That Flag by Tameka Fryer Brown, illustrated by Nikolas Smith. PICTURE BOOK. Harper, 2023. $19. 9780063093447
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
That Flag by Tameka Fryer Brown and Nikolas Smith - ADVISABLE
Caterpillar Cocoon? by Rachel Ignotofsky - ESSENTIAL
Ten-Word Tiny Tales to Inspire and Unsettle by Joesph Coelho and 21 artist friends - OPTIONAL
Tuesday, September 26, 2023
Shannon in the Spotlight by Kalena Miller - ADVISABLE
What Happened on Hicks Road by Hannah Jayne - HIGH
Chaos & Flame by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland - HIGH
Crush (Crave #2) by Tracy Wolff - OPTIONAL
Monday, September 25, 2023
Invisible Son by Kim Johnson - OPTIONAL
Crave by Tracy Wolff - OPTIONAL
Sunday, September 24, 2023
Royal Blood by Aimee Carter - HIGH
A Warning About Swans by R. M. Romero - ADVISABLE
Saturday, September 23, 2023
The Secrets of Stone Creek by Briana McDonald - OPTIONAL
The Legacies by Jessica Goodman - OPTIONAL
Friday, September 22, 2023
The Woods Are Always Watching by Stephanie Perkins - OPTIONAL
Mae Makes a Way by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich and Andrea Pippins - ADVISABLE
SIsters in Science by Linda Elovitz Marshall - ADVISABLE
Sisters in Science: Marie Curie, Bronia Dluska, and the Atomic Power of Sisterhood by Linda Elovitz Marshall and Anna and Elena Balbusso. PICTURE BOOK. Random House, 2023. $19. 9780593377581
Moving the Millers' Minnie Moore Mine Mansion by Dave Eggers, illustrated by Julia Sarda - HIGH
Thursday, September 21, 2023
Accountable by Dashka Slater - HIGH
House of Roots and Ruin by Erin A. Craig - OPTIONAL
Wednesday, September 20, 2023
The Brilliant Calculator by Jan Lower and Susan Reagan - ADVISABLE
Blade Breaker (Realm Breaker #2) by Victoria Aveyard - HIGH
Tuesday, September 19, 2023
Foxglove (Belladonna #2) by Adalyn Grace - HIGH
Stars of the Night by Caren Stelson and Selina Alko - ADVISABLE
Monday, September 18, 2023
A Pretty Implausible Premise by Karen Rivers - OPTIONAL
A Pretty Implausible Premise by Karen Rivers, 384 pages. Algonquin Young Readers (Algonquin Books), 2023. $19.
Language: R (126 swears, 39 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
17yo Hattie and 18yo Presley are living tragedies: separated parents, lost Olympic dreams, and dealing with grief over deaths close to them. Do two tragedies equal a happily ever after or a bigger disaster?
Rivers translated Hattie and Presley onto the page very well, which has its pros and cons. Readers have the opportunity to know and connect with the characters on a deep level, but the characters’ thoughts and emotions became discombobulating—which made sense for the characters but made for a difficult reading experience. Furthermore, Rivers is honest in the title, and I felt how implausible the story was being set up to be and lost interest. Until the end. The ending came together beautifully, and the more I think about it the more I like it.
Hattie is implied white, Presley is Scottish-Canadian, and Calliope is implied Black. The mature content rating is for underage drinking, partial nudity, innuendo, and mentions of genitalia, condoms, and sex. The violence rating is for mentions of suicide.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
Sunday, September 17, 2023
The Name Drop by Susan Lee - HIGH
The Name Drop by Susan Lee, 304 pages. Inkyard Press, 2023. $20.
Language: R (84 swears, 45 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
18yo Jessica has learned the hard way that success takes money. Since she doesn’t have enough, Jessica’s plan is to make the right connections at her New York internship with the Korean company her father works for. 19yo Elijah is expected to take over as CEO of the family business one day, but he doesn’t want anything to do with it. The only positive thing about this forced internship is that his dad agreed to let Elijah go to the New York office. Through a series of mixups, these struggling new adults have the opportunity to get everything they want out of the summer.
Feeling just like a Kdrama, Jessica and Elijah’s story hits all the right misunderstandings, humor, and budding romance moments. Their story is full of hope and encouragement—even with an unexpected ending. Books and movies too often tell us that happily ever after means getting the perfect ending. While the ending for Jessica and Elijah is anything but perfect, everything does work out. And happily ever after can still exist in that.
