I was prepared to really like this book. I enjoyed Mbalia’s Tristan Strong books and assumed I would also like this one. While I grew to like it more than the beginning, it was not my favorite read. The story is about young Yared competing in a virtual/real world competition to locate an obelisk that turns into a desperate battle with a warring alien race. I struggled at the beginning of the book with the skimpy world-building needed to understand the setting of the story. Many invented words are thrown at the reader so quickly that it’s hard to get a sense of the story. Once I got far enough into the action-packed plot, the story picked up & moved through many action scenes with thrills & plot twists. While I enjoyed the action, I wonder how many readers will stick with it long enough to get there. The afterword was interesting when it was revealed that this sci-fi world and battle are actually based on real Ethiopian history.
Author Archives: Kim Matthews
Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matter, by Veronica Chambers
This non-fiction book puts the recent events of history concerning the Black Lives Matter movement in the larger context by showing it as a continuing part of the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. The author approaches the subject from many angles. She shows how #BlackLivesMatter took off & became a huge rallying cry reaching its peak in June of 2020. She shares the stories of many lives cut short by police violence, but also tells us about the people who fought back by marching, speaking out, and getting involved at the local level. The story looks at social media and its influence on the current movement – as well as how it was different during the Civil Rights movement. There is a section with the art and music that came out of the protests. It looks at politics and the small things people have done and can do to continue moving forward to a more just society. Even having lived through the recent events, I found it helpful to have it all condensed and shared in such a comprehensive way. I liked the comparisons and contrasts to the earlier movement for social justice. It is definitely approachable for middle and high school students with a nice balance of images, captions, and text. The timeline section was a clear way to review historic and recent events. The book also includes suggestions for further reading, a bibliography, and an index. This would be an excellent addition to secondary libraries.
Long Distance, by Whitney Gardner
Long distance friendships are always a challenge. When Vega moves away from her best friend in Portland, Oregon to face new challenges in Seattle, Washington her fathers try to ease the transition with a bit of time at a summer camp with the purpose of helping people find new friends. Camp life is awkward at times and mysterious at others. Not all appears to be what it claims to be at this unusual camp. I found this to be a fun, surprising graphic novel. I like the author’s use of clues to some of the mysteries embedded in the illustrations. The reader really needs to pay attention to the images, not just the text in order to uncover what is REALLY going on at this odd summer camp. Eyes play an important role in hinting at secrets the characters are hiding. The artwork is crisp & bright. Students who like Raina Telgemeier’s style will enjoy this. The plot twists from a fairly standard realistic fiction story to one with sci-fi elements by the end. Even though parts of the book are fantastic & unrealistic, the larger message of the challenges of finding new friends will resonate with middle and high school readers.
The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor, by Shaenon K. Garrity & Christopher Baldwin
This story is a graphic novel twist on the gothic novel that mixes in a bit of science fiction with lots of adventure. It delivers a great deal of farcical fun and zany adventure. Our intrepid gothic novel-loving heroine falls out of our world and into another when she tries to save a handsome stranger in the river. She ends up at Willowweep Manor which appears, on the surface, to be right out of her favorite novels. Much more is going on beneath the surface as she soon discovers. She must help not only their world survive, but her own as well. This story is full of surprising twists, over-the-top humor, exaggerated eyes and hand motions, and lots of action. I enjoyed the bold colors of the artwork. During moments in the story where time/place distortion is happening, an interesting layered, blurring effect is used to help the reader understand that something odd is taking place. The book feels finished at the end, but also leaves itself open to a sequel. This sometimes irritates me as a reader, but because I was intrigued by all the various characters, I’m also excited to see what might happen next for Haley as she pushes through the boundaries of other genres. Because it is a more complex storyline, this is a graphic novel for middle and high school readers looking for more depth from a plot. I’m looking forward to sharing it with my students.
Linked, by Gordon Korman
Gordon Korman’s latest book is another one I can’t wait to make available for middle school readers. The story blends the past, present and hope for the future of a small Colorado town as it struggles with its racist past, swastikas appearing in the middle school, and a group of middle school students trying to change the message for their town for the future. After having tolerance education following the appearance of the first swastika and watching in dismay as the swastikas keep showing up, the students hatch a plan similar to the famous paperclip project to make a paper chain of six million links to represent the 6 million Jewish lives lost in the Holocaust. Whether or not they can complete the massive chain and where to store it are just part of the problems the students encounter. The story is told in multiple voices of students around town which helps the reader see the issue from many lenses. Korman’s masterful hand creates a story that is both funny and heartrending at the same time. He has a true understanding of what makes middle school kids tick and his characters are layered and believable. I also liked that he threw in a bit about how social media can complicate, and perhaps help, a problem once the scope of an issue is no longer just local but spread to the whole world. It is a story of facing our past -even the one we may not be very proud of – and using the present to help heal, forgive, and move forward into a better future.
The Girl from the Sea, by Molly Knox Ostertag
This graphic novel is a sweet LGBQT+ romance perfect for middle and high school readers. It tells the story of Morgan and the selkie she meets again, Keltie, and their new romantic relationship. Their romance is complicated by Morgan’s fears of coming out, a recent separation of her parents, and an ecological subplot involving Keltie’s concern for her seal friends’ safety with new environmental hazards on the horizon. I enjoyed the colorful graphics and the sprinkled text format used by Morgan and her other school friends. The combination of styles was an interesting change of pace. Morgan’s worries about coming out and her secret relationship with Keltie felt believable. I was really rooting for them to figure it all out. The ecological sub-plot felt a bit contrived and less believable, but ultimately, I was oohing and ahhing over the sweet ending of the book. The illustrations are well done, bright, and energetic. I enjoyed the multi-ethnic cast of characters, including the selkie. Middle school and high school readers looking for a sweet, gentle, gender-bending romance will be charmed by the tender connection Morgan and Keltie have, along with feeling sympathy for the concerns they both have that complicate their relationship. Even though the ecological sub-plot is not really believable in its outcome, the human (human-selkie) connection absolutely is believable and worth the read – right down to the surprise twist at the end. I can see myself handing this book to many middle school readers!