The Long Way Around by Anne Nesbet - OPTIONAL

The Long Way Around by Anne Nesbet, 256 pages. Candlewick, 2024. $19. 

Content: G (mild danger)

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: SOME

Three cousins 12yo Owen, 11yo Vivian, and 8yo Amy are on a camping trip with their parents.  The one night they are allowed to camp alone, an earthquake strikes and they are cut-off from the parents’ campsite.  The trio will have to go the long way around, confronting danger in the forest, but also the emotional baggage they are each dealing with from personal traumas.

Nesbet tries to do too much here.  Besides having the danger from 3 pre-teens being alone in the wilderness, she injects a magical realism through the kids’ personal stories - it would have been enough to have one of them with emotional turmoil - all 3 is overload. I was distracted and then bored.

All of the characters are white.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

The Telephone in the Tree by Alison McGhee - OPTIONAL

The Telephone of the Tree by Alison McGhee, 196 pages. Rocky Pond (Penguin), 2024. $18. 

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: SOME

10yo Ayla misses her best friend Kiri something fierce.  If Kiri would just return home, everything would be better. One day Ayla finds an old-fashioned telephone sitting in the branches of her favorite tree.  What could it be for? Then people start coming to the tree telephone to talk to their loved ones who are dead - what? 

Definitely, a book a therapist might prescribe for a child dealing with grief.  Or a book a teacher will read aloud to a whole class. Not so sure students will flock to this on their own. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

They Saved the Stallions by Deborah Hopkinson - ADVISABLE

They Saved the Stallions by Deborah Hopkinson, 163 pages. Scholastic, 2024.  $10 (paperback)

Language: G (0  swears, 0  “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: G (some danger)

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - OPTIONAL; MS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SOME

During World War II, the Lipizzaner horses of Austria were in constant danger - first from bombing, then from being conscripted into the war once Hilter seized Austria, and then the stallions were in a different country from the mares and foals. It took the school’s dedicated director and a daring group of American soldiers to keep all of the Lipizzaners safe, preserving 400 years of tradition.

Hopkinson always does meticulous research when she presents a book. The size of this one (under 200 pages) means that it may find a wider audience than some of her larger works. As an adult, I loved learning about this aspect of WWII - and students who love horses will too. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Spy School Goes Wild by Stuart Gibbs - ESSENTIAL

Spy School Goes Wild by Stuart Gibbs, 307 pages. Simon and Schuster, 2024. $19. 

Language: G (0 swears,  0 “f”); Mature Content: G (kisses); Violence: PG (bad guys, shooting, danger)

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL

APPEALS TO: MANY

How did their inept Spy School principal track Ben and the others to their remote Alaskan hideout? It doesn’t matter much when it turns out that Murray Hill has escaped prison again and is teaming up with Ashley for another dastardly crime. Only Ben is going, and so only Ben is the one walking into a trap. Ben may have hated all of the survival training he’s been forced through these last months, but that training is exactly what he will need to stay alive.

Dare I hope this is the last time we will see Murray Hill? I sure hope so. If it weren’t for Gibbs’s commitment to Ben having a single arch nemesis, I would personally enjoy his adventures so much more. Plenty of danger, fast-thinking, and great friends to come to the rescue. 

Ben and his friends default white.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Spirit Sleuths: How Magicians and Detectives Exposed the Ghost Hoaxes by Gail Jarrow - ESSENTIAL

Spirit Sleuths: How Magicians and Detectives Exposed the Ghost Hoaxes by Gail Jarrow, 173 pages. NON-FICTION Calkins Creek (Astra/Boyds Mill), 2024. $25. 

Content: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS, ADULT - ESSENTIAL 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

In the mid-1800s, in upstate New York, rapping sounds in an old home were attributed to the presence of ghosts. A pair of teen aged sisters claimed to be able to communicate with the dead and Spiritualism was born. But were the clairvoyants and mediums real? Some people believed others did not. Fake mediums put on elaborate shows, making people believe their departed loved ones were trying to reach them, and swindled many people out of lots of money. Harry Houdini (the magician and escape artist) and others made unmasking these fakers their life's work. 

