The Liar’s Daughter by Megan Cooley Peterson - OPTIONAL

The Liar’s Daughter by Megan Cooley Peterson, 288 pages.  Holiday House, 2019.  $18

Language: R (20+ swears, 4 “f”); Mature Content: PG (implied sex); Violence: PG (some psychological abuse)

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Piper was happy living in The Community with her brothers and sisters, even though they only saw Mother and Father once in a great while and were raised by the Aunts instead. Until that day when the awful people ripped her away from everything she remembers.  Now she lives with “the woman” who won’t let Piper go Home and won’t let her see Mother or Father.  When can Piper finally go home?

Peterson takes a powerful look at the evil of people manipulating small children for control and the power of the mind to finally free itself from lies.  

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS

Wildfire by Rodman Philbrick - ESSENTIAL

Wildfire by Rodman Philbrick, 208 .  Blue Sky (Scholastic), 2019.  $18.

Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (some danger)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Sam’s summer camp is being evacuated as a huge fire is approaching.  When he runs back to his cabin to grab his cell phone he gets cut off from the rest of the campers and must survive on his own.  He stumbles upon a cabin stocked with a helpful Jeep and then picks up Delphy, another lost camper.  Together they are racing against the odds to survive.  Their plight gets even worse when they are spotted by the reckless arsonists who have been setting the forest on fire.  Now not only is nature working against them, but also men who don’t want their crimes to be known.

Full of close calls and abrupt rescues, which stretch the imagination a bit, Philbrick’s book is still heart pounding enough to be a welcome read by many.

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS

Taken (The Circle #1) by Sage Sask - OPTIONAL

Taken (The Circle #1) by Sage Sask, 484 pages. SBSK Corporation, 2019. $13.

Language: PG (7 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG13

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

With physical contact Alexia can see the past and future of those she touches, but the one life she wants to know about alludes her -- her own. Alexia is captured by a group who know her secret and also have questions about her past. Depending on the answers they find, Alexia could be among enemies who want to kill her as easily as among friends who want to help.

The story was difficult to get into and follow because of the disjointed feel and an inadequate description of the powers Alexia has. After the first few chapters, the disjointed feeling faded as the story flowed through the main points. I found the story interesting, but I didn’t enjoy it -- I didn’t like the constant wavering between learning the “truth” just to find out that it wasn’t really the truth and something else is the real “truth,” which made being kept in the dark from the facts annoying instead of intriguing. However, after struggling to enjoy the book, I found that I loved the last several chapters -- if the first 400 pages hadn’t been so hard for me to get through, I would be looking forward to the sequel.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Monstrous by Carlyn Beccia - ESSENTIAL

Monstrous: The Lore, Gore, and Science Behind Your Favorite Monsters by Carlyn Beccia, 149 pages. Carolrhoda (Lerner), 2019.  $20.

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Meet 8 well-known monsters of the horror universe. 

Not only does Beccia tell us about the monsters as we know them from page and screen, but she also delves into origins of the stories, the science behind the creatures, and historical context. Excellent illustrations and so much informative, fun reading!

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS

The Voice of My Mind by T. A. Fish - OPTIONAL

The Voice of My Mind by T. A. Fish, 84 pages. BookBaby, 2019. $10.

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW

Fish shares his thoughts through this collection of poems. Touching on topics of love, spirituality, regret, and purpose, Fish communicates with readers through short poems and rhyme.

While I liked how most of the poems seemed to flow in a natural progression of theme, some of the poems broke that flow of the overall collection. More irritating to me, though, was when the poems broke their own inner structure of rhyme established in the first couple of stanzas. I failed to grasp the overall idea of the collection, but I did really like about six of the poems as they spoke to my heart and made me stop to ponder the ideas Fish proposed.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Ignited Vol. 1 by Mark Waid and Kwanza Osajyefo - OPTIONAL

Ignited Vol. 1 by Mark Waid and Kwanza Osajyefo, GRAPHIC NOVEL. H1 (Humanoids), 2019. $15. EBOOK.

Language: R (51 swears, 19 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG13

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

The first day of school is never great, but this first day of school is making the news because it’s also the first day of its reopening after a school shooting in May. Anouk just wants it to be a normal day to prove that normal is still possible, but that’s thrown out the window when an anonymous group pushes back against the unreasonable precautions the school administration is taking. As these students discover the odd similarities between their experiences with the shooting, they have to decide what they’re going to do with the new challenges arising.

