thrown through a window, but the story flows well and the characters are relatable. I enjoyed every chapter of this book.
That majority of characters are Canadian. The mature content rating is for mild innuendo, kissing, and mentions of drug and alcohol use, including overdose. The violence rating is for mild car accident details and jokes about murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS, HS - ESSENTIAL
APPEALS TO: MANY
Jack has to write an apology note to Zoe. He tries many varieties, but his teacher keeps asking him to try again - until he can sincerely apologize.
Lukoff does an excellent job of showing us how to write an apology without making bullet points about a great apology. This is a master text for those who want to write lesson-like picture books. And the message, the lesson, is one that is valuable for every age level. I am going to show this to my counselors and teachers.
Jack looks Hispanic.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
Content: G (a death mentioned)
BUYING ADVISORY: MS - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
Nate and his neighbor across the street, Lucas, both love basketball, but they haven’t been friends since Nate said something disparaging about Lucas’s special needs sister. It isn’t until high school, when Nate decides to pursue basketball, instead of his family’s beloved soccer, that Nate reconnects with Lucas - but only outside of school. Can Lucas’s fierceness on the court help Nate make-up for all the years he is behind in learning the game? As Nate tries to prove himself to his rival, Colin, Lucas gets caught in the crossfire.
Shadowed is deeper, slower roll of a book - more complicated than anything Deuker has written before. It does follow Nate through all four years of high school - diving deep, crafting heartbreak. Some will not persist and find the heart of the book. Those that do will find a gem.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ESSENTIAL
APPEALS TO: MANY
Sports reporter Echegaray gives an intimate feeling look into the life and career of soccer superstar Lionel Messi. Interestingly, he doesn’t follow Messi’s life in a linear manner - instead he mixes the chapters up a bit, which I enjoyed. Much better than a conventional biography.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
Content: G (mild danger)
BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ESSENTIAL
APPEALS TO: MANY
For years now, Karina, the Princess, has been behind the mist, with only her father, the King, and his cruel mechanical dogs as scant company. 12yo Ela has followed her family around the world on vacations to snowy, misty spots. This time however, she finds herself in a new place altogether, with a mysterious girl (yes, the Princess), who seems to know more about Ela than she is telling. Can the two together solve the problem that eternal Snow has brought to the little kingdom?
add this to any Frozen or winter display! Trehan paces everything quickly, and intrigue along the way as backstories come to light. A very engaging, new, modern fairy tale.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
Content: G (mild tension)
BUYING ADVISORY: EL - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
11yo Anne feels, rightfully, neglected by her father as he wallows in his grief over her mother’s death and ignores Anne by submerging himself in his work. Anne’s mother raised her on a book of fairy tales about a flying forest. Anne has always felt there was a hole in her life - and one day a magical raven tells Anne that the stories are true and that she has a twin brother who was snatched away at birth and is being raised within the forest. Anne is needed, as the person holding her brother is about to make a play to break into Anne’s reality and control the whole world.
At first I was lost within Anne’s story, but it is about 100 pages too long - a tighter tale with fewer scenes would have kept my attention. By the end I just wanted it to be over. Almost a great modern new fairy tale. Some will enjoy it.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
Language: R (45 swears, 50 “f”); Mature Content: R (drugs, gay sex talk, body parts); Violence: R (rape lightly described, beating and aftermath)
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
Now 17yo, Rex is kicked out of his house by his Christian father when his stepsister outs him as gay. Feeling he has no one else to turn to, Rex heads to New Orleans, following a man he met at the beach recently. Though the man takes him in and they start a physical relationship, Rex is not comfortable with his new status as part of a gay relationship and eventually finds himself back on the street.
The third of Ogle’s short memoirs follows Rex into close-to-adulthood, into homelessness, into despair. Much darker than his previous books. Please don’t buy this thinking you need all three in the series. The content and topics are much more mature than anything in the previous two books. We have some kids who will benefit greatly from this, though.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
Content: G (mild danger)
BUYING ADVISORY: EL - NO
APPEALS TO: FEW
Bertie Wells opens a black hole in his bedroom and then is whisked away to join the Ever School of Time Travel to learn more about time traveling and guarding historical events. He meets a fantastical crew of students from all over time, with friends to make, problems to solve, and people to save.
I had a hard time buying into this book from the first chapter - where Leonardo DaVinci appeared in a parade to his genius and someone runs up with the Last Supper for him to autograph. WTH? ANd it really didn’t get much better from there. Wheeler seems to think that he could do anything he wanted with people and places from all over time and no one would notice what a chaotic mess he was creating.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
Content: PG (mild scares)
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
Anna Grimsbane is eager to join the family business of hunting witches. Well, the women in their family hunt witches - the men are considered to be frail and prone to death all because of a curse placed on them generations earlier. When her twin, Billy, disappears the night before their 13th birthday, she knows he has gone into the forest to find the witch responsible for the curse in order to break it himself. Anna wants to gather her best friends to help her find him. What she doesn’t know is that each friend has an ulterior motive for joining the search.
Anna and her friends are chaotic at best as they roam the forest looking for Billy. I liked the cast of characters they encountered along the way more than I liked the children. I also liked the needed resolution for the curse very much. I am just not certain that many readers will persist through the friend drama.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Siegel takes a critical and thorough look at the origin of and continued fascination with the supposed appearances of the Loch Ness monsters.
Using extensive historical sources, she peels back the layers to let the reader know the truth behind the famous photo and looks at why people persist in believing, despite credible evidence to the contrary. She includes a small section at the end about fake news and how to expose it.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (imaginary battles)
BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Lunar Jones is barely existing on Mars - a planet that was cursed by the death of the dragon that also transformed it into a livable place, but one where the flora and the fauna are out to kill humans. Betrayed and stuck in the inhospitable wilderness, Lunar finds his way to a secret facility, where his destiny as the companion to a hidden dragon is revealed. Can Lunar step up to the challenge and be the companion this dragon demands and also keep the Mars military happy?
I love science fiction. and I love Reintgen. I hope that having dragons involved will entice my many fantasy readers to give this a chance - it is really good.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
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