The Book Search

Reading for the first round of the CYBILS award is one of my favorite things to do.  Imagine, binging on your favorite kind of literature and I do mean binging.  We've read and evaluated over 100 middle grade chapter books since October.  Some days, I feel a bit overstuffed (I'm not going to lie, not all of them are wonderful) but there are some that are SO good...   My latest favorite is called the Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy by Anne Ursu.  Anne Ursu is a terrific author and I’ve loved some of her other books, like The Real Boy and The Lost Girl . She writes such interesting characters and this one is no exception.  It’s about Marya, who lives with her family in a different time and place.  It feels kind of like a fairy tale time where there are sorcerers that protect the villagers from evil.  Marya feels unvalued and put upon.  Her older brother, Lucas, has been been groomed from the time he was small to a sorcerer.  A sorcerer is a position of honor and power and on

 If you don't read a lot of middle grade fiction, you might not know that cultural magical mysteries are kind of a thing right now.  Rick Riordan started it with Greek myths and the Lightning Thief before moving into Roman myths, Norse Myths, Egyptian myths and thanks to his new publishing imprint, Rick Riordan Presents, we've been treated to Indian Myths from Roshani Choskhi with Aru Shah, Mayan folklore with J C Cervantes and the Storm Runner series,  Korean folklore from Yoon Ha Lee and the Dragon Pearl series, African American folklore from Kwame Mbalia and his hero-Tristan Strong, Cuban culture with Carlos Hernandez and his hilarious adventures with Sal and Gabi,  as well as Native American folklore from Rebecca Roanhorse and her series, Race to the Sun.  It's enough to leave you breathless!  AND it turns out that other authors are also able to bring out their cultural influences to tell completely amazing stories.  So here are two that I really liked. The first one I

 I am not a super big fan of ghost stories.  I like historical fiction.  I like magical realism.  I don't like scary things.  I don't like monsters.  So ghosts do not typically figure prominently into the books I read.  Until the CYBILS award period, where I read virtually all of the fantasy or speculative fiction that has been published in the current year.  It turns out that other people DO like to read about ghosts and scary things so I read along.  It's super fun but it can be a bit daunting to see a TBR pile that stretches all over the house.  Or when someone asks you when you leave the library "Are there any books left?".  Then you channel your inner Dory ("just keep swimming, swimming, swimming").    So here are two I really liked. The first one I finished this morning and I'd had my eye on it for awhile, because it's written by a favorite author-RJ Palacio.  You might remember her first book that had some critical and fan acclaim "Wo

 Did you ever hit kind of a low spot while you're reading?  Uninspiring books?  Books you don't care if you finish?  Characters that don't seem like anyone you know?  Well, let me tell you, these books will shake you out of that slump and FAST.  Wait till you hear... The first one is called Once Upon a Camel by Kathi Appelt.  She's written a number of children's books that you've probably loved like Once Upon a Fox or The True Blue Scouts of the Sugar Man Swamp.  This new one, Once Upon a Camel?  SO AWESOME.  Let me tell you why.  It's told by Zayda, a camel (?!!!) and you have to pay attention a bit as you read, because the book hops around in time.  It starts in Texas in 1910 (Camels???  In Texas???  In 1910???  I KNOW!!!).  It turns out there is a terrible sand storm coming towards Zayda.  She has good friends, the kestrels that are trying to warn her about the impending storm but the kestrel pair are also hoping for a favor, can Zayda take their babies t

 School started this week and I'm a little behind the power curve on the SSYRA books this year.  I blame the shortened summer-we started late last year and so we ended three weeks late -three weeks less vacation.  Uh, gosh, that sounds like a first world problem, doesn't it?  Let's get to the book reviews, shall we? The first one is a terrific speculative fiction title called The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez by Adrianna Cuevas.  It's about Nestor, who has just moved to New Haven.  His dad is in the Army and they've moved often.  His dad is currently deployed in Afghanistan and Nestor misses him a LOT.  Nestor and his mom have moved in with Nestor's Abuela-his dad's mom, so there are lots of pieces of his dad around, like his dad's old baseball glove and the animal encyclopedia his dad made when he was a kid.  Nestor is very interested in animals too, and he can talk to them .  To his surprise, Nestor finds school to be ok.  He finds new friends almost r

 I LOVE the SSYRA (Sunshine State Young Reader Award) list.  In case you've never heard of it, librarians from across the state of Florida choose 15 books and kids from across the state read them and the kids get to vote on which one is best.  The books sometimes are ones that lots of people are talking about, and often are ones that haven't been on my radar, which makes it really fun.  They are always wonderful stories so it's a treat to get to read them!   I just finished "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks.  It's about Zoe, who is an aspiring baker and almost middle school student.  One of her best friends has moved away, her other best friend is away for summer vacation and Zoe's really mad at her next-door neighbor best friend, because he didn't stand up for her when he was talking to some of his basketball buddies.  When Zoe comes home from her birthday party, there's a kind of surprise in the mail-a card from her dad, who is in

 Need to take a little adventure this summer?  Here are two titles that might be right up your alley!   The first one is called Champion's Quest: The Die of Destiny by Frank L. Cole.  It starts with Lucas, a 12 year old in foster care.  He is convinced that he would be better off away from the foster home where he has been living, so he hatches a plan to run away by train.  Except that one of the other foster kids, Miles, is meant to give his story credence, and Miles doesn't really want Lucas to go.  They end up in what seems like a store but is actually the offices of a magical adventure group.  Two girls join them-one is Jasmine, a girl who seems to be perpetually in trouble, and Vanessa, the daughter of the foster parents where Lucas and Miles are living.  The game sounds like some of the role playing games that people play on line like Dungeons and Dragons-there are magical beasts that can either help or hurt you, your welfare depends on your decision making and you have t

 It's so lovely to have time to read.  I talked to a lovely woman today at the doctor's office who was telling me she loved to read to and there are so many good ones to recommend!  Here are some of my newest favorites! The first one is called The Verdigris Pawn by Alysa Wishingrad.   It's Wishingrad's debut novel, so I hope there are more to come!  It's a fairy tale (squee!!!) about Beau, who is the son of the ruler, called Himself.  Beau's mom died when he was very young and his dad has set him up with a series of tutors.  Himself sets some very high standards for academic performance and behavior that Beau finds hard to meet.  Beau has been playing a strategy game called Fist that involves trying to unseat the king.  Himself seems to be worried that Beau (or maybe someone else) is trying to unseat him through magic and charms.  The Fist set belonged to his mother, so Beau feels connected to it in surprising ways.  When Himself turns up at Beau's apartment

 It's been lovely having time to read over the last few weeks.  Not working is awesome.  I will, of course, be happy to go back to work, but having time away is pretty terrific too.  And happily, I've been on something of a tear with really great books.  Here are two realistic ones you should totally look for. The first one is called Ahmed Aziz's Epic Year by Nina Hamza.  It's her debut novel and I hope there are more coming, because this one was great!  It's about Ahmed, who's family is moving from Hawaii (where he's lived all his life) to Minnesota (his dad's home town).  The family (mom, dad, little sister Sara, and Ahmed) because his dad has a debilitating (and potentially fatal) liver disease and he can get a hopefully life saving treatment in Minnesota.  It turns out that Ahmed's dad left Minnesota as a young man, partially because his younger brother died of the same liver disease that Ahmed's dad has.  He died as a young man so Ahmed neve

 Summer time is awesome.  Somehow, last summer didn't feel quite as awesome, so I'm trying hard to make up for lost time.  So yesterday, I had a couple of appointments (one of the REALLY fun parts of summer-going to all those doctor's appointments you can't schedule during school because taking a whole day off to go see a doctor??!!!) and in between, I had time to read.  I TORE through this book because I couldn't stop reading it!  I was sorry when it was over too, so maybe I'll have to go back and re-read it.  It was that good!  It's called Hollow Chest and it's Brita Sandstrom's debut novel.   The main character is 12 year old Charlie.  Charlie lives with his mom and his grandfather.  His grandfather is a veteran of World War 1 and is missing his left arm.  His mom works hard and provides the income for the family.  Charlie's dad was killed in a bombing and his brother, Theo, has been serving in the war.  But Theo is on his way home and it'

 One of the things that's been great about reading books for kids is reading picture books.  Picture books tap into a part of brain that's completely different from text so yeah, comic books read differently from text books, but they are no less reading than reading text.  I'll also tell you that if you haven't picked up a picture book or a graphic novel lately, you're going to be surprised at the quality of the art work.  These artists are putting out some amazing, awe inspiring work.  Here are two that you might consider.  The first one is a based on a Chinese folktale and it's called Kuan Yin written by Maya van der Meer and illustrated by Wen Hsu.  This story is based on possibly the most revered Buddhist saint and has connections to Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan, and Indian culture.  It's about two sisters, Miao Shan and Ling.  Miao Shan likes to spend time with animals is filled with love.  She wants to be able to spread love and happiness full time.  Her

 We FINALLY finished school this past week.  We were three weeks later than usual, due to a late start because of the disease that shall not be named.  I'm so happy to have a little time off of school to do a little reading!   This one started off the summer with a bang, metaphorically speaking.  It's called The Orpheus Plot by Christopher Swiedler.  This is his second book, his first one called In the Red was also an exciting science fiction story set in outer space.  I liked In the Red, but I think this one might be even better.  It's about Lucas, who has grown up on a mining ship in the asteroid belt.  This is kind of a dodgy job-the miners aren't actually supposed to be mining in random places around the galaxy, but it provides a kind of living, even though people in the Navy look down upon them.  Lucas has dreamed of joining the Navy, but that's pretty much impossible for a Belter.  Except that his adopted sister got in.  She was born on Mars and through some f

 A holiday weekend, some good books to read, what could be better?  Nothing!  In my opinion!  Here are two super fun new speculative fiction books to look for. The first one is called Strangeworld Travel Agency by L. D. Lapinski.  It's about Flick (short for Felicity) who has just moved to a new town.  Her parents are very excited about the upgrade in living quarters (two toilets!) but Flick is less enthusiastic.  She takes a lot of responsibility at her house because her parents work different shifts and her baby brother needs taking care of.  As she's wandering through her new town, she comes across a place called the Strangeworld Travel Agency.  It doesn't seem like any kind of travel agency she's ever been to before and it turns out it really isn't.  It's a magical travel agency and people travel by the suitcases that are piled up all around the shop.  Each suitcase takes you to a different world.  The travel agency is run by a young man named Jonathan who i

 The publishers have been busy and suddenly there are a kajillion books laying in my inbox.  Happily, there was time to read this weekend, YAY!!!  Here are two great new ones. The first one is called Almost There and Almost Not by Linda Urban.  I love Linda Urban's work.  She wrote some of my favorites including Milo Speck, Accidental Agent and A Crooked Kind of Perfect.  She has such a great way with characters.  This one is no different-it's about Callie (her given name is California Poppy) and she has been struggling with behavior at school.  She finally had a teacher who understood her and gave her some great coping strategies, but when your mom dies in a car accident and your dad decides to drop you off at an aunt you never met and go to Alaska, things can get a little hinky.  Especially, when Callie starts to see ghosts.  She's not really sure at first that they are ghosts, but they're talking to her and no one else can see them, so it seems like they're ghost

I often worry that kids aren't reading.  I know at my school, their teachers are pushed to teach reading using passages and answering questions so that they'll be ready to take our state mandated test.  I know that I've been reading to them and that they seem to like the stories that I choose.  I'm always relieved when I find a new book that I think "Oh, I know EXACTLY who's going to love this one".  I read two like that this week.   The first one is called The House That Wasn't There by Elana Arnold.  You might remember Elana Arnold wrote a series of books about a boy called Bat about a wonderful character who was on the autism spectrum and his kind supportive family who foster a baby skunk.  It's a terrific story and her new one is just as good, maybe even better.  This one is about Alder, who lives with his mom in Los Angeles.  They live in a small comfortable house, where they've lived for Alder's whole life.  There is a beautiful walnu

 Do you think middle grade fiction can be escapist?  I'm starting to think that's what I find so appealing about middle grade fiction-going back to a time when the things that I worried about were my grades at school and who liked who.  But some of these middle grade books tackle big topics-domestic abuse, gender identity, and aging-and they still feel escapist to me.  Here are two you might like to escape into! The first one is called "These Unlucky Stars" by Gillian McDunn.  McDunn wrote a lovely book last year called Caterpillar Summer that was terrific and this new one is also great.  It's about Annie, who feels invisible to her dad and her brother Ray.  They live in a very small town near the mountains of NC that are beautifully described.  Annie believes that all the negative things that happen to her are due to bad luck, because her mom used to blame things on bad luck.  But her mom left the family five years earlier.  Her brother is an optimist and when ba