I really enjoyed this graphic novel entry on the list. The main character, whose name I have as usual unfortunately forgotten, is just starting school in her dad’s home town where they moved once his military service ended. She feels desperate to fit in, especially since it seems that everyone knows her dad while she knows no one. Thus, she uses teen magazines to find her style and give her relationship advice. This, of course, backfires
when she stumbles into a new, possible group not wanting to make a single misstep. The main character is a highly relatable character who learns valuable lessons through the course of this book. I also loved the art style. I will definitely recommend this book.
This book did not leave a lasting impression on me which makes writing the review weeks (oops) after reading a bit tricky. The description states that this book is partially a memoir and partially a nonfiction about NASA. While the author does relate some stories from his life and experience as an astronaut, I hesitate to call those portions a memoir. I will admit that my thoughts were a
little sarcastic at that point. I think that the space race side of nonfiction is a bit oversaturated at this point. Most middle schoolers do not gravitate towards that particular topic now. However, their parents might be the primary market for books like these. Obviously, I do not recommend, unfortunately.
Of the two nonfiction entires on the SCASL shortlist this year, this one wins, hands down. On top of telling an engaging story in a thoroughly creative manner, the author uses an age appropriate and and entertaining voice for the narrative. This book tells the history of the Mona Lisa, a bit about the painter and the subject, as well as the theft that made this previously unremarkable painting one of, if not the most famous painting in history. I loved my entire reading experience and highly recommend this book.
Jacqueline Woodson has an amazing way with words. Her books never fail to captivate me and her most recent release is no exception. This book tells the story both of a girl and of a neighborhood in the recent past. The main character and her mother live in the Bushwick area of Queens, a historically black area now experiencing continual fires, many set by shady landlords in an attempt to both collect insurance money and run the
current occupants out so they can gentrify the area. The main character also lost her father, a firefighter, to one of these fires. This short book packs quite a punch. Woodson chooses her words so well, using brevity to hold depth. Any words I use pale in comparison. I highly recommend this book.
Every time. Arango gets me every time with her stunning free verse and hard-hitting narratives. In this book, the main character finds herself moving in with an aunt she hardly knows after calling 911 when both of her parents OD. She blames herself for the separation and tries desperately to see her parents in rehab even though they won’t answer her letters and the adults in her life will not permit an in-person visit. My words
struggle to do justice to this beautiful, heart-breaking story. This book deals with incredibly difficult but all too real circumstances that so many children face. I highly recommend this amazing book.
This book hits a little bit differently in light of the current administration’s attempts to both end DEI (aka anything that odes not benefit cis white men) and dismantle the Department of Education. This book tells the true – slightly fictionalized – story of a real life Indiana high school women’s basketball team who, in their first year, went against the odds – including their own school and athletic director – to win the state championship. The
school started this team to keep in compliance with Title IX which requires equal access to school programs, like sports for all students. The school did not, however, provide uniforms, buses to travel to away games, and a decent practice time using the schools facilities among other things. I know that the author could not have foreseen current events when researching, interviewing the former players, or writing the book. For that matter, the committee that selected this book for the long list could not have predicted the events which makes this book’s inclusion both serendipitous and highly needed. Obviously I recommend this book.
This book tells a potentially heartbreaking story from a place of authenticity. In this book, the main character gets blindsided by her mom stating that she might leave her dad right before the entire family is blindsided by a severe and sudden brain aneurysm that her mom suffers at the restaurant where she just made the previous announcement. Although her mom survives, she has no memory of that day or the burden she placed on her
daughter. Through the course of the novel, the main character wrestles with this secret she’s keeping from her dad who still clearly loves her mom, hurt from the way that her mom just casually dropped the pronouncement, fear for her mom’s life, fear because the mom who emerges from the coma has changed so much, uncertainty when she has to return home for school as well as trying to navigate this new life. The author portrays this well and when you learn from the author’s note that she, the author, suffered two different ruptures, the authenticity becomes crystal clear. This is not an easy book but definitely well worth the read.
Leave a Reply