Reading during winter break 2020

 OOOOOO, it feels SO good to have some time to read!  I found some really great science fiction this week in my Netgalley pile!  And guess what?  These two are on the SSYRA 3-5 list for 2022-2023!

This one is called "The Lion of Mars" by Jennifer Holm.  I'm a big fan of Jennifer Holm-I love Turtle in Paradise and Babymouse and the Fourteenth Goldfish and Sunny.  The list is long and I'm so happy to see there's a new addition to the list!  The Lion of Mars is set on Mars.  The American government has sent a group of people to set up a colony there.  There are adults and children who grow their own food (with occasional resupplies from Earth) and make do with what they have.  There are strict rules about living in the colony and one is that there is no contact with the other colonies.  (Wait, what?  I hear you asking!) Yep, there is a French colony, a Finnish colony, a Chinese colony, and a Russian colony.  The Americans don't have contact with the other colonies because of a terrible accident that happened quite some time ago.  The book opens with an explosion and a flash of light.  The main character, Bell, believes he has seen an alien ship land.  The adults tell him he's wrong that it's probably a meteor but he wonders if the other colonies have been damaged.  Some of the kids decide to break the rules and find out if it indeed is a spaceship. During their driving spree, they come across the French who are waving what the kids believe to be weapons at them.  The kids hightail it back to the American colony but wreck the rover in the process.  The adults are not happy about this and it looks like it might take some time to get the rover repaired because it takes 8 months to get supplies from Earth.  They might never reconnect with the other colonies but fate intervenes!  Jennifer Holm weaves an amazing tale of what it it might look like to live on Mars, describing the food and the living quarters as well as the interpersonal relationships between crew members and some of the political implications of working for the government.  Her writing is stellar.  I can't wait to give this book to some of the students!

The second one is not science fiction but magical fiction.  It's called Amari and the Night Brothers.  It's the debut novel of B. B. Alston.  The story opens with Amari, who is struggling in school.  She lives in an impoverished neighborhood but attends school at an elite private school on a scholarship.  Her brother attended school there, making way for her to be there too.  But the kids are mean to her and although she's doing well academically, she doesn't really have any friends to speak of  and her brother has been missing for the last 6 months.  The police believe he's dead, but Amari is certain that he's still alive and is willing to do whatever it takes to find out what really happened to him.  On the last day of school (after a fight and a spate of negative emails and social media posts), Amari gets her brother's old computer to turn on and a strange message appears and then disappears.  Then there's a knock at the door and a strange looking man appears with a delivery for Amari from her brother.  Inside there are several things, including a purple and green suit, a pair of glasses, and an invitation to come for an interview with the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs.  It turns out Amari's brother was a superstar in a magical world that Amari and her mother know nothing about.  Six months earlier, Amari's brother was out fighting evil and disappeared along with his partner and no one knows what happened to them.  The summer camp is a pathway to going to school so Amari is all in, but like her old school, this one has obstacles and because of the way her powers are manifesting, people are afraid of her.  She does find friends and some people begin to trust her.  She finds clues about her brother's disappearance and makes some interesting allies.  The story unfolds in a way that many readers will connect to Harry Potter (in a good way) but Amari's quest to find her brother is a story all her own.  I think the kids are going to like this one a lot.  The characters will remind them of people they know and Amari's plucky determination to find her brother is a great story line.  The mysteries and red herrings are very surprising leaving readers to predict what might happen next, because the ending of the story leaves a clear path to volume two - YAY!!!  I think the kids at my school will love seeing a character who looks like them as the heroine of a magical mystery novel.  I can't wait to get this one in my library. 

And here's a video book review from Colby Sharp.