This is an adaptation of a Netflix series based on the Who in the World is Carmen Sandiego? story, and reminiscent of the video game by the same name popular in the 1980’s and 90’s. This adaptation tells Carmen’s backstory and the reader learns much more about WHO Carmen Sandiego really is.
Normal: One Kid’s Extraordinary Journey by Magdalena & Nathaniel Newman
Born with craniofacial syndrome, the same condition August has in the book “Wonder,” Nathaniel Newman, and his mother, Magda, share the hardships of growing up with this condition. Nathaniel faced sixty-seven surgeries before the age of fifteen, needing surgeries to help him breathe (tracheotomy), eat, to stretch his chin wider, to hear, and more. Told in alternating voice, this is a true story of a mother’s love for her special needs son, the amazing doctors who have worked with him, the courage and humorous spirit of Nathaniel, and the challenge by the author to redefine “normal.”
Nathaniel is a very funny kid with many laugh-out-loud comments. The book is touching in places, such as when Nathaniel, in one of his many doctor appointments, was asked the question, “Have you ever thought about hurting yourself” replied:
“That might be the stupidest question I’ve heard in my life” …..”I have an awesome mom and dad and brother. I have a dog named Smokey. Why would I hurt myself? My life is awesome.” (page 162)
Drawings throughout the book give it an elementary feel, though I know it would be enjoyed by middle school grades as well. My favorite drawing was of Nathaniel reading the book “Wonder” by P. J. Palacio. A fun fact about the Newman family is that they became friends with P. J. and Nathaniel even tried out for the part of August for the movie “Wonder.” Although he wasn’t cast, the book and the movie were both appreciated by the Newman family as they saw a general shift in how the public viewed Nathaniel.
Something Like Gravity
Chris, a transgender boy nearly hits Maria with a car, and that’s how they meet. He’s visiting her town for the summer to get a break from his family and to try to recover from an assault he experienced at school after coming out as trans. Maria is grieving from the sudden death of her older sister. Without intending to, Chris and Maria find themselves tossed together over and over, and before long, start to fall in love.
The storyline is fine but it is somewhat unrealistic that Chris passes 100% of the time as a male. As far as the reader can tell, Chris has not had surgery or undergone extensive hormone treatments, etc., so it just isn’t really plausible that everyone would accept him as a male. That issue aside, readers who enjoyed Love, Simon or Simon and Eleanor may enjoy this book.
The Grief Keeper
This is an immigration story, a family drama, an LGBTQ romance, with a sci-fi plot, all in one YA novel. Marisol, the teenaged protagonist, flees El Salvador after her brother is killed and her sister is threatened. While escaping to the US fulfills a longtime dream of hers, the trade she has to make, taking on the grief and trauma of another girl, is the where the sci-fi plot comes in.
This is an intriguing, sad yet bitter sweet story.
Pretend She’s Here
Best selling author LuAnne Rice usually writes adult fiction but Pretend She’s Here is a venture into YA. The story, although featuring a teen protagonist, does verge on adult fiction given the seriousness of the plot, this psychological thriller is most suitable for mature high schoolers.
The story begins with Emily grieving the death from cancer of her best friend Lizzie. It’s been a year now but Emily just cannot accept that Lizzie is gone. She is happy when Lizzie’s parents and sister return to her town for a visit, but things take a dark and dangerous twist when Emily realizes how desperately they miss Lizzie, and to what extremes they will go to.
This page turner will leave the reader with a racing heart.
There Will Come A Darkness
A fantasy set in Greco-Roman times is told from five distinctive points of view from the five primary characters: A prince exiled from his kingdom, a ruthless killer known as the Pale Hand, a once-faithful leader torn between his duty and his heart, a reckless gambler with the power to find anything or anyone, and a dying girl on the verge of giving up. These characters are living in the chaos of the Age of Darkness that falls upon them after the Seven Prophets, who have guided humanity for generations, have disappeared.
Some readers may struggle with the multiple points of view and the parallel plots.
There Will Come a Darkness is the first book in the Age of Darkness series, followed by As the Shadow Rises, and concluding with Into the Dying Light. This series may appeal to fans of Throne of Glass, Children of Blood and Bone, and similar epic fantasies.
I Wish You All The Best
Ben De Backer’s plan to comes out to their parents as nonbinary on their eighteenth birthday result in devastating results: they are thrown out of the house and stumble barefoot looking for a phonebooth to call an estranged older sister. Surprisingly, the sister and her husband welcome Ben to come live with them, and Ben sets out to build a new life with the help of a therapist. Trying to overcome anxiety disorder and keeping a low profile at school to avoid confrontation, Ben’s days drag and the reader feels this slow drag in the writing. But then Ben draws the attention of outgoing and attractive Nathan. As Ben’s spirits improve, a zest for live builds and the writing reflects the accelerated pace.
This is a powerful coming of age story.
Stolen Justice: The Struggle For American Voting Rights
Goldstone, author of Unpunished Murder: Massacre at Colfax and the Quest for Justice, sets tells the history of African American voting, beginning with the Constitutional Convention and continuing through two Constitutional Amendments, two Reconstruction Acts, two Civil Rights Acts, three Enforcement Acts, and continues into the second decade of the 21st century with voter suppression efforts in several southern states. Written for a younger audience, with short chapters and an approachable narrative, make this an accessible book for school aged readers, as well as adults.
The book contains a detailed table of contents, primary source documents and photographs, a glossary, bibliography, extensive source notes, and an index. I recommend this book for middle and high school libraries.
Curse of the Divine
Curse of the Divine in the final book in duology Ink in the Blood. The reader returns to the world of inklings, tattoo magic, and the evil deities Celia and Anya faced earlier. Now guilt ridden and saddened to live without Anya, Celia’s quest is to stop Diavala once and for all. When Celia learns that Diavala is now threatening Griffin, the plague doctor, pledges not to lose another person she loves to the evil deity.
The fantasy world Kim Smejkal created in The Ink in the Blood is explored with more depth in Curse of the Divine. This macabre YA fantasy may appeal to fans of The Young Elites series by Marie Lu.
Ink in the Blood by Kim Smejkal
This dark YA fantasy weaves together tattoo magic, faith, and theater. The main characters Celia and Anya are inkings for the religion of Profeta, and they use magic to tattoo followers with lovely images that are meant to represent the will of the Divine and lead the followers in the path that the Divine has for them. But as the years go by, the girls learn the truth about Profeta; that it is a false religion and that the lovely tattoos they have made take the freedom away from the followers. The young women set out on a journey to escape the oppressive religious sect and join a traveling performing company called Rabble Mob.
The two girls have a strong bond of friendship and they look out for one another as the story progresses. There are elements of LGBTQ, found family, and perseverance.
The book reminds me of another new YA fantasy, Circus Rose by Betsy Cornwell, and also Carnaval by
Three Keys by Kelly Yang
In this sequel to Kelly Yang’s novel, Front Desk, we continue the story of Mia, Lupe, and Jason. Mia and her family (and the other investors) now own the motel and are doing really well. They have had a great summer with Lupe and Mia running the front desk. In Kelly Yang’s first novel she tackled topics of colorism and racism, in this novel she takes on the topic of immigration as well as racism. Despite these topics being difficult to convey to elementary kids, Yang does it in a way that middle grade students can understand, empathize with, and learn from. I was very impressed with the amount of information presented and the ease at which Yang fit it into her story.
This novel surrounds a gubernatorial race in California and immigration legislation that would kick all illegal immigrants out of schools – including Mia’s best friend Lupe. Mia watches many of her classmates and Lupe shrink in fear and worry as their new 6th grade teacher talks about the legislation and tells them that racism doesn’t exist. Mia, who learned how powerful her voice is in the first novel, continues to use her writing to make change at the motel and in her community. They are faced with many challenges, including the motel possibly losing investors because Mia wrote ‘Immigrants Welcome’ on their Calavista Motel sign.
This is a fabulous story of friendship, integrity, empathy, and the power of voice.
