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Spinning by Tillie Walden

Posted on April 29, 2018 by Katy K.

This was one of the Cybils teen graphic novel finalists. (Although my son read and enjoyed the winner, Spill Zone, I ran out of time to read it myself.)

Spinning by Tillie Walden. First Second, 2017.
Tillie Walden tells first-hand her story of ice skating in Texas, competing both individually and as part of team. There’s a lot of sleep deprivation from waking up to practice for hours before school, as well as the required uniformity. Tillie keeps going, perhaps drawn by the sense of belonging as opposed to her unemotional family, even as she comes to realize that she doesn’t fit. She hides her crushes on girls, as well as her lack of Christian faith that’s pretty much assumed by everyone else. Increasingly, even as she’s winning prizes and rising in the ice skating ranks, she hides her disenchantment with the sport in general.

Walden is straightforward about the telling, her pictures simple and realistic, mostly black and white with touches of purple, her words minimal. And yet every detail counts here, with the illustration of a turn or the placement of words over a picture speaking volumes about what’s happening. There is a secret romance, but nothing explicitly drawn. Spoiler alert/trigger warning: there is an attempted assault by an adult late in the book. The happy ending must come from the satisfaction of Tillie learning more about herself and accepting it – there is no magical moment when she’s able to have her team or her parents accept who she is.

This book would pair naturally with previous finalist Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash.

Posted in books, Graphic Novel, Realistic, Teen/Young Adult | Tagged LGBTQ, memoir, teen graphic novels | 2 Comments

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya

Posted on April 25, 2018 by Katy K.

Here’s book number three in my impromptu middle grade Latinix reading series, following Stella Martinez Has Something to Sayand A Dash of Trouble.

The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya. Read by the Author. Listening Library, 2017.
Arturo is not really looking forward to summer. Sure, he’s in Miami’s beautiful Canal District, but he’s always there. Meanwhile, he’ll be working at his family’s restaurant, La Cocina de la Isla, and though he loves the restaurant, he does not love washing dishes. Plus, both of his best friends will be out of town for the summer.

Naturally, though, the picture changes. The husband and daughter of his mother’s recently deceased best friend come to visit for the summer from Spain. Carmen, right around Arturo’s age, has blossomed since last he saw her from a skinny kid he was happy to splash in the ocean with into a young woman with cute jelly-bean colored braces (teenaged me with similar braces would have been thrilled to hear someone found them attractive!) and around whom he finds himself tongue-tied. A big land developer wants to buy the land where they want to expand their restaurant and build an exclusive, luxury name-branded tower on it, just like he’s built across America. Worst of all, his beloved Abuela’s health is failing.

All Arturo wants is to make Abuela proud, save La Cocina, and win Carmen’s heart. But that’s a really tall order for a lone thirteen-year-old, especially as the fight for the restaurant turns into a fight for the character of the neighborhood. Continue reading →

Posted in Audiobook, books, Middle Grade, Realistic | Tagged Latino/a, youth fiction | 5 Comments

A Dash of Trouble. Love Sugar Magic #1 by Anna Meriano

Posted on April 23, 2018 by Katy K.

I had an unplanned little Latinix series as holds came in on various fun-sounding books all at the same time. Here’s the next one, a funny fantasy with lots of baking.

A Dash of Trouble. Love Sugar Magic #1 by Anna Meriano. Walden Pond Press, 2018.
Leo, short for Leonora, is eleven years old and the youngest of five sisters, living with their parents in Texas. Her mother runs the family bakery, which always does big business in the run-up to the Day of the Dead. Leo is increasingly sure that her family is hiding something from her, especially as they’re refusing her help in the bakery in the lead-up to this especially busy time. Through some sneakiness, she finds out that at least some of the baked goods are magical.

Leo is determined not to wait! Even when her Spanish isn’t quite good enough to understand everything in the old family cookbook. Even when her initial attempt at baking flying pig cookies in her EZ-Bake Oven goes poorly, she wants to try more. Her best friend Caroline has recently lost her mother, so even though Leo isn’t yet interested in boys, she decides to help Caroline’s crush open up with a little magical baking. Naturally, things go horribly, hilariously wrong. Can Leo and Caroline fix their mistakes without their parents finding out what’s going on?

This is a delightful story, with a large family that has its share of arguments but is supportive when it comes right down to it. I enjoyed the back-and-forth of Leo and Caroline’s friendship as well, and I always enjoy some good baking with my fantasy. It’s on the long side for some readers, but should be lots of fun for upper elementary and lower middle school readers, with nothing inappropriate for advanced younger readers. It was plenty enjoyable for this adult reader, as well.

For more middle grade fantasies where baking plays a key role, try

A Pocket Full of Murder by R.J. Anderson
Baker’s Magic by Diane Zahler

Posted in books, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Print, Reviews | Tagged baking, Latino/a, Texas, youth fantasy | 20 Comments

Stella Diaz Has Something to Say by Angela Dominguez

Posted on April 21, 2018 by Katy K.

Here’s a charming first novel from the illustrator of Mango, Abuela & Me.

Stella Diaz Has Something to Say by Angela Dominguez. Roaring Brook Press, 2018. Stella is nervous about school now that her best friend, Jenny, is in another class. She’s grown up in America with a Spanish-speaking mother and has trouble speaking either Spanish or English clearly, often mixing the languages. That leads to her being very quiet in public, something that makes it very hard for her to reach out and make new friends. While I could relate to the difficulty making friends, Stella has a lot more going for her. She loves art, and fish, as well as her supportive older brother. Though her speech therapist keeps asking her if there’s any chance her parents will get back together, she’s happy that her parents are divorced because her father is just not reliable. There’s some talk of immigration issues, as Stella is incensed to learn that she’s considered an alien because she has a green card – as if that gave her green skin and antennae. Stella works hard to make new friends, stay in touch with the old, and get ready for a school presentation on marine life.

Stella has a nice blend of humor and passion. Dominguez’s illustrations feel almost like they could have been done by a talented child, and add even more to the story. This is one that feels perfect for middle elementary kids to read to themselves, just a bit more advanced than early chapter books but not yet with the smaller text and length of those for upper elementary or middle school. It could also work as a read aloud for younger kids. I think it will be perfect for my daughter next year, and I very much enjoyed it myself.

Posted in books, Early Chapter Books, Middle Grade, Print, Realistic, Reviews | Tagged #OwnVoices, Latino/a, not quite middle grade, youth fiction | 4 Comments

3 Fun Early Chapter Books

Posted on April 20, 2018 by Katy K.

Jasmine Toguchi: Super Sleuth by Debbi Michiko Florence. Pictures by Elizabet Vuković. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2017.
I’d been wanting to read the new Jasmine Toguchi series, especially because I have a Japanese-American niece who’ll be needing some early chapter books in a couple of years. (I started with the second one because the first was checked out.) Jasmine is getting excited for her family’s annual celebration of Girl’s Day. This year, though, her big sister Sophie is saying she doesn’t want to participate and Jasmine is crushed. Meanwhile, she’s also looking forward to a sleepover with her best friend Linnie. They start out playing with the cool clothes in the neighbor’s garage, a favorite pastime. Then Linnie asks to leave. Jasmine has to use her detective skills to figure out several mysteries – including her sister and Linnie’s behavior, and why the neighbor has a garage full of strange clothes.

My daughter was turned off by the sleuth aspect initially (who knows why), but ended up enjoying the book. I really appreciated the relatable sibling and friend issues – some Jasmine’s fault and some not – combined with some fun insight into Japanese-American culture, including a craft at the back. Vuković’s illustrations are sweet and the perfect addition to round out the story.

Princess Cora and the Crocodile by Laura Amy Schlitz and Brian Floca. Candlewick Press, 2017.
With a double-medal-winning team, this Cybils finalist could hardly be anything but stunning. Princess Cora is adored by her parents when she’s first born, but soon they realize that cute toes won’t help her in the real world. She’s led to a hemmed-in life transferred from one adult to another: multiple baths a day from her governess, even though said governess won’t allow messy play, dull political books with the queen, and exercise in the dungeon with the king. When Cora makes a heart-felt wish for a puppy, her fairy godmother instead gives her a crocodile. The crocodile (who can talk) offers to put on Cora’s clothes and pretend to be Cora so that Cora can spend a day outside. This leads to lots of hilarity both in the text and the pictures, as well as Cora finding the courage to speak up for what she needs. Fun for everyone, but perfect for over-scheduled children. This one my daughter insisted her teacher read aloud to the whole class.

Dragons and Marshmallows. Zoey and Sassafras Book 1. By Asia Citro. Illustrated by Marion Lindsay. Innovation Press, 2017.
Zoey is out with her cat, Sassafras, when they find a frog that glows. Her mother says that this means she can see magic, and shows her the magical doorbell on the barn that’s placed for magical animals to ring when they need help. But Mom is headed out of town for a conference, so when a baby dragon shows up, Zoey is on her own. Her mother has taught about scientific principles and how to conduct experiments, and Zoey uses this to figure out what to feed the little dragon. Subsequent books in the series feature similar combinations of magical creatures and science explorations, all tied together with adorable illustrations. It may be “rainbow sprinkle” diversity, since Zoey and her family’s brown skin doesn’t seem to have any cultural components, but I still found it refreshing to have a science book with a dark-skinned girl lead. My daughter read all four I found her from the library and started over again.

Posted in books, Early Chapter Books, Fantasy, Print, Realistic, Reviews | Tagged Asian-American, Early Chapter Books, Japanese, princesses, science | 6 Comments

Scythe by Neal Schusterman

Posted on April 18, 2018 by Katy K.

Scythe has been sweeping up the honors – it won the Young Adult Speculative Fiction Cybils Award, a Printz Honor, and was being talked up by my teen librarian, to boot.

Scythe by Neal Schusterman. Simon & Schuster, 2016.
Humanity has entered the post-mortal age. No one really dies of natural causes anymore, since disease has been eliminated and accidents can be repaired. Even age can be undone as grandparents “turn the corner”, resetting themselves to people in their twenties, when they remarry and start new families. Everything is run by the sentient power of the internet, now called the Thunderhead. Everything except the order of the Scythes, who “reap” people – who then stay truly dead –to maintain balance.

Our two teens, Citra and Rowan, are taken as apprentices to Scythe Faraday, one of the most balanced and respected of the scythes. He tells them it’s a good sign that they don’t want to be scythes and aren’t interested in killing. But the order doesn’t take kindly to him taking two apprentices, so they are set against each and told to be rivals even as they are the only people they truly trust. There is doomed love, politics, mortal danger, high action, lots of violence, corruption in high places, and plenty of plot twists, all with lots of deep thoughts about the meaning of life.

So I totally get why it’s so popular. It is really tough to write a high-action, high-character, high-concept book. It just didn’t quite work for me – the doomed romance felt artificial, I didn’t buy wanting to raise a family and then leave your partner and start over with a new one, and perhaps most of all, I do not care for violence or high-octane plots. And yet, I know I’m in the minority on those last two.

I bet my son would love it, though, especially as the romance part doesn’t take up too much time. The second volume, Thunderhead, is out now.

Posted in books, Print, Reviews, Sci-Fi, Teen/Young Adult | Tagged dystopia, teen science fiction | 6 Comments

2 More Cybils Middle Grade Graphic Novel Finalists

Posted on April 16, 2018 by Katy K.

Here are two more of the Cybils Middle Grade Graphic Novel finalists. Coming back to write these reviews reminds me that I still haven’t read the only one I couldn’t get from my own library – Suee and the Shadow. The interloan request is now placed!

The Dam Keeper by Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi. First Second, 2017.
This graphic novel is based on movie short and combines several elements to unique effect. Adorably cute cartoon animals in a magnificently painted background face down terrible dark events. Young Pig has been raised by his father to tend the Dam that keeps back the waves of Dark. And the Dark is a terrible thing. It took Pig’s mother in the past, and one day, his father walks out into the Dark. Now Pig tends the dam on his own after school, as the waves of Dark get larger and closer together. When a wave of dark washes them out of the city, he’s joined in his quest to get back and find a fix for the dam by his friendly classmate Fox and her grouchy friend Hippo. The words are few, and the art beautiful. The scenes of the dying mother at the beginning were disturbing enough that my daughter refused to read on, so this is one for kids who like their stories on the darker side. There is definitely room for a sequel here!

Where’s Halmoni? By Julie Kim. Little Bigfoot, 2017.
This story, the winner of the Cybils award in this category, hover on the border between picture book and graphic novel. My library has it in picture books, and it is picture book sized, with many full-page spreads. But it’s long for a picture book and put together following graphic novel conventions regarding text placement and sometimes using panels.

All that aside, the book is captivating if straightforward. Two children come home from school to find their grandmother, their Halmoni, missing. They can smell her wonderful cooking, though, so they know she hasn’t been gone long. When they follow the giant tiger footprints through a window, they find themselves in a fantasy Korea. Here it’s clear that these are Korean-American children who’ve grown up hearing but not speaking Korean. They meet various creatures from Korean folklore, who all speak to the children in Korean – the characters are written artistically above, with the older sister telling her brother what she catches of it. Everything is translated in the back, but it’s fun to go through figuring things out with the kids. They meet a trickster rabbit, friendly goblins, that fearsome tiger, and a bushy-tailed fox (more familiar to me as the nine-tailed fox.) Despite some nervous moments, the children are never in too much danger, thanks to little brother Yoon’s seemingly bottomless backpack of snacks. I was pleased to see that, though the children are never quite sure what happened to their grandmother, it’s clear to the reader that she was having adventures of her own. I’ve left the art until last, but it is worth mentioning – stunning painted art, in vivid colors that both echo traditional Korean art and feel up-to-the-moment. This was a hit with both my children as well as myself.

Posted in books, Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Middle Grade, Reviews | Tagged #OwnVoices, Asian-American, Cybils, youth graphic novels | 7 Comments

The Dollmaker of Krakow and the Ice Sea Pirates

Posted on April 14, 2018 by Katy K.

I said I was done reviewing Cybils books. I lied. Here are two more that were nominated for last year’s Cybils, both read from review copies kindly sent to me by the publisher.

The Dollmaker of Krakow by R.M. Romero. Delacorte, 2017.
Karolina is a doll who spends her time in the land of dolls stitching small, helpful spells into the clothes of courtiers and soldiers. But when her gingerbread home is eaten by invading rats, she runs away and finds herself in a toy shop in 1940s Krakow. The shop is owned by the dollmaker of the title, a Mr. Brzezick who lost his leg in World War I and has renounced both war and his German heritage as a consequence. Karolina is convinced that it’s his magic that has made her able to move and talk in the human world, and soon she’s befriended Rena, a young Jewish girl whose father has bought a doll house for her. Reality and magic intertwine as Karolina realizes that the invading Nazis are conquering the magical spirits of Poland as well as its people. The occupation gets slowly worse, until Karolina realizes that Rena and her friends are all in terrible danger and she and Mr. Brzezick must work to save them. I don’t know that there is such a thing as a gentle introduction to the Holocaust, but here at least (spoiler alert), though things go about as poorly as one would expect for the adults, their efforts succeed in saving the children. I found it odd and captivating.

The Ice Sea Pirates by Frida Nilsson. Gecko Press, 2017.
Frida Nilsson is an award-winning Swedish author whom I read for the first time here, attracted especially by the pirates. Pirates are often romanticized especially in children’s books, but they are definitely the villains here. Growing up on one of many tiny, remote northern islands, ten-year-old Siri has told her little sister Miki lots of stories about the evil pirate Captain Whitehead, who kidnaps children to work in his coal mine. Once taken, no one has ever dared to face him to try to recover the children. But when little Miki is actually taken by the pirates, Siri is guilt-stricken and horrified. She jumps into a rowboat and finds her way to the nearest town, determined to rescue Miki. For a story about pirates with a mermaid encounter, I agree with Charlotte that this felt surprisingly realistic. Siri doesn’t have superpowers. She isn’t able to feed herself, or navigate solo across the ocean, and absolutely refuses to play along when she’s told that she’s a child foretold in dreams to do great things. She needs help from adults, who are also not omnipotent. She gets stuck, abandoned, betrayed. She sits down and cries about it. And then she gets up and tries something else, because what’s she’s lacking in adult capabilities, she makes up for in her sheer refusal to give up when everyone else tells her to. Besides her admirable persistence, Siri’s takeaway lesson is the horror of allowing children of any species to be used for our profit. Despite these modern-day messages, this had an old-fashioned feel that I quite enjoyed.

Posted in books, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Print, Reviews | Tagged dolls, Holocaust, pirates, Poland, youth fantasy | 2 Comments

3 Cybils MG Graphic Novel Finalists

Posted on April 13, 2018 by Katy K.

Here are three of the Cybils elementary/middle grade graphic novel finalists. It’s always good to read what the other Cybils panelists came up with!

Real Friends by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham. First Second, 2017.
Newbery-honor winning (and personal favorite) author Shannon Hale gets real with this fictionalized autobiography as she details her struggles with friendships through elementary school. Even though she managed to be at least on the fringe of The [In] Group at one point, a social feat I’m glad never to have achieved after reading her tales of it, the pangs of friends made and lost resonated deeply with me. Hale also shares stories of sibling abuse, as well as her issues with anxiety – both caused by mental health issues that went unrecognized at the time. Pham’s illustrations are perfect, as always, showing both Hale’s reality and her vivid imagination. My daughter managed to read this at least 10 times in the few weeks we had it out from the library, and my mother and I both very much enjoyed as well.

Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani. First Second, 2017.
Priyanka is also having a hard time fitting in at school. She feels isolated from her mother, too, who won’t answer Priyanka’s questions about why her mother left India or who her father was. She gets along best with her uncle, but when he has a new baby, that stability it threatened. Her life changes forever when she puts on her mother’s beautiful pashmina shawl. It transports her from her dull life, illustrated in black and white, to a full-color, magical India, where she’s shown around by Kanta, a blue elephant and a peacock named Mayur. My eight-year-old thought it looked too old for her to try, but I found it a moving story of heritage and women’s choices.

Big Bad Fox by Benjamin Renner. First Second, 2017.
A scrawny fox is on a mission to prove to the wolf that he’s up to stealing chickens. The chickens usually beat him up, and the guard dog is lazy enough not to bestir himself when he knows the chickens can take care of themselves. But one day, the fox steals eggs instead, so that he can raise his own chickens. They hatch into adorable, hoodlum chicks, and hijinks ensue. How can the fox eat the little critters who call him Mama and insist that they are foxes, too? This has sketchy, frameless panels filled with watercolor art, and was another one my daughter finished only to turn around and start again from the beginning.

Posted in books, Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Middle Grade, Realistic, Reviews | Tagged Cybils, France, India, South Asian, youth graphic novels, youth memoirs | 12 Comments

Shadowhouse Fall by Daniel José Older

Posted on April 4, 2018 by Katy K.

Sierra and her Shadowshaper crew return in the second full-length novel.

Shadowhouse Fall by Daniel José Older. Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic, 2017.

The school year is starting again for Sierra and her friends, all now in training, as our story opens. This book feels even more rooted in the modern day, even as the magical elements are strong. The friends are heckling the security guards as they go through the metal detectors on their way in to school, even as the guards tell them they’d make it through the gates much faster if they didn’t wear any jewelry.

Things start to get weird when one of the few white kids in school, red-haired Mina, gives Sierra a card from the Deck of Worlds. Sierra doesn’t really know what the Deck of Worlds is, but she knows (from events from one of the novellas set over the summer, which I haven’t read) that Mina has been involved with the Sorrows, who are definitely not friends of the Shadowshapers. Can she be trusted? There is darkness and uncertainty on every side, as Sierra knows that people are counting on her to make the right choices.

In an effort to learn more, Sierra tries to connect with the few remaining Shadowshapers of the older generation. Meanwhile, her relationship with Robbie turns more off than on, and Sierra starts feeling attracted towards Pulpo, the bass player in her brother’s band Culebra. This was another sweet romance, and I appreciated that Sierra is allowed to be a normal teen exploring different relationships, instead of finding her One True Love at 15.

Police brutality, the criminalization of young black men, and the Black Lives Matter movement are skillfully woven together with the supernatural plot. I personally like almost any story better with some magic in it, and this has plenty. But after having my heart broken twice over reading The Hate U Give and American Street last year, I was also very relieved to find a book dealing with these themes where the young men survive the book. I don’t know if Older has any more books planned here, but I would be happy to many more books about Sierra and her crew!

Posted in books, Fantasy, Print, Reviews, Teen/Young Adult | Tagged #OwnVoices, Brooklyn, Latino/a, teen fantasy | 3 Comments