Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orïsha, #1) by Tomi Adeyemi

This action-packed story incorporates African legends and Yoruba language that involves three teenage protagonists in a high fantasy quest. The plot is an allegory of black oppression that digs into the consequences of violence on individuals marginalized in society. Zelie Adebola, 17, is a teen whose mother was chained and lynched because she was a maji that could raise people from the dead. King Saran of Orisha committed genocide against all maji because his family was killed by one. The children of maji called, Diviners have dark skin and white hair that distinguishes them from the other dark-skinned people and the King has made them servants, slaves, stockers, or prisoners in Orisha. The Diviners powers will not manifest without magical artifacts that the King has destroyed in his first purge. When a magical artifact is discovered and the King uses it to kill his daughter's best friend and servant, Princess Amari steals it and goes on the run. Amari runs into Zelie and her brother, Tzain, going on a quest to bring magic back to the kingdom and free the Diviners. The Crown Prince Inan is bent on stopping them and finishing his father's eradication of magic.

The strong character arcs and world building around African mythology make this fascinating. In Benin or Nigeria, orishas are divine spirits in Yoruba and the author incorporates this history into her world-building creating a rich tribal world reflecting ancestor worship. Zelie is a Reaper like her mother and her contact with the dead as well as with her ancestors makes a strong metaphor for those who have died under oppression either in slavery or in institutionalized racism. When Zelie gains her powers it connects her with her ancestors and the goddess Oya.

Inan's character arc has depth as he struggles with his father's expectations and gaining powers that help him to understand the pain of others. Amari foreshadows his wavering or misguided beliefs as she tells Zelie about Inan's influence under the tutelage of their father, King Saran. As Inan tries to please his father and do what is right, he makes mistakes that make him a complex three-dimensional character, unlike King Saran who has become hard-hearted from his choices.

Amari is part of the nobility and does not agree with her father. Her best friend is a diviner and when her father murders her she decides to bring magic back to the realm. Her interactions with other nobles reveal a race of lighter skinned Africans that favor light skin and despise the different looking diviner race. While most of the plot is straight-forward the twist at the end concerning Amari makes the reader wonder if she has a hidden agenda.

The characters engaged me more than the plot which seemed like a mix of different fantasy books such as Hunger Games. While the plot may have not felt wholly original, the well-crafted representation of a different culture and heritage gives readers identification of what it is like to be marginalized. The oppressive brutality of those in power and the violence inflicted on the oppressed people in Orisha is reflective of modern society. The author says that when the guards throw Zelie to the ground in chapter 1, it was written after a specific incident of police brutality. The first-person points of view are repetitive in some spots but for the most part, the plot moves along. I wished there were more twists like the one at the end. What I like about this fantasy is that it can apply to other minority experiences in the world whether the person is an immigrant, disabled, LBGTQ, or unique in some way and prejudiced by the ruling majority. The strong female characters are a draw and it sits alongside other well-written books produced this year such as "The Hate U Give" and "Long Way Down".

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

African American Starr Carter lives in an urban ghetto but goes to a prep school in the suburbs with white students. When she witnesses a friend, Khalil, murdered by a white police officer, she has to decide whether to speak out or not. This story has many themes from family relationships to police brutality to interracial relationships. The author creates an authentic voice in the protagonist with plenty of action and ideas to critique as a reader. Overall, the story is well-crafted with a few long-winded spots. If you want a look into the hood and the issues arising from it, I highly recommend this book.

The protagonist Starr, loves rapper Tupac Shakur, and weaves rap music discussions in with dialogue as a means of explaining oppression within the community. Tupac's father was a Black Panther and embraced Marxist ideology teaching Tupac that the capitalist system was responsible for the destructive nature of black communities. The activism of the Black Panther's is different than the activism that has evolved in hip-hop music. Tupac's songs give autobiographical details of his life that speak about his struggles against violence and unfair odds that are a social commentary on black life. His activism for change is through music; whereas, the author tries to be an activist through her character, Starr, giving a social commentary on institutionalized racism and poverty using ghetto narratives and metaphors.

The rose is a metaphor from one of Tupac's songs. Maverick, Starr's burly father, struggles to grow roses in his garden, but he keeps at it and nurtures them so that they keep surviving as the family moves. The conundrum of ghetto poverty and violence and Maverick's love for the community, his identity, and desire to change it is captured well. The black community has been fighting for equal rights since the civil rights movement while dealing with economic suppression and unequal treatment that makes it difficult to change the cycle of poverty. The only time the gangs unite is when they fight together against institutionalized police brutality. Tupac struggled with the ideology of capitalism knowing that it could improve his life but was also destructive to the black community. Capitalistic systems excluded blacks from participating equally through oppressive measures whether through the justice system or police.

Author Angie Thomas attempts to imitate rap artists, such as Tupac and his real-life street narrative in prose. Jason Reynold's in "Long Way Down" does the same thing using poetry. Derrick Aldridge in the article, "From Civil Rights to Hip Hop: a Nexus of Ideas", discusses how Tupac in the album, "Thug Life", comes to terms with capitalism believing that the underground economic structure of drug dealers, pimps, and gangs of the black neighborhood will always be functional if oppressed blacks are left out of the capitalist system. Because blacks cannot participate in the capitalist world, they turn to drugs and gangs as a way to deal with oppression; hence, when Khalil's grandma loses her job because of side-effects of having cancer he turns to selling drugs to support his family. His mom is an addict and he's trying to support his brother and grandma. Pride makes him not ask others for help and his only economic option is drug selling.

The dad, Maverick, was in a gang and gets out by taking the fall for a robbery and going to prison. His wife is the breadwinner in the family and they make enough money to send their kids to prep school. They could leave the neighborhood but Maverick doesn't want to. The father shows the conflict that many hip-hop artists sing about when they make money and get out of the hood. According to Aldridge, this growing black business class is trying to define strategies for future economic growth that will help these neighborhoods. These artists and Maverick (who runs a store) are now participating in a capitalist system and are trying to figure out strategies for the black community that moves from oppression to equal participation in society.

The interracial relationship between Starr and her white boyfriend, Chris, was a bit superficial for me. I thought "Americanah" and "The Sun is Also A Star" are two books that dig more deeply into the complexities of relationships and different cultures than this book. I am being somewhat nitpicky here and doubt my students would agree with me. Angie Thomas uses their relationship to introduce some of the issues of identity and does try to give it depth - like I said, probably too nitpicky. We are discussing this for book club and I can't wait to get the student reactions.