The majority of characters are Korean. The mature content is for innuendo.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
Saturday, September 16, 2023
Border Crossings by Sneed Collard III and Howard Gray - ADVISABLE
Great Carrier Reef by Jessica Stremer and Gordy Wright - ADVISABLE
Friday, September 15, 2023
Whale Fall: Exploring an Ocean-Floor Ecosystem by Melissa Stewart and Rob Dunlavey - ESSENTIAL
Whale Fall: Exploring an Ocean-Floor Ecosystem by Melissa Stewart, illustrated by Rob Dunlavey. NON-FICTION PICTURE BOOK. Random House, 2023. $19. 9780593380604
Secrets of the Lost City by Sandra Markle - ADVISABLE
Thursday, September 14, 2023
Operation Pangolin: saving the world’s only scaled mammal by Suzi Eszterhas - ADVISABLE
Cindy Mitchell, Library Teacher, MLS
Poop for Breakfast by Sara Levine and Florence Weiser - ESSENTIAL
Wednesday, September 13, 2023
The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass - ADVISABLE
Mexikid: a graphic memoir by Pedro Martin - ESSENTIAL
Tuesday, September 12, 2023
The Christmas Clash by Suzanne Park - ADVISABLE
Hush-A-Bye by Jody Lee Mott - ADVISABLE
Monday, September 11, 2023
Beauty Reborn by Elizath Lowham - HIGH
Picture Day by Sarah Sax - ADVISABLE
Sunday, September 10, 2023
Educating Elizabeth by Jennifer Moore - OPTIONAL
Educating Elizabeth (Blue Orchid Society #4) by Jennifer Moore, 224 pages. Covenant Communications, 2023. $16.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
22yo Elizabeth has worked hard to build her school for girls, with the help and support of many friends and patrons. She’s ready to sit back and enjoy the fruits of her labor, but obstacles continue to come out of nowhere, eating through her funds and taking away her students. Her school will not fail, even if she has to ask for assistance from the relentless tease Lord Chatsworth.
This series focuses on a sisterhood and how they help support each other to accomplish their goals, and I appreciate that Moore celebrates women without bashing on men. On the contrary, it’s hard not to love the men who seem to be honorary members of the sisterhood. Besides the adorable love story, this book is also about family sticking together despite the difficulties of change. Love can always make more room.
The characters are all English. The mature content rating is for alcohol use, partial nudity, and innuendo.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
A Terrible Tide by Suzanne Meade - OPTIONAL
Saturday, September 9, 2023
A Multitude of Dreams by Mara Rutherford - OPTIONAL
Language: R (48 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
After three years of hiding from the plague, 17yo Seraphina is anxious to be able to leave the castle again, but the king isn’t so keen on popping their secure bubble. Meanwhile, 19yo Nico is working for Lord Crane in gratitude for taking him in when he lost everything—and everyone—to the plague. In this world where everyone is starting over, Seraphina and Nico have to decide whether to be pawns or to take their lives into their own hands.
For the first half of the book, Rutherford builds a compelling tension of the unknown for readers. Through each chapter, readers can feel that something bad is happening, but they don’t know what. Each change in perspective comes at a cliffhanger placed at the perfect moment readers are desperate to return to. When the unknown becomes known, the characters focus on overcoming the obstacle, and a little of the magic was lost for me. The story ends well, but the first half was more enjoyable.
Seraphina is Jewish and is depicted as white on the cover. The mature content rating is for alcohol use and innuendo. The violence rating is for death, self-harm, gun use, murder, and blood and gore.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
Salt and Sugar by Rebecca Cavalho - OPTIONAL
Friday, September 8, 2023
Under the Java Moon by Heather B. Moore - ADVISABLE
Under the Java Moon by Heather B. Moore, 384 pages. Shadow Mountain Publishing, 2023. $27.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
When Rita was four years old, her world started changing. Changes began with the building of a bomb shelter in the backyard and the word “war.” Then her father leaves in the middle of the night with the navy, and Rita joins the rest of the neighborhood in a long walk to become prisoners of a war they’ve only heard about on the radio.
Moore’s writing bleeds. Not only does her writing illustrate the time and energy she has put into research to give readers the right context and the most accurate information to tell the story in a real way, Moore’s writing also pulls at the emotions of readers. The miracles feel more miraculous and the terrors feel more terrifying because of the reality shared in these pages. It’s hard to believe that such a favorable outcome could come from a WWII story. I learned things about WWII and about hope that I never knew before.
Rita and her family are Dutch. The majority of characters are Dutch, Javanese (and, more generally, Indonesian), and Japanese. The mature content rating is for mentions of alcohol, drugs, and bordellos as well as for innuendo. The violence rating is for assault, gun and bomb use, death, discussions of war, mentions of torture and genocide, physical abuse, and murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen