Sweet YA: From Twinkle, with Love and The Last Beginning

Posted on November 16, 2019 by Katy K.

Here are short reviews of two sweet romance-focused teen books – one contemporary with an Indian-American heroine, and one futuristic time travel with a same-sex romance.

From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya MenonFrom Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon. Simon & Schuster, 2018. 978-1481495400
This companion to When Dimple Met Rishi introduces us to high schooler Twinkle Mehra, an aspiring filmmaker.  She’s been having issues with her best friend, Maddie Tanaka, who’s been hanging with a way more popular crowd than Twinkle would ever want to, even if she could be accepted in it (which would never happen.)  And she has a crush on cute, athletic, and popular Neal, not realizing that his geekier twin Sahil has an equally unrequited crush on her. But when she has a chance to work with Sahil to make the movie of her dreams – a gender-swapped Dracula movie – Twinkle jumps at it, forcing her to take a fresh look at all of her assumptions.  Twinkle is a well-rounded character, with a house full of interesting characters, including a depressed mother, a dad who spends more time working at a teen center than with his own teen, and a certified hippie grandmother. This is a delightful book, focused on romance as part of self-discovery rather than as a goal in itself.  Fans of these books will also want to read There’s Something about Sweetie, which I will also get to someday.  

The Last Beginning by Lauren JamesThe Last Beginning by Lauren James. Sky Pony Press, 2016. 978-1510710221
I read this book based on Charlotte’s recommendation.  It’s the sequel to The Next Together, which I haven’t read, but as it has different main characters, I didn’t feel lost.  

The year is 2056, and 16-year-old Clove Sutcliff has a massive crush on her best friend Meg.  She’s mortified when Meg rejects her advances, but forgets her soon enough as she starts having time travel adventures, and meets a mysterious girl named Ella.  When Clove discovers that the people she’s been raised by aren’t her real parents, and that her parents are wanted fugitives who disappeared after disclosing a dirty government secret, she and Ella set out to find them, with the help of Clove’s AI Spart.  I didn’t really buy the science aspects of the science fiction – that cloning would work as reincarnation – but it was still a sweet romance, with bits of emails and text conversation between future Clove and Ella even as we’re watching the beginning of their relationship in the present, and the travel and puzzle solving were fun. 

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Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

Posted on November 11, 2019 by Katy K.

This is one that was on my want-to-read list this year, a fantasy from Kwame Alexander’s new imprint, Versify.  

Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya PasternackAnya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack. Versify/HMH, 2019. 9780358006077
Anya’s is the only Jewish family in her little Russian village of Zmeyreka.  Her grandmother fled from an Istanbul in flames years ago and thought that a small village would give them the best chance of acceptance.  Still, times are hard. Anya’s father has been conscripted, and now the magistrate is saying that because they’re Jewish, they will still have to pay the usual properties, though the father’s service should waive this.  

So when Anya runs into Ivan, seventh son of Ivan, and Ivan senior offers to pay her handsomely for helping them search for the dragon that’s rumored to live nearby, Anya jumps at the chance.  

But though magic has been outlawed and the tsar wants to wipe out magical creatures as well, the magical creatures that Anya knows aren’t the evil beings they’re told.  Their house domovoi might be temperamental, but it’s still helpful. Her Babulya tells her that fishing and crops were better when there were more dragons in the rivers, so that Anya is quite conflicted going into her new assignment. 

Things only get worse when Anya and Ivan cross paths with Sigurd, a cruel northern knight bent on killing the dragon for his own dark purposes, viewing the kids as obstacles to be pushed out of the way at any cost.  

The start of the book, where we meet Anya’s family (including her goat, Zvezda), some villagers, and a bunch of different magical creatures, felt a little slow to me. But things picked up quickly, and the book took some surprising and welcome twists. It’s clearly drawing on older epics, with which I am less familiar, but I still enjoyed it lots, and am looking forward to the next book in the series.  

There are so many great books about dragons for the middle grade reader, including:

Other middle grade fantasies with Jewish protagonists include:

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The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone by Jaclyn Moriarty

Posted on November 8, 2019 by Katy K.

I discovered that I missed this book when it came out last fall, and finally got around to it this year. 

The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone by Jaclyn MoriartyThe Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone by Jaclyn Moriarty. Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic, 2018. 978-1338455843

Ten-year-old Bronte (who is shown as white) has been raised by her strict Aunt Isabelle and friendly Butler since her parents stepped out for a bit a few years ago and never returned.  Then, they receive a telegram saying that her parents have been killed by pirates. (Telegrams coexisting with pirates traveling by sailing ship are an early sign of the craziness of the book.) Then, Bronte is read the will.  It’s stitched around with fairy cross stitch – meaning that her village will be destroyed if she doesn’t follow the instructions exactly. Bronte must travel alone to visit each of her ten other aunts, with specified gifts, following detailed instructions that tell her exactly how to do it and how long to spend on it.  

Some aunts are kindly, some fun, and some decidedly unfriendly. In some places, Bronte saves the day, and in others she has just a visit.  Two of her aunts run a cruise ship (still powered by sail), and one is a rock star who’s been elected queen and runs magical concerts on the palace lawn every evening.  Bronte makes a few friends along the way, and come to think that there might be some meaning behind her travels, something to do with the extremely secretive Whispering Kingdom.  Like Moriarty’s Colors of Madeleine trilogy (which I re-listened to while reading this in print), this is full of weirdness and humor, at the same time as the characters are trying to prevent truly horrible things from happening.  It was really delightful, and I’m very much looking forward to the sequel, The Whispering Wars, which (thanks to Rockin’ Librarian!) I know just came out here in the US. 

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Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Posted on November 6, 2019 by Katy K.

Hearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich SmithHearts Unbroken by Cynthia Leitich Smith. Candlewick, 2018.
High school senior Lou Wolfe breaks up with her boyfriend Cam when he’s proven one time to often that he just won’t listen to what’s important to her, things like respecting her Muscogee heritage.  Then, in her journalism class, she meets transfer student Joey Kairouz, who’s determined to make “his” newspaper – meaning the school’s – the best. Lou’s little brother Hughie, a freshman, is cast as the Tin Man in the school’s production of The Wizard of Oz, alongside several talented and younger actors of color.  This leads to some resistance in the conservative, mostly white Kansas town – a whole  Parents Against Revisionist Theater springs up. 

Lou’s determined to help her brother out and strike a blow for equality by covering the issue in the school paper – bonus, extra time with cute Joey.  But all of this makes it hard to squeeze in time for her best friend, Shelby, who’s working a busy schedule on top of school to help pay bills. And just because Lou’s been treated badly by a boyfriend before – unfortunately doesn’t mean she’s gotten being a good girlfriend entirely figured out. 

So, obviously, Lou has a lot of learning to do, which I loved, even as I cringed at some of her choices.  Lou and her brother are trying to learn the Mvskoke language, and phrases are sprinkled throughout (defined in a glossary).  There is also some hobbit love, as evidenced by the miniature Hobbiton in Lou’s family’s front yard. The piles of unconscious hatred of Natives that our culture is steeped in is fully in evidence, but it’s balanced with so much love, from both Lou’s extended family and her circle of friends.  This is a great high school book in general, as well as being a excellent portrait of a contemporary Native girl.  

Author Cynthia Leitich Smith, like Lou, is a Muscogee (Creek).  She’s also the author of the picture book Jingle Dancer, among others. 

This book had many of the same appeal factors as To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han, or you could pair it with The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline or #NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women Edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale.

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Plain Kate by Erin Bow

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Katy K.

Back in 2016, I made a list of the top 10 fantasy authors I’d never read.  – (I still need to get to three more of those authors!) Erin Bow was on that list, though I put the cover for Sorrow’s Knot.  Since then, I’ve been reading multiple Native people saying that they find the writing of fantasy books about indigenous people set in the mythic past to be harmful.  And also, Sarah Zettel told me she thought Plain Kate was an even better book.  So, I decided to read both Plain Kate and The Marrow Thieves, a Indigenous futuristic speculative fiction book. 

Plain Kate by Erin BowPlain Kate by Erin Bow. Arthur Levine Books/Scholastic, 2010. ISBN 978-0545166645
Plain Kate is set in a fantasy Russia, where Kate is the woodcarver’s daughter, and learning his trade.  When she’s orphaned and has to leave her house, she tries living out of his stall instead, but people are suspicious of a girl with her carving skills, especially because they need the power of the charms she can carve.  Finally, she is pushed into what she knows is a bad bargain – one wish for her shadow to a very unsavory man by the name of Linay. At least she gets something out of it – her cat, Taggle, is able to talk with her, so that she isn’t entirely alone, even as she has to leave her village and try never to let anyone see her increasing lack of shadow. 

Out on the road, she is befriended by Drina, a young Roamer girl, who teaches her their ways and speech – but as this goes wrong, Kate is left trying to undo the mess she has accidentally created on her own, amid spreading fog, damp, famine and sleeping sickness. Kate has to make some very hard choices amid growing fear, and the villain grows increasingly sympathetic as the story goes on.  I would like to hear from a Romany if the treatment of the Roamers here is fair – but I didn’t feel like Bow was painting them with either of the extremes of over romanticized or vilified. The publisher rates this as 12 and up – it seems to be that perfect upper middle grade to early teen book, dealing with some tough topics with big emotional stakes, but without the heavy romance of so many later teen books.  All in all, this was astoundingly good, and I’m glad I finally got to it.  

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Secrets and Journeys: Four Graphic Novels for Kids

Posted on October 30, 2019 by Katy K.

piluofthewoodsPilu of the Woods by Mai K. Nguyen. Oni Press, 2019. 9781620105511.
Willow’s tears turn into actual monsters, and she seems to want to cry all the time.  She tries to keep them bottled up, but that just leads to her lashing out – at the person teasing her at school, then at her older sister at home.  After a fight with her sister, Willow runs away, looking for the magnolia tree in the woods that she remembers her mother showing her before she died.  But in the woods, Pilu meets a young dryad, who has also run away from home. As they make friends, they are able to help each other talk through their difficulties.  The story itself felt a little trite, but the beautiful art – showing the tear monsters and the calming beauty of the forest – really elevates it.  

The Okay Witch by Emma SteinkellnerThe Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner. Aladdin, 2019. 9781534431461
Moth Hush has grown up with her single mom first helping to run and then taking over Keepers Secondhand Treasures, a little store in the small East Coast town of Founder’s Bluff.  Moth’s always had a fascination with witches, but now in middle school, she finds she can do magic – only she can’t really control it. Her mother unbends enough to tell her that it’s a family thing, but has sworn off magic and wants Moth to do so as well.  What’s a girl to do? With help from the former store owner, Mr. Lazlo, now inhabiting a black cat, Moth sets out to find the truth. She makes friends with a new boy at school and learns just how one-sided the town’s beloved story of Mayor Kramer kicking the evil witch family out of town was.  It’s an empowering story of a new generation both learning from the past and finding their own way, with action and humor and plenty of heart. The art helps to keep it lighthearted, while shifts in palette make the different places and times in the story clear. My daughter read it at least five times and gave to all of our guests to read.  

Stargazing by Jen Wang

Stargazing by Jen Wang. First Second, 2019. 9781250183873
Christine has always done her best to be the perfect daughter her parents want her to be – playing violin, going to church, getting good grades, and learning Chinese.  Then her parents rent a cottage on their property to a mother and her daughter, Moon, about Christine’s age. Moon is so different from Christine – crazier, louder, less concerned about grades, as well as being vegetarian and Buddhist. She’s drawn pictures in her sketchbook of the celestial beings she sees, who tell her that she’s not really party of this world.  Moon introduces Christine to K-pop and nail polish, while Christine introduces Moon to her friends at school. But can Christine really be a good friend to Moon when Moon needs her most? I had to laugh out loud in front of my daughter while reading this book before she would pick it up, but once she did, she read it straight through and started it over again right away several times.  There are so many really strong aspects of this story, from the personal history to the diversity of the Chinese-American community and the expressive art. I have read Jen Wang’s previous books Koko Be Good and The Prince and the Dressmaker, but this is my favorite so far.  

