July and August 2019

July and August 2019

Adult Titles

An American Summer, Alex Kotlowitz (2019)

Kotlowitz shares his expert reporting again, bringing the lives of young inner city Chicagoans to light, with care and empathy.  I am amazed that he can continue to write so well about this painful subject, the effects of violence, and repeated violence, with depth, nuance and use his anger to inform but not combust.  Guns, racism, poverty and a system that persists in methods that fail are the true evils. Individual stories are the focus here, not numbers and statistics.

The Nickel Boys, Colson Whitehead (2019)

Media reports a new story about Nickel Academy, a boys reform school in Florida where the prisoner’s work helped the state budget as well as the supervisor’s pocketbooks.  An archaeologist has unearthed some old bones outside the graveyard that hint at possible abuse. Elwood Curtis,a man in New York City, decides he should return when he hears the news.  Elwood was wrongly incarcerated in the 1960’s, beginning as a protected, well-read and quite naive teen. His sentence as a black boy in the segregated section at Nickel, and the friendships he formed there, is recounted in chapters that alternate with the present. Elwood survived being a Nickel boy with the help of Turner, another boy in juvie, street savvy and suspicious.  This novel is harrowing, well researched, beautiful, brutal, hopeful, and ultimately surprising.

Educated, Tara Westover (2018)

Westover’s biography is about her education, quite minimal before she was 16; her parents thought she was 20 then, and tried to kick her out.  Tara was raised by a paranoid extremist father who refused to send her to school, get her immunized, or even register her for a birth certificate. Her childhood in Idaho involved exploring with her older brothers, cooking and preparing herbal remedies with her mother, and going to church. At age 16, her brother persuaded her to prepare for the ACT, and she then enrolled at Brigham Young University to get the training to become a choir director.  At university, she learned for the first time about the Holocaust and the Civil Rights Movement; these pages are magical. Her humiliation over her ignorance didn’t prevent her curiosity, and she went on to earn a PhD, studying at both Cambridge and Harvard. Her story recounts her success as a scholar, and the corresponding failure of her family, who took her insistent demand for honesty as evidence she was damned to hell. An interesting memoir by a historian trying to claim her own personal history in an abusive family.

Young Adult Titles

Ordinary Girls, Blair Thornburgh (2019)

At first, this smart story about two teenage sisters at first seemed too patterned after Little Women (I think I’m one of the few who never liked that book). But its humor, its dog-walking charm, and Plum’s determination to not be distressed by failed plumbing, imminent poverty, or hysterical teen drama won my attention. Plum’s sister is panicked about college acceptance, and financial aid; Plum’s artsy mom almost fails at every fund-raising party she organizes; and Plum’s neighbor seems willing to fail out of sophomore year.  She tries to keep them all afloat, and her quirkiness (and extensive vocabulary) places this book above many other modern YA with surprising depth that snuck up on me. Serious issues are mixed with references to classic movies, modern tv binging and a touch of romance. Bravo Thornburgh!

Hope and Other Punch Lines, Julie Buxbaum (2019)

Baby Hope was immortalized in a photo on 9/11 at her birthday party with the falling twin towers in the background.  Needless to say, Abbi Hope Goldstein hasn’t celebrated her birthday since.  Despite having two parents working in the Towers, her family remained alive; her parents were sipping lattes nearby on their break. Now 16, Abbi’s health may be compromised in ways she hides from everyone.  She is trying to create a life not dependent on her past moment of fame, but fellow counselor Noah threatens to destroy her anonymity at her summer camp job. Noah tries blackmail and then humor to persuade Abbi to follow his plans.  His friend Jack, a wise-cracking gamer nerd, almost steals the show. Together, they make this emotional coming-of-age hopeful.

Speak: the graphic novel, Laurie Halse Anderson and Emily Carroll (2018)

Speak was a popular and critically well-received novel nearly twenty years ago, personalizing the consequences of high school date rape.  This retelling translates the story into another compelling account. I am excited to write a positive review, since I have been disappointed in some graphic rewrites; great books don’t always make great graphic novels. Black and white artwork strikes powerfully to reveal Melinda’s conflicts. I highly recommend this for new readers as well as those who first encountered the novel when they were young.  It’s impact has only grown with Carroll’s graphic skills.

Aurora Rising, Kaufman and Kristoff (2019)

Tyler will graduate from his starship academy at the top of his class, and will earn first pick in the draft for his crew.  But the day of the draft, he takes a trip into the stars, decides to be a hero, and saves a lost girl who has been cryogenically frozen, making him miss the draft. Now he is stuck with the losers of his school — and the century-old teenager — in a hopeless quest, led by clues from his mentors that repeatedly lead them into danger. Seven different and interesting characters tell this story, discovering teamwork and trust within a corrupt system.  This fantastic science fiction adventure makes me look forward to sequels.

What if It’s Us, Becky Albertallia and Adam Silvera (2018)

A meet cute rom-com set in New York City, between Arthur, in town for a summer internship, and Ben, a NYC native stuck in summer school.  Both boys are sweet and funny, with friends and family that are troubled but, ultimately, not dysfunctional. What is unclear is whether the two will meet again in such a big city; whether their first date can be successful; whether Art’s over-the-top enthusiasm and Ben’s pessimism really belong together. Not as sappy or simple as the first scene suggests, it is an emotional one.

Superman: Dawnbreaker, Matt de la Pena (2019)

Clark is working on the family farm when a helicopter engine cuts out. It was circling near their old barn, and he manages to stop the crash. He’s always been faster than others, but now he is noticing new abilities, like a superior sense of hearing, the ability to see through walls, and new strengths. Of course, he has to hide these abilities. Off the farm, he joins his best friend Lana in fighting a political battle. Their small town considers passing a law allowing stop and search, clearly a way for police to harass the large Latinx community.  Identity and other serious issues are considered in this fantastic superhero story.

How (Not) to Ask a Boy to Prom, S.J. Goslee (2019)

Nolan is a junior who just wants to make it through high school and begin a better life in college.  But his plans for staying quiet and alone with his plants are ruined by his meddlesome older sister. She decides he needs to go to Prom, and tries to match him with the boy of his choice.  And when he refuses to identify his crush, she sets him up with the boy who used to bully him. Everything in this charming book is good fun, with a great best friend and super supportive family (except on competitive game nights). If you want a happy romance, with quirky characters you’d like to meet, this is it!

Middle Reader Titles

The Library of Ever, Zeno Alexander (2019)

Lenora is bored when her parents leave her at home with a self-centered nanny, and when they visit a library, she escapes into a magical fantasy world.  Enlisting as an assistant librarian, she travels to Alpha Centauri in 8000 AD, penguins at the Pole, an underground ant colony, and more. She is trying to fulfill the mission of the librarian, to answer any question given, fight the forces of evil trying to limit knowledge (in this case, represented by magical men in bowler hats), and serve her patrons with diligence and courage. A fun adventure follows that reaffirms the importance of libraries and us, their librarians!

The Strangers, Margaret Peterson Haddix (2019)

The three Greystone kids have a great life, each developing their talents, when a kidnapping upsets their world: eerily, the kidnapped kids share their names and birthdays.  Chess, Emma, and Finn then discover an alternate universe through their basement, but it leads to a much worse place that endangers their mother. This middle-grade thriller has rich character development built into its mystery, and may begin a wonderful new series.