The story was interesting, though the cause of the students’ powers is still ambiguous enough to be confusing. I wasn’t bored as I read, but I also don’t feel very compelled to find the following volumes to discover the answers to multiple unresolved questions. Overall, it was a good read with good illustrations, I just didn’t find it to be great. The violence rating is for school shooting scenes and action violence.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Girl Without a Face by Nasser Hashmi - NO

Girl Without a Face by Nasser Hashmi, 240 pages. Troubador Publishing Ltd., 2019. $13.

Language: R (58 swears, 24 “f”); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: PG-13

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - NO

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Three months ago a ransom assault left Laura disfigured. The police have been working without progress since then to track down her assailants. With little confidence in the police, Laura doesn’t report the letter she receives from someone promising her more information about the four men who attacked her. Laura sets out on her own undercover role to enact justice -- or something like that.

Right from the start, something felt off as I was reading, as if I was being kept at a distance from the story. The feeling faded as I started to feel more part of the story in chapter two before I suddenly got kicked out again. I just couldn’t lose myself in Laura’s story. Also, I am not supportive of the main character’s relationship with her love interest -- it’s a toxic relationship. I think Hashmi has a good message about moving on from the bad things that happen to us, but the execution of the story to get that point across isn’t very effective.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation by Stuart Gibbs - ESSENTIAL

Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation by Stuart Gibbs, 388 pages. Simon, 2019.  $18

Language: G (1 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (fighting and shooting)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

When the CIA discovers that Einstein left behind a world-shattering equation, Pandora, Dante Garcia is called in to find before any of America’s enemies can.  In order to tilt the odds in his favor, he kidnaps his 12yo half-sister, Charlie, a kid genius and the only chance the whole world has to find the formula before the bad guys do.  But who is bad and who is good when the whole world hangs in the balance?

Ta-Dah!  Welcome to Charlie Thorne’s world!  At least I hope there is another novel or 4 coming.  The possibility exists.  With all of the danger and guns and fighting, this one is for a bit older audience then Gibbs normal writing.  Fans of Robert Muchamore’s CHERUB series, or Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider character and other high octane series will rejoice in this!

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord - HIGH

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord, 336 pages. St. Martin’s Press, 2020. $18.

Language: R (144 swears, 2 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Pepper’s mom is being ridiculous by adding yet another thing for Pepper to be doing with her extremely-full schedule: answering the family business tweets about cheese sandwiches. Jack is getting similar pressure from his dad, except that his dad doesn’t want Jack to do anything with that fancy social media stuff. Despite the Twitter war going on, these two teens find themselves becoming friends in real life -- until secrets and stress pile up and threaten to ruin the careful lives they were trying to build.

I knew that I was going to enjoy reading this story as soon as I started reading the synopsis, but I didn’t know that I was going to enjoy it as much as I did. Yes, the book is cheesy (no pun intended), but it wasn’t as predictable as I expected. I literally laughed out loud at the quips and antics of the characters, and I was absurdly touched by the kindness of the main characters and their classmates. I couldn’t get enough as the characters kept surprising me and taking me in directions I wasn’t expecting. The high swear count is the only reason this book is “optional” instead of “advisable” or “essential.”

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler and Damian Duffy

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Damian Duffy, 262 pages. Abrams, JANUARY 2020. $23. 978-1419731334

Language: R (87 swears, 2 “f”); Mature Content: R; Violence: R

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - NO

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

In 2025, America is not the amazing place it used to be -- communities close themselves off for safety, only leaving when they have to. But not all those spreading harm and fear are deterred by a locked gate. As the world around Lauren and her family becomes more violent and unpredictable, she tries to prepare them for the hardships coming -- unfortunately, some are not willing to listen until it is too late.

While the premise initially caught my attention, I quickly lost interest because of the rough illustrations. The talent of illustrators in making beautiful panels to tell a story is often my favorite part of graphic novels, so I was disappointed to discover I wasn’t enjoying that aspect of Parable of the Sower. These rough illustrations were not only unaesthetically pleasing, they also hindered the story by making it difficult to understand who was doing and saying what, which quickly lead me into confusion. I suggest reading Octavia E. Butler’s original work instead. The mature content rating is for nudity, sex, and mentions of rape and prostitution; the violence rating is for death, suicide, child abuse, drug use, arson, murder, and implied cannibalism.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Lollipop Kids Vol. 1 by Adam Glass - ADVISABLE

Lollipop Kids Vol. 1 by Adam Glass, 114 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL. Aftershock Comics, 2019. $15.

Language: PG13 (22 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG13

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

When his sister doesn’t come home on the eve of her birthday, Nick sets out to find her. They haven’t been tight since they were little, but he never imagined that Mia would be hiding so much from him about her life and their shared heritage with the Lollipop Kids. As monsters emerge from Central Park, Nick has to make a choice: is he taking up the responsibility of a Lollipop Kid or not?