5 Smileys

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

"Long Way Down" is a powerful story about the downward spiral of violence in society and while Jason Reynolds relates it specifically to an African American urban community, it can apply to violence within any society or trauma any individual is dealing with in life. This novel in verse is a quick read with the narrative interwoven into poetic words that uses figurative language that is symbolic, metaphorical, repetitive, fragmented, and rich in imagery that pulls the reader and the senses in with a bang: "Sadness split his face like a cold breeze on chapped lip after attempting to smile." The protagonist's older brother has been shot to death and he takes a 60-second ride down an elevator with thoughts of revenge against the murderer as he carries his brother's pistol in his back pocket. Will is visited by ghosts of the past who have been victims or chosen violence to deal with trauma. The rickety metal elevator symbolizes a jail or cage or coffin that traps a person; it moans and makes a "piercing sound" when it stops. The wobbly metal gives the character vertigo like a person who has experienced post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) and the "L" on the button stands for loser, loss, lobby, or lit. Reynolds doesn't waste any words and there is much for discussion in this novel.

The author uses poetry to provoke an emotion in the reader with repetition, fragmented sentences, and single words to mimic Will's tortured thoughts and trauma over his brother's death. Will is in grief but also can't quite connect with what is going on inside himself, "How do you hug what's haunting you?" he says. The ghosts that visit Will talk about the cycle of violence that goes through generations. Uncle Mark puts it best, "It's never the end. Never." The anxiety is a collective condition that Will cannot escape and is reflected in the fragmented poetry and hazy atmosphere filled with cigarette smoke. This surreal setup suggests a character with PTSD or one that is just mourning or one that is dead already. Collectively, it suggests a society that needs to address violence.

The rules of the neighborhood are to not cry, not snitch, and seek revenge. They are not questioned and should be and Reynolds mirrors this idea by breaking conventions in his poetry through repetition and other devices.  The cadence is terrific and keeps the pace moving at a fast clip - I'd like to hear the audiobook. Will's neighborhood with its gangs, drugs, and violence is created with minimal words and fragmented sentences adding to the emotional impact of the trauma Will is dealing with. His brother was killed going to the store buying his mom some eczema creme and the verse below refers to that and the individual, as well as society, bleeding from a violent community.

Is it Possible
for a hug
to peel back skin
of time,
the toughened
and raw bits,
the irritated
and irritating,
dry spots
the parts that bleed?

This individual and collective voice makes the reader duplicitous in the actions and suggests that collectively society needs to do something to change this destructive path.

Francisco Collado-Rodriguez wrote an interesting journal article, "Trauma and Storytelling in Cormac McCarthy," applying traumatic theory to literature and storytelling to explore the roots of human violence. The storyteller can make a conscious attempt to remember the event and give meaning to it to work through the pain or the storyteller can reflect the manifestation of PTSD where the victim is melancholic and has "...uncontrollable repetitions or tags, nightmares, insomnia, the manifestation of ghostly presences, or states of panic" (47) When trauma cannot be assimilated consciously with PTSD it is oftentimes portrayed in characters that can't express themselves through language and have illogical actions. He also describes personal and collective traumas. Cormac McCarthy's characters show both in "The Road" where violence has led to a future where the world is destroyed and humans are becoming extinct. Jason Reynolds book is similar in reflecting personal and collective trauma of violence in communities that are cyclical. Rules have no meaning and are blindly followed by generations that result in violence over and over. The ambiguous last line of the novel, "Are you coming?" means either Will is going to take revenge or he isn't or he's already dead. I think the story reflects mourning and grief more than PTSD but I'd need to study the words closer. The story is also a collective question for the reader to decide if he or she is going to end the violence and trauma in society or turn a blind eye. This moves the story from being one where the focus is on the victims to one that focuses on the social issue making its message provocative and powerful.

5 Smileys

The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

Students chose this for book club and the snappy dialogue and defined characters make it a well-done interracial romance novel. Set in New York City, Natasha Kingsley, is being deported to Jamaica and trying to find a way to stay in America by contacting the US immigration office. Korean-American, Daniel Bae, is on his way to a college interview for Yale when their paths cross. When the two teenagers meet, the poetic Daniel tries to convince the logical Natasha that love at first sight is possible by asking a series of scientific questions. The author adds historical context that engages the reader whether it is an explanation of why so many Koreans own salons that cater to African Americans, immigration facts, scientific paradoxes, facts, theories, and more. 

Natasha is smart and has a clear view of the world. She won’t be patronized by adults and she’s blunt with people. At the immigration office, an adult tries to tell her the future will work out. “Don’t tell me I’ll be all right. I don’t know that place [Jamaica]. I’ve been here since I was eight years old. I don’t know anyone in Jamaica. I don’t have an accent. I don’t know my family there, not the way you’re supposed to know family. It’s my senior year. What about prom and graduation and my friends?” When Daniel meets Natasha he appreciates her direct, no-nonsense quality. Natasha is so science-driven that she explains the scientific chemicals that are released in the brain when a person falls in love trying to remove all the unexplainable romantic elements. 

Most of the alternating points of view are Natasha and Daniel’s, but there are side characters interspersed to round out the themes of self-identity, culture, love, science, and racism, to name a few. The poetic Daniel describes meeting Natasha and his love-at-first-sight is as follows: “It’s like knowing all the words to a song but still finding them beautiful and surprising”. While Natasha thinks of meeting him as definitely connecting with Daniel, but her practical side sees the moment and distrusts the “poetic heart”. “They’re not talking about the real heart, the one that needs healthy foods and aerobic exercise. But the poetic heart is not to be trusted.” Natasha doesn’t want to fall in love with Daniel.She will be deported in 24 hours. When Daniel saves her life and breaks her pink head phones that she's owned most of her life, it symbolizes her break with the past and all she has known. Her new cultural identity now involves interracial love and living in a new culture. 

While Natasha and Daniel don’t have a problem with their different cultural backgrounds, their family members do. Both struggle with self-identity, while at the same time being self-confident and happy with themselves. They must learn to deal with parental expectations intertwined with different cultures. When Natasha's dad first meets Daniel, his face shows his displeasure. Her dad wants to be an actor but is rejected for roles because of his ethnicity making him insecure and depressed. He misses his home country to the point that he tells a policewomen he is an illegal immigrant. He says that he doesn't know why he did that but it is obvious that he subconsciously wants to return to his home country. 

Similarly, Daniel is dealing with parents who expect him to speak Korean and marry an Asian girl. When Natasha first meets his brother, Charlie, and his dad they make racist comments. The brother brings up the stereotypical African American that shoplifts and the dad tells her to buy some relaxer because her hair is too big. Natasha responds that she likes her big hair and Daniel responds to his brother by giving him the finger. Both Natasha and Daniel are confident with themselves even though life is uncertain; whereas, the parents of both have to deal with disillusionment and unhappiness.  The feelings of alienation for immigrants is captured in the complexity of finding not only self-identity but an American or Korean or Jamaican identity as well.

Another motif explored from Daniel’s point of view is names. Daniel’s mom ponders that America names signify the individual; whereas, Korean names point to the importance of family ancestry. Daniel’s mother “agonized” over what to name her children showing her struggles with cultural identity. She decided on both American and Korean to show them where they’d been and where they were going. Daniel’s brother Charlie, however, with all his intelligence doesn’t understand the power of his past and tries to erase all that is Korean in him. He’s on probation from Harvard college and Daniel reveals that when he is grown-up and has a good job he goes by Charles Bay not his given, Charles Jae Won Bae. He refuses to speak Korean, eat Korean food, or date a Korean. This prevents him from finding true happiness in life because he doesn’t like himself and is rejecting part of his cultural identity. The result is a shallow, alienated, and self-absorbed character who is unable to have a close relationship in marriage or with family members. 

The ending is a bit convenient or forced regarding how the two meet, but it will satisfy the romantic heart. Or should I say, "poetic heart". I particularly like how this author puts words together. The cadence and rhythm of the chapters make it fast-paced and the back-and-forth dialogue between Daniel and Natasha is funny and smart. I did try the audio tape first but sort of lost track of who was speaking. I switched to the book and got more out of it in the end. But since listening is my weakest learning style, I'm biased. A fun, well-written, and enjoyable book. 

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

This interesting graphic novel takes three seemingly different stories and weaves them together in a story that shows the struggles of what it is like growing up in a country as a teenage immigrant and trying to fit in. The first story is a 500-year-old Chinese myth about the Monkey King. This arrogant monkey thinks that he is a god and learns humility and caring for others after getting knocked down. The second story is about a young Asian boy in love with a white girl, but afraid to ask her out. And the last is about a white boy that has to tolerate his cousin portrayed deliberately as a negative Asian immigrant stereotype. The three stories come together in an unlikely way that uses visual and print images to convey messages about immigrants, stereotypes, identity, bullies, and love. The author packs a lot into this book that only took me an hour to read.

Yang takes the Monkey King fable and presents a cocky monkey that tries to become immortal only to have the creator bury him under a mountain of rock. The god-like creator of human beings, Tze-Yo-Tzuh, is a mix of East and West religions, similar to the Christian God and the Taoist, Lao-Tsu. The Monkey King does not free himself until he learns to accept his identity and humble himself.

The second story is about an Asian boy that desperately wants to fit in with other students at school. He perms his hair and avoids the other Asian students until a new boy shows up from China. The Asian boy betrays their friendship and has to make amends. The third story is about a white boy with an Asian cousin who embarrasses him with his immigrant accent, looks, and behavior.

In comics and films, negative Asian stereotyped characters were often presented as wearing a type of sedge hat, having buck teeth, slanty eyes, and a ponytail. The "coolie", a derogatory term for a manual laborer, was usually the sidekick to the white hero. Yang's character is reminiscent of characters such as Chop-Chop, Yellow Peril, and Fu Manchu. Or maybe the immigrant Siamese Twins in Chip-n-Dale's Rescue Ranger with their bad accents are closer to the mark. Either way, I had no idea where Yang was going with the plot on this third story. The first two are about identity and trying to fit in but the third was offensive in its caricature. Yang creatively works this into the plot with a terrific ending - don't worry, I won't give it away. Another winner by the talented artist.

5 Smileys

The Hammer of Thor (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #2) by Rick Riordan

Norsk myth is not as vast as Greek or Roman myth when it comes to the gods. The fragmented Skaldic poetry is difficult to decipher with its kennings and the narrative framework is skeletal at times. However, they are rich in meaning showing pre-Christian beliefs and practices in a dramatic narrative. A good storyteller retells the myths in new versions that are their own but also represent the originals. Rick Riordan does just that crafting heroes, gods, goddesses, and giants from myths that are a twist on the original tales with contemporary conflicts and pop culture adding humor and unique characters. Take Heimdall, the god that guards the Rainbow Bridge; he loves to take selfies on his phablet and checks out the world only through those selfies. He's bored and no longer doing his job particularly well which is to listen to threats in the world. The heroes of the story have to coax him back into doing his job.

Riordan layers his characters with themes presenting them as entertaining stock characters or contemporary ones giving depth to the story. Thor is presented as an egocentric dork that loves to stream movies and take the credit for everything along with his wife, Sif, who is vain; yet, both come through when needed by the heroes. Thor was the most popular god for the average person in ancient times. In the Icelandic Sagas by Snorri Sturluson, the adventure he tells of Thor and Loki where Thor poses as a woman marrying Utgard-Loki is full of humor and loss of face for Thor. Riordan weaves this story brilliantly into his plot so that the humans have to face the similar issues, but with the help of the gods are able to outwit the giants.

Riordan also peppers his stories with strong females. The Utgard-Loki marriage shows the female giant is the brains of the operation. The children of Loki are gender fluid characters, Alex and Sam. They are complex, strong, and vulnerable as they search for their identities. Alex can't control her gender changes and has suffered prejudice from others her whole life. It makes her or him aloof and temperamental, but Alex embraces his or her identity and is more confident than Sam, her sister. Sam is gender fluid as well but has never changed into a boy. She is a devote Muslim that works for the gods and while her religious identity is solid her personal identity is shaken as Loki can control her.  Alex says it is because she has not embraced her gender fluid side. Her character arc is not finished and it will be interesting to see what happens in the sequels.

The Viking myths, according to Kevin Crossley-Holland in "Norse Myths," relied on the family unit as they were stronger as one versus individually. They were fiercely loyal to friends and family and they strongly believed in Fate; however, Fate didn't give them a negative outlook - instead they admired those who laughed or endured a noble death. Riordan captures this in his books. The overarching message is that the protagonist, Magnus, values family whether they are blood relatives or not. His adventures carry the strong theme of courage, loyalty to friends, and embracing diversity in each other.

