Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan - ADVISABLE
A Royal Conundrum (The Misfits #1) by Lisa Yee, art by Dan Santat - ADVISABLE
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
The Mythmakers by John Hendrix - OPTIONAL
Extra Large by Tyler Page - ADVISABLE
Monday, June 16, 2025
The Sherlock Society: Hurricane Heist by James Ponti - ADVISABLE
How it All Ends by Emma Hunsinger - ADVISABLE
Sunday, June 15, 2025
Faker by Gordon Korman - ADVISABLE
Earhart: The Incredible Flight of a Field Mouse Around the World by Torben Kuhlmann - ADVISABLE
Earhart: The Incredible Flight of a Field Mouse Around the World by Torben Kuhlmann, 128 pages PICTURE BOOK North South, 2025. $22. 9780735845794
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Saturday, June 14, 2025
Looking for Smoke by K. A. Cobell - ADVISABLE
Looking for Smoke by K. A. Cobell, 402 pages. Heartdrum, 2024. $20
Language: PG (21 swears, 0 ‘f'); Mature Content: PG-13 (some kissing, attempted sexual assault, death, grief, a fully clothed overnight stay with only kissing, sexual innuendo, drug use and addiction mentioned, on page underage drinking); Violence: PG-13 (murder by strangulation and gunshot, physical fights, animal hunting)
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
The summer before senior year four kids become suspects in the murder and disappearance of two classmates from the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana. Mara is new to the community. She did not grow up on the reservation and is considered an outsider. Loren is the sister of the missing girl. Eli and Brody are friends with both the missing and murdered girls. The four will need to work together to solve things. Each of the suspects is dealing with complicated family dynamics, including neglect, drug use, and trauma.
Cobell’s murder mystery/thriller is told from the alternating points of view of each of the four suspects, Mara, Brody, Loren, and Eli. The story highlights the Blackfeet people and their culture. It also brings attention to the issues of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Although some tough subjects are covered, it does not get bogged down. The story is a fast-moving, interesting murder mystery told from multiple points of view.
Mara, Brody, Loren and Eli are Blackfeet.
A. Snow, Librarian
Happy & Sad & Everything True by Alex Thayer - NO
Happy & Sad & Everything True by Alex Thayer, 255 pages. Aladdin (Simon), 2024. $18.
Content: G
BUYING ADVISORY: NO
APPEALS TO: FEW
Sixth grader Dee is having a hard year because she and her best friend Juniper are no longer in the same classroom and Juniper has been drawing away from her. Also, her mother came to parents day and accidentally, but without shame, exposes her underwear to the entire 6th grade. Dee has taken to hiding in the bathroom during snack time and one time a voice from the boys’ bathroom talks back to her and Dee doles out a bit of friendly advice. Then a couple of other kids ask for advice the same way. And then a couple more kids ask for advice in different places. But someone is out to sabotage Dee - in school and personally.
I found so many of the premises of this book to be unbelievable - starting with communicating through the vents between the bathrooms - this means anyone could hear anything said in either bathroom. Then there is Dee absenting herself every snack period - without any questions from her teacher. Then there is the fact that Dee doesn’t seem to notice whether someone is absent or not from her own classroom, or whether that person has proceeded her to the bathroom. Please don’t waste your time or your students’ time. The only thing redeeming about this book is the final confrontation in the principal’s office, which is handled very well. But just start reading from chapter 29 to the end and call it good.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
Friday, June 13, 2025
Hungry Bones by Louise Hung - ADVISABLE
Content: G (ghost present, but not the death and destruction indicated on the cover)
BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVISABLE
APPEALS TO: SOME
Molly has been getting “the zaps” since she was a little girl. “The zaps” meant that she could read bits of history in objects and feel ghostly presences. She and her mother have moved around the country, leaving when people start looking at Molly with suspicion. Their latest move is to her mother’s home town - unfortunately their home has a resident ghost - Jade. Jade has been dead for over 100 years, and she needs human food to stay sane - or she turns into a hungry ghost - an evil spirit. Though Molly ignores Jade at first, Molly gets drawn into Jade’s story and decides she will do what she can to help her.
Jade’s story is not as evil as the cover would indicate. Besides the ghost story, Hung touches on the Chinese after life, reconciling with family, and getting a parent to listen to a child who deserves a voice and answers. Also includes information about how the Chinese were treated in the American West during and after the joining of the Transcontinental Railroad. I do think 50-75 pages could be trimmed from the story, which would make this more appealing to a wider variety of readers.
Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS
Rachel Carson's Wonder-Filled World by Kate Hannigan and Katie Hickey - OPTIONAL
Rachel Carson's Wonder-Filled World: How the Scientist, Writer, and Nature Lover Changed the Environmental Movement by Kate Hannigan, illustrated by Katie Hickey. NON-FICTION, BIOGRAPHY PICTURE BOOK. Calkins Creek, 2025. $25. 9781662680571
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SOME
Rachel Carson always loved nature. Her whole life, she wrote about what she saw, heard, and felt in the outdoors. As a child, she explored the woods. As a student, she loved the Atlantic coast. When she got older, she combined her love of science, nature, and writing and published a book to try to protect nature and warn people about pesticides.
The end pages include an author's note, biographical timeline, glossary, and information about how to be a naturalist like Carson. " The best part of this book is the pictures. The illustrations are colorful and dynamic. Every few pages there is a quote from Carson. I thought they took away from the narrative, and the language would be hard to understand for children.
Rachel Carson and her family are white.
Rachel, Elementary Library Specialist
Thursday, June 12, 2025
Seasick by Kristin Cast and Pintip Dunn - OPTIONAL
Seasick by Kristin Cast and Pintip Dunn, 328 pages. Delacorte Press (Random House), 2023. $19
Language: R (32 swears, 2 ‘f'); Mature Content: PG-13 (a few kisses); Violence: PG-13 (bloody murder, fighting)
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
A few kids from Yatesville High School were selected to go on a yacht trip following their senior year of high school. Once on the yacht, the murders start.. The kids are trying to stay safe, survive and figure out the murderer’s identity. The story is told from two perspectives alternating between Naya and Yana. They were childhood best friends who had fallen out. Over the course of the difficult trip, they regain their friendship.
Overall I really enjoyed the murder mystery. It was well written and interesting to see it told from two points of view. There are several bloody murders. The book addresses some class issues: most of the students are wealthy, while Naya and Yana are scholarship students. There was a regular gossip social media post that usually had unkind things to say about some of the kids.
Naya is biracial and Yana is Thai-American.
Claire S., 11th grade student
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
Deep Water by Jamie Sumner - ESSENTIAL
Deep Water by Jamie Sumner, 213 pages. Atheneum BYR (Simon), 2024. $18
Language: G (0 swears, 0 ‘f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: G (some peril)
BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ESSENTIAL
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
12yo Tully's life revolves around swimming. She wants to break the record for the youngest person to complete the "Godfather" swim, a 12 miles swim across Lake Tahoe. So with her best friend Arch as her support crew, she sets out early one morning without telling her father. She hopes her mother will hear of her accomplishment and it will be enough for her to want to come home. The swim starts off well. But alone with her thoughts Tully begins to think about all that she has lost recently. One of the greatest risks in a long distant swim is allowing your thoughts to bring you down. Tully must confront her feelings about her mother leaving and keep pace in order to reach the shore before her father notices she is not at home. But when a storm rolls in, Tully has to decide if she will risk both her life and Arch's or call it quits.
A beautifully written novel in verse told through flash backs of memories alongside descriptions of the current conditions of the swim. I liked the perspective of a child struggling to cope with and understand a parent's mental health issues. Tully still loves her mother. But she is also struggling with how her mother's choices are affecting her. Fast paced. I had a hard time putting it down.
Tully and Arch present white.
A. Snow, Librarian
Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Safiyyah's War by Hiba Noor Khan - ADVISABLE
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE
Monday, June 9, 2025
Dungeons and Drama by Kristy Boyce - ADVISABLE
Sunday, June 8, 2025
Wires Crossed by Beth Fantaskey - ADVISABLE
Saturday, June 7, 2025
Trans History: From Ancient Times to the Present Day by Alex Combs & Andrew Eakett - OPTIONAL
Language: R (2 swears, 6 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG-13 (repeated objective references to sexual anatomy, repeated references to sex work & sexual abuse, repeated references to different types of body modifications throughout history, one trans man portrayed without a shirt); Violence: PG-13 (repeated references to physical violence & abuse towards trans people throughout history, but nothing graphic or on-page, and two specific references to suicide of a trans person).