The story is exciting and fast paced, and I love the beautiful illustrations that accompany the words. Honestly, I was hooked and ready to love this story from the introduction -- before anything even got started. Knowing how this story came to be made the story and the little details better for me than if I had jumped into joining Nick on his journey. I think that Mia’s perspective on Nick’s difficulties is an attitude that we all need to adopt and cultivate.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Bizarre World by E. Reid Ross - OPTIONAL

Bizarre World by E. Reid Ross, 259 pages.  NON-FICTION. Adams Media (Simon), 2019. $16. 9781507210789

Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: R (body parts mentioned); Violence: PG (some rites of passage are graphic)

BUYING ADVISORY: ADULTS - GIFT, HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

60 world rituals under 8 broad categories are explained in Adams Media fascinating book. There is an emphasis on the creepy and weird, as mentioned in the subtitle.  I might put this in a high school, as many of the rituals are very “earthy”. Any Geography teacher would love this to use as a supplement to any textbook.  Would also make a great bathroom book!

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS

Planet of the Nerds by Paul Constant - AVERAGE

Planet of the Nerds by Paul Constant, 152 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL. Ahoy Comics, OCTOBER 2019. $18.

Language: R (81 swears, 51 “f”); Mature Content: R; Violence: PG13

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Chad is out to get the nerd Alvin, though Drew and Steve don’t know why Chad can’t just leave Alvin alone. When they stumble upon the nerd’s project, no one expects that they would wake up thirty years later unscathed. Unsure how to navigate the world’s changes, Chad, Drew, and Steve have to rely on someone familiar: the nerd-turned-CEO Alvin.

While seeing the changes made over the last thirty years in a fresh light was fun, that was the only thing I liked about this book. Chad was extremely frustrating, and I didn’t like the language and mature content that was not at all necessary. The mature content rating is for masturbation and mentions of oral sex.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen - AVERAGE

The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen, 369 pages.  Henry Holt (Macmillan), 2019.  $19

Language: R (60+ swears, 2 “f”); Mature Content: R (on page sex); Violence: PG-13 (blood and plague)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Fie and her ragtag family are Crows – the lowest of all the clans in Sabor.  While their job of dispensing the bodies of plague victims is crucial – some are spreading wild rumors that the Crows also spread the plague. When they are summoned to the royal palace of all places, something seems off – the crown prince and his bodyguard are both victims.  When Fie demands their tithe and the group departs, she finds that the deaths were a ruse and that her father ahs involved them in something must more dastardly. Now Fie, the prince, and his bodyguard are on the run and there seems to be no one they can trust.

If you have many fantasy readers in your building, especially those that love Leigh Bardugo, then you will want this one for sure.  Owen has finely honed her novel to keep you reading.

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS

Twenty-one Truths About Love by Matthew Dicks - NO

Twenty-one Truths About Love by Matthew Dicks, 352 pages. St. Martin’s Press, 2019. $27.

Language: R (149 swears, 135 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - NO

AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW

Making lists is how Dan copes with and processes the world around him. He makes at least one new list every day, recording everything from silly ideas to finances to his insecurities. When Dan’s wife gets pregnant, these lists reflect his thoughts -- and the desperate measures he will take to provide for his growing family.

The unique idea of telling a story completely through lists is what made me want to read this book. At first, the novelty of it was enough to keep me reading, but, at some point, I stopped caring. I didn’t want to read useless lists and I wondered where the story was. As I continued reading for the sake of finishing for this review, there was a shift that happened somewhere about three-fourths of the way through the book, and I started enjoying the story again. Maybe it was that I had finally gotten used to how the story was being told and could read between the lines better, maybe Dan had grown on me, or maybe the plot actually picked up -- or a combination of all three. In the end, I liked the book, but I feel like I had to slog through a lot to get to that point of enjoying it. This book is marked “not to buy” and “low appeal” because I don’t think teenagers are the most interested audience for this book. The mature content rating is for mentions of vaginal sex, oral sex, orgasms, and masturbation as well as talking about sexual organs; the violence rating is for discussion of gun violence and bomb threats.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor - HIGH

Akata Warrior (Akata Witch #2) by Nnedi Okorafor, 477 pages. Viking (Penguin), 2017.  $19

Language: R (56 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG-13 (drinking, smoking, native wise woman with no top); Violence: PG-13 (gang jump in described)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Sunny, 13, is beginning to grasp her Leopard powers, but an unfortunate encounter separates her from her spirit self.  She should be dead, but both parts of her have string wills.  This is not the only ploy that the evil Ekwensu has to destroy the only Leopard who has the power to defeat her plans for world destruction. But if Sunny and her friends can overcome the challenges within their group, they may also be able to defeat this ancient evil.

While only 13, Sunny and her friends take on adult roles with adult behaviors – quite beyond what kids read in the Harry Potter books.  But the look at magic from an African perspective is compelling and interesting.  I love that about this series. 

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS

How to Raise a Reader by Pamela Paul and Maria Russo - ADVISABLE

How to Raise a Reader by Pamela Paul and Maria Russo, 216 pages. NON-FICTION. Workman Publishing, 2019. $20.

Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: ADULTS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Paul and Russo go through the stages of human development -- book style. These women, with lots of personal and professional experience, give tips, tricks, and book suggestions to be used with the beloved children around you of any age.

While this book’s primary purpose is being informative, it’s easy to read with its conversational tone, and it’s full of great ideas to implement -- and even tweak to make your own! The suggestions made can be used as a guide and a springboard to meet the needs of individual children and unique families. I only mark this book as “optional” and “low appeal” because I don’t think teenagers are the most interested audience for this book.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Let Me Fix That For You by Janice Earlbaum - OPTIONAL

Let Me Fix That For You by Janice Earlbaum, 285 pages. Farrar, Straus, Giroux (Macmillan), 2019. $17

Language: PG (9 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW

Gladys aka “Glad” thought she could make friends by advertising her skills as a fixer. Instead she has lots of clients and is exiled to the loner table in the cafeteria, where she is frequently warned to quit her antics by the school’s principal.  But the “pops” all need her help with their latest drama.  And Glad keeps hoping that this time she might salvage a friendship out of helping someone.  And since her mother went away for a short retreat years ago and has never come back, maybe her own family needs some of her fixing too.

For me it was mostly sad to see Glad hard at work concocting lies for everyone around her and lying to herself to boot. There is lots of mutual “using” going on here.  The resolution to each of Glad’s drama points left me a little cold, too – 

(SPOILER ALERT) 

especially when the client who was using Glad the hardest winds up becoming her friend.  As a paperback it may hold value if someone can read this and see their own off-kilter behavior within. 

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS

Permanent Record by Mary H. K. Choi - AVERAGE

Permanent Record by Mary H. K. Choi, 432 pages. Simon & Schuster, 2019. $19.

Language: R (250 swears, 62 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Working the graveyard shift at a neighborhood health food store is not ideal, but Pablo needs to pay rent and the other unopened bills piling up in his room. When the monotony of his shift is disrupted by a familiar face walking checking out, Pablo almost convinces himself she was a dream. But then she comes back. Pablo’s world is turned upside down and responsibility is falling by the wayside -- but, when something feels so right, it’s hard to care.

As I read Permanent Record, I was reminded of The Catcher in the Rye. This book is like an evolved coming of age story that is about how 20yo Pablo decides to take responsibility for his past actions to change how he wants to be in the future -- even if it all seems hopeless and difficult in the present. Not all the connections I made to this classic were positive, though. I like Pablo as much as I like Holden -- which is not at all -- and the swearing is just as bad. I started to like Permanent Record more after finishing it and making myself think about the story in order to write this review. I like the message and the hope it offers, and I like the unique interests that Pablo finally starts to pursue, but I am not a big fan of all the thoughts Pablo shared throughout the story -- I started skimming a lot through his random stream of conscious thoughts about a quarter of the way into the book. The mature content rating is for mentions of pubic areas, sex toys, nudity, and sex.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

The Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell - ADVISABLE

The Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell, 288 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL. Knopf (Random), 2018. $13.

Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG (A boy cross dresses as a girl, threat of violence, girl who acts like a man); Violence: PG (Bully threatens other kids in the neighborhood)

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE   

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH                

The Cardboard Kingdom is a collection of adventures of different kids in a neighborhood.  Each imagines their life as an adventure! They create superhero suits out of cardboard and battle evil on their street.  Heroes address some challenging topics that may confuse young children, one boy becomes "The Sorceress" as his alternate persona. Another girl dresses as a man and dons a mustache.  But when a bully terrorizes the group, they have to decide if many different people can come together for a common goal.

This book has some very cool qualities.  First, though Sell is listed as the author, there are a lot of authors who each wrote their own story and Sell weaves them together.  It works perfectly since the kids in the neighborhood are all very different and represent lots of cultures and backgrounds. The kids are also a diverse group. The book addresses gender roles and exploration in a safe way for children who may be exploring those ideas as well.  The stories are engaging and illustrations are fun.  If you ever imagined yourself as a superhero you will love the book. Fans of D.C. Comics or Marvel's Universe will connect with this neighborhood of new superheroes.   It has engaging appeal like Dog Man and Best Friends and kids will snap it off the shelf.     

Michele Edgley, Library Technology Teacher