Courtney Pyche
Although the book is long, I finished it in about a day. This book is a bit like watching a slow-moving car wreck: you turned to look (or read) because you heard a noise - you were fascinated with what you saw (a woman who doesn't want to get married in 1714 and so makes a deal with the “darkness” to become immortal? Cool!) - you needed to watch to see how it ended (translates pretty well). This story had the feel of an ancient parable - with godlike figures possessing qualities sort of human...but not quite.
I've been hearing about this book for months, and it making the YALSA Teen Top Ten made me finally pick-up. For starters, this is not a young adult fiction novel. The content and the ideas that we're playing with are very mature: what does it mean to be alive? what is love? Is it better to love or to be loved? How can you tell if you matter? Deep, dark stuff here.
I loved reading about Addie falling in love, especially after suffering for so long. It was a sweet love affair, and I still am not sure if I love or hate the ending.
For me, the biggest con was the author failing to immerse us in Addie's immortal life. Though she often referred to grand adventures, the stories fell flat because we were hearing them as factual rather than an experience for the reader to share.
This book is worth the read - I would probably not read it at night if I could choose again.
I did not like the first story in this series; however, I gave this one a shot because it made the YALSA Teen Top Ten list.
The mystery in this sequel was much better done. It sticks true to a game and provides legitimate reasons for the drama. The relationships were sometimes superficial, but that is “high school” novels, and the characters did have their shining moments.
I also appreciated that the characters did not get out completely unscathed; it felt less like a happily ever after than some books in the same genre. I don't think you need to have read the first book to understand the plot in this one (I recommend skipping it), and this one is much more enjoyable and easy to read.
With all the press coverage and banning of this book, I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up this book. However, after reading, I can share that, unequivocally, this book is a message to all young queer persons of color that you are loved. George's story is incredibly vulnerable and intimate. They discuss their personal feelings, their relationships with their family and friends, their introduction to physical intimacy, their childhood traumas, and more. All together - as many reviewers have shared, this is a powerful story. There is plenty to love about this book, but one of my favorites is how they ended chapters speaking to the reader. They knew that there would be backlash about their story. They knew. But they wrote it anyway because they know it is too important to not share. Everyone should read this memoir as they grow.”
Ruta Sepetys is an incredible story teller. When I got the chance to read an ARC of this, I knew I had to stop everything and read it (shout out to my husband for happily spending four hours with me in the hotel common space to read this). Her knack for finding these untold stories and creating characters and plots that intertwine historical facts - it's just astounding.
This story is quick - it is go, go, go and intense from the start. Readers are kept on the edge the whole time: who do we trust, what will the government find out, will anyone be safe. The twists and turns pull you back and forth from loving to worry to hating to stressing and everything in between.
There are many horrifying moments of abuse - physical and emotional. Sepetys does an excellent job of balancing each and illustrating how the atrocities committed continue to haunt people today.
I tried reading the original version for book club, but I just couldn't get past the old sentence structure and vocabulary. I figured a graphic novel and adaptation for children would be quick enough to finish before book club - and I was right, I finished this one in about 15 minutes.
From what I read of the beginning of the classic, this book is very similar. It does feel much more rushed and all over the place - I think it could have been really good if it were longer. I thought some of the illustrations could have been more expressive. Overall, I think I have a good enough sense of the original story to talk about at book club, but this is definitely not a good to do instead the classic for a course
I follow KC on TikTok and picked up this book because I often find myself in this endless cycle of clean, clean, clean - home is messy for days on days on days - then clean, clean, clean and repeat. Some of her tips are things that we already strive to do, like setting a timer for 10 minutes and agreeing to tackle the dishes for just those 10 minutes. Her statements about cleaning being morally neutral really struck home; despite having gone to therapy, I had never thought to analyze my feelings about cleaning (before and after). That “good feeling” after I clean my home feels so good and I had never considered that that could be contributing to this cycle. I plan to spend more time with the idea that cleaning is a function - like eating - and you can reduce it to the reason that it needs to be done to reframe it as a simple, morally neutral function.
I appreciated a lot of the little takeaway quotes she gave. Example: “You are not responsible for saving the world if you are struggling to save yourself.” Or “Anything worth doing is worth doing partially.” Her 5 category cleaning method also seems quite effective - I wish I had used that when I was going through depression a few years ago. And, finally, my favorite “Good enough is perfect.”
I was very lucky to get my hand on an ARC of this much anticipated sequel thanks to a loan from a dear friend. The universe blessed me with a great rainy day after - so I finished this in one sitting!
The story follows Mary who is still recovering from the traumas of Show Me A Sign and is now also trying to answer the big question - what will she do with her life? Will she have a vocation? Will she get married like her mother wants her to? Mary is an incredibly introspective and honest character for a young teen, yet her emotional outbursts remind us of her youth. There are some really great, but also painful moments, where she clashes a bit with her mom on her purpose in life.
Luckily for Mary, she is invited to teach a girl on the mainland who is believed to be deaf. The letter is mysterious and vague, but Mary chooses to chase after the call anyways. Mary takes a big leap of faith in leaving the safety of her home, where she is surrounded by a community who can sign and understand that her deafness is not an affliction. She believes she is prepared to enter back into a world where deafness is looked down upon, but what she finds of the girl's predicament is shocking and horrific in ways that Mary never expected. Mary is challenged throughout the book to overcome societal expectations of women and their power, to hold on to truth in the face of evil, and to do what is right even when it puts you and others at risk.
Mary's story is one of adventure - without shying away from the racism, sexism, and colonialism rampant in the world. If you liked the first companion novel, you will certainly love this one.