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: SOME
Trans History is a graphic nonfiction book that offers an engaging and deeply researched introduction to trans history, spanning from ancient times to the present. The five chapters of the book highlights stories, historical profiles, and conversations with modern activists, to explore the diversity of trans experiences and tracks the evolution of the concepts of gender and sexuality across cultures and eras.
As someone who has studied and taught world history, I found this text incredibly helpful for illustrating how history is shaped and how voices are often excluded from the historical record based on past and present cultural norms and values. Even though I have read a lot of LGBTQIA+ literature, there is still so much that I didn’t know about the trans experience. I felt like this book taught me a lot and gave me more to think about every time I stepped away from it. It is not a “how-to become trans” book, merely a well-researched and easily digestible history of trans people. I don’t see it as something that will be widely circulated, but for those that need it, it will be incredibly valuable.
Reviewer: Kiera Beddes, ELA teacher, #bookswithbeddes
Friday, June 6, 2025
Love on Paper by Danielle Parker - OPTIONAL
Love on Paper by Danielle Parker, 320 pages. Penguin, 2025. $20
Language: R (56 swears, 11 ’f'); Mature Content: PG-13 (References to underage drug and alcohol use; 23 mentions of kissing); Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: HS, ADULT - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
17yo Macy wants to be a writer--well, maybe. But her own kind of writer, not the same as her famous novelist mom or picture book author dad. Even though her mom might have pulled some strings to get her in, Macy is determined to find her voice at Berkeley’s prestigious Penovation writing retreat. This summer’s focus: Romance. While searching for inspiration, Macy finds a few other things: the swoon-worthy son of her family’s enemies and a tantalizing mystery left behind by a famous romance writer. As the story progresses, Macy and boyfrienemy Caleb try to figure out their feelings in the face of their families’ ancient grudge and their own complicated relationships with their parents. Everyone at the retreat, Macy and Caleb included, is trying to write a story to win a spot in a published anthology. And when introspection, budding love, and writing sprints fail to inspire, the clues leading to Betty Quinn’s unfinished manuscript are the perfect distraction. This is a lot of ground to cover in four weeks--but of course, Macy is about to discover that all of these paths are connected.
This was a fun, sweet, swoon-worthy read, but the characters still had complexity and depth. The writing was engaging and full of current lingo and pop culture references, and the story had a satisfying ending. While I wish the language were cleaner, the profanity use felt natural and was used with humor.
Main character Macy is mixed race Black and Korean, love interest Caleb is Black, and roommate Fern is nonbinary and Latinx.
Lindsay Blowers, ELA Teacher
Thursday, June 5, 2025
The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry (Sunderworld #1) by Ransom Riggs - OPTIONAL
The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry (Sunderworld #1) by Ransom Riggs, 336 pages. Dutton BYR (Penguin), 2024. $12
Language: R (100+ swears, 15+ f'); Mature Content: PG-13 (brief underage drinking); Violence: PG (Fantasy violence)
BUYING ADVISORY: HS, ADULT - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Since his mom died, 17yo Larry’s life hasn’t been easy. He’s nothing but a disappointment to his motivational-speaker father--”average in every way”--and he keeps having “episodes” where he sees things from his favorite childhood TV series about a fantasy land called Sunderworld. The only one who kind of gets Larry is his best friend, Emmett--but they’re seniors in high school now, and while Emmett has become popular and well-adjusted, Larry has... not. Finally Larry can no longer ignore the visions, and it turns out Sunderland was real all along. He and Emmett find a way in together, and they realize Sunderland is in trouble. Their efforts to help, however, cause more harm than good, leaving Emmett with a damaged memory. Eventually, Larry forces his way back into Sunderworld and, with a little help from a girl named Isabel and her hippie-genius uncle, makes a plan to help Emmett get back to normal. Of course, larger forces are at work, including the plans laid in place by Leopold’s late mother, who knew a lot more about Sunderland than Leopold ever guessed.
Fans of Ransom Riggs and gritty fantasy will enjoy this book if they are prepared for a more mature read. It was a fun page-turner with a well-developed fantasy world, but it's for a more mature audience than Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children--the main characters are 17 and sweary. There are some cheesy tropes, but they're mostly tongue-in-cheek--Riggs knows what he's doing.
Larry reads white, Emmett is Black, and love interest Isabel is Latinx.
Lindsay Blowers, ELA Teacher