Saturday, August 31, 2024
runDisney: The Official Guide to Racing Around the Parks by Scott Douglas - GIFT
Reckless by Lauren Roberts - OPTIONAL
Friday, August 30, 2024
The Mirror of Beasts by Alexandra Bracken - OPTIONAL
Such Charming Liars by Karen McManus - OPTIONAL
Thursday, August 29, 2024
Our Deadly Designs by Kalyn Josephson - OPTIONAL
Beneath These Cursed Stars by Lexi Ryan - OPTIONAL
Sunday, August 25, 2024
Two Sides to Every Murder by Danielle Valentine - OPTIONAL
LynnDell Watson, DHS Librarian
Saturday, August 24, 2024
The Fixer Upper (Lost Legends) by Jen Calonita - ADVISABLE
Friday, August 23, 2024
Tangled Up in You by Christina Lauren - OPTIONAL
I love Ren’s gentle heart and high intelligence. She’s genuine in all she does. Fitz is somewhat of a mystery and his story is interesting. I enjoyed reading this story and getting to know the characters and their backgrounds.
Ethnicity falls to white. LynnDell Watson, DHS Librarian
Thursday, August 22, 2024
The Sticky Note Manifesto of Aisha Agarwal by Ambika Vohra - ADVISABLE
The Sticky Note Manifesto of Aisha Agarwal by Ambika Vohra, 368 pages. Quill Tree Books (HarperCollins), 2024. $20.
Language: PG-13 (15 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: MANY
Aisha is plagued by the essay question for her Stanford college application asking how she has gotten out of her comfort zone. A question she can’t answer because everything about her life has been about staying in her comfort zone of studying and school extracurriculars, like crochet club. But then Aisha ends up crying in another student’s car and convinces him to help her cross things off her new manifesto list of things outside her comfort zone.
Full of funny scenarios and brilliant metaphors, Aisha’s story captures a piece of every reader that struggles to find a place to belong. It’s easy to think that everything will be better if we are better, if we are more, if we could just be like so-and-so. But just because something isn’t on your manifesto list doesn’t mean it isn’t a good thing—and something being on the list doesn’t mean it is the only absolutely right thing. Aisha’s story is about learning to be happy with being the best version of yourself who can weather the storms of life and find joy in both rain and sunshine.
Aisha is Indian, Brian is Chinese, Quentin is Filipino-Italian, and Kevin is Black. Also, Marcy is bi. The mature content rating is for underage drinking, mentions of drugs and nudity, kissing, and mild innuendo. The violence rating is for a joke about murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
Wednesday, August 21, 2024
The Fort by Gordon Korman - ADVISABLE
Monday, August 19, 2024
The Legend of Last Library by Frank L. Cole - ADVISABLE
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
When scavenging for paper can pay for her grandfather’s medical bills, Juni (13yo) is willing to go anywhere to find a scrap of it. After Juni convinces her two friends to check the off limits buildings in Harker’s Village, Quaze (14yo) hits the jackpot: ten entire pages. But Quaze keeps the pages for herself and abandons the group, not knowing that the plastic Juni takes will lead to more paper than they could ever dream of.
Cole plays with the effects of having little to no paper in a post-apocalyptic world. Juni’s story offers one possibility while the roles of technology and paper in the book invite readers to think about their importance in our own lives. The adventure is wrought with emotional pitfalls, physical danger, and the temptation to help oneself instead of mankind as a whole. The only negative is that the story felt too short.
The majority of characters, including Juni, are implied White. Kobyn is implied Latino, and Lutz is described as having “dark” skin. The mature content rating is for illegal activity, and the violence rating is for assault.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
Saturday, August 17, 2024
Under the Surface by Diana Urban - OPTIONAL
Under the Surface by Diana Urban, 354 pages. G.P. Putnam’s Sons (Penguin Group), 2024. $20.
Language: R (144 swears, 10 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
On the best senior trip ever to Paris, Ruby is determined to take advantage of the opportunity to film travel content videos—and to not get sent home on day one. But Val sneaks out, and Ruby has to get her back, which leads to an unplanned trip to the catacombs under the city. An unplanned trip that quickly takes a wrong turn.
Ruby’s story took some dark turns that I wasn’t expecting, ramping up from a curfew breaking adventure to a serious life-or-death situation. On the surface of this story are lessons about consequences, friendship, and learning to give voice to “I’m sorry” and “I love you;” but Urban also puts in a plug about awareness in our real world about the thousands of people who go missing every year.
Ruby, Sean, Val, and Olivia are White; Julien is French; and Selena is implied Hispanic. Also, Selena and Aliyah are part of the LGBT community. The mature content rating is for underage drinking, illegal activity, kissing, mentions of drugs and human trafficking, partial nudity, and scary elements. The violence rating is for knife and gun use, blood and gore, corpses, assault, and murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
Monday, August 12, 2024
A Proper Facade by Esther Hatch - OPTIONAL
A Proper Facade by Esther Hatch, 248 pages. Covenant Communications, 2024. $17.
Language: PG (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Deciding that it might be time to look for a wife, Nicholas (25yo) sets out to find a political partner, not a distraction that will tempt him to return to the man he was before joining the army. On the other hand, Mercy (20yo) is determined to only marry for love—even if that means foisting this dispassionate duke on someone else.
Nicholas and Mercy’s story is built upon the avoidable drama of miscommunication. The antics were slightly more cringey than entertaining because of what readers knew about how much the actions were going to hurt the other—unwitting—party involved. There were also a lot of references to the couples in the previous books, though this story is technically a standalone. But the ending is perfectly cheesy and swoony, so all's well that ends well.
