That's No Dino! Or Is It? What Makes a Dinosaur a Dinosaur by Helaine Becker and Marie-Eve Tremblay, PICTURE BOOK Kids Can Press, 2021. $18. 9781525300233
Sunday, October 31, 2021
That's No Dino! Or Is It? What Makes a Dinosaur a Dinosaur by Helaine Becker and Marie-Eve Tremblay - ESSENTIAL
That's No Dino! Or Is It? What Makes a Dinosaur a Dinosaur by Helaine Becker and Marie-Eve Tremblay, PICTURE BOOK Kids Can Press, 2021. $18. 9781525300233
Saturday, October 30, 2021
The Dollhouse: A Ghost Story by Charis Cotter - OPTIONAL
Friday, October 29, 2021
Why Longfellow Lied: The Truth About Paul Revere's Midnight Ride by Jeff Lantos - ADVISABLE
Thursday, October 28, 2021
Playing the Cards You're Dealt by Varian Johnson - ADVISABLE
Wednesday, October 27, 2021
Pony by R. J. Palacio - ADVISABLE
Tuesday, October 26, 2021
Tessa and Weston: The Best Christmas Ever by Abbie Emmons - OPTIONAL
Language: R (69 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Tessa and Weston have overcome so much to be where they are now together, and that has included some crappy Christmases. This year, they are determined to have the best Christmas ever! But a surprise from Tessa’s mom threatens to destroy everything.
I have loved Tessa and Weston from the early pages of Emmons’s previous novel, which made me hesitate to read this sequel. A new book meant that they were going to have problems, and I didn’t want my heart to break with theirs. While the sequel is not as amazing as the original, this continuation of their story feels real and genuine to the characters I know -- believable teenage struggles and reactions, relatable self-consciousness, and classic holiday family drama.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
Monday, October 25, 2021
How to Build a Story by Frances O’Roark Dowell - ADVISABLE
How to Build a Story … Or, the Big What If by Frances O’Roark Dowell, 114 pages. NONFICTION. Caitlyn Dlougy Book (Simon & Schuster), 2020. $18.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Have you ever had a great idea for a story, started writing it, and then had to stop because you didn’t know what came next? Dowell breaks down how to build a story so that you don’t just start stories but finish them, too!
I appreciate that Dowell refers to the process as building rather than writing a story. I mean, it is all about writing and includes exercises to try after each chapter, but Dowell’s process builds on what young (or not-so-young) writers are doing and teaches them how to keep going. After following all the steps, writers have accomplished something substantial and are encouraged to start again.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
Sunday, October 24, 2021
24 hours in Nowhere by Dusti Bowling - ADVISABLE
Saturday, October 23, 2021
Room to Dream (Front Desk #3) by Kelly Yang - ADVISABLE
Friday, October 22, 2021
Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter - HIGH
Thursday, October 21, 2021
The Right Side of Reckless by Whitney D. Grandison - OPTIONAL
The Right Side of Reckless by Whitney D. Grandison, 416 pages. Inkyard Press, 2021. $17.
Language: R (170 swears, 37 “f” + Spanish swears); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Sixteen-year-old Regan pretends to be happy as she obediently walks down the path her parents have laid out for her with the perfect boyfriend and the perfect future career. Seventeen-year-old Guillermo is on probation after his third arrest, and he is determined to do nothing else to disappoint his family -- even if that means sacrificing happiness now. Are lines meant to be crossed, or is it better to stay within them?
Regan and Guillermo are on opposite sides of the same struggle as they try to find ways to be happy while also pleasing their loved ones. I was excited to see how Grandison would illustrate balance between their extreme mindsets, but the resolution was not as powerful as I wanted it to be. The main characters set good examples for readers, but they didn’t connect to me, especially when they made choices that felt contrived. The mature content rating is for underage drinking, mentions of drug use, innuendo, groping, and mentions of sex and sexting.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
An Alleged Rogue by Sian Ann Bessey - ADVISABLE
An Alleged Rogue by Sian Ann Bessey, 250 pages. Covenant Communications, 2021. $17.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Adam has been busy chasing down the man who ruined his family instead of preparing his sister for her coming out. His time away from Society has allowed rumors to swirl -- rumors that paint him as a villain. When Phoebe hears the rumors, she becomes determined to save his sister from him, sure that his moments of kindness are merely a facade.
Bessey has crafted a story to keep readers on edge as the pressure builds by reading from both the protagonists’ and the antagonist’s points of view. The villain schemes while the protagonists think they are resolving all their issues. Somehow, Bessey strikes a balance between giving her main characters enough hardship to wade through that their good fortune feels like a relief, not cheesy. The more I read, the more fun the story became to read.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
Tuesday, October 19, 2021
Never Saw You Coming by Erin Hahn - HIGH
Never Saw You Coming by Erin Hahn, 320 pages. Wednesday Books (St. Martin’s Press), 2021. $17.
Language: R (90 swears, 48 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Meg just found out that her dad isn’t really her dad, making her gap year to find herself that much more important. Micah has mostly avoided thinking about his dad, but the upcoming parole hearing is reopening the not-quite-forgotten wounds. Affected by choices that weren’t their own, Meg and Micah struggle to move forward under the burden of their pasts.
Meg and Micah have relatable struggles with self-acceptance, with forgiveness, and with their relationships with God. My family issues and my wrestles with my faith felt understood; seeing my heartache and confusion in these pages was comforting, like being heard and supported by a close friend. Hahn expresses genuine pain, genuine healing, genuine sorrow, genuine joy -- genuine journeying through life. The mature content rating is for underage drinking, mention of illegal drugs, innuendo, discussions of sex, and mentions of orgasm, masturbation, and rape. The violence rating is for mentions of intended suicide and of a gun.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
Monday, October 18, 2021
Why We Fought by Jerry Borrowman - OPTIONAL
Why We Fought by Jerry Borrowman, 208 pages. NONFICTION. Shadow Mountain Publishing, 2021. $20.
Language: PG (3 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
World War II was devastating to families and countries, and it would have been worse if not for those individuals and groups whose stories are finally being told here. Risking their lives to help Jews flee and to help the Allies fight against the Nazis, these heroes knew to fight for what they believed was right even when it wasn’t easy.
Borrowman organizes this book into seven sections, and each true story pierces the heart of readers and will encourage them to act in a way that fights for good. None of the heroes talked about in this book went about doing good in the same way; likewise, readers can find their own unique ways of being heroes. Some of the accounts and facts can get dry, but the inspiring stories are worth it.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
Thursday, October 14, 2021
War and Millie McGonigle by Karen Cushman - ADVISABLE
War and Millie McGonigle by Karen Cushman, 214 pages. Alfred A. Knopf, 2021. $17. 9781984850102.
Language: PG (2 swears, 0 'F'); Violence: G; Content: PG (Racist comments)BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Millie McGonigle is growing up on the coast of California in 1941. After her Gram's sudden death, she is anxious and a little bit obsessed with the dead and dying. And as war comes to America, its easy to see the morbid all around. In this coming-of-age historical fiction, Millie will grow to see her Gram's final message as one of hope and learn how important that hope and positivity will be in war time.
I found this middle grade historical fiction novel to be rather meandering in its storytelling, and thus a little hard to really get into. Its a bit of a different Homefront take than the usual WWII piece as the story begins before Pearl Harbor, and ends before the war concludes. I enjoyed the anxious and gloomy protagonist--it was a delightful change from the usual WWII teens you meet in literature--and this felt very realistic with normal family life happening around big world events. Overall its a nice story but nothing I'd immediately recommend everyone needs to read. The PG rating on content is related to a neighbor family who are very prejudiced; their racist comments are always immediately responded to, however, by the protagonist or her family.
Reviewer: TC
Wednesday, October 13, 2021
The Bickery Twins and the Phoenix Tear by Abi Elphinstone - ADVISABLE
Tuesday, October 12, 2021
Cross-Country Christmas by Laurie Lewis - OPTIONAL
Cross-Country Christmas by Laurie Lewis, 245 pages. Covenant Communications, 2021. $17.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
After crashing a Tesla (that isn’t hers) through a fence (that isn’t hers) out in the country, CC ends up staying at the ranch of the man, Reese, whose fence was broken. CC and Reese resist the nudges of their hearts to explore the pull between them -- at first. Mishaps with the sheriff, some exes, and a mother seem to ruin their fragile relationship, but no one told their hearts.
Lewis created some interesting characters with deep wounds for readers to laugh and cry with. I loved how CC and Reese’s story shows readers that everyone has baggage and that baggage does not define us. However, I was disappointed by the long explanations that were used to give the backstories of the main characters; those passages were tedious and hard to pay attention to.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
Monday, October 11, 2021
Superpowered by Renee Jain and Dr. Shefali Tsabary - ADVISABLE
Superpowered by Renee Jain and Dr. Shefali Tsabary, 302 pages. NONFICTION. Random House Books, 2020. $18.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
If you’ve ever felt anxious, stressed, or overwhelmed, Jain and Dr. Tsabary are here to help. They’ve done all the research, and they know that you have superpowers to overcome your worries. Let this book be your guide to unlocking your powers and refinding your true self!
Jain and Dr. Tsabary don’t pretend that our anxiety doesn’t exist or isn’t hard to live with. They validate the struggles their readers are going through and literally empower their readers by teaching them how to develop skills to face challenges. This is not a book to read and set aside; the interactive exercises help readers practice what Jain and Dr. Tsabary propose, proving that we can save ourselves with these superpowers. I love everything about this book, from the sciencey stuff to the illustrations, and am excited to implement these ideas in my own life.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen