A compulsively readable and fast-paced story about a man whose family have been miners below the surface of Mars for generations. They believe they are helping to terraform Mars so it will one day be inhabitable for others, but Darrow discovers it’s all a lie – Mars has been habitable for centuries, and his people kept in ignorance and slavery to keep it that way. Darrow is recruited to infiltrate the upper castes in an attempt to take his revenge and overthrow the system. This book will keep you on the edge of your proverbial seat from beginning to end!
Archives: Book Reviews
History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera
“When Griffin’s first love and ex-boyfriend, Theo, dies in a drowning accident, his universe implodes. Even though Theo had moved to California for college and started seeing Jackson, Griffin never doubted Theo would come back to him when the time was right. But now, the future he’s been imagining for himself has gone far off course. To make things worse, the only person who truly understands his heartache is Jackson. But no matter how much they open up to each other, Griffin’s downward spiral continues. He’s losing himself in his obsessive compulsions and destructive choices, and the secrets he’s been keeping are tearing him apart. If Griffin is ever to rebuild his future, he must first confront his history, every last heartbreaking piece in the puzzle of his life.”
This dust jacket synopsis does a better job of bringing together all of the threads at play in Adam Silvera’s second novel, History is all you Left Me. Let me just be very, very honest with you guys: I loved this book. Silvera manages to capture each excruciating nuance of heartbreak while maintaining fully human characters who never succumb to stereotypes. I am a huge fan of Silvera’s first novel More Happy Than Not, and I would say that his sophomore book is an even greater triumph.
A Perfect Day by Lane Smith
Can there be a more perfect spring read aloud? Everyone is having a wonderful spring day — the dog, the cat, the bird, the squirrel — even Bert who arranges everything for these happy animals. Then from the white pages comes bear — and in the end only bear is having a perfect day! Grab the nearest kid and read this aloud — guaranteed to make you smile (..and savor what spring weather we have.)
Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear
A genre-busting mix of steampunk, Western and thriller, with a dash of real history. The story is narrated in the distinct, first-person voice of a “seamstress” (aka saloon girl) named Karen Memery, and populated with a terrific collection of vivid and diverse characters that will keep you hooked throughout! Together, Karen and the other employees of Madam Damnable’s high-class bordello take on a criminal mastermind who wants to take over their minds, as well as their bodies.
Finders Keepers by Keiko Kasza
In each picture book she writes and illustrates, Keiko Kasza provides plot twists and surprises galore. You never know where her tales will take you. She is the perfect author to use to introduce the idea of narrative to young readers (preschoolers and early elementary). Just look at all The Dog Who Cried Wolf, The Mightiest, and others. Another fantastic and eventful title is her bouncy Finders Keepers in which a squirrel’s red hat goes on an extraordinary journey. A squirrel buries a tasty acorn and uses its red bowler hat to cover the hole, telling the chapeau to stay put. However, a wind carries the hat away, and soon it travels from animal to animal, becoming a bird’s nest, an ant’s boat, and, most dramatically, a bear’s clown nose. Kasza has mastered the page turn, making you more than anxious to see what happens on the next spread. The resolution feels just perfect and settled, but then she throws in one last surprise that makes young readers giggle with delight.
The Emperor of Any Place by Tim Wynne-Jones
Evan’s father died with a yellow bound book in his hand. The yellow book contains the journal of a Japanese soldier, who was stranded on a small island in the Pacific during WWII. As Evan cracks the journal open he realizes that it was recovered by his estranged grandfather, a U.S. Marine and that the stranded Japanese soldier never made it off the island. Now this grandfather (Griff), who Evan’s never met, is coming to help put Evan’s father’s estate in order.
The arrival of his grandfather and the information contained in the yellow book send Evan down the rabbit’s hole. If his father hated Griff so much, why was he reading this journal? The night before he died Evan’s father said that Griff may have been a murderer. What did he mean? Did his father read something in the journal? Evan has to get to the truth and is seems like Griff is actively hiding something from him. The Emperor of Any Place blends Evan story and the story of the Japanese soldier seamlessly. The tension between Evan and his grandfather, Griff keeps the reader engaged the whole story. This is a great blend of historical fiction and realistic fiction.
Lucia the Luchadora by Cynthia Leonor Garza, illustrated by Alyssa Bermudez
Young readers cannot help but cheer for Lucía, the cape-wearing star of this energetic, vibrant picture book. Cynthia Leonor Garza’s text zips and bounces along as she introduces our young heroine, first seen pulling some cool superhero moves on the playground. Alyssa Bermudez’s vibrant art leaps off the pages as Lucía flies off the monkey bars, nailing her landing. After two buzzkill boys tell her that girls cannot be superheroes, she becomes fuming mad, a kind of “spicy KA-POW” kind of mad, needing comfort from her abuela. Her grandmother reveals a super amazing secret: that she possesses a superawesome luchadora mask and that she, in her youth, had been an agile, quick-thinking masked wrestler! Lucía’s confidence explodes as she slips on the mask and wears it on the playground next day. She causes a sensation with her peers, but still faces some mean naysaying. How Lucía rises above this problem is absolutely wonderful and life affirming. This book has a nifty look and a great message about standing up for yourself and for your own self-worth.
Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets by Kwame Alexander, Chris Colderley, and Marjory Wentworth
Poet/novelist Kwame Alexander won the 2015 Newbery Award, a 2015 Coretta Scott King Author Honor, and the 2017 Rebecca Caudill Award for his moving free verse novel The Crossover. For this brilliantly conceived poetry collection he invited Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth to join him and create evocative poems that pay tribute to legendary poets such as Maya Angelou, Gwendolyn Brooks, Emily Dickinson, Chief Dan George, Pablo Neruda, among many others. All in a very kid-friendly manner! These poems, about a wide variety of topics, will perhaps inspire young poets to create their own verses and odes and haikus, and find original works by the esteemed legends. Ekua Holmes, who deservedly received much acclaim and accolades for her illustrations in Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hammer: The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement, fills the pages with brilliant collages that beautifully capture the spirit and feel of each poem. This is a case where everything falls into place: strong writing, vibrant art, and an approach that encourages further study. A must for National Poetry Month, but great all year round.
Allegedly: A novel by Tiffany D. Jackson
“I’m innocent,” said every inmate in a correctional facility ever but Mary B. Addison is innocent well according to Mary she is innocent. The infamous Mary B. Addison was only 12 when she was convicted of murder. After spending time in a juvenile detention center, she is transferred to a group home where she endures verbal and physical abuse constantly having to defend herself from the other girls and the staff. Mary was tired of fighting and she didn’t want to go back to “baby jail” so ultimately she decided to accept her fate hoping to finish her time, successfully take the SAT, go to college and maybe live a better life with her secret boyfriend. However, her plans are derailed when she becomes pregnant and the thought of her unborn child becoming a ward of the state creates a determination in her she didn’t even know she had. Mary is determined to prove her innocence and obtain her happily ever after but is she truly innocent or is she a criminal mastermind?
The Lone City Trilogy by Amy Ewing
The Lone City Trilogy has been touted as a cross between THE SELECTION SERIES and THE HANDMAID’S TALE. In a world where the rich and royal cannot reproduce on their own, they must purchase surrogates— young, beautiful, talented women from the poorest areas of the city, women who are gifted with special, supernatural abilities—to bear their children for them. Violet Lasting has been purchased as a surrogate by the Duchess of the Lake and suddenly finds herself living in a world full of cruelty and violence. She is tasked with using her powers to birth a child in less than the standard 9 months—much less. Violet realizes that she is in danger and, with the help of one of the Duchess’s servants, begins planning her escape. However, Violet did not count on falling in love—a forbidden love with Ash, a male companion brought into the palace for the Duchess’s niece.
That’s the premise of this fantastic series, but to go into any more would divulge too many spoilers. You’ll just have to read it for yourself.