You’re Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner

Posted on June 11, 2018 by Katy K.

Once again, a book winning an award – in this case the Schneider Family Award – pushed me from meaning to read it someday to actually doing so.

You're Welcome, Universe by Whitney GardnerYou’re Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner. Random House Teens, 2017.
Julia believes that graffiti is art, and she’s passionately devoted to it.  She’s really just trying to help her best friend when she covers up some unfortunate slurs about her on the back wall of the school, slurs that were properly reported and that the administration has done nothing about.  But the best friend snitches on her, and the administration doesn’t see it the same way.

Before she really knows what’s happened, Julia is kicked out of the Kingston School for the Deaf and trying regular school with a “terp” or interpreter named Casey.  She’s not really interested in fitting in at school, and despises Casey’s friendly eagerness as well as the bubbly blond cheerleader-type girl she calls YP for the yoga pants she’s always wearing.  Though Julia’s not about to give up graffiti, she’s incensed when someone else starts editing her graffiti, adding admittedly cool skeletons to her art.

Meanwhile, at school, lots of teachers seem to think she’s only pretending to be Deaf to get extra attention.  The art teacher is one of the only understanding ones, and though he’s male, he’s somewhat saved from the unfortunate trope of the Super Insightful Teacher Dude who Makes a Difference by their being some very clueless male teachers as well, such as the teacher who assumes that when she says she admires her moms, it’s because she doesn’t know her English grammar.  At home, though Julia loves her mothers, she’s not able to talk to them about her current struggles. Her job as a fryer at McDonald’s used to be at least a place to see her best friend, but this too becomes torture as her former best friend also works there, and starts crushing on the same boy as Julia.

Julia is full of anger at the world for much of the book, and even though I had to shake my head at some – make that many – of her choices, she also felt authentic to me.  I appreciated that she was going to make her own way, no matter how hard she fell on the way, without giving in to any requests to smile along the way.

There is so much detail in this book about Deaf culture and the realities of living with hearing loss that I had to look it up – the author is not Deaf herself, but worked closely with members of that community to make it authentic.  She is a graffiti artist herself, and this shows.  I also appreciated that Julia is shown as an intersectional character – Deaf, South Asian-American, part of an LGBT family – with strong interests and identity outside of that.  It’s definitely one I’ll be sharing with my own DHH daughter in a few years, and recommended especially now for fans of street art and contemporary YA fiction.

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3 Great Middle Grade Realistic Picks

Posted on June 8, 2018 by Katy K.

If you’re looking for some contemporary realistic fiction, here are three solid titles for a range of tastes from full-on adventure to more introspective.
To Catch a Cheat by Varian JohnsonTo Catch a Cheat by Varian Johnson. Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, 2016.
The officially-ended Greene Gang of the Great Greene Heist returns with a new issue: they haven’t been up to any mischief, but they have been framed with a doctored video showing them flooding the school.  It was clearly a very deliberate effort, timed to show them doing it when none of them have good alibis.  Even though Jackson and his best friend Charlie have been going through a rough spot lately, they badly need to prove their innocence.  Who could have pulled such a clever con, and why?  It will take all of the combined smarts of the diverse group to figure it out.  It’s a lot of caper fun, with some friendship issues and a smidge of middle school-appropriate romance.  There’s even a guide to the various cons and their sources at the back.  It’s short and snappy, especially perfect for kids who have trouble finding time or focus for reading.

The Parker Inheritance by Varian JohnsonThe Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2018.
I went into Johnson’s new book expecting more of the fun of his last two books.  It is fun, but it’s longer and takes on more serious issues within the framework of a direct tribute to Ellen Raskin’s classic The Westing Game.

Candice’s parents are newly divorced, and while things are being worked on in their house in Atlanta, Candice and her mother take a trip to Candice’s grandmother’s old house in a small town in South Carolina. That grandmother, the first African-American city manager the city had, was fired after digging up the tennis courts looking for treasure.  But when Candice finds a letter in the attic from an eccentric billionaire promising a large reward to the city if they can find it, Candice is determined to find it and prove that her grandmother wasn’t crazy.

