The Book Search

 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 l...

 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 crit...

 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 ar...

 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 find...

 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...

 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 tu...