The afterward of this novel also tells about the author’s own experience with similar legislation growing up in California. She talks about the quantitative and qualitative research she put into this book and that every hate crime which we read in the story is one that happened in real life.
I highly recommend adding this to your library, along with Front Desk.
Jump at the Sun: The True Life Tale of Unstoppable Storycatcher Zora Neale Hurston by Alicia D. Williams
This is a great story about how storyteller Zora Neale Hurston became the collector and teller of stories. The book follows Zora’s life from her childhood, where she got her love of oral storytelling, her mother passing away, her father remarrying, her leaving home at 14, getting educated and returning home to collect the stories she remembered from her past.
This book is illustrated by Jacqueline Alcantara and the illustrations in this book are fantastic. You can feel the energy that Zora Neale Hurston carried with her on her journeys and her story friends follow you through the illustrations. There are frogs in glasses, rabbits in hats, and foxes that you can find hiding in the pages of Zora’s story. The end papers at the end of the book offer an Author’s Note and additional reading sources to continue learning about the prolific storyteller.
This is a great addition to the biographies and stories in your classroom or library.
Jules vs. The Ocean by Jessie Sima
In Jules vs. The Ocean Jules, her mom and sister are having a beach day. Jules is so excited to build a sandcastle that will for sure impress her big sister, but the ocean has other plans. Every time Jules builds a castle, the ocean comes and destroys it. Jules gets frustrated, pulls herself together and keeps trying. Each time a wave comes and smashes her castle. She perseveres with her goal of building the “biggest, fanciest, most excellent castle” on the beach. And each time “SLAP” the ocean knocks the castle down. Eventually Jules’ big sister comes to help her build the castle and together they build a big, fancy, most excellent sand castle! But, once again CRASH the ocean slaps it down. Despite that Jules and her sister realize the most excellent part of the day was building it together, not the castle itself. The beach day ends with happy sisters after a great day, until Mom tells them really the moon is controlling the waves – now they’ll have to watch out for the moon!
Great illustrations add the fun nature of this story that everyone can relate to. This book could be used in the classroom for topics of perseverance, kindness, and just a fun read aloud.
Bear Can’t Wait by Karma Wilson
Bear is so excited for the surprise party and he just can’t wait. The friends decorate and bake a cake. Bear is impatient and in his impatience he squishes the cake which makes bear sad. Bear’s friends comfort him and help him build a new cake to surprise Hare. The text is rhyming and the illustrations are colorful and bright.
Out of Nowhere by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros
A little beetle and a caterpillar are friends having a picnic and watching the moon on a cliff. One day the caterpillar is gone and the beetle is sad. Looking for its friend, it sees some red in the distance and sets off to look for its friend. In the illustrations, the reader can see that the caterpillar has built a chrysalis on the underside of the cliff out of view of the beetle. He encounters a crow and a frog, but it is not afraid. Once the beetle reaches the red, it sees that it was wrong. Soon a butterfly comes along and looks very familiar and it realizes that it is the friend.
The illustrations are black and white, but the caterpillar and butterfly are in red. The illustrations are striking in this story about friendship.
The Power of Yet by Maryann Cocca-Leffler
A little pig faces frustration again and again of not being able to do it yet. The pictures on the pages show the piglet’s frustration as riding without training wheels, flipping pancakes, playing violin, and completing a puzzle are tried without success. The book goes on to say that it takes patience to get to yet and to get there, you will make mistakes, but that is okay. The pictures are watercolor and add to the sweetness of the book. A great story for encouraging young ones to keep trying and not give up.
Walking for Water: How One Boy Stood Up for Gender Equality by Susan Hughes
Victor and Linesi are twins in Malawi. Victor goes to school and plays with his friends, but Linesi has to collect water and do chores during the day. At school, Victor’s teacher asks them to think about equality and if boys and girls are treated equally in their own lives. Victor does not think it is fair that his sister does not get to go to school and is too tired from all of the chores to learn anything at the end of the day. He decides to take turns with his sister, so that she can go to school as well. This inspires others in the village to do the same.
This picture book is based on true events. The end of the book includes an author’s note about access to fresh water and a list of organizations for finding out more information about water scarcity and gender inequality. The author’s note also includes words to know and the pronunciation, since several Chichewa words (one of the languages in Malawi) are included in the story.
A Day in the Life of a Poo, a Gnu and You by Mike Barfield & Jess Bradley
A humorous look at differently topics from parts of the body, animals, plants, and the earth. Cartoon panels introduce us to diary entries for different items. It is divided up into three different sections: Human Body, Animal Kingdom, and Earth and Science. The content is not in-depth, especially since each item is only discussed on one to two pages, but there are some interesting and funny facts. The topics and the focus will definitely appeal to children. Did you know wombat poop is cube shaped? Vampire bats throw up in other bats mouths? Some of the pages has me laughing out look, but I was disappointed to see that some of the humor came from making fun of others (the slug calling the snail stupid and a loser). A table of contents and glossary are included.
Keeping the City Going, by Brian Floca
Caldecott Medal winner Brian Floca, does not disappoint with this beautifully illustrated book about keeping the city going during the time of closure because of the COVID pandemic. The pictures help to tell the story of children and families looking our their apartment windows at the eerily quiet city, except for the essential workers who are delivering food, picking up trash, driving taxis, US Post, utilities workers, emergency responders, doctors and nurses ect.
The story ends with the 7PM nightly celebration of pots and pans banging together, people clapping and cheering for our city heroes! This inspirational story with beautifully illustrated pictures is highly recommended.

Pickup Trucks by Chris Bowman
Pickup trucks‘ basic information on nonmechanical parts and basic pickup truck uses provide young readers just that – basic information. The information is given in one or two sentences per page along with an appropriate photo of what is being read about dealing with pickup trucks. The book is well labeled where needed.
There is a table of contents, glossary, index, and web site ( www.factsurfer.com / keywords – pickup trucks) for those readers learning how to locate information or wanting more information. The web site includes much more advanced information of the workings of trucks by Chevrolet, a coloring page, and multiple video truck games.
Egypt by Grace Hansen
Egypt’s location, a very brief bit of Egypt’s ancient history, and geography is presented for young beginning readers learning to search for information. ABDO follows its standard procedure of providing two or three sentences of facts in large font on the left hand side of the book with the right side entirely devoted to amazing full page photos.
There is a table of contents, index, glossary, and web site (abdokids.com / code CEK55o2).
The web site contains five of the photos and most of the text from this book. Further information is provide by National Geographic Kids World. Plus, there is a printable word search and maze.
When You Breath, by Diana Farid and illustrated by Billy Renkl
This book is a work of art. It is pure poetic beauty. It is outstanding.
You receive amazing illustrations by Billy Renkl such as the imagery of our lungs being upside trees, with the comparison of the branches of trees to the capillaries in our lungs. As Diana Farid tells us,
“When you breath–whoosh–
breath fills
the upside-down tree
inside your rising chest.”
This book delivers a beautiful blend of poetry, science and art. Conveying the feeling that you, are connected, a part of, of the larger natural world. You breath in the sky and stardust and atoms of the universe! Every page has stunning imagery worthy of frame and display in home or institution. The marriage of wording and illustrations is perfectly lovely in this poetry book.

Poem in My Pocket, by Chris Tougas and illustrated by Josee` Bisaillon.
This is a poetry book about poetry. Our main character takes us on her journey of creating, or writing, her poem. Using poetic inspiration, we follow her as her words spill out, scatter, and even grow, until it reaches fruition as a POETREE.
This books is a creative, fun, active and full of rhyming words and puns to be deciphered by the reader. There is a great section in the back which asked the reader to identify rhyming and mixed up words. Also, additional websites such as www.poets.orge/national-potetry-month/poem-your-pocket-day and more.
The illustrations add to the magic of the book. Our young poet is a person of color who takes us through the city, an urban playground, and a lush garden. The magic of imagination and language combine with the lovely pictures to create a book that feels good and stimulates our brains. Recommended! Especially for teachers or parents who participate in National Poetry Month in April.
You Should Meet: Shirley Chisholm by Laurie Calkhoven, a Ready to Read Level 3
The world needs more books about Shirley Chisholm. This Ready to Ready book gives a solid background of the activist from her childhood in Barbados to her first run for Congress and her first run for President. The details and explanations were easy to follow and presented in a relatable way for even kids below a Level 3 who may have the book read to them. It contains all the important parts of Shirley’s life and quotes she is famous for.
The illustrations by Kaitlyn Shea O’Connor are great, colorful and eye-catching.
My one complaint is that the text is very close together and there are alot of words on one page. This is difficult for our leveled readers who might pick up the book.
I recommend this book if you don’t have any other biographies about Shirley Chisholm. It definitely has great information. It is not one that will fly off the shelf and the text spacing will make it harder to read for the younger kids.
The Sullivan Sisters by: Kathryn Ormsbee
The old adage, “you can’t judge a book by its cover,” may be true, but I was entranced by the intricacy of the cover, and it was a bit metaphorical for this story of a complicated, dysfunctional family. Three sisters, Eileen, Claire, and Murphy live in a small town in rural Oregon with their perpetually stressed-out mom, and have only the dimmest memories of their father who died before Murphy was born. Their mom works long hours to provide for the family and pay down a huge medical debt incurred with their dad’s illness, and she becomes more and more emotionally distant from the girls as they grow older. Each sister is facing a tough sequence of events, but none knows what the other sisters are actually going through. The tight, protective sisterly bond they used to share in years past has been completely shattered by the flawed way the sisters handle their individual challenges.
Eileen, the oldest, stumbles on a dark family secret and deals with the news by keeping it a secret, and drinking (a lot). She’s always been a talented artist, but her soul is being sucked dry by her inability to process this secret and her creativity withers away. Claire, meanwhile, has lofty plans of attending an Ivy League college and escaping the confines of her homophobic town. She follows a social media personality that espouses the concept of “excellers” and “settlers.” Claire considers herself an exceller, and effectively shuts herself off from her family, whom she thinks are all settlers: they settle for less, while she rises above. Murphy is a magician-in-training who loves attention, but feels abandoned by her family. To top it all off, she forgets to care for her pet turtle and it dies right before Christmas, which just amplifies her sadness. She has a theory that she is just the spare tire of the family…forgotten, unseen, and unheard.
None of the girls is expecting a warm or cheerful winter holiday, but what they really don’t expect is the cryptic news Eileen gets from a local law firm that they had an uncle (their dead father’s brother) in a seaside town in Oregon. Not only that, he very recently died and bequeathed his estate to the girls, each sister to receive a third of the estate upon their 18th birthday. What follows is a stormy trip, weatherwise and relationship-wise. The house turns out to be a mansion, and a bit spooky at that, but the tale never really gets to a nail-biting pitch.
Ormsbee writes in a 3rd person omniscient point of view, with chapters dedicated to each sisters’ thoughts and experiences, interspersed with chapters detailing the past, and it can be a bit tiring bopping back and forth between them all. However, readers can also glean from each chapter why each sister feels and acts the way she does, and it gives an opportunity for more understanding and empathy. Even though the somewhat ominous cover alluded to the story as being a thriller or gothic horror piece, it is neither. Rather, the mystery in this sister-tale is more about assumptions, relationships, and family secrets. It would appeal to those who enjoy reading about complicated family dynamics, with a nice twist or two in the telling. The reader who is anticipating a dark and suspenseful murder mystery might be aggravated by the slow pace and micro-detail of every interaction. We should be grateful that Ormsbee had this unknown uncle lurking in the background because without his posthumous nudging, these sisters (and their mom) would have apparently gone down their own destructive paths and flamed out, which would have made for a depressing read. As it is, the themes of redemption and resolution may be what redeem this story as a whole.
I give this book 3 out of 5 stars.
M. DeBuse-Losh