She’s helped in her quest by neighbor and fellow book lover Brandon, who’s also eager to stay out of the way of bullies who persecute him because they think he’s gay.  Frustratingly, his grandfather’s reaction is to try to scold him into being more stereotypically masculine.

Meanwhile, we also get flashbacks to 1957, and a high school girl named Siobhan Washington, the daughter of the tennis coach at the town’s Black high school, as well as a secret night time tennis match between the town’s two high school tennis teams that ended with Coach Washington and his family being forced out of town.

Though racism is an obvious and large issue, the book also deals with many others, including passing, the aforementioned bullying, the importance of treating gay people as people and (quite unexpectedly but sweetly) romance writers as real writers.  It’s all woven together with a tricky puzzle mystery that should indeed appeal to fans of The Westing Game or Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library.

Amina's Voice by Hena KhanAmina’s Voice by Hena Khan. Salaam Reads, Simon & Schuster, 2017.
Middle school and a visit from an uncle from Pakistan bring changes for Amina.  She feels her best friend Soojin growing away from her as she’s suddenly interested in boys, hanging out with a girl who was cruel to both of them in fourth grade, and – after years of being the only kids with non-Western names in school – thinking of choosing a Western name for herself when her family finally gets their American citizenship.  Then, there’s a plan to hold a Koran-reciting contest at her mosque, and Amina has trouble pronouncing the Koran the proper Arabic way and is worried of being humiliated when her father says she has to participate.  Music – especially playing piano while singing Motown – gives Amina comfort and confidence, but the visiting uncle doesn’t think it’s appropriate for a good Muslim girl.  All of the personal issues take a backseat, though, when the mosque and related community center are burned and vandalized.  Introverted, musical Amina, working hard to balance faith, family, and friends, reminded me so very much of myself at the same age.  I loved her so much and am very glad I read her story.

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The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Posted on June 1, 2018 by Katy K.

The Poet X by Elizabeth AcevedoThe Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo. Harper Teen, 2018.

“My parents probably wanted a girl who would sit in the pews
wearing pretty florals and a soft smile.
They got combat boots and a mouth silent
until it’s sharp as an island machete.”

In this novel in verse, we meet Xiomara, growing up in Harlem the daughter of immigrants from the Dominican Republic. She chafes at the restrictions that culture places on her, to be a devout Catholic, to be submissive, to clean the house where her twin brother is given free time.  Her parents haven’t shown her affection since she grew large and curvy, and she’s blamed when men hit on her.  Her brother, whom she calls Twin because no one else can, goes to a different school and is fighting his own battles.  She also gets support from her best friend Caridad, and there is a sweet but definitely not trouble-free romance with a boy from chemistry class, Aman.

That romance – definitely forbidden by a mother who has forbidden dating – is a strong impetus for Xiomara to look outside the boundaries that were already chafing her.  But just as important is Xiomara’s English teacher, who learned how to pronounce her name ahead of time, praises her writing and encourages her to join the poetry slam club.  We really see just how little of herself Xiomara is willing to share when we see side-by-side essays on school topics, one for herself full of questioning, secrets, pain, and the subdued ones, answering the same question but usually on entirely different subjects, that she actually turns in.  It’s honest and beautiful, with a hopeful but believable ending. I cried real tears.

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At By Singing Light: Anniversary Guest Post

Posted on May 30, 2018 by Katy K.

Hello friends –

I’m a day late in posting this, but I have a guest post of my favorite books of 2006 over at By Singing Light, to celebrate my friend Maureen’s twelfth blogging anniversary.  Head on over to congratulate Maureen!

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Saints and Misfits by S. K. Ali

Posted on May 25, 2018 by Katy K.

Saints and Misfits by S. K. AliSaints and Misfits by S. K. Ali. Salaam Reads, 2017.
Meet Janna, a teen girl trying to figure out her increasingly complicated life.  She’s  committed to wearing hijab as part of her mostly artsy, layered outfits (swim suits are a notable and awkward exception.) Her divorced parents observe their faith very differently – her now-remarried father mostly doesn’t, and gives her a hard time for her conservative clothing.

Janna struggles with a crush on a non-Muslim boy and her brother Muhammad falling for the most annoying, super-girly, upbeat-religious girl at the mosque.  But worst of all, the handsome cousin of her best friend, Fizz, tries to assault her during a party at Fizz’s house.  She’s beset with fear in case it should happen again, at the same time sure that no one would believe any allegations against a person with such a perfect public front.

At the same time, her character is rounded out by her sweet relationship with an older man in her apartment complex, Mr. Ram, whom she takes to play games at the senior center.  She also helps her uncle with the mosque’s web site, keeping it updated and editing the grammar on his “Ask the Imam” letters to standard English.  She also enjoys sneaking up to the roof of the school to eat halal gummi bears with her best friend there.

I started listening to this on audio and had to quit – the reader was one of those who slowed down for unnaturally clear and therefore awkward-sounding diction and used only one cadence for every sentence.  I was starting to hate the whole book – but once I switched over to print, Janna’s true, prickly-sweet personality was able to shine through.  Janna’s faith is an important part of the book, but any teen who struggles with friends, family and boys will find something to relate to here.

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Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson

Posted on May 23, 2018 by Katy K.

I was planning to do another triple review in the interests of catching up, but have fallen to the reality of headaches and patrons with long reference questions (that last a much more pleasant reason!).  So more contemporary teen girls on the way soon, but a brief review of an excellent book for now.

Piecing Me Together by Renée WatsonPiecing Me Together by Renée Watson. Bloomsbury, 2017.Jade is a junior on scholarship to St. Francis, which she gets to via a long bus ride through Portland every day.  She’s one of the only Black students there, doing everything she can to someday get out of her neighborhood.  She’s worked especially hard at Spanish in hopes of being nominated for a service trip abroad.  Instead, she’s nominated for the local Woman to Woman program and assigned a mentor who keeps skipping their meetings.  Also this year, as she’s riding to school, she meets Sam, a girl from the poor white neighborhood on the way, and makes one of her first real friends at school.

Jade’s hobby is collage (I’d love to see some of the described collages), and this is also a metaphor for her life, as she figures out who she is and who people think she is or should be in all the areas of her life – from the people from the mentoring program who think she needs to be “fixed” in some way, to the difficulties fitting in with friends she no longer goes to school with, and even the differences in food from one circle to the next.  No one seems to want a girl from the ‘hood who is smart and cares about education but still loves Kool-aid and fast food.  Everyone has prejudices, and it’s inspiring to watch Jade learn how to navigate the differences and stand up for herself and other Black girls.  It made me all teary-eyed, and I need to go back and read Watson’s other books now.

This book has won all the awards – a Newbery Honor, the Coretta Scott King author award, and the Cybils Young Adult Fiction award – but I heard about it first from Brandy at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.

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Teen Boys in Diverse Historical Fiction

Posted on May 20, 2018 by Katy K.

I know there are really no boy books or girl books, just people books.  But nevertheless, when working on our presentation on diverse books for Spring Institute, my friend Nakenya and I realized that our teen historical reading had only starred girls.  This was not the representative spread we were hoping for.

When I started looking, I found that there is a big reason I haven’t read a lot.  There isn’t a lot of teen historical fiction featuring boys of color, especially not with #OwnVoices authors.  Most of what’s out there is either about slaves or child soldiers, both of which are very difficult for me personally to read about.  Although I set out to find some less depressing books, I should remember that teens (my past self included) are much tougher about reading difficult topics than my current, mother of a teen self. Continue reading →

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3 Don’t-Miss Picture Books

Posted on May 17, 2018 by Katy K.

Crown: an Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes and Gordon C. JamesCrown: an Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes and Gordon C. James. Bolden from Agate Publishing, 2017.
I’d seen this on the shelf, but was moved to check it out when listening to the Caldecott Contender episode of Fuse 8 & Kate  with my kids.  It’s a first picture book outing from the author of the early chapter book series Ruby and the Booker Street Boys, and also an illustrator debut from painter Gordon C. James.  In poetic language and stunning paintings, Barnes and James tell the story of a boy at his weekly barber shop visit, describing the way he’s treated like royalty and how his newly boosted confidence will help him do better in every aspect of his life.  It has a list of awards so long you’ll have to click “more” on Amazon to see them all.  Go read it if you haven’t already.

Water Walker by Joanne RobertsonThe Water Walker by Joanne Robertson. Second Story Press, 2017.
This is one I looked into because Debbie Reese at American Indians in Children’s Literature was so excited about it.  It’s a rare nonfiction look at a contemporary Native heroine. Nokomis loves Nibi, the water.  One night she has a dream that soon water will cost more than gold, but no one is working to protect it.  She ties on her sneakers and organizes her friends to be the Mother Earth Water Walkers and walk all around the Great Lakes.  She takes her copper pail, her Migizi Staff, and leaves gifts of semaa at every body of water.  We see her planning the walk with her friends in her kitchen, and at a microphone giving speeches at large gatherings, as well as walking.  Ojibway words like nibi and semaa are mostly used without translation, though the pictures help and there is a glossary and pronunciation guide at the back.  It’s short, and the marker illustrations are deceptively simple, but there is a lot packed into this little book about the endurance and values of Nokomis and her people. It’s an inspiration for others who care about the future of our water.

This is How We Do It by Matt LamotheThis is How We Do It by Matt Lamothe. Chronicle Kids, 2017
This one was nominated for a Cybils in elementary nonfiction, but I just pulled it off the new book shelf to put it on display and ended up taking it home instead.  The simple but effective premise is this: one day in the lives of seven kids from around the world: Japan, Peru, Iran, Russia, India, Italy, and Uganda. After being introduced to who they are, who they live with and where they live, it goes through breakfast, the trip to school, what they call their teachers, what they learn, and so on.  Mostly the page is divided into eight panels, each showing one child with one panel explaining what they’re doing, but some steps are given multiple page spreads for a bigger view of the scene.  The author’s note says that he drew the illustrations based on photographs the actual families sent him, and a photograph of each is included at the end.  I don’t often cry over books, but the ending of this one, finding unity after all the differences of the preceding day, made me tear up.  It also fascinated everyone I gave it to, from kindergarteners through middle schoolers and adults.

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Oddity and the Daybreak Bond

Posted on May 16, 2018 by Katy K.

Here are two books that have little in common besides being contemporary speculative fiction at the middle grade level.  The first I picked solely because of the adorable yet fierce kid on the cover; the second because I liked the first book in the series.

Oddity by Sarah CannonOddity by Sarah Cannon. Feiwel and Friends, 2017.
In the New Mexico town of Oddity, many things that we would consider odd aren’t.  It’s normal to have zombie bunnies invade your room and have battles with aliens in your yard.  It’s normal to escape from deadly wild animals during gym class while your teachers watch through a closed door.  The town is run by puppets, and no one really looks at the black-clad people who stand behind them pulling the strings.  There’s also a festival and a Sweepstakes every year, where adults are chosen as winners and taken away to a fabulous new life.

Ada never questioned any of these things until her twin sister, Pearl, was taken by the sweepstakes and her parents stopped functioning from grief.  Also, the new boy next door, Cayden, is shocked by so many normal things that Ada has to question her understanding of the way things work.  And when things take a turn for the sinister, Cayden, Ada, and Ada’s best friend Raymond, will have to break lots of rules and even face down the Blurmonster and question Scoby the sentient kombucha culture to find out what’s going on.