I love Gail Jarrow's books so very much. I can't put them down. Well researched, well told and I know it will be well read.  Spirit Sleuths kept me on the edge of my seat, and I couldn't help but tell about it to anyone who would listen. While most of the book is about the 1850s - 1920s, Jarrow includes a look at 21st-century psychics and mediums as well. Includes a timeline, glossary, and sites to find out more. I even loved the author's note. An essential buy for a school library. I have all her books.

Lisa Librarian 

Hometown Vendetta by Traci Hunter Abramson - ADVISABLE

Hometown Vendetta (Luke Steele #1) by Traci Hunter Abramson, 320 pages. Shadow Mountain, 2024. $28.

Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG13

BUYING ADVISORY: ADULTS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

Amberlyn is intimately involved in tragedy as she works every day as an FBI profiler, but this last domestic terrorism act becomes more personal when it kills her best friend. She gets pulled into a meeting to help update the president, and his military aide, Luke, helps them make a breakthrough on the case. Now Amberlyn and Luke have to work together—hoping beyond hope that the other doesn’t remember when they first met—by going undercover in the last place Luke wants to be: home.

Abramson keeps readers on their toes—anxious about terrorists, seemingly random accidents, new characters with too convenient stories, shoot outs, and a little forced-proximity fake dating. Once I started reading, there was no stopping, and I enjoyed every step of the journey. I’m excited to visit these characters again in the next book.

The majority of characters are implied White. The mature content rating is for alcohol use, mentions of drugs, illegal activity, and kissing. The violence rating is for gun and bomb use, terrorism, and murder.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

There Goes the Neighborhood by Jade Adia - OPTIONAL

There Goes the Neighborhood by Jade Adia, 415 pages. Hyperion (Disney) 2023 $19.00 

Language: R (100+ swears 99 'f'); Mature Content: PG13 (making out) Violence: PG13 (fights, knives, a murder) 

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL 

APPEALS TO: MANY 

15yo Rhea and her friends Zeke and Malachi live in South LA. Local shops are starting to sell to trendy boutique business that cater to a wealthier demographic - their neighborhood is experiencing gentrification. When Zeke's landlord sends an eviction notice (he wants to upgrade the apartments and raise the rent) the kids decide to scare off the newcomers by inventing a fake local gang and flooding social media with "sightings," graffiti, and rumors. The gang doesn't really exist, but when things start to escalate, and a murder is attributed to SOSI, the kids know they are in real trouble. 

Adia was given the John Steptoe (Coretta Scott King) Award for new talent in 2024. She's a great writer. The kids are believable, and the situations tragic. I was on the edge of my seat. It's not so much about gangs as it is community. Rhea's community takes care of each other. I love the dynamics - the friendship with a new girl; Rhea hasn't really had a girl friend and it's great watching it develop, and the changing relationship with Malachi is so real - can friends be more than friends? Very high swear count, but the context makes it necessary. Rhea is Black, her friends are Black and Hispanic, the community is multicultural. 

Lisa Librarian 

K is in Trouble by Gary Clement - OPTIONAL

K is in Trouble by Gary Clement, 216 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL Little, Brown, 2024. $25. 

Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (unsafe situations for a child) 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - OPTIONAL 

APPEALS TO: SOME 

K is a nice boy, he seems to want to do the right thing, but adults don't see it that way, he gets punished at school, picked up for loitering in a train station when he was lost, and is even tricked into releasing a fish back into the river. K is always in trouble. 

I had the same trouble enjoying this as I did Lemony Snicket's "Unfortunate Events" series. It's in the same vein - things just keep getting worse despite K's best efforts. His parents (especially his father) are short and impatient with him, and other adults are unreasonable. Poor kid. I didn't see the humor, maybe children will. There's a magical element - bugs and animals can talk to him. K is White. 

Lisa Librarian 

We Are Big Time by Hena Khan, illustrated by Safiya Zerrougui - ADVISABLE

We Are Big Time by Hena Khan, illustrated by Safiya Zerrougui, 234 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL Random House, 2024. $14 

Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (some name calling)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

Just a couple of months into her freshman year, Aliya's family moves from Florida to Milwaukee to be closer to their grandparents. While she's excited to go to a Muslim school along with her two brothers, she is disappointed to leave her friends and her County Rec. basketball team. But she enrolls in the new school in time to tryout for their girl's team - they have a new coach who has plans to turn these girls into quality high school athletes. 

Girl's basketball - how fun with some nice ballgame action. The team was unique in that there aren't many Muslim girl's basketball teams. Their opponents underestimated them, but they still had to work very hard to become a good team. The family dynamics are fun, Dada talks about Kareen Abdul Jabar. 

Lisa Librarian 

Just Like Jesse Owens by Ambassador Andrew Young as told to Paula Young Shelton, illustrated by Gordon C. James - ESSENTIAL

Just Like Jesse Owens by Ambassador Andrew Young as told to Paula Young Shelton, illustrated by Gordon C. James. BIOGRAPHY PICTURE BOOK. Scholastic, 2022. $18. 9780545554657

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL, MS, HS - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: MANY

I just finished the book The Boys in the Boat and this story is set also during the 1936 Berlin Olympics in which Jesse Owens ran track. It is the time of segregation in America - whites go into the front of the theater and blacks go upstairs through the back, even though they pay the same money.  Andrew Young, the main character, plays with boys of both colors even though one of his white friend's aunt gave him a nickel not to play with the "colored boys."  Andrew sees people in his aunt's neighborhood “heiling” Hitler and he is confused why they are  raising their arm like that.  His Dad explains Hitler's view on anyone not of the Aryan race.  Later when he goes to the theater to see the newsreel of the Olympics he sees Hitler on the screen and then later he sees Jesse Owens one of the greatest track Olympians winning gold medal after gold medal.  He is inspired that Jesse proved Hitler wrong and did it all with grace.  He is inspired by Jesse and decides that he will fight for civil rights using nonviolence just like Jesse did. 

James’s  illustrations are breathtaking done in oil pastels.  The story is inspiring for anyone at any age.  It deals with racism in a very understandable and classy way.  The story ended abruptly for me.  At the end of the book the author and the illustrator complete the story giving clarity.  I would have loved some of those facts put in the story to finish it up and tie it in a neat little bow. The ethnicity is widely diverse in this book because of the topic of civil rights.

Emilee-Teacher Librarian

The Line in the Sand by Thao Lam - ADVISABLE

The Line in the Sand by Thao Lam. WORDLESS PICTURE BOOK. Owl Kids Books, 2022. $20. 9781771475709

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL, MS, HS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: MANY

A monster draws a line in the sand.  What does it mean? As other monsters are playing on the beach they start to notice this strange line drawn in the sand.  

Lam has created an interesting book about the power of pictures, how we communicate as a society, and our interpretation of what happens.  This book would be a great addition to any library shelf. The monsters are very creative and illustrated in collage art.  It's a story everyone can relate to.   I love that it encourages the reader to think about communication, conflict, and the lines we all draw, whether intentional or not. 

Emilee-Teacher Librarian

The Little Book of Joy by Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu, and Rafael Lopez - ESSENTIAL

The Little Book of Joy by Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu, illustrated by Rafael Lopez. PICTURE BOOK. Random House Kids, 2022. $19. 9780593484234

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL, MS, HS - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: MANY

The Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu were friends for many years.  This is a companion book to their nonfiction book The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World. This children's version is filled with colorful enchanting illustrations about the power of joy.  Joy can be found even when challenging things happen.

I love that 2 men from very different religions are best friends.  They briefly give their backgrounds and how they became friends.  They do a beautiful job of reminding the reader to look for joy in the journey.

This book is ethnically diverse.  Tutu is an archbishop in East Africa and the Dahli Lama is a Tibetan monk.  The illustrator paints a multiple diversity of cultures.

Emilee-Teacher Librarian

Rewind by Lisa Graff - OPTIONAL

Rewind by Lisa Graff, 248 pages. Philomel (Penguin), 2023. $18.

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: SOME

Every June, McKinley’s hometown celebrates a different year in history - this year it is 1993 - back to when her parents were teens! McKinley even has the perfect 90’s outfit for the fashion show.  When she finds herself back in the real 1993, she is shocked by what she finds - the adults she knows are totally different people than they were as kids. And McKinley has to help someone make a change in order to get back to her own time - but what and who is it supposed to be?

As time travel books go, Graff has kept this one pretty simple - even though McKinley does dive into the mind-stretching part of the concept right at the end. Watching McKinley’s adults as teens is quite funny - especially the adult who wants to lock her in a room for the whole time she is there.  While I enjoyed the trip back, I’d rather have a historical fiction book about the time period, rather than a time travel book dipping into it.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

The Underdogs of Upson Downs by Craig Silvey - ESSENTIAL

The Underdogs of Upson Downs by Craig Silvey, 307 pages. Alfred A. Knopf (Random), 2024. $18

Language: G (0 swears, 0 ‘f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: MANY

11yo Annie Shearer likes to fix things, but she can't figure out how to help her parents save their sheep farm. There is a drought in Upson Downs, Australia and to make matters worse, Earl Robert-Barren is keeping all of the water to himself. But when she and her dog Runt enter a canine agility contest, Annie thinks she can save the farm with the prize money. There is only one problem, Runt will not perform in front of a crowd. Along with the support of her quirky family and new friends, Annie works to find a solution.

This wonderful story is about family, supporting those you love, and being yourself. Annie and her family also learn the importance of following your own path. I really enjoyed this book.

All of the characters are assumed to be white.

Reviewer: A. Snow, Librarian

Iceberg by Jennifer Nielsen - ESSENTIAL

 

Iceberg by Jennifer Nielsen, 352 pages. Scholastic Press, 2023. $13. 

Language: G (0 swears, 0 ‘f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG; (bullying)

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS, HS - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: SEVERAL

12yo Hazel is traveling to New York to work at a garment factory with her aunt. Her mother is sending her there to help earn money for the family. She’s in awe of the decadence and size of the Titanic and she has many questions that she wants to answer, so she can write about the ship when she arrives at her destination. Hazel dreams of becoming a journalist and the more she learns about the Titanic, the more questions she has. She makes friends, learns about her own priorities and also discovers a theft in progress.

Excellent Titanic story. I enjoyed the insight into life and social classes of 1912. The book departs many wise anecdotes throughout the telling of the story. Hazel has a lot of curiosity and asks intelligent, interesting and helpful questions. The mystery and suspense make the book even better.

The ethnicity is mixed. LynnDell Watson, DHS Librarian, Delta, Utah

First Test by Tamora Pierce - OPTIONAL

First Test (Protector of the Small #1) by Tamora Pierce, 142 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL. Random House, 2024. $25. 9780307931566

Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (some fighting, bullying)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: SOME

While Lady Alanna trained in secret as a page and became a female knight, Kel is determined to openly train as a girl with the boys. While some of the pages are indifferent, a couple of them are antagonistic to Kel, while they are also busy bullying the other pages, too. Kel is determined to stay the course and prove that this girl, at least, can hold her own.

