William “Scoob” Lamar has been suspended from school and his dad, who’s always hard on him is not pleased. Scoob thinks this suspension is going be a huge drag until his G-ma pulls up one day in an RV and says they’re going on a road trip. Scoob loves hi G-ma, so he doesn’t think twice about ditching his dad and his suspension to go on an adventure with her. Little does Scoob know what a life altering adventure he’s in for. Using his grandpa’s old Green Book and G-ma’s old maps, they start on a journey that Scoob’s G-ma and G-pop never got to finish. Along the way Scoob learns things about his G-pop, who died in prison and G-ma that he never knew. But as the first few days roll past G-ma starts acting stranger and stranger. He catches her changing their license plates, she won’t answer his dad’s calls and she keeps calling Scoob by his grandpa’s name. Scoob loves his grandma, but he’s not sure he wants to see this road trip through as G-ma’s behavior grows more and more erratic each day.
Archives: Book Reviews
Batman: The Killing Joke
“See, there were these two guys in a lunatic asylum” and that’s how the joke starts. The Joker escapes Arkham Asylum and decides to cause chaos, as usual. However, this time he has a specific motive: to prove he isn’t so different from everyone else, that life and all human systems and values are part of a joke, that the line between sanity and madness is a thin one. All it takes is “Just one bad day” for everything to fall apart.
This story contains some moments that changed DC Comics from here on out. If you are strongly into Batman lore, you can’t miss out on this. This comic is such a big deal is because it changes some characters identity and gives a detailed origin story to the Joker. One of my favorite aspects is how Batman and Joker acknowledge that they are more similar than different, and that they are on the way to killing each other. This story is not for the faint of heart as some gruesome things do happen. Highly recommend – a definite classic.
Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier
This enthralling novel, which contains elements of fantasy, science fiction, and romance is a close relative of its predecessor, Ruby Red. This trio of Kerstin Gier novels, Ruby Red, Sapphire Blue and Emerald Green flow into each other seamlessly. It might be suggested that they are three installments of the same story, like old time serial novels. The author has simply divided up the action to avoid the reader having to digest a very long book.
However, with action of this calibre, length is no object. The enigmatic Count Saint Germain is back on scene, manipulating our heroine, Gwyneth, to do his bidding. Whereas in Ruby Red, the count was an evil man whom Gwyneth feared, in Sapphire Blue, the count is more subtle in his conduct, engaging in genteel conversation with her, including fatherly comments on the nature of men, women and love. Gwyneth is rightfully suspicious of the count reverting to a more grandfatherly figure. And, speaking of grandfathers, the miracle of time travel enables Gwyneth to travel back to a time when her grandfather was a young man deciding who to marry. Gwyneth participates in this discussion, without letting slip that her grandfather’s eventual choice of wife was Lady Arista.
Gwyneth’s grandfather, Lucas, also gives away that he was involved in the unauthorized time travels of Gwyneth’s fellow time travellers, Paul and Lucy. Paul and Lucy are considered outlaws by the Guardians, the keepers of the time travel secrets. They stole the original chronograph, a time machine, and have thwarted the attempts of Count Saint Germain “to close the circle” of time travellers, in their belief that the count has impure motives. In order to oppose the count, Paul and Lucy have formed a tie with the Florentine Alliance, an extremist group currently led by Lord Alastair, who believes that time travel is a sacrilege. He confronts Gwyneth directly and taunts her with his intentions to destroy her, calling her and all other time travellers, “demons”. Truly frightened, Gwyneth is dependent upon her time travelling partner, Gideon, to protect her. Gideon, an expert swordsman, engages Lord Alastair in the rousing combat which is one of the highlights of the book.
There is a seething tension in the story between the diabolical actions of Count Saint Germain, the treachery of Paul and Lucy, and the hostile attacks of Lord Alastair, all forces for ill: confronted by the forces for good: the friends and allies of Gwyneth who rise up to comfort and protect her. Her mother, brother and sister are there to prove that home is indeed where the heart is and a safe haven for the loved one. Gwyneth’s ghostly friends are to be counted on, including her precious gargoyle friend, Xemerius, who is as much a secret weapon as a supporter. Best of all, Gideon, who in the admiring words of Count Saint Germain is now a “young Adonis” defends Gwyneth with his life.
Reader, you will not be disappointed.
How Mirka Caught a Fish
While there are three graphic novels in the Hereville series, each book does well as a stand-alone. How Mirka Caught a Fish (second in the series) has found a home in the teen loft collection. In this particular tale, our heroine Mirka summons a reluctantly dutiful troll, seeks support from a frighteningly powerful witch, and outsmarts a magical wishing fish with a bad temper. As Mirka follows her curiosity and upholds her duty to her half-sister, we learn about the values and way of life for this religious blended-family. Mirka is an “11-year-old time-traveling Orthodox Jewish babysitter,” with a penchant for misadventure. Ultimately the choice she must face is a difficult one, but Mirka has learned from her stepmother that doing the right thing is meaningless if you only do it when it’s easy.
How to Change Everything: The Young Human’s Guide to Protecting the Planet and Each Other
Incendiary book explains climate change to tweens and teens and invites you to climate activism. I strongly recommend this book to Adults who want to learn what you need to so you can create some climate activism too! If you read only one climate book this year, this is the one! This book by Naomi Klein (with assistance in getting it right for kids by Rebecca Stefoff) is maybe the best climate book I have ever read. Klein and Stefoff are an incredible pair. I really like that Klein found a kids science book & young people’s edition expert and PhD to help her tailor her information younger. It is akin to Kendi tapping Reynolds for Stamped. What will you learn if you read this book? For example, do you know why Republicans changed from climate champions to climate deniers? Did you know that 1988 was the first year that Congress heard a clear statement about climate change being human-caused? Do you know the problems with geoengineering as an effort to reduce climate change? My favorite part of this book is meeting many young global climate activists!
“The more sparks the fire has the brighter it will burn. I invite you to add your spark. Are you ready to change everything?” Naomi Klein
The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person
The Black Friend, is a great resource for white teens looking to learn more about anti -racism and social justice. Not only does author, Fredrick Joseph pull in his own perspectives and life experiences into the book; he also interviews authors and activists like Angie Thomas and Jemele Hill. Joseph covers and gives relatable examples of white privilege, cultural appropriation and more. If you’re not sure what all the terms or concepts mean or what specific events were, don’t worry! There’s also an excellent encyclopedia of racism in the back of the book that lays everything out for you. Whether you’re starting your journey into learning more about these topics or you been on it for awhile this is a great readable resource to check out.
Angel of Greenwood Randi Pink
The year is 1921 in this fictional tale of two teenagers growing up and falling in love in historic Greenwood, or Black Wall Street, in Tulsa Oklahoma days before the horrific race massacre. Isaiah is secretly an intelligent poet and deep thinker, but he hides his true self behind the persona of a mischievous troublemaker. Angel tells the other half of the story and contrasts Isaiah with her kind hearted, helpful nature, but she too is a more complicated character who reads Booker T. Washington and WEB DeBois and dances with inspiration. Historic Greenwood, Ok is a prosperous black community that is seemingly sheltered from the Jim Crow violence of the time and has excellent schools, hospitals and a thriving business district. In the story that unfolds the week before the race massacre, Isaiah and Angel are hired by a teacher to bike around historic Greenwood, passing out books and reading to children. They fall into an unlikely friendship and genuine interest in each other. The story reads like a sweet summer love tale, a safe and inspiring story that every teenager deserves.
Lingering in the shadows of their tender story is the knowledge of the violence that is to come. A white mob from the other side of town, emerges on the town in the middle of the night and begins to burn houses to the ground. Isaiah and Angel are faced with difficult choices, the testing of their ideals and of their young love. Angel of Greenwood both reminds us of the horrific racial violence of the past (one that was covered up for almost a century) as well as draws us into longing for the culmination of the dream of what Greenwood was–a safe and loving community where two teenagers can find themselves and fall in love. This book offers both a reminder of the past and to hope for a better future for all of us.
Watchmen
“God exists and he’s American”. Actually, to be more specific, he’s from New York. The Watchmen are a group of semi-retired vigilantes. Within the group exists Dr. Manhattan, a physicist who disintegrated himself in a freak accident, somehow puts himself back together and as a result gains countless abilities. The US government then decides to leverages Dr. Manhattan’s newly-acquired powers in their conflicts with other countries. But then, all of a sudden, Dr. Manhattan disappears. When America’s adversaries learn of his disappearance, they see an opening and decide to attack the US. The world finds itself on the brink of a nuclear war. Meanwhile, a morally questionable “masked adventurer” named Rorschach, who is wanted by the police and also a member of the Watchmen, searches for the person who murdered a comrade of his. Rorschach notices that lately many of his old Watchmen allies are being targeted and are coming up missing or dead and believes there is a correlation between this and the disappearance of Dr. Manhattan. It all poses the question “Who watches the Watchmen?”
The backstories of the various characters are as diverse as they are fascinating. Each Watchman has a unique motive for putting on a costume every night to fight crime: some do it for fame, some for fun, others hope to bring about justice, and still others do it for morally dubious reasons. The depth of these characters show the reader than no one is simply good or bad, but is instead morally complex. The novel definitely has its dark parts, and the reader will find themselves second-guessing the possibility of human decency, but it is a rewarding read and definite classic.
Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier
If history, the supernatural or even science intrigues you, Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier will stir both your imagination and your intellect.
Gwyneth is a modern teenager and a native of London, a city in which the past is never far away. Her family has a unique genetic legacy. A select few members of the family are born with a gene which predisposes them to be time travellers. The gene occurs in family members with predetermined birthdates, as calculated by none other than Sir Isaac Newton.
Gwyneth and her cousin, Charlotte, are born on the same date. Gwyneth’s mother falsifies her birthdate because she does not want her daughter to become a time traveller, fearing the powerful, and possibly evil people Gwyneth may encounter in this and past times.
But destiny will not be denied and Gwyneth makes a surprising, if brief, trip to another time, followed quickly by two more trips. Gwyneth phones her mother at work to tell her about these surprising events. Her mother takes her to the headquarters of the power elite behind time travellers, telling them, “I’m bringing you the Ruby.” Each time traveller is assigned a personal gem stone, and Gwyneth’s is the ruby.
Following Gwyneth’s adventures, you will encounter a time machine decorated with jewels and lubricated by human blood; a young athlete who becomes a dashing swordsman on his time travels; an evil count who can control his victims’ thoughts and ancient and modern ghosts whom only Gwyneth can see and talk to.
Best of all is going along with Gwyneth as she progresses from happy-go-lucky but sloppy schoolgirl, who drops mashed potatoes on her uniform, to the “swan-necked beauty” who wears the beautiful gowns of ancient times, but develops a mind and character to meet the challenges of her time travelling journeys.
Like a Love Story
“Like a Love Story” is about friends, family, acceptance, finding love, and so much more. It is 1989 in New York City, and Reza just moved to the city after his mom remarried and started his last year of high school. He knows deep down he is attracted to men, but he is afraid of admitting the truth out of fear that his mom won’t understand and that he could contract AIDS – a pandemic disproportionately affecting the gay community.
Reza’s fears are challenged like they have never been before when he meets Art and Judy, who attend his high school. Art is also gay, but he is out and proud. He also is member of ACT UP – an activist organization protesting government inaction over the AIDS crisis. Judy is Art’s best friend and an aspiring fashion designer. All three feel out of place in their high school and the larger world. All three are searching for love and acceptance from their families and each other. Reza begins to date Judy to hide his true feelings for Art. Judy eventually learns the truth about Reza and Art, and it tests all three of their relationships.
“Like a Love Story” is not just about finding acceptance from the families are born into but also finding and creating families that we choose for ourselves.