Skaldic poems contain myths, eulogies, and elegies that celebrate people or gods during the 9th to 13th century. They are difficult to understand because of their metaphorical references to contemporary people. The word, "gold," might mean "Freya's tears," and a modern-day reader would have to know the story of Loki tricking Freya by cutting off her hair and replacing it with gold to understand the poetic line. Riordan pokes fun at kennings making up his own or using some originals. My favorite made-up line is directed at Thor, who is referred to as, "Bright Crack" and Alex making a wisecrack about a "Plumber's Crack". Actually, Thor's hall is called, "Lightning Crack" or "Bright Crack" or "Bilskirnir".  Other metaphors difficult  to interpret are: "Bane of wood", that means, "fire"; or "bloodworm", that means "sword." Riordan adds much humor using irony and play-on-words.

The story of the cursed ring  is cleverly worked into the plot (I guess if I had to make up a kenning I'd call it, "Andvari's tears"). It takes the original Norsk tale and places it in a realistic portrayal of a deaf elf whose father has rejected him and blamed him for the deaths of his son and mother - a universal theme that readers can relate to today as much as in ancient times. The ring corrupts the bearer in both the original and here, and the reader will have to wait for the sequel to see what happens to the elf's father. Between Sam's unfinished business and the deaf elf, I'll be picking up book three.

4 Smileys

The Enemy (The Enemy #1) by Charlie Higson

Ever watch a movie splattered with special effects and tense action scenes, but short on plot and character development? This book echoes that type of movie. The nonstop fighting is going to appeal to many readers, but I wasn't even sure who the protagonist was after 50 pages. The end has an interesting development that shows different types of teenagers vying for power that made me think about the formation of autocratic versus democratic governments, but it comes too late. Much of the violence serves itself rather than advance the plot, characters are flat for the most part, and the dialogue is cheesy making it forgettable. If you are looking for zombie books try The Haunting of Derek Stone series by Tony Abbott or the funny Dead City series by James Ponti that have better character development and plot. If you want zombies fighting kids, lots of gore and horror, and a bit of "Lord of the Flies" then try this one. The sloppy writing made me lose interest pretty fast.

London is overrun by zombies over the age of 16 whose main food source is healthy children. The zombie disease happens when people are above ground which is never explained, although one of the adults seems to have an inkling of the cause. However, he dies. People die willy-nilly in this book. Death should bring some emotional response to the reader, but I was never vested in any character so I didn't care who was killed off. Kid survivors have sought refuge in deserted London buildings where they can fortify and protect themselves to some extent against the killer zombie groups. Arran is the leader of one of those groups with his second, Maxie, who has a crush on him. They only know of one other group, the Morrisons, holed up like them.

After they rescue a lone boy under zombie attack at their door, he explains there are groups like their own all over London, Maxie and Arran are surprised. The boy is the only one left of his scouting group trying to get kids to join forces at Buckingham Palace. After a scavenging hunt gone wrong, food becoming scarce, and adults attacking their compound more often, Arran and Maxie along with the rest of their group are more than ready to leave, except Callum. His fear has made him have symptoms that resemble agoraphobia. He refuses to leave and stays behind. The adventure to the Palace is full of perils with not everyone makes it alive. At the Palace, the groups learn about oppressive leadership and must decide their futures.

Maxie is the protagonist and the voice of reason in an insane world. She keeps her humanity and is willing to speak up. While she is supposed to look strong, the reader doesn't see how others look at her. The result is it looks like she is being manipulated by the boy leaders and is only interested in having a romantic relationship. She is described as being not pretty and a great fighter, but she isn't really intriguing. The characters were very one-dimensional for me.

Survivor Sam is the alternate point-of-view and he just spends his time on the run and staying alive. He gains confidence with each dire situation he manages to get out of, but I got bored with the repetitive pattern after awhile. I also thought some of the chapters wasted because when there is a chance to explain what had happened to the adults, it is not given. Another point-of-view is Callum. Why bother? He's supposed to show the psychological trauma of trying to survive a zombie apocalypse but he is more like a deer in headlights. And again, Callum is not rounded out in way that the reader can understand. 

Kids love scary books and this one will make 'em shiver, but its execution misses the mark. While the violence isn't graphic, it is gross. The zombies explode, ooze pus, live in filth, and are decayed. I was disgusted because I actually dreamed of zombies last night and woke up with my heart racing. I've never done well with the horror genre. Can't do the movies or the books. If you do read it, go in with low expectations and don't plan on having your questions answered as this haphazard plot sets up for the sequel.

2 Smileys

The Sorcerer Heir (The Heir Chronicles #5) by Cinda Williams Chima

Book #4 ends on a cliffhanger, but this plot doesn't get around to addressing where it left off until page 50. The first chapters introduce Leesha as a character who has changed from a self-centered person to one who is trying to make sense out of the tragedy of her boyfriend's death in the previous book. Problem is I never had much interest in the superficial Leesha. Actually, I didn't remember her much from the previous books. The author is setting up for Emma to stay with her but I thought it made for a confusing start, especially with the additional murders, and the backstory not inserted soon enough. The pacing was off with not enough or too much information given. I snoozed in the beginning, got interested in other parts, then snoozed again. The plot lacked twists, it was a bit scattered and repetitive, and the romance got cheesy. If you are looking for something light with plenty of action, zombies, cliches, and romances, then you will enjoy this book. I know I'll forget it in about a month.

Leesha is at a Halloween party feeling sorry for herself when the irresistible Jonah refuses to dance with her. Meanwhile Emma and Jonah don't trust each other and are keeping secrets. When the murders are investigated, the two try to hide their past only to push their friendship apart. Emma decides to remove herself from the dormitory life and help Leesha with her Aunt Millie while commuting to classes. The band continues to play and practice and music has a prominent roll in Emma and Jonah's friendship or wanna-be romance. Jonah is gifted as an enchanter which draws people to him but his touch is deadly making it impossible for him to have a girlfriend.

Emma digs into her parents past finding some unexpected answers to questions that involve everyone at the school who survived the Thorn Hill tragedy. Meanwhile Jonah is trying to save his brother that is dying from a poisoned Weirstone. The Underguilds and wizards are trying to broker a peace arrangement and solve the murders that happened in the community but obstacles keep causing them to fight among themselves until an unlikely alliance occurs with the help of Jonah that will either save or ruin the survivors of Thorn Hill.

Jonah's toxic touch reminded me of Rogue in the X-men movie, except Jonah is an assassin with empathy. Death by his hand is a peaceful experience. This common romantic trope works well because the obstacle facing the two characters that are attracted to each other seems insurmountable. They love each other but can't have a physical relationship. I just thought Jonah spent too much time pushing people away. He was so stubborn about telling the truth with Emma it got annoying and repetitive. It would have been better if I had read the previous book closer to this one. I probably wouldn't have forgotten so much of the backstory. Not my favorite by this author.

3 Smileys

Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence Shen (Goodreads Author), Faith Erin Hicks (Goodreads Author) (Illustrations)

I bought this because it won the YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens (Top Ten, 2014) thinking it might be okay for elementary but the swearing, attitudes, and topics make it best for middle or upper school. While it was funny at times, the main character's arc doesn't go as far as I would have liked to achieve depth of understanding that breaks stereotypes even though that is the author's goal.

Charlie Nolen, captain of Hollow Ridge High School basketball team, and his friend Nate Harding, president of the robotics club, end up being pitted against each other when the cheerleaders fight with the robotics club. The cheerleaders want new uniforms for state competition and the robotics club wants to enter the National robotics competition. Nate runs for student council and Charlie, who was dating the head cheerleader, is manipulated into running against Nate. The cheerleaders put Charlie's name on the ballot and believe he will fund them over the robotics. The nerdy Nate, is so aggressive in reaching his goal of being class president that he is mean to Charlie during the campaign, putting up demeaning photos or messages. Charlie doesn't appreciate Nate's actions. The politics get nasty and the principal refuses to fund either of them. Meanwhile, Charlie feels alone as he deals with his parents divorce and mom's recent engagement. Charlie lives with his father who travels for work leaving his son home alone and no adult in charge to help Charlie in case of an emergency.

The rival groups team up and the cheerleaders fund Nate's robotics club in a separate contest where robots fight each other for a large prize money that will fund both clubs. The cheerleaders are mean and manipulative. The black and white photos show them in uniforms that make them look militant. They came across flat to me and didn't break out of their stereotype. Charlie's ex-girlfriend is always frowning except on the one page where she gets what she wants. Then there is the confusing ending. Are the two boys, Jake and Gary, homosexuals? Or are they just putting down homosexuals in their "pervert" comment. Then there is the coaches comment, "D'you know how many scrawny white boys in this school would chew off your legs to get in the team's starting lineup?" Why single out one race? The illustration shows black kids on the team. The author's comments or humor made me uncomfortable because they stereotype homosexuals and suggest only white boys play basketball. Humor can go astray when it is insensitive to historical context of oppressed minorities.

Nate and Charlie's relationship fluctuate between mean and nice. At times Charlie is sympathetic such as when Nate is bummed by his parents and other times he's attacking him in an inappropriate way all because he wants funding so bad that he'll risk losing a friend. The basketball players don't even know that Charlie and Nate are friends implying Charlie doesn't want them to know about it. When Charlie is mad at Nate for his nasty public political announcement, he deals with it immaturely by giving Nate the finger. Later, he calms down and helps him with a robot design problem. But then Nate puts him down for his idea. It felt like their friendship wasn't moving forward but at times stuck in a loop. At the end the two discuss running for school president in the next election. Eventually their arc shows them becoming friends and willing to ignore social hierarchies that separate jocks and nerds.

Joanna actually interested me the most and came across as more authentic than the other characters. She's goofy in that she loves the robot like a being, but then drives it like a wild woman at the competition. She's a risk-taker and truly does break out of the stereotyped nerd. The illustrations add more to her character than the text. At the end, Charlie is still a jock who seems interested in her romantically although nothing happens so I'm not sure. Charlie seems to be willing to go public about his friendships with Nate since they agreed to run together. Nate is still socially inept. Both boys have big egos.  I wasn't sure why Charlie steals a car and none of the teenagers tell their parents about the competition. It seemed that the author just thought the phones ringing in the SUV would be funny. Which it was. But it wasn't logical. Another question I had was that how they lost in the final. The previous battle took up pages but the final wasn't shown except in one little square. I actually wondered if there was a mistake on the eBook. By the way, don't buy it as an eBook because the format is such that you can't enlarge it. I found it hard to see the details on the pictures.

Charlie yells quite a bit at his parents, who are pretty dysfunctional when it comes to parenting. When Charlie gets a concussion (which I couldn't figure out how he got it from the illustrations), the parents don't even come home to help or get another adult to step in. Instead Nate picks Charlie up at the hospital and brings him home. Later, the basketball team goes to Charlie's house when he invites them for pizza. Instead of having pizza they invite the school and turn it into a party with alcohol. Charlie is mad at them for taking advantage of him but doesn't stand up to the peer pressure like he didn't with the cheerleaders. During the party he hides under the bed. Nate joins him. He isn't very confrontational with peers or his parents and gets pushed around as a result. Also, Charlie's parents don't act responsible so it is easy to see why Charlie doesn't either. The author shows that anyone can be a bully; however, when jock Charlie decks some gargantuan nerds for insulting Joanna, I felt myself slipping back into stereotype zone. Joanna just showed she's a ruthless driver. I thought she'd get out of her own predicament. Instead boy rescues girl. While some action scenes seem to break out of the stereotypes, others don't.

Perhaps I'm being too picky. Perhaps my humor is off (okay... I know it is). Perhaps I shouldn't review young adult books. Perhaps I don't get graphic novels. Perhaps I need a teen perspective. Either way,  most of the character arcs and themes seemed to me to scratch only the surface of complex friendships and I found some details offensive. However, there are themes that can be used for worthwhile discussions. I just know that I'd choose other fare out there over this one. You'll have to decide for yourself. When I got to the last page, I really wondered if Charlie and Nate would stay friends. They seemed to have some trust and kindness issues even though Charlie had the courage to go public with his friendship. Like I said, read it and decide for yourself. I'm conflicted on this one. It was the little things that turned me off in the end. It is not often that I disagree with award winners, but this is one time I do.

3 Smileys

The Living by Matt de la Pena

This book has plenty of action, some romance, and is a mixed bag of genres that made it somewhat choppy. Toss in characters with not much depth and I just about abandoned it several times. Shy is working on a cruise for the summer making friends with other crew members his age. He is interested in Carmen but she is engaged to a guy back home. They both have relatives that died from a wicked disease that kills within 24 hours. When a man commits suicide, Shy finds himself being stalked by a guy in a black suit. When an earthquake strikes the West Coast causing tsunami's, the cruise ship is in danger and Shy must try to help save his friends and passengers. When he discovers the black suit guy's employers real intentions, he must help save the world.

The dialogue has the kids swearing all the time and tossing racist comments between the mixed race crew and rich white kids on the cruise. While it is nice to see a protagonist with mixed heritage, the stereotyped rich kid, poor kid never let the story rise above a contrived plot. There is too much name-calling and Shy seems to point fingers just as much as the white kids making for a shallow message.  When Shy begins to make friends with one of the prejudiced girls as a result of their traumatic escape from the ship, I kept waiting for some revelation regarding her racist comments but instead they seem to be interested in becoming boyfriend and girlfriend. She says she is sorry, but that's it.

If you want to compare survival in a raft, then read, "Unbroken," by Laura Hillenbrand that has a similar setup except Hillenbrand's story is based on a true story. Both author's seem to do a good job with the horrors, although Hillenbrand goes into more detail which you'd expect in an adult story. The plot dealing with Romero's disease was interesting but the shifts from romance to survival to mystery made it feel like separate stories. They come together at the end, but there are times when it seemed like a different story. It gets a bit unbelievable at the end but suspend your disbelief and just go with the flow. This is on the beach, fluff reading with a cliff hanger ending.

2 Smileys

Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth

This picks up where book one left off but with more focus on Tobias and Tris romantically. They are lovey dovey in the beginning only to get into a fight because they keep secrets from one another. They reconcile, then go off and be secretive again. This happens a bit too much and became irritating at one point for me. I also prefer more action and less romance so it depends on you and your tastes. Tris struggles psychologically with killing people and it gives her character more authenticity. She's damaged by her violent actions to the point where she can't even shoot a gun anymore. Tobias realizes she's becoming self-destructive because of her reckless behavior and doesn't know how to deal with it except get so angry he leaves her. Ultimately Tris has to forgive herself and live with her actions embracing the good and bad.

Tobias, Tris, Caleb and a handful of Abnegation and Dauntless survivors flee to the peaceful Amity headquarters to see if they will help them fight the Euridites but discover they are unwilling to side with anyone. The group ends up under attack and runs to the Factionless and later Candor who are willing to fight the Euridites. The group mounts an attack while a subplot has Tris trying to find the truth that the Abnegation was hiding from everyone that is crucial to understanding Euridite's motives. She pursues Marcus in an effort to get it. I got tired of her behavior toward him. She seems to scream at him a lot. I know she's not supposed to be likable and tough but she seemed childish at the end yelling "I hate you." Actually she says that to him over and over throughout both books. Maybe its because I have heard too many little kids use that phrase. Seems like a 16-year-old would have more control over herself.

There's a few things Tris does that doesn't always make sense to me. I understand her not taking a gun when she sees Eric. She freezes with one in her hand, and grabs an alternate weapon. Later when she forgets the stun gun in the middle of a battle it was too unbelievable. The author had to have her unarmed in the final confrontation and she forced the plot to make it happen. The stun gun should have been lost in a more believable way such as fighting in the control rooms. Tris is in the middle of a war and no soldier would forget anything as important as their gun. This plot had a few too many incidents that out-of-character. There are some interesting twists that make it enjoyable but even those don't make always sense. What exactly is "outside the fence" or their factioned society isn't explained enough and the villain becomes one-dimensional at the end in that she only thirsts for power, knowledge, and control. I also thought something happened between Jeanine and Tris's dad that would explain her behavior but it doesn't. Peter gets an interesting part and I liked the twist on his character that shows more motivations as to why he is the way he is. A villain with motivations is more interesting to me than a stock villain. Perhaps Jeanine will be explained more in the final book.

This is full of action and tension but much of it comes from the romantic subplot that became repetitive by the end. Tobias and Tris keep hiding secrets from each other. It moves the plot forward but the actions are the same and out of character by the end when Tris goes off with a separate plan. They would have worked together at that point because the incident before had them trusting each other again. Plus, Tobias is reasonable and Divergent which means he's willing to see different approaches to problems. It didn't make sense that he would not listen to Tris and would blindly follow his mom, not to mention commit genocide in revenge. He was horrified over the annihilation of Abnegation and yet follows a plan that will kill Euridites. It goes against his character to kill innocent people.

The themes focus on conflicts in relationships and forgiveness tied with guilt. The end seemed somewhat of a simple explanation for the society developing into factions. Perhaps book 3 will elaborate more on the world Tris lives in. Tris spends most of the book dealing with grief, guilt, and forgiveness. Her attempts to work through it psychologically were well done for the most part. I did like the simulation where Tris has to fight herself. She'd been fighting with guilt internally through the entire book so when she physically fought herself it forced her to face her guilt and relive the moment that traumatized her. It helped her to see the incident differently and move forward a step in starting to forgive herself. An entertaining read.

3 Smileys

Resist (Breathe #2) by Sarah Crossan

I thought the first book had potential but lacked character development. This book stills lacks character development but the plot is absurd. Not enough is explained, the action doesn't flow well from one scene to the other, and some parts don't make sense. I had way too many questions at the end. The story starts where Breathe (book 1) left off with Quinn, Bea, and Alina being tossed out of the pod and looking for Sequoia, another oasis to get oxygen. Or is it? Jazz, Bea, and Quinn are fleeing when Jazz falls down a manhole breaking her leg so badly the bone goes through the skin. Quinn is forced to leave them and get help. Alina is with another group that is headed for Sequoia and they get there first finding out that things are not all that they seem.

Spoiler alert*
Ronan, a minor character in the first book, gets his own point of view in the chapters. He is just like Quinn. Rich boy who rejects his upbringing and never acts selfishly. He's willing to give up his wealth because he doesn't agree with the government's inequality. His motivation to change is because his father is cruel and he's traumatized from burning down the Grove and killing innocent people. The mom and sister love their lifestyle. Because the characters lack depth and are shown one-dimensionally, I am not convinced that Ronan would completely turn his back on his lifestyle. It seems more like the author is telling the reader how to act toward injustices in authoritarian governments rather than showing a complex personality in a character. Because of that, Ronan lacked authenticity for me. The point of views are all written in first person narration and if you don't read the book nonstop it can be confusing who is speaking when setting it down and picking it up in the middle of the chapter.

