SSYRA 3-5 2022-realistic fiction

  I'm just NOW getting around to reading the new crop of SSYRA 3-5 books for the coming year.  It turns out, I'd already read a few of them.    Here's a link to two of the books I already reviewed.     The link has reviews for Amari and the Night Brothers by BB Alston as well as  The Lion of Mars by Jennifer Holm.  And I'm sure I'd already read some of the other ones but I just couldn't find...  oh well.  Anyway, here are two more that I think you're going to love.  

The first one is a graphic novel and it's called Measuring Up by Lily Lamotte.  It's about Cici who moved to Seattle from Taiwan.  She desperately misses her grandmother and REALLY wants to figure out a way to get her to come and stay.  Moving anytime is hard, but moving to a new country with a different language and culture is even more difficult.  Cici worries that the kids will think she's weird (when she brings her lunch to school on the first day, some of the kids are really mean) and she thinks a lot of American things are weird (like sleepovers!).  Cici's big plan to get her grandmother over from Taiwan comes in the form of a cooking contest.  Cici LOVES to cook and this particular cooking contest comes with a prize of $1000, which would be enough for a plane ticket for her grandmother.  Cici initially is paired with a girl named Miranda.  Miranda's family owns an Italian restaurant and Miranda has been working there since she was tiny.  Miranda is an excellent if bossy cook and Cici is intimidated by her at first, but finds a way to work in some of her own cooking techniques.  When they end up competing head to head, Cici worries that Miranda won't want to be her friend, especially if Cici wins and Miranda doesn't.  Cici's parents are not very supportive of her cooking because they think she should be focusing on her school classes, so she can get into a good college.  Cici thinks she might really want to be a chef when she grows up so maybe college isn't that important?  This is a terrific story about making friends, being open to new ideas, cooking and flavors, accepting other cultures, and listening to your family carefully-even if it isn't what you want to hear.  I think the kids are going to love this one.  

Here's a video of one of the recipes from the book!

And here's the cover!

The second one is not a graphic novel and it's a bit edgier than Measuring Up, it's called Distress Signal by Mary Lambert.  It opens with Lavender, a middle school girl, stepping in to save the day.  Her choir group is singing their big number when their teacher gets sick, so Lavender takes over as director and her best friend, Marisol, is able to sing her big solo.  Except that Marisol is NOT grateful for Lavender stepping in.  Marisol thinks Lavender is trying to get everyone to pay attention to Lavender instead of letting others shine, so when they get ready to go on their big class field trip to the desert, Marisol chooses to sit with Rachelle instead of Lavender and Lavender ends up sitting with a grumpy boy named John.  As the trip progresses, Rachelle and Marisol are progressively meaner to Lavender, so she comes up with a plan to embarrass Rachelle-she tells Rachelle that they are playing a game called Sardines and Rachelle should hide.  Lavender's plan backfires when Rachelle invites Marisol to hide with her.  Lavender is lamenting the fact that Rachelle and Marisol are still together when she hears a weather bulletin notifying everyone of a danger of flash floods.  She warns her classmates who start scurrying towards safety and realize that Marisol and Rachelle won't know they need to move to safety because they're hiding.  When the flash flood hits, the kids are separated from the group and have to figure out a way to get back, using the things they have in their backpacks.  This is a super exciting book with lots of plot twists and survival techniques.  It's also essentially a story of friendship-listening to your friends when they talk is a really important part of friendship.  Try to suspend judgement is another good tool for friendships.  I think the kids are going to love this one.  It's so realistically suspenseful - I really felt like I was out in the desert with them!