In this fantasy novel by Mari Lowe, a Jewish boy named Ezra learns he is the Nivchar, or chosen one, who is destined to battle a dangerous fiery creature called the gurya during his bar mitzvah. If he wins, the world remains in a peaceful “Beinoni time,” free from war and suffering. But as strange events begin happening and the balance of the world starts falling apart, Ezra realizes something is wrong. Along with new friends, he uncovers secrets and conspiracies that challenge everything he has been taught about destiny, courage, and justice. The book is a little slow when it starts but is truly inspiring. The book is told with a first person narrator. This seems to either irritate readers or helps pull them in, depending on the reader. I did not mind it! For students willing to stick with the opening world building, it will be an enjoyable read. The book includes a glossary at the end of Jewish terminology that the reader might not be familiar with. It helps to add meaning to a book with a Jewish cultural background.
Reviewed by parent volunteer, Esperanza B.D. for Komachin Middle School
The autobiography tells the story of Ida B. Wells’s life as a fearless Black journalist, educator, and civil rights activist who fought against racism and lynching in the United States. She was born into slavery in Mississippi and became a teacher, she later became a newspaper writer who exposed racial violence and injustice. After the lynching of three Black businessmen in Memphis, she elevate a powerful anti-lynching campaign, risking her life to speak the truth. The book highlights her courage, investigative journalism, advocacy for women’s rights, and lifelong crusade for equality and justice. This was a very readable non-fiction – informative and flowed well. If you’re looking for a good, diverse biography, this is recommended.
The book includes a book written by Ida B. Wells in 1892, Southern Horrors Lynch Laws in all its phases. This was included after the book written about her by Erica Armstrong Dunbar & Candace Buford and adds to the page count, but more importantly, to the authenticity of getting to hear from Miss Wells herself.
Reviewed by parent volunteer, Esperanza B.-D. for Komachin Middle School Library
A combo book with a graphic novel spread throughout showing one school year and 6 middle school students. Three become very addicted to their phones and all the features that become time sucks. The other 3 either have old flip phones or phones without apps. You see a contrasting year where the ones NOT addicted to their phones actually get better at friendships, activities and life. The 3 addicted become more & more lonely and isolated until they make some changes by the following summer. The sections of the fictional story are separated by lots of non-fiction graphic information about the dangers of becoming addicted to technology and the benefits of finding balance. I was blown away by the chart on page 71 about how much of your life you ”lose” based on how many hours a day you get sucked into screentime. Just 4 hours a day of “time-suck” on a screen is as much as 2 whole months of your life. Yikes! The book is for teens, but it sure made me reflective of my own use. The book is filled with suggestions of how to make choices that enhance one’s life, instead of wasting it in a false sense of reality. I liked the bio. blurbs of older teens who reflected on their younger selves use of technology and how they use it now. It helps readers understand what real friendship, real freedom, and real fun looks like vs. the imitation that is often used in a manipulative way online. I read this wondering if it would feel too “preachy” or super anti-tech, but it didn’t really feel that way. It was empowering to the “rebels” who were able to make different choices with their tech so they could still be authentic in their day-to-day interactions.This felt like an important book for middle school students to pick up and read. I think the graphic-novel feel to it will help pull students in. Hopefully the message will resonate with them and empower them to make choices to better themselves. The book includes 4 specific steps a reader can take to become a rebel, notes and sources, a Learn more section, and an index at the end of the book.
Eugenia Wang, who loves art, decides to draw a comic, although her mom doesn’t want her to. However, whenever Eugenia sleeps, or even looks at the comic, she has a mysterious dream about a fire in her house. Her best friend, Keisha, decides to help her understand her dream. Eugenia’s birthday, which is on April 4, is an unlucky number. Will she be able to figure out what her dream is telling her? This book is perfect for someone who loves comedy and mystery. The art style adds so much to it, as well as the smaller details of the plot, which adds a more relatable scenario. The comedy details made me smile, and the mystery parts made me think. The use of comedy adds so much to the characters and plot. People will feel that they can relate more to the characters with the moments of comedy because it uses things that most people do in everyday life. I liked the book a lot, since I like mystery and comedy. Some of my friends, who also like similar genres would like it since they have a good sense of humor and like to figure things out, either in books or even real life. Overall, this book is very entertaining. I’d give it a 4 out of 5 stars. (I dropped a star just because it wasn’t my usual type, not because I didn’t like it.)
Reviewed by Lily I., 8th grader at Komachin Middle School
Mariann Edgar Budde is an incredible person with an inspirational story to share with the world. Her journey to becoming an Episcopal Bishop is beautifully intertwined with God´s love to help her. She found God in her life as an independent junior in high school living on her own with major changes and decisions in her life. She writes about how God helped her overcome and find stability in life, and a community in New Jersey when she had none. She shares stories, scriptures, books, and metaphors at each turn in her life, she shows that in everything there are signs of God. After moving to New Jersey, she moved to Minnesota and then Washington DC. All of the moves for church, she became bishop eventually, and gave many sermons. Some of the sermons she gave were criticized and when she made mistakes, she always made it right. Mariann shows that, like all people, she makes many mistakes too, and that without God she might have crashed her own ship. She writes about how stepping up to the plate and swinging is better than never stepping up at all. After all, you do miss 100% of the swings you never make. Mariann teaches children how to push past fear and make courageous choices. By combining personal stories, scripture, and tales from pop culture, the book encourages young readers to recognize that bravery is a lifelong journey practiced in everyday moments.
This book is strong and inspiring with many relatable stories about Mariann´s life, and her journey to the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. It´s a book everyone will need in their life at some point with its punchy prose. Mariann Edgar Budde wrote this book with a strong female lead, based off of her famous sermon called a House Built on Rock. She made this book after her sermon got famous. Her sermon was standing up to President Donald Trump after he claimed to be Christian. It is a highly spiritual book about the Episcopal church. She mentions her family life and journey on the path of becoming the Washington DC Episcopal church bishop. It is political, spiritual, and inspiring. It mentions a bit about her view and the church´s view on LGBTQ+ rights and political views. It follows her path and how others have affected it such as family, co-workers, members of her church, political people, other bishops, and God’s role in her life.
I liked how inspiring We Can Be Brave is and how much it shows that God can help you in your life when times are tough or when life is challenging. I feel that God gave me this book to read at this time in my life for a reason. With change in life, it can be good to have the reminder to think in a divine perspective.
I did not like how there was not super clear points or break of section, while the book was good and was divided into chapters, it was hard to get into the book and then find a good stopping part. It was harder to get through or into than other non-fiction books that I have read. It was inspiring and punchy along with precise language.
Overall, I’d give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. Book includes bibliographic notes at the end.
Reviewed by 7th grader, Eliza B. from Komachin Middle School
As a fully functioning, banking adult, I must admit I learned something from this book! It was fascinating to see some of the banking options that are available now that, admittedly, I do not use. Checks, I get. ATMs, no problem. On-line, digital payments, yes. I’ve even learned to Venmo. I’d never heard of neobanks, and cryptocurrency is the one I have not quite figured out. I found it interesting to read about all the pros and cons of various banking methods. And while cybersecurity often makes me nervous, this book had some good suggestions for ways to keep yourself and your money safer with strong passwords or even payment tokenization. Even two-factor authentication, which I sometimes get irritated with having to use, does make it harder for thieves to steal what is on line. For young readers in my library today, so much of what seems futuristic will feel like it’s just what is natural to do. Understanding how we got to the digital age may put some of their options in perspective. The book was well-organized in 5 clear chapters and included a table of contents, glossary, index and additional resources.
Having enough sports books to satisfy my middle school readers can be a challenge! This book on the Washington Mystics is sure to pull in basketball players and fans. I love that it is on one of the women’s teams in basketball. The book is well organized with clear, readable text with only 1-2 paragraphs per page. The four chapters highlight their championship winning season, the team’s history, their winning coaches and some of the famous players. The book includes a table of contents, a glossary, an index, fun trivia facts, and resources to dig further into the topic. I also liked that the more challenging vocabulary was highlighted & those words corresponded to the words in the glossary. Photos are included throughout the book, with identifying captions. Also included are “Fun Facts” scattered throughout the pages adding extra information to the main text.
A well-organized non-fiction book about and for students navigating medical conditions of their own or others. Various sections of the book cover topics like the kinds of health issues students might encounter, how to care for oneself or others, and strategies for taking control when medical needs might make one feel out of control. Each section has clear, easy to read text suitable for a middle school student. I appreciated the notes at the beginning of the book with tips for reading non-fiction. The book includes a glossary of terms, an index, and additional resources students can use. Most pictures did not have captions, but rather many had “Did you know” text nearby that enhanced the main text on the page. I found the text approachable and factual with the illustrations being very inclusive of many races and genders.
This graphic novel retelling of Anne of Green Gables features a male “Anne” living in rural Tennessee with strangers after being abandoned by his mother. He struggles with the very conservative religious beliefs of his grandparents, particularly the Grandpa. Dan is gay and that goes against the r. I really liked that it was easy to read and I wanted to keep reading. I don’t usually read graphic novels, but this one was compelling and made me want to read more. The art is colorful and Dan keeps the signature red hair of the inspirational “Anne”. I also appreciated that there was a warning about possible triggers in the book for readers at the very beginning regarding bullying, physical assault and homophobia. All of these topics are handled gently in the book, but do represent real experiences that some individuals experience. That being said, I didn’t like the way some characters treated Dan, but I realize this was part of the plot. His grandfather had some positive realizations about Dan and accepted him more for who he was by the end. Dan even chose to stay with his grandparents even though his mother came back to get him. Overall, I’d give it 4-5 stars.
Reviewed by Rosalee B, 7th grader at Komachin Middle School
This beautifully written verse novel about a neurodivergent 7th grader named Alex pulls you in immediately. Alex is in a self contained classroom because of outbursts in third grade. Now, in 7th grade, he desperately wants to be in a regular science class to learn about his favorite topics like everyone else. He still struggles to keep thoughts in his head and not let them explode out of his mouth or body. He has new friends in his SC class and still sees what used to be old friends but who now taunt and tease him. He just wants the chance to try. Alex has a lot on his plate as he learns to navigate asking for help to meet his goals and adjust to new demands on his studying. I loved how he really had to advocate for himself with his teachers, but also his parents. It’s hard to watch someone struggle and TRY, even though that is how we grow. Alex struggles with this too! I also really liked that when the students made mistakes, there were legitimate consequences and restorative methods for healing and moving forward. The other thing I enjoyed about the book was the mix of Spanish and English. Alex’s family has Puerto Rican roots, so at home, they speak a mix of Spanish and English. I do not speak Spanish, but interestingly, did not find it a barrier to understanding the family conversations. I didn’t even feel like they all needed to be translated. It was lovely to see it all mixed in as part of the norm. I highly recommend this beautiful book showing strength and bravery in the face of adversity and challenge.