mightyjackandzitathespacegirlMighty Jack and Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke. First Second, 2019. 9781250191731
And just briefly – if you are a fan of Zita and/or Mighty Jack, you will want to read their epic team-up!  I would probably have enjoyed this a little bit more if I’d read Zita especially a little more recently, to pick up on all the references.  But the story romps through fantasy worlds and space as the kids try to fend off an invasion of giants, with many favorite characters making appearances.  There’s a lot of fun, many near escapes, a little personal growth, and even solving problems with diplomacy rather than swords. Though there is some diversity – Jack’s sister Maddy is nonverbal, though still an active character, and their family clearly struggles with money, while Lilly is homeschooled – all the major characters are white, and this bothers me more now than it did when Zita first came out in 2011.  Still, they are brave kids doing their best, messing up, and trying again, and that’s worth a lot.  

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Early Chapter Book Bonanza

Posted on October 23, 2019 by Katy K.

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Last week, my friend Nakenya and I presented at the Michigan Library Association’s annual conference.  We’ve done several presentations on diverse books for kids and teens at other conferences, but this time, Nakenya wanted to focus on early chapter books – a type of book so easy to do poorly, yet so important for getting kids really hooked on reading.  (Why, yes, we are also planning KidLitCon together… why do you ask?) 

As usual, we book talk each of the series here, though the slides just have the covers.  A .pdf handout with titles and authors is also available on request.

This post was originally posted on alibrarymama.com and is copyright 2019 by Katherine Kramp.  

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The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

Posted on October 23, 2019 by Katy K.

I realized after I posted my review last week that it was Indigenous Peoples Day, too late to post a review of one of the three books by indigenous authors I have in my review queue.  But! We shall celebrate indigenous authors all year long, not just on Indigenous Peoples Day, starting with this multi-award winning book. This is from the teen section of my library.  

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie DimalineThe Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline. Dancing Cat Books/Cormorant Books, 2017. 978-1770864863
In the not-too-distant, post-apocalyptic future, most people have stopped dreaming, and the lack of dreams makes them go absolutely crazy, to the point where society has fallen apart.  Only Natives retain their ability to dream, and whites have found a way to harvest this ability from their bone marrow in a gruesome and deadly process. The need to escape this has profoundly shaped young Frenchie’s life.  When the story opens, he is just remembering his brother giving himself up to save Frenchie, their parents having been lost long before.  

As Frenchie – by this point a young teen – struggles to make his way to safety, he finds a band of young Aboriginals being led by one adult man, Miig, who serves as a father figure to them all (and tells them eventually about his lost husband), as well as the respected elder Nokomis Minerva.  Together, the two adults teach the kids hunting and camping skills, as well as precious words of language. Gradually, we hear the difficult “coming-to” stories of all the members of the group, each character distinct and memorable from the young lovers to the adorable little girl. (Though I didn’t write them down, they are also from several different nations, even if they all share the same valuable ability to dream.) But even this precarious existence is under threat, as there are people who will do anything for the reward for finding more people whose marrow might be harvested.  

This story moved with an unrelenting pacing and extreme emotional moments that reminded me of The Hunger Games. But though there is painful loss, there is also a hopeful ending, with a welcomed pregnancy  and reunions. Try this original spin on post-apocalyptic survival and take your Native reading out of the historical with this compelling and thought-provoking book.  

Cherie Dimaline is Métis and the Aboriginal Writer in Residence at the Toronto Public Library. 

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Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks

Posted on October 14, 2019 by Katy K.

Was there ever a better match for a romantic teen graphic novel than Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks?  This one is already nominated for the Cybils, but I am sure there are other great titles out there, which hopefully you’ve read and can nominate!

Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin HicksPumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks. Color by Sarah Stern. First Second Books, 2019. ISBN 978-1250312853
Deja and Josiah (whom Deja calls Josie) have been working at the Succotash Hut at a big pumpkin patch all through high school.  Now it’s the last night of the season, and next year, they’ll be at different colleges too far away to work. All these years, Deja’s listened to Josiah talking about the cute girl who works at the fudge shop, though he’s never mustered up the courage to talk to her.  Deja is determined not to let him go off to college without at least trying to talk to her. She’s bribed them into a shift right near the object of his affections to give him a chance.

Only just as they switch places, the fudge shop girl has switched to a different spot, too.  Soon, Deja and Josiah are on a tour of every attraction at the pumpkin patch, trying them out one last time, eating lots of delicious fall foods – and, in Deja’s case, having them stolen by the same bratty boy.  They also run into lots of other pumpkin patch employees, many of whom (both male and female) Deja has dated over the years. In the background, other employees chase a runaway goat. 

There’s an ongoing debate between the pair as they go – Josiah saying that maybe fate never intended him to date the girl of his dreams, Deja saying there’s no such thing, and Josiah needs to figure out what he wants and go for it.  You can probably guess the end from the cover, but the journey there is a delightful one. Faith Erin Hicks’s drawings work perfectly to illustrate Rainbow Rowell’s characters, bringing the fun of the fall entertainment to life, while Sarah Stern’s beautiful gradient colors add yet more to the overall feel.  It’s a quick, light read, with some good thoughts packed in, from the debate I mentioned earlier to the lack of fuss made over Deja’s dating a wide range of people or her unabashed love for treats from carmel apples to chocolate dipped pumpkin pie on a stick. This book makes a delicious, guilt-free autumn treat. 

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Freedom Fire and Spark

Posted on October 11, 2019 by Katy K.

Today I’m featuring a couple of middle grade speculative fiction books that are eligible but not yet nominated for the Cybils. (You can nominate books here.) Both feature kids flying on the backs of fantastic beasts!

Freedom Fire. Dactyl Hill Squad 2 by Daniel José OlderFreedom Fire. Dactyl Hill Squad 2 by Daniel José Older. Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic, 2019. 978-1338268843
Magdalys Roca’s story that began in Dactyl Hill Squad picks right up again here, as she and the other residents of the Colored Orphan Asylum are flying on the back of the giant pteranodon Stella to the Civil War battle lines to look for her brother, who has been injured in battle.  They run into fighting almost immediately, and the rebel army isn’t about to give a creature as large and dangerous as Stella a pass just because she’s carrying kids. When they find the Louisiana Native Guard, Magdalys is pressured into helping them before continuing the search for her brother, because it turns out that Magdalys’s skill of speaking to dinos is one that’s only been used in battle by the Confederates, leaving the Union army at a decided disadvantage.  

We get to know lots of interesting characters in the Louisiana Native Guard (though some of them did blur together), as well as getting a closer look at Magdalys’s friend and fellow orphan Mapper and his motivations. There is a lot of action and a fair amount of violence, but also a serious look at the trauma of gun violence, even if the kids would rather shoot than be shot themselves.  Once again, actual people and battles are referenced, though the timeline is compressed, with references for further exploration given in the afterward. This is another stellar entry in the series.  

Spark by Sarah Beth DurstSpark by Sarah Beth Durst. Clarion Books/HMH, 2019. 978-1328973429
“Mila was quiet” opens this story of a quiet girl in a loud family.  She’s been working for years to bond with a dragon egg, but when it hatches, it comes out a lightning beast – not the quieter dragons of sun, wind, and rain that help to regulate the climate of her country.  Lightning dragon riders are known for their boisterous temperaments, but Mila thinks her beast is perfect. She goes off to the lightning school over her parents’ objections and slowly begins to make a place for herself.  But when she and her dragon blow over the mountain border during a storm, she learns a horrifying secret. Can she find a way to way to spread the word while staying herself?  

Spark blends a sweet story of a girl’s bond with her dragon and a quiet girl learning to make friends with a strong environmental message. The message that even a quiet person can find a way to be heard and make a difference is also strong – in this case, by working with other people and making a space for the people truly affected to speak for themselves. 

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