For such a short book, it took me forever to get through. As many other reviewers have shared, the switching between perspectives and years makes it difficult to place events together. The author oftentimes abandons the use of quotation marks in dialogue as well, which can be confusing.
Overall, it is a good book about the strength of women immigrants. There are some exceptionally symbolic stories and quotable moments that make the story really stand out such as when Gloria grieves how her daughter was brought into this world.
Sparrow is fourteen, and her world has just imploded. With the death of her favorite teacher came the death of the only friendship circle she's ever known. And, when the bullies at school really pile it on, Sparrow seeks solace in the only way sparrows know how...she flies away.
Only, she didn't physically fly away. She's discovered on the roof at school (flying) and everyone, from her mom to the school administrators, assumes the worst. In Sparrow's own words, “I don't think I wanted to be dead as much as I wanted to be gone.” The thing is that Sparrow can't find a way to say that to anyone else.
This book follows Sparrow on her journey to find her voice and a way to stay on the ground. With the help of her therapist, Dr. Katz, Sparrow does just that. This story is incredibly moving and emotional. A must-read for anyone who has ever felt left out of this world.
I wanted to love this book. I agree profoundly the ideas it argues. It is about a topic that is needed in children's picture books; however, this one miss the marked for being a children's book. It fits better as an educational book for parents to read together to create a plan of discussing institutional racism and violence against POC with their children.
While the mystery of this book was interesting and I could get past the stereotypes, I could not get past the portrayal of person's death by suicide being the main plot twist. The demonization of a person who was suffering is absolutely cruel. The systematic display of how his the four students “contributed” to his suicide and how another student benefitted from his suicide is an especially villainous plot on the part of the author. The book was okay until it got this final twist. Really so embarrassed for all the times that I've recommended this book to teens.
This book is written in verse and only took about an hour and half to read, but I know Ellie's story will stick with me for a long time.
Ellie is kind and thoughtful tween who wants her family and her peers to see her as a human. She is overweight, and no one seems to be able to look past that. Instead, her mother, her siblings, and her peers decide that bullying her and passive aggressively sharing articles about obesity will “fix her”, as if she is an inherently broken person. The scenes of bullying that Ellie endures are painful to read and become even more painful when you read the author's note that all of these incidents were based on the author's childhood experiences.
There is hope for Ellie, though, from her new friend and her father. Her father encourages her to see a therapist, who helps Ellie transform her thoughts.
This is a book that should be read by everyone, regardless of age. It delves into the cruelty that kids face every day and illustrates how the people who are supposed to love us the most can be the cruelest. This books get 4.5 stars for me because I felt it did not adequately address that the tormenting Ellie's mother put her through is a form of abuse. While it is possible to choose to love and forgive those who hurt us, the depth of Ellie's mother's abuse was not fully addressed and I felt her mother got off far too easy.
With a foreword by Oprah Winfrey, this is a great book to spend time with for National Poetry Month (April 2021). Gorman's poem is sure to be studied in classrooms of the future as a moment of when the country chose to go one way or the other. Her words are powerful, with subtle allusions to popular culture and events, in a way that represents our time. A great read and definitely a good add to a home library.
In 2014, Maryam Mirzakhani became the first woman in the world to win the Fields Medal, widely considered to be the Nobel Prize of mathematics. She was also the first Iranian to receive the award.
The book has great pictures that inspire feelings of wonder. The text is very wordy and better suited for older children who can understand the words and the context of Maryam's story. I would say that the connection between storytelling and mathematics was not made clear through the storytelling in this book and could have been improved. Overall, this is a great story about women in science and a good reminder of the amazing contributions that immigrants make to the United States, as well, since she moved to the United States in 1999.
I'm not sure that the audience for this story is clear.
The pictures are great; the eyelashes and smile on the acorns and trees reminds me a lot of Disney/Pixar animations. I think the “diary” aspect of this story could have been used more often, and I feel the science came too late.
However, the simplicity of much of the text makes this book a great introduction to a science unit or a family talk about Earth Day, a nature walk, your backyard, etc.
NPR article (https://www.npr.org/2021/03/09/974893374/roblox-goes-public-whats-roblox-ask-anyone-with-kids ) made me want to learn a little more about Roblox. I work at a library and have seen kids playing it all the time, but I hadn't thought to investigate beyond knowing it was a computer game. I was very impressed with Roblox from everything in this book. I'm wondering how we can utilize Roblox for public library services/virtual programs.
Overall, this is a sweet story about two teenagers who spend their summer campaigning for a state senate candidate in Georgia. The book follows about a month of their summer and is full of complications from friendships to family issues to the complexities of their own relationship. But it also gives teenagers a clear site into what activism can look like for a teenager who wants to get involved in politics—from either side of the aisle (although this book is told from a Democrat campaign POV)
The authors did a great job getting into the minds and issues that I at least remember feeling as a teenager, albeit they certainly mend their problems in a healthier way. It would have been five stars for me if the representation in the book hadn't felt like so much more of a subplot to the rom com feel.
Like many of the reviewers here, I have very mixed feelings about this book. Post 2020 election, this book was a good reminder of the fragility of our democracy and that we are not out of the woods. The topic is something that I consider not far-fetched. However, all too often, it felt forced. We were often told things instead of shown them. The pop culture references didn't really feel natural. The solution to the problem (no spoilers) felt like a betrayal of the entire premise of the book: that injustices happen because good people stay silent. A lot more could have been done with this idea, and I was disappointed by the execution. I had really wanted to use this book for Book Club, but the story telling was just not there.