The trouble with books like this one is that I somehow read two books within a very short period of time that both started with “the trouble with” which has led me to conflate the plots of the two books a little bit. That being said, reading this synopsis, refreshes my memory of this book enough for me to leave a somewhat detailed review. In this book, the main character is dealing with the unexpected and tragic death of her mother, something that she blames herself for. Her mom had a sudden health issue – I believe a cardiac event – while driving to the school to pick up the main character who had gotten in trouble for standing up for what she believed in. As a result of her mother‘s death, the main character ends up, going to live with her aunt. This means that she moves from Miami to Wyoming, quite a culture shock. I think the author did a really good job and exploring the nuances of grief at an age-appropriate level. I really appreciated the narrative while I read it. I wish, however, that I could remember more about this book specifically.
This graphic novel explores an all too common issue with middle school students, bullying because of weight issues and the loss of a friendship. In this book, the main character would prefer to spend her summer at home reading and hanging out in her room, but her mom signs her up for a volleyball camp that her former best friend is also attending. The main character has never played volleyball before which on top of other things makes her extremely self-conscious. The former best friend does not treat the main character very well, but the author and illustrator give us a glimpse into the fact that she, the best friend, is dealing with an extremely overbearing mother who has placed an inordinate amount of pressure on her daughter to perform well and to severely restrict her caloric intake. While at the camp, the main character learns that she actually does like volleyball, but is still struggling with some of those previously mentioned issues. I think that the author did a really good job exploring those things in this graphic novel, which I will definitely purchase for my classroom when it is released later this year.
Hatke crafted an incredible memoir of this year that he took to travel around the world in less than 80 days. In this journey, the lead up to it, and also the aftermath, Hatke explores a lot of complex things that have affected him and his entire family, such as the untimely and incredibly tragic death of one of his daughters which took place before this book opens. I appreciated this look into the author’s life, something incredibly appropriate for the highly talented author and illustrator that he is. I definitely recommend this memoir.
The author opens this story with incredible tragedies, occurring to the main character in rapid succession. This sets the plot off quite well. The main character now has to figure out how she will rule her country when she never expected to be in that position. She also has to figure out her role, not only as the leader of her own country, but also as the wife of the crown prince of a nearby country who while attractive and caring, does not really have a backbone and is being manipulated by his closest advisor. This sets up quite a lot of political intrigue, something that I really appreciate in fantasy. These two countries are also facing the threat of a foreign invader. I will admit to being a little confused as to the identity/form of this invader because at times it appears that they are human, but at other times, they are characterized as sea monsters. I think that definitely could’ve been clarified. I think part of my confusion stamps from the fact that the synopsis describes this book as a fantastical take on the Portuguese colonization in South Asia and the fact that the name for these fantastical creature/enemies sounds something like Portuguese although since I read this as an audiobook, I do not know exactly how that word is spelled to put in the review. That being said, I definitely found myself engaged with the plot, with the political intrigue and will definitely pick up the sequel and conclusion to this duology.
In this book, the second book that I read in less than a week that started with “the trouble with,” the main character deals with unexpected grief that she blames herself for, something that the main character also dealt with in The Trouble With Sunshine, hence adding to my slight difficulty in keeping the plots of these books separate. In this book, the main character is dealing with typical middle school issues, like seeing her brother off to college, auditioning for all-state band, and – for Jewish middle schoolers – preparing for her bat mitzvah. The author uses very short flashbacks in between the chapters to let the reader know that shortly everything is not going to be normal anymore. One of the main character’s siblings has a very consequential secret, and asks Becky, the main character, to keep that secret. When something tragic occurs, Becky, blames herself for the outcome. The last third of the book deals with what happens after. This book explorers some very complex themes, and I think that the author does a pretty good job with it.
This is not the typical type of book that I pick up. I do not remember what caught my attention on my NetGalley perusals. I did not check to see whether this book is part of a series so when I discovered just prior to picking up this book that it is book 2 of a series, I wondered if I should bother reading the first book or simply not reading this book. However, I want to read and review all of the eARCs that I receive, so I decided to go ahead with this because it seemed like a very loosely connected cozy type of series. That indeed is what I got. The main character, Pearly Gates, works as some sort of guardian angel type figure. I do not remember the exact name for her position. All I remember, is that her job entailed working with certain charges to make sure that their moral energy was positive or something like that. This particular main character does things in an unconventional way, which has gotten her in trouble and on the radar of a particularly nit-picky supervisor. The supervisor ends up making a bet with Pearly and if Pearly loses the bet, she will end up in the far outskirts of this quasi supernatural world. I found the plot engaging, but not super memorable. I will likely not pick up the first book in the series or continue on in the series, but I enjoyed my read.
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