The action is narrated with snarky, up-to-date language, while thoughts on cultural appropriation and respect for indigenous cultures lurks underneath.  Though this doesn’t appear to be an #OwnVoices book, things like Ada’s memories of Sunday hair braiding sessions with her sister, mother, and aunt in happier times touched on similar events in other books I’ve read by Black authors. This helped Ada feel like a legitimately African-American character, and the town as described is ethnically diverse, though the focus is decidedly on the adventure and the town.  Kids looking for an offbeat adventure with a heroine who is seriously not to be messed with will be very pleased.

The Daybreak Bone by Megan Frazer BlakemoreThe Daybreak Bond by Megan Frazer Blakemore. Bloomsbury, 2017.
Spoiler alert!  This is the sequel to The Firefly Code, and spoilers are inevitable.  You have been warned.  Now, the crew of friends are figuring out a way to get out of the utopian city of Old Harmonie for the first time ever.  They plan to travel to Boston to meet Mori’s grandmother’s best friend and fellow scientist Dr. Varden, whose initial research led to the creation of their friend Alanna.  But the Firefly kids’ parents think that Alanna is dangerous, and not a real person, and want to take her apart.  It takes a whole lot of thinking to disable a system meant to keep them inside and tracked, and that’s only the beginning.  On the way, they must overcome obstacles, confront their beliefs about the outside world as well as the privilege they’ve grown up with.  Underneath it all is the growing question: can they trust people whose thoughts can be manipulated?

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2018 Diversity Reading Challenge Update

Posted on May 14, 2018 by Katy K.

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This year I’m participating in the Diversity Reading Challenge hosted by Pam at an Unconventional Librarian.  I’m really enjoying the way it encourages me to diversify my diversity, as it were.  I’m leaving the ones I’d read at my last update here unbolded, for reference.  Unfortunately that New Year’s resolution to try to review books sooner after I read them is one I’m still struggling with….  and I could stand to read some more books about non-neurotypical people.  But hey! reading the Cybils middle grade graphic novel finalists was really great for filling out the graphic novel category.

  1. Written by or about a person of Hispanic origin:
  1. A book in which a character suffers from a mental illness:
  1. A book written by or about someone on the spectrum:
  1. A book with an African-American [or African] young woman as the main character:
  • Sky Full of Stars by Linda Williams Jackson
  • Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson
  • Dragons and Marshmallows. Zooey and Sassafras Book 1 by Asia Citro
  • Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor (this one is definitely for adults!)
  • Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
  • The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson
  • Upside-Down Magic by Sarah Mlynowski, Lauren Myracle, and Emily Jenkins
  1. A book containing an Asian main characterHello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly
  1. A book with an illustrator of color
  • Crown: an Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes and Gordon C. James
  • Whoosh: Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions by Chris Barton and Don Tate
  • Shining Star: The Anna May Wong Story by Paula Yoo and Lin Wang.
  1. A book with an LGBT main character
  • Spinning by Tillie Walden
  • The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee. Read by Christian Coulson.
  • Everfair by Nisi Shawl (adult)
  • That Inevitable Victorian Thing by K. Johnston
  1. A graphic novel
  1. A book with a Muslim main character
  • Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan
  • Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali
  1. A book written by or for African-American young mentocatchacheat
  • Crown: an Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes and Gordon C. James
  • Juba by Walter Dean Myers
  • To Catch a Cheat by Varian Johnson
  1. A book in which the author or narrator has a physical disability
  • Hello Goodbye Dog by Maria Gianferrari and Patrice Barton
  • You’re Welcome, Universe by Whitney Gardner
  • Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess by Shari Green
  • The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
  1. A book about children during the Holocaust.

If you’ve been reading anything that would help me with this challenge, or if you have ideas for categories that aren’t mentioned here, please let me know!

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