Vanya is just like Petra who is her sister, but more maniacal. She is not explained at all. We don't know why she gave up her kid or why she has started a breeding program or why she and her sister had such a severe falling out with each other. One of my favorite dystopia books, "The Handmaid's Tale," by Margaret Atwood explores the concept of women used for breeding. If you want to see this idea explored in a psychological, creepy way I highly recommend it. Alina is paired with the villain, Maks, and the way he is presented you would expect him to rape her, but he doesn't after the Pairing Ceremony. The women seem to be at the mercy of men physically. Bea has a rape scene too. It's supposed to show her being naive and then turning into someone with a reason to kill another human being, but if was more manipulative than in-depth character change. Many times it felt like the author was dropping in some big event and eventually so many got plunked into the plot it began to feel absurd. I realize that dystopia and fantasy push the boundaries of believability but this seemed like too much from pushing a bone back into place to escaping with a bunch of babies. When Alina dies at the end I didn't even feel sad.

I had so many questions at the ending that felt rushed. What happened to Jazz and Vanya? Why did she give up her daughter? Why did she experiment on people to breed kids who could survive on less air when she already had a process that worked with adults? Why didn't Vanya give the adults any freedom? Why would the adults agree to it? Why did Abel like Sequoia? Why didn't the author have Maude reuniting with Bea? What happened to Quinn's mom? What happened to Nimh? Don't bother with this book.

2 Smileys

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

I was a bit miffed that this was on the Goodreads Newbery list - number 24. Here's the first line: "My mother's a prostitute." I was also miffed at myself for not looking more closely at the details while brainlessly ordering books for our school's elementary library. My loss, the high school library's gain. Grrrr..... to the person who put it on the list. Grrr... to my undetailed brain. Seventeen-year-old Josie has had more than her fair share of grrrr's... in life, fending for herself as her mom works as a prostitute and trying to take care of herself on her own. Neglected and homeless, Josie is helped by Charlie, a famous author in the community, who gives her food and a roof over her head. She works for him in his bookshop and cleans the brothel where her mom works to make a living. Rather than being tarnished and bitter by her upbringing she is surprisingly level-headed and morally upright. The brothel staff looks out for her and young and old men are interested in her for different reasons. While the story is well-written and the setting of the French Quarter in New Orleans vividly portrayed, I was bothered by the stereotypes and lack of authenticity regarding the plot's controversial topic of prostitution.

Josie wants to go to Smith College out east where no one will know that her mother is a whore and that Josie works for Madam Willie, owner of the biggest brothel in New Orleans. She's tired of being ostracized by classmates and pressured by male customers of the brothel who expect her to follow in her mother's footsteps.The bookstore gig is her second job where she manages the shop along with Charlie's son, Patrick, since Charlie has lost his mental capacity and can't take care of himself. They hide the fact from the world not wanting him to be put in a mental institution. One day at the bookstore a man comes in and inspires Josie to go after her out-of-state-college dream. When he winds up dead the next day a mystery unfolds that involves her mom and the mafia. Things don't go from bad to worse, they go into the gutter turning to sludge and pushing Josie into taking desperate measures to save those she cares about in her life.

The writing is terrific. The author knows how to write dialogue and use tension. The plot was unpredictable in many ways. I thought it was going to be a mystery. Then I thought a romance. Then I thought historical. It's more of a coming-of-age story than anything. Josie finds independence and strength within herself to strike out on her own. The mother is stereotyped as the dumb, insecure woman consumed by vanity and lacking in morals. Her mom is a thief, abusive, and a liar. Josie keeps wondering why she can't help loving her. The only reason is that she's her biological mother. The author doesn't show a side to the character that causes the reader to empathize with the mom. The book, "Turtle in Paradise," also has a mother who can't take care of herself much less a child. But I could see why the protagonist in that book loved her mother. She had some redeeming qualities that showed how broken and insecure she was as an adult causing an inability to take of herself and her daughter. That doesn't happen in this book and the mother comes across as one dimensional and stereotypical.

Charlie and Josie play a game where they guess the book genre a customer will ask for when they come into the shop. The literary references by the twosome add nice details to their relationship and shows that Josie is well read. This adds to the credibility that she will be able to get into a college. The subplot of two boys interested in her shows her as not being aware of herself as a physical attraction to the opposite sex. She seems strangely naive about the teenage boys interested in kissing her. In contrast, she can tell when men from the brothel are interested in paying her for sex and is outraged. This inconsistency didn't jive with the expected savviness of girl who'd grown up around prostitutes.

The woman presented as prostitutes come across as stereotypes like Josie's mom. Madam Willie is developed the most as a character who tries to protect Josie and give her the life she didn't have. The lawyer hints that Willie was abused as a child, but there isn't enough explanation to pull her out from the cliched smart, crotchety Madam. She never came alive for me. In a great scene where the two are blasting cans off a fence, I kept waiting to find out more about Willie's history, but it doesn't come. The prostitution is presented as horrible and Josie has a scarlet letter for associating with them. Older men treat her like a prostitute and actually want to be her customer, but book doesn't delve into economic factors or class structure that forced these women to choose their current careers. At least Josie's mom wanted to break out of it and go to Hollywood. However, she's presented as such a puppet she doesn't bring any depth to her character. I cringed at the stereotypical African American driver who loved the Madam's black Cadillac. He's a great character and looks out for Josie like no one else. I just wished it had been a different car type. .

Josie is a symbol of purity versus corruption that just doesn't quite work. Usually when innocence is contrasted with the uglier side of nature I find the topic infused with tension and the dynamic interesting. While Josie is presented well, the prostitution side was not and that's where the novel doesn't quite reach its potential or come together in a satisfying way for me. The ending with the money solving all Josie's problems watered down the message as well adding another brick to my dissatisfaction-over-certain-issues pile. I also would have liked Josie looking at other college options rather than solely focusing on an ivy-league school. People can break out of poverty without an ivy-league education. At least the resolution of her college pursuit is realistic. I think most young readers are not going to notice the stereotypes and will like the subplot that has a touch of romance. This is a page turner. Josie is tough and vulnerable and I was engaged with her character development. An entertaining read that made grrrr... at some story elements.

3 Smileys

The Obsidian Blade by Pete Hautman

Thirteen-year-old Tucker's dad is a pastor who is replacing a shingle on the roof when he disappears into a disk that is hovering nearby. A short time later he reappears with a girl, Lahlia, who looks like she's from another world. When Tucker pounds him with questions, his dad won't talk about what happened on the roof and denies he "disappeared." But when he announces at dinner that there is "no God" and he has no faith, Tucker knows something happened to him. Not to mention the weird blue paint on his feet when he got back with Lahlia. Then Tucker's mom starts to lose her mind and his dad takes her to a hospital that Tucker suspects is not in this world.

Tucker goes to live with his uncle where he sees another disk on his uncle's roof. He climbs to the roof  and when the disk sucks Tucker into an alternate world, he finds himself on the top of the World Trade Towers just before they fall. His uncle is on the World Trade Towers too but he doesn't recognize Tucker because he has been sucked in by the disk at a different time in history. A time before he knew Tucker. The two escape and Tucker begins to learn how the disks work and who is behind the technology that manipulates history.

This book is for middle school and up. Before each chapter there is an explanation of the people who built the disk/portal technology that is vague and uses high vocabulary. There are several different factions that readers need to keep track of and the jumping back and forth in time during the second part of the book is going to be difficult for most young readers to follow.

The start of the book is slow with the setup of a stereotypical fundamentalist preacher, an unhappy housewife, and Tucker as the energetic, bored teen who likes to put excitement in his life by doing crazy things. The second half of the book is full of action and violence.

The plot leaves the reader with more questions than answers that I'm sure the second book will pick up on and start to explain. I think the author tackles too much and the story loses its focus. The themes are huge and abundant delving into topics such as religious beliefs and fanatics, technologically advanced societies, authoritarian leaders, and the degeneration of societies. It overwhelms the plot at times but is also interesting. Because so many topics are covered they are touched on. I think if less topics were tackled there'd be more depth and focus. I found the fundamentalist fanatics and religious aspect the least interesting and more stereotyped; whereas, the notion of digital societies causing physical and psychological illnesses in people, as well as, manipulation of history was more fascinating.

Tucker's dad loses his faith because of aliens who heal him and his mom develops autistic tendencies from playing Sudoku. I think the plot would have been stronger if his mom had developed some weird Plague from using her cell phone or interacting with some technology. He coins the phrase "digital Plague" that creates all sorts of intriguing possibilities. The author was trying to tie the Sudoku in with the use of numbers by the aliens but I think she should have been playing it on a computer or phone.

Lahlia's story is not really told but it hints at the end that it will be in the next book. She's a Pure Girl who is supposed to be sacrificed by priests in the future and in a strange twist that I don't want to spoil for you, this ends up showing up in the past during Tucker's time. There isn't really an ending to the story but a setup for the sequel.

This is a weird book and reminds me of Pathfinder, by Orson Scott Card which has multiple time travels and Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood.

Reading Level Young Adult
3 out of 5 Smileys

Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins

Fifteen-year-old Burmese teen, Chiko, wants to be a teacher, but the government wants him to be a soldier. Forced against his will to join the army, Chiko learns to survive with the help of his street-wise friend, Tai. In the book, Bamboo People, by Mitali Perkins the issues of human rights and prejudices toward minorities are explored in the country of Burma/Myanmar.

Chiko is an intelligent, kind boy whose father, a doctor, has been imprisoned for resisting the government. Tai who befriends Chiko has also benn forced to join the army against his will. Tai has been living on the streets with his sister and knows how to survive against bullies such as those at the military camp. Chiko teaches Tai to read while Tai teaches Chiko how to fight. The two develop such a close bond that they consider each other brothers and are willing to sacrifice their own life for the others.This is part one of the book. In part two, we meet Tu Reh who hates the Burmese for persecuting and killing his people, the Karenni. When Tu Reh finds an injured Chiko he must decide whether he will kill him or help him to live.

The writing in the book has short chapters with terrific descriptions of what it is like living in Burma. The plot is full of tense moments and life-or-death situations. The characters go through internal and external conflicts making it a page turner. The ending did not resolve all the issues and wrapped up too quickly. I thought that Nya Meh had been in contact with Chiko’s dad when they told the story of her being taught medicine by a Burmese doctor when she was captive and when Tu Reh said that the photo of Chiko’s dad looked familiar. Also, the story of how Tai ended up in Yangon should have been explained more. It was glossed over. 

Many of the boys are interested in the girls in this story. While nothing happens, Chiko and Tu Reh think a lot about girls and what they like about the the two that have caught their eye. The book is violent with children dying and a bully who is a captain. The recruits handle the bully well and support each other. There is also hints of verbal and physically abuse toward young teenage girls such as when Tai worries about his sister, Auntie Doctor doesn’t want Ree Meh to come with to the clinic because she fears for her safety, and Nya Reh when she was imprisoned by the Burmese. Nothing graphic is explained. A terrific book with a not so terrific ending.

Young Adult
3 out of 5 Smileys

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Conor’s nightmare starts the day his Mom starts her cancer treatments. He dreads going to sleep. When he looks out his window in London, England at 12:07 he sees a monster outside, but it isn’t the terrifying one from his nightmare – in fact it doesn’t frighten him at all. The monster tells Conor 3 stories that are more like parables. Each story can be interpreted different ways and it isn’t until the end that it becomes clear the meaning of all of them. The monster tells Conor that that in return for his stories Conor must tell one as well. Meanwhile Conor is dealing with a bully at school, a father who has remarried and lives in America, a grandma he doesn’t get along with or like to stay with, and the pity of classmates and teachers at school. Plus, he won’t face the fact his Mom has a terminal illness.

This is a well-crafted story with suspense and actions from characters that are unpredictable and puzzling. It is a quick read with deep themes to explore such as death, grief, loss, bullies, murder, friendship, family relationships and more. It isn’t a scary book as the cover suggests. Just so you aren’t surprised, the first story the monster tells has a man and woman “coupling.” I think the author wanted to show the woman trusted the man. Also, Conor retaliates against the bully at school so violently that the bully ends up in the hospital. I’m not sure if kids will like this book. It’s targeted for a younger audience but the themes are much older. I wonder if it is a book that adults will gush about and kids will not because it deals with death and grief. It was on a Newbery list but I would recommend it for older readers.

Reading Level YA
5 out of 5 Smileys