The Art of Not Breathing by Sarah Alexander - OPTIONAL

Alexander, Sarah The Art of Not Breathing, 278 pages. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. $17.99 Language: R (33 swears, 14 ‘f’) Mature content: R (sex, nudity, graphic language, severe self-harm, drinking, suicide, extreme bullying, PTSD, delusions brought on from grief, parental abuse and graphic depictions of death) Violence: PG-13 (fighting and traumatic death) 

Elsie’s twin brother drowned in the sea five years ago, and her family has never been the same. Elsie is obsessed with discovering her blocked memories of that day and getting all the dark secrets her family has been keeping into the light. With the help of sweet free diver Tate and her older brother Dillon, she may be able to face the ocean and finally say goodbye to her twin once and for all.   

The Art of Not Breathing is a very gritty YA contemporary with strong content that makes it feel more New Adult to be honest, though I can think of no reason for all the gratuitousness to take place. It does nothing to further the plot or the character development. I started this novel enthralled by the unique writing and the deep emotional pull of the story line, but ended it sort of baffled. The characters actions are erratic and nonsensical. You can’t get to know them because they have nothing concrete about themselves besides the issues that they face. Lastly, this book simply suffers from too many themes in too little pages. The topics discussed in this novel were not handled in a way I could appreciate and I can’t see the benefit in teens reading this story excepting its perfectly unpretentious realness. 

HS- OPTIONAL. Student Reviewer: Jewels DiSalvo

Daddy Dreams by Anne Gutman - ADVISABLE

Gutman, Anne and Georg Hallensleben Daddy Dreams. BOARD BOOK. Chronicle Books, 2017. $5.99 

Fathers and their babies are the focus of this beautiful board book. Different animals dream different ways--standing up, lying down, upside down, etc. But no matter how they dream, they like to keep their children nearby. The book finishes with a toddler and her dad--who likes to dream right next to her! 

This is a great addition to any board book collection for young readers. The illustrations are beautiful and done in calming colors and strokes. The message of a father's love also comes through nicely and parents will enjoy reading this book with their own children. 

PRE-K--ADVISABLE. Reviewer: TC

Moone Boy the Fish Detective by Chris O'Dowd - NO

O’Dowd, Chris and Murphy, Nick V.  Moone Boy the Fish Detective.  #327 pages.  Feiwel and Friends Press (Macmillan), 2015. $14.99. Language: PG ( 7 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG.   

Martin Moone’s family has fallen on hard times and he soon realizes that if he is going to get the game boy he wants he will need to earn it for himself. So he finds a job at Cross Country Meats as the butcher’s assistant.  But when the business is threatened by the Fancy Fishatorium across the street. Martin moonlights as a fish detective, infiltrating the super secret fish factory, convinced that there are fishy things going on!

The book has witty and clever parts but the language and the abundance of mature potty humor make this book a bit too crass for the readers for whom it seems to be intended.  The story and plot seem to nothing but a vehicle by which to  gross out the reader.  The pictures throughout are lively and fun and will definitely be appealing to some.

MS - NO. Reviewer: Jen M. Elementary Librarian.

Little Fox in the Forest by Stephanie Graegin - ESSENTIAL

Graegin, Stephanie Little Fox in the Forest. PICTURE BOOK. Schwartz & Wade Books, 2017. $17.99 

A young girl brings her favorite stuffed fox to school for Show & Tell. Later, at the playground, she is shocked when a real fox appears and takes off with her beloved toy! As the girl and a friend chase after the fox, they embark on a grand adventure into a magical animal world they never knew existed. The fox is eventually found--and a new friend is made! 

I am 100% in love with this wonderful picture book without words. The story is told through panels of pictures in a wonderful whimsical style and done so well that text is not really needed. This would be a great book for a home or classroom library, and could lead to some great writing prompts and discussions. The lack of text makes it a tough choice for the youngest book lovers who might need help following the story, but older children will love it. 

EL (K-3), EL--ESSENTIAL. Reviewer: TC

The Cartographer's Daughter by Kiran Millwood Hargrove - OPTIONAL

Hargrove, Kiran Millwood The Cartographer’s Daughter. 218 pgs. Alfred A Knopf 2016. $16.99. Language: G (1 swear 0 ‘f’) Mature Content: G; Violence: PG13 (Attacks, injuries, dangerous situations, deaths)  

Isabella lives on an island with her father, who is a mapmaker.  The island is ruled by a powerful Governor who has forbidden access to a large portion of the island and banished some of the inhabitants there.  But when a schoolmate of Isabella’s is killed and the governor’s daughter Luna - who happens to be Isabella’s best friend- ventures into the forbidden area to search for the killer herself, Isabella (disguised as her dead brother) hires on with a Governor’s search party as a cartographer and joins the search for Lupe and maybe a killer-or killers or even a beast. The beasts are these wild dogs that are the minions of Yote, a sort of fire god bent on taking the island for himself. Can Isabella save the island, and end Yote's terrible reign forever?  

This was so predictable! The myths woven into the plot were obviously foreshadowing so the story wasn't very exciting or all that engaging.  The fantasy world it was set in was vague - I get that it's an alternate Earth, places like Aeygpt,  Amrica,  Europa, and Chine but not India,  but other than to establish places geographically for the reader, it's so unnecessary. A map of the island or one her father made would have been helpful and appreciated.   The cover illustration doesn't match the story - Isabelle disguises herself as a boy and cuts her hair short at the beginning of the book, so it was irritating to see that giant braid on both the front and back cover. There is a hint of romance but there is no purpose other than to have her uncomfortable about holding onto the boy she is riding a horse behind.  A short fantasy that seems to stand on its own, but maybe too short to effectively establish its world.  

EL, MS - OPTIONAL  Lisa Librarian

Jed and the Junkyard War by Steven Bohls - ADVISABLE

Bohls, Steven Jed and the Junkyard War, 298 pages. Disney Hyperion, 2016. $16.99.

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG-13.

12-year old Jed wakes up on his birthday to discover his parents have disappeared, leaving him nothing but a cryptic note, a backpack full of water bottles and batteries, and directions to follow a tunnel at the back of their kitchen dishwasher.  At the end of the tunnel, Jed finds himself in a totally new world—a world in a massive junkyard at war where everyone lives above ground on floating cities or boats. Picked up by the enigmatic Captain Bog and his crew after his grandfather does not show up, Jed joins up with these rust pirates in hopes of finding his family. The twist comes when Jed finally discovers where his grandfather is—with the terrifying Dreads who are more machine than man. When he does finally meet up with his Grandfather, Jed is horrified to learn the truth about his family and about himself. But the choice of what to do with that information is still up to him. 

I think this book will be immensely popular with young adult readers as it introduces a totally new and unique world with interesting characters. I enjoyed learning the “rules” of this junkyard world right along with Jed and the twists and turns were always unexpected. The main problem I had with this book was its age-level. Jed is supposed to be 12, but his words and actions, as well as the violence that commences in the second half of the novel, would make age 16 far more appropriate. The language is 100% clean but the violence that is discussed and often seen (point blank shootings, killings, torture, abuse, etc) is not something I find wholly appropriate to a younger middle school reader. As such, I think it is more appropriate to a high school audience but will still be appreciated by middle and high school readers across the board.

MS—OPTIONAL, HS—ADVISABLE. Reviewer: TC