I hope that the graphic novel version will encourage some students to seek out the originals and read the novels. I don’t feel this graphic novel does the original justice - so much is missing, that it makes me sad. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

The Thirteenth Child by Erin A. Craig - OPTIONAL

 

The Thirteenth Child by Erin A. Craig, 512 pages. Delacorte Press (Random), 2024. $16

Language: PG-13 (14 swears, 0 “f'); Mature Content: PG-13 (fondling); Violence: PG-13 (bloody deaths)

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: MANY

19yo Hazel is the thirteenth child in her family and treated like she’s not wanted by anyone except her brother Bertie who is one year older. When Hazel is twelve, her godfather takes her so she can train to become a great healer while Bertie is sold to a temple to pay off their father’s debts. Hazel learns that her duties as a healer also include helping people pass onto their deaths as gently as possible. She feels that this is a curse and not a blessing. When she’s nineteen, Hazel has become the healer of the royal family after she saved the king’s life from a plague; she was supposed to move him onto death but didn’t want his children to be orphans. Now that the king feels well, he is becoming an unpredictable, angry tyrant and Hazel knows she made the wrong choice by healing him. Will she be able to make this right before he destroys the kingdom?

I loved every bit of this story! Amazing character development and wonderful world building. Hazel is strong and kindhearted.

Hazel and her family are white. Merrick, Hazel’s godfather is obsidian skinned, Hazel’s friend Kieron has chestnut skin.

LynnDell Watson, DHS Librarian, Delta, Utah

The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra’s Needle by Dan Gutman - OPTIONAL

The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra’s Needle by Dan Gutman, 181 pages. Holiday House, 2024. $19

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: SOME

The journey of Cleopatra’s Needle from Egypt to Central Park, New York, is a journey of inches, but also of thousands of years and miles. The boy knows his mom wants to tell him the Needle’s history, but until she speaks with the stories of kids he can relate to, the history is just not that interesting. Once he sees how kids’ lives were affected and involved, the history feels more alive and he becomes invested in the story.

In his back story, Gutman reveals that every kid in his story is made up, which didn’t endear the book to me anymore - I was only mildly invested in the reading. Gutman tries really hard to bring this historical story to life. Only a few kids will become personally invested in it. 

Cindy, MS Library Teacher

eMortal by Steve Schafer - ADVISABLE

eMortal by Steve Schafer, 314 pages. Koehler Books, 2024. $30

Language: PG-13 (34 swears, 0 ’f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: SEVERAL

17yo Liv enters a competition to create an AI character that can solve a riddle. Liv’s character Breck seems fairly intelligent and when she writes a code that will allow him to sleep (rest and reboot) the competition leader takes notice. Along with the stress of wanting to win the AI competition and internship, Liv tries to help her mother revive the family toy store that belonged to her grandfather. This becomes more difficult than creating a character and writing code. She and her mother struggle to see each other’s point of view and this just causes arguments and frustration. With perseverance, will Liv win and be able to help her mom or will it all be too much?

I normally struggle with enjoying science fiction but this is a fun read! I love the lead into the ending and the ending itself. I enjoyed the humor and the realistic characters. I admired the perseverance of the characters.

Ethnicity falls to white.

LynnDell Watson, DHS Librarian, Delta, Utah

The Frindle Files by Andrew Clements - ESSENTIAL

The Frindle Files by Andrew Clements, 198 pages. Random House, 2024. $18.

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: MANY

Josh’s ELA teacher is such a dinosaur!  Not only are no computers allowed in the class, but also homework has to be written out by hand! Rummaging through the family junk drawer, he finds a pen, but it is labeled “Frindle”.  What? With some quick online research, Josh begins to wonder – is his throwback ELA teacher this same kid who tried to shake up the world with the Frindle? Josh is sure he can use this to his advantage.

Sure, I read the original Frindle when it came out in 1996.  Amusing, but it never stuck in my head.  Frindle Files, however, is an absolute winner for me. A definite reread! Mr. N. as Josh’s antagonist is sneakier and bolder than Nick’s teacher ever was.  Maybe, as an adult now, that’s what I like about it.

Cindy, MS Library Teacher