The majority of characters are either British or Irish. The language rating is for British swears. The mature content rating is for mild innuendo and kissing. The violence rating is for mentions of war conflict and murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
Wednesday, August 7, 2024
Medici Heist by Caitlin Schneiderhan - OPTIONAL
Language: R (106 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: MANY
Not everyone in Florence is happy to see the Medici return as Pope and head cardinal to replace the blossoming Republic Fiorentina. With a crew of five others, Rosa (17yo) is determined to rob the Medici family blind—but when your home is being threatened, keeping things strictly about the money is near impossible.
Schneiderhan balances perfectly the building of anticipation, with the right amounts of success and hurdles, and the absolute delight of watching how everything actually turns out. The setup drops a good amount of hints without being obvious or boring, and the inclusion of a last-minute crew member gives Schneiderhan a legit reason for explaining what happened after the fact. There are a couple parts I still have questions about, but my bits of confusion do not take away from my overall enjoyment of this heist. I can even see myself reading it again.
Most of the characters are explicitly or implied Italian, and Khalid is Tunisian. A couple of the main characters are members of the LGBT community. The mature content rating is for alcohol use, illegal activity, partial nudity (and mentions of nudity in art), kissing, innuendo, and mentions of charlatans and rape. The violence rating is for blood, assault, mentions of suicide, and murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
Tuesday, August 6, 2024
Nell of Gumbling: My Extremely Normal Fairy-Tale Life by Emma Steinkellner - OPTIONAL
Monday, August 5, 2024
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden - OPTIONAL
BUYING ADVISORY: HS, ADULT - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: SEVERAL
24yo Laura receives her brother’s dog tags and uniform in the mail. This means that Freddie has died in World War I. She’s devastated but has a feeling that he isn’t dead. She leaves her Canadian home and travels back to World War I and takes up her mantle as a war nurse again to search for any information she can find about Freddie. What she discovers will change her life forever.
Laura’s strength, perseverance, and love for her brother makes her a great character. My heart warmed as Freddie and the German soldier helped each other and became like brothers. I appreciated the World War I setting and learned quite a bit about its history. I didn’t know about the Halifax explosion before I read this book.
The ethnicity defaults to white.
LynnDell Watson, DHS Librarian, Delta, Utah
Sunday, August 4, 2024
The Enchanted Life of Valentina Mejia by Alexandra Alessandri - ADVISABLE
Language: G (0 swears, 0 ‘f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (fantasy characters in peril)
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE.
AUDIENCE APPEAL: SEVERAL
12yo Valentina wants to be an artist and draw the real world. Her father loves the legends of their Colombian heritage and even takes his children with him to track down legendary creatures. On one of these adventures, an earthquake occurs. Valentina and her little brother Julian fall into another dimension where fantasy creatures are real. They must find their way through this dangerous land to the queen's castle. Valentina and Julian hope that the queen will help them get home.
Filled with stories of the legends of Columbia, this book held my attention from the beginning. I found it a little confusing when Spanish words were used and their meaning wasn't always explained. It has a really great surprise ending though!
Tracie, Elementary School Librarian
Saturday, August 3, 2024
Countdown to Yesterday by Shirley Marr - ADVISABLE
Language: G (0 swears, 0 ‘f'); Mature Content: PG (Some bullying. Divorce is a main theme); Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: SEVERAL
11yo James is thrilled when his mom announces that she plans to enter the school's cake decorating contest, something he has wished she would do for years. However, his joy is short-lived as she also announces that she is moving out. James now has to navigate splitting his time between his dad's house and his mom's new apartment. He wishes desperately that he could live inside some of his favorite memories of when his family was whole, complete, and happy. He makes a new friend at school named Yan. When he tells her he wants to go back in time so that he can live in his happy memories, Yan sets to work building a time machine. As Yan works on the time machine, his mother practices her cake decorating and his Dad starts to rebuild an old motorbike, James begins to see for the first time that his parents are people just trying to find their own happiness. When the day finally comes and James is presented with staying in the present or traveling back to live in his old memories, he will find that the decision is harder than he first thought.
I enjoyed this story which weaves together space themes as it navigates the difficult topics of divorce and coming of age. As James reexamines his own memories, he starts to love and accept his parents in a new way. He also learns that memories can be unreliable. Sometimes we remember only the parts we want to remember and forget the parts we don't. The book dragged a bit at times but for the most part, I enjoyed it.
The book is set in Australia. James' mother is Chinese-Australian. Yan is a Chinese immigrant.
Friday, August 2, 2024
Silent Sister by Megan Davidhizar - OPTIONAL
Silent Sister by Megan Davidhizar, 352 pages. Delacorte Press (Random House), 2024. $20.
Language: PG (5 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence; PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
The Stoll sisters, Grace and Maddy, went on the Senior Sabbatical trip in the same group of senior class members, but only one made it home. Waking up in the hospital with no memory of the week of the trip, there is nothing she wouldn’t give to remember and bring her sister back safely. But it might already be too late.
The points of view switch between chapters, revealing what happened on the senior trip as it becomes relevant to readers—a back and forth that felt like the right ratio of holding back and then giving at the most meaningful time. Suspense novels are nearly synonymous with twist endings, but I don’t know how I feel about this one. I like the twist because of the hints that lead readers in the right direction while still allowing for an aha moment; but I’m not sure I buy the reasoning behind it. A little suspended belief goes a long way in enjoying Grace and Maddy’s story.
The majority of characters are implied White. The mature content rating is for underage drinking; mentions of drugs, nudity, and pedophiles; and innuendo. The violence rating is for mentions of murder, self harm, and suicide.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen