This text, this art, this combination is worthy of an award. Bob Marley in comics! is a biographical sketch of Marley’s life told by various graphic novelists as well as the text writers. Broken into time periods, each section is first represented graphically and then summarized textually. Some graphic novel fans might not appreciate the text equivalent, but the writing is concise, allowing readers to pick right back up where the art left off. And seeing the differences in the graphic novelist’s art is a lesson unto itself. Will students be drawn to it because it is Bob Marley –yes. Will they enjoy the graphic novel aspect–yes. Will they walk away with an even greater appreciation for the art as well as the life Marley had — a hundred times yes. And this teacher-librarians is now looking at other NBM graphic novels to purchase. Highly recommended for middle, high school, and public libraries.

The social class system is very hierarchical in 1960’s Swaziland and especially at Keziah Christian Academy, a boarding school that Adele is sent to each year. Adele is a model student, studying extra Bible verses, following all of the rules, and making sure she knows how to maneuver in the game of remaining “on top” at her school. But things are changing and Adele has to deal. Her peer group is shunning her. Then she is assigned to room with Lottie, a girl far below her in status. But Lottie is rich in many other ways that Adele will slowly discover. A story of self-discovery and friendship, When the Ground is Hard was excellent. This is perfect for literature circles in schools as it will lead to discussions on social class, trust, family, peer pressure and growth. Hopefully, this story will be discovered by award committees.

Kasie West’s Maybe This Time is the teen Hallmark Channel version of a romance – squeaky clean with over the top “almost” moments–9 to be precise. Over the course of a year, Sophie Evans ends up at events in her small town only to be frazzled by big city-born Andrew Hart, son of the once-famous chef Jett Hart. Jett is working to help Sophie’s best friend’s family catering business gain more traction. Andrew doesn’t have a choice in working for his dad. Sophie attends these events as part of her job working for the local florist. Sparks fly at first like iron sharpening iron, but readers can see early on where this will go. While Sophie thinks she has interest in another boy, that is dropped within 6 months, but it will take the entire year for Andrew and Sophie outwardly admit their romance to each other. This is sap, sap, sappy! And some readers will love it! Totally appropriate for middle school too.

Fractured fairytale, story within a story, feminist critique, moral compass — all of these describe Jennifer Donnelly’s Stepsister. This frame story begins with Isabella, one of the evil step-sisters of Cinderella, known in this remake as just Ella, finding herself going to the ultimate extreme of cutting off her toes to fit her foot into the glass slipper. Blood everywhere, the Prince does realize that this is not his Princess. Jumping back to earlier times, readers see the pressure that would push Isabella to the extreme, mount as the stepmother is exacerbated about her daughters marrying well by being pretty enough. Isabella’s conscience is given a voice when Donnelly creates Fate and Chance, who game each other, putting bets on Isabella’s choices. This reader is not sure Fate and Chance needed to make an appearance, but aside from that, Donnelly has created a work of fiction that is thought-provoking about the importance society puts on “beauty” and hoping that Isabella will one day still get the Prince she deserves.

This narrative biography, Captured by Alvin Townley is an emotional book about our POWs from the Vietnam war.  Alvin Townley did a great job of giving us a descriptive narrative account of Naval aviator Jeremiah Denton from the aircraft carrier USS Independence, that was shot down and captured in North Vietnam in 1965. Denton was held in multiple North Vietnam prisons for seven and a half years as a POW.   While in prison Denton and other POWs were kept in solitary confinement for many years, and their only form of communication was through a complicated tapping system. They were tortured and starved daily while being held in the Northern Vietnam prisons for not giving any information to the Vietnam guards besides which were required by the Geneva Convention. Denton and his fellow comrades struggled with keeping their sanity during this time in such horrible conditions.  Denton kept the fellow POWs spirits up and continued his duties as best he could during this time. Denton led his men with honor through the longest and hardest deployment until 1973. Vivid and descriptive details along with actual photos of the POWs and the places talked about makes this readable and recommendable for anyone.

Jennifer Donaldson’s I Know You Remember is a well-crafted, plot-twisting mystery/thriller for a young adult audience. Zahra and Ruthie find each other in a time where they were desperate to be seen. Then Ruthie one moves away for three years, only to come back to her father’s Alaska home after her mother dies and find that her best friend Zahra is missing. Ruthie will focus her life on finding Zahra, and just when a reader thinks they have the correct theory, a plot twist will completely spin the story in a new direction. Lives will be ruined, points of view will switch. And while this reviewer didn’t particularly like the negative portrayal of religion, other issues are handled carefully, such as poverty, substance abuse, and racism. If you are a fan of One of Us is Lying, this is another choice that will be a stand-alone read.

Breaking Bailey is an addition to Beatrice Sparks’, aka Anonymous’s, collection of stories written in the diary format concerning hard choices and consequences teens encounter. Bailey has started a new school after losing her mother. Desperate for friends and to fit in, she joins an after school “science club”–the meth club–that produces meth that is sold around their town. With paychecks come parties, alcohol, prescription drugs and a love interest. But this party will come to an end. Bailey will ask her love interest to stop. But will she be able to pull away and come out ok? Teens that crave the chance to live vicariously through characters will enjoy Anonymous’s newest tale.

This compact review of slavery and race relations in American history is an excellent introduction for younger readers, but it posits a number of ideas that could be included in much more critical (higher thinking) discussion.

The book outlines the early roots of slavery and procedes with quite a thorough chronological examination of major events regarding how discrimination and racism persist.  The work also reveals how racism continues to be a concern today and suggests ways to address this concern for dealing with the more subtle aspects of racial bias.

I appreciated the simple, clear rendering of the history of slavery and the awful history that followed the civil war.  The author also included a number of ancillary details that might not be illustrated in a standard approach to the subject.  For example, it was interesting to note how the leaders of the Black Panther movement recognized how African American women in the organization were the victims of discrimination within the ranks. 

I truly did not dislike any aspect of the work.  It is hard to find anything objectionable in a book that deals with the subject of slavery and the ways in which those roots still affect culture and society today (and into the future).  Perhaps this has something to do with what has been called “white fragility”.  

The ideas were presented in clear, readable fashion geared toward younger readers.  However, the style and delivery of the vital ideas and implications in the book made it useful for much higher level thinking/questioning.  I also found the “sideline” sections to be useful as additional information to supplement the main text.

Younger, less-informed readers will find the book accessible and readable.  Those older readers who are familiar with the sad history of racism in America will be surprised by the more complex issues that might be revealed (and discussed) along the way.

I recommend this book with enthusiasm, especially for the younger reader (middle school).  It is a great introduction for the subject of slavery and how those roots still affect our society and culture.  I gleaned a good deal from my reading of Harris’ book; it is an easy way to review the essentials while affording much more discussion about the complexities of racism even in these more “enlighted” times.

Paris Secord, known as DJ ParSec to the dance/rave scene, is found dead right before she’s about to make it big. Two key figures in her life, Kya and Fuse, who were not friends before the murder are forced to work together because neither of them believe that the police are doing enough or even know what they are doing to find Paris’s murderer. Her fan base, ParSec Nation, work via social media to pull clues for Kya and Fuse. And true to social media form, not all clues lead to the truth.

Lamar Giles provides plot twists and thrill scenes, some of which were hard to follow as the story shifts narrators between the three girls as well as jumping back and for between past and present. As in the best murder mystery writing, the murder is not who you think it might be and will probably keep most teens engaged, especially if they like hip-hop jargon.

The book Life Sucks: How to Deal with the Way Life is, Was and Always Will Be Unfair by Michael I. Bennett is written by a father-daughter team that discusses the big things in your teenage life that can suck in a no-nonsense way.  They discuss the reality of how personal quandaries such as body image, cultural and sexuality awareness can cause questions just as much as the typical drama with friendship, school, and home life. This father-daughter team has given great examples of what to do or how to deal with lots of situations that come up in most teen’s live.  This book will show teenagers that they are not alone in dealing with these issues and help them to laugh them off. The information is given in a way that seems to guide the young reader and will help them realize that it is ok to talk to their parents and others around them about issues that come up in their lives. This self-help type book contains questionnaires and an answer key –great for individuals who have purchased the book but something to monitor in a school library.  This style makes the book easy to read. One can pick it up to read a page or two at a time if need be. Unfortunately, the information and examples become somewhat redundant over time and might be better suited for a teen in their personal library at home.

Everything was going along wonderfully until she broke up with Alex! Why do that troupe? In Eileen Cook’s You Owe Me A Murder, Kim is desperate for a friend while on the flight for school trip to London. Her ex-boyfriend Connor and his new romance are on the same trip. When she meets Nicki, a native Londoner, on the plane and divulges her frustrations, Nicki takes note of Kim’s list of “Why he deserves to die”. One day into their trip Connor falls or is pushed into a train. Shortly after, Kim receives contact from Nicki that her part is done and now it’s time for Kim to murder Nicki’s mother –quid pro quo. Why wouldn’t Kim just tell the police? The complications continue as Kim falls head over heels for Alex. Most of this story clips at a fast pace and there are twists readers won’t see coming. Aside from that 2 page part where some editor probably told Cook to have the main characters break up, this book is a winner for those psychodrama-loving teens in your library.

Abigail Haas weaves a web with past and present narration of days in Anna Chevalier’s life, surprising readers with the twisty roads during Anna’s trial for the death of her best friend, Elise. Anna is on a spring break trip with Elise and others when Elise is murdered. Haas plays on readers’ empathy for the main character during the flashbacks thrown between accounts in the trial. She keeps readers second-guessing who the murder is — could it really be Anna after all? What teens will like is the mystery, the lies and the love triangle. My hunch is that the love triangle had more time devoted to it but editorial cuts were taken as Haas’s focus is on Anna’s psyche overall. Can she handle the pressure? Does she deserve to be on trial? Ominously re-titled from its original Dangerous Girls published in 2013, I’ll Never Tell’s new cover will probably hook new readers who like mystery.

The obligatory selfie – do you send it or not? Olivia meets Elm online and their connection is all about movies. They discover they are both fanatics and regularly watch movies together at the same time while in different locations just to be able to critique them together. When Elm finally sends a selfie, Olivia panics, using her friend Carrie’s image instead of her own. How would Elm ever find out…except when they accidentally meet up. Leah Konen’s misrepresented identity story is daftly creative. Clearly a lover of cinema herself, Konen adds little twists and turns, including cheeky chapter titles, to peak interest. Fans of Susan Colasanti and Joan Bauer will like this innocent romance as it weaves through happy, messy and scary to love.

Filled with historical references spread throughout the book to emphasize his points, from the printing press to television and the internet you are made aware of the impact on news and it’s spread.

Miller discusses how real news works and what is “responsible” journalism, including a discussion of a mistake vs created fake news.  He points to the ease, with the internet, that any person can now be a reporter through all the different venues – YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, podcasts, etc. His warnings include that responsible journalism begins with each one of us knowing our sources and checking facts. He tells us not to be the spreader of fake news.

Additionally, Miller asks readers to stop and think about what affects the news: Language, beliefs, money, political motives, humor, sarcasm, cynicism, culture, expectations, propaganda, conspiracy theories, bias, and etc. Well organized, colorful and timely, this little book reminds us of all of these effects both as a listener/reader as well as a reporter, spreader of news.  Food for thought for each of us, this is a highly recommended title for middle and high school libraries!

Voices:  The Final Hours of Joan of Arc by David Elliott is quick to read with different characters’ viewpoints given of how they saw events using different styles of poetry. This book was illustrative for modern times, especially for the LGBTQ+ community as Joan of Arc did not fit into the traditional women’s role of medieval France and although she did great things for her country, was later persecuted for her different perspective of gender. In the early 1400s and France is losing its territory to England.  Joan of Arc chooses to do what is right for France by leading an army.  Meanwhile, she tells her parents that she doesn’t want to marry and dresses like a man.  Joan of Arc is cheered for her military victories by whole communities. However, everything changes after she meets Prince Charles VII who himself is not meeting the proper role of a prince at that time to lead the military.  Both Joan of Arc and Prince Charles VII defy what they were born to be in medieval France. She cross-dresses as a warrior and refuses to wear a dress. He is gentle and not sure what to do. Prince Charles VII is shocked when she presents to him the first time in royal court wearing a tunic, doublet, and hose.  And while Joan was a military official, she is quoted in this text to say “I was born to lead and to inspire, not to maim and kill.” The vocabulary in this text might be challenging as there are a lot of great words like sesquipedalian, someone who uses long words.  Highly recommended for ages 12 and up, for its historical value, knowledge of poetry styles, and entertainment.

Shaun David Hutchinson is witty and this quick, directness of jokes comes through in every character in The Past and Other Things that Should Stay Buried, his 8th young adult novel. Told in alternating voices between two best friends, readers 1st meet Dino. Dino seems confident. He’s discovering how much he really likes his new boyfriend. He knows he’s good at his job — preparing bodies for funerals — but doesn’t want to make it his future living and keep the family DeLuca and Son’s business. And he’s wanting to let go of his former best friend, July. July also appeared to be confident. A theater star in their high school, July’s world was about July and occasionally Dino, her best friend a year ago. But then they fought. And then July died. And now Dino needs to prepare her body and finally let her go…until she undies. Dino and July spend the next few days trying to figure out less about how and more about why she came kinda back though still stinking and rotting away. Dino and July must figure out a few more aspects of their friendship before each can let go of the other and let life return to normal. Discussions the two have around sexuality are honest and real and more importantly, don’t overshadow the real themes of the novel. Still overwhelmingly far-fetched, Hutchinson’s one-liners are laugh-out-loud funny as readers witness Dino and July maturing as individuals and once again as friends. Recommended for high school audiences.

The book Orphaned by Eliot Schrefer is an enjoyable book told from the perspective of a young female gorilla Snub, set in the Paleolithic Era. She lives a normal gorilla life with her mother, brother, and others until her family is torn apart from a volcanic eruption that separates them. She is left as the protector of her baby brother, Breath.  As Snub is searching for her family she finds a “not gorilla” that walks on two legs and was exiled by her family. Together, Snub, Breath and Orphan, the “not gorilla”, create a bond that is amazing without spoken communication. The vivid and descriptive details in this text help you to feel a connection with the characters. There are times that it is difficult to understand what is being described due to it not coming from the human perspective but during Snub’s perspective, there is excitement to turn the page each time to see what would happen next. Be prepared for some laughing and crying during this book. Recommend for anyone seventh grade and up, readers who like animals would definitely love this book but it would also push students to see “a world” far different than their own.

With the prophecy of the end-of-the world in three months and the expected Departure of the New World Society followers, a tender story of sibling love and individual persistence is woven in Come November, Katrin Van Dam’s first young adult novel.  Rooney’s mother is an avid follower of Everett, leader of the New World Society, which believes that humans have destroyed the overpopulated Earth through climate change and overconsumption. Extraterrestrials beings will come on November 18th to take believers to a new planet to start a more pure society.

Rooney’s senior year angst of college and a boyfriend is minor to her anxiety about money for food or her embarrassment about her “crazy” mother.  Real life issues are a heavy responsibility for a young woman who just wants to dream of a better life in the normal world. The sense of love and duty to her brother and the hope of a different life are the sustaining themes of this book.  It is an entertaining, valuable read for a young adult navigating the challenges of daily life with the possibility of creating their future through perseverance and education. Rooney’s mother’s situation is unusual but Rooney’s role of responsibility and struggle is very relatable for teenagers today.

What happens to a person when the negative side of their personality does everything in its power to overtake the side that barely keeps the person sane? Ella Black suffers from dissociative identity disorder. Bella, her evil twin, comes to life when Ella gets stressed. Bella has progressively made Ella do more violent things, which scare Ella each time. When her parents whisk her away from school mid-day to temporarily move to Rio, she assumes it is because they have figured out she has this disorder which she has been hiding from everyone. But more lies and truths will unfold in this fast-paced, unpredictable novel, totally ingratiating the reader until the last comments at the end. Ella is a believable character, which makes the story all the more twisted. Speaking of twisted, the last few dramatic scenes hit hard, literally. This reader thoroughly enjoyed Emily Barr’s writing and will look to pick up a few more of her works.

It’s the start of a new school year and Kate Bailey is hesitant to be in her podcasting class that she signed up for just because her best friend Alana wanted her to. Sure enough, super shy Kate is picked by the teacher to be one of the co-hosts for the podcast which will focus on giving advice to people who email or call in anonymously. While she discovers that she’s pretty good at giving advice, she also discovers that she likes the guy her best friend is crushing on even though Kate is trying hard to get them together. While readers will see this developing way before the characters themselves, Kasie West also throws in a few other twists to keep readers wondering. Will the text message from Kate’s ex-boyfriend make a difference? Will the sudden interest from Kate’s nemesis change the course of Kate’s feelings? Slightly oh-my, this flirty girl novel will definitely find fans in the 7th – 10th grade level.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Grand Escape:  The Greatest Breakout of the 20th Century by Neal Bascomb.  This book details the life of prisoners of war kept by Germany in World War 1 and their attempts to escape prison camps.  What makes this book entertaining is the range of characters with their shenanigans who tended to treat these escapes like a game.  One was even disappointed when he was returned to his own country before the war was over because he wanted to see if his escape plan devised with two other prisoners would work.   It is noted that many of the prisoners were very intelligent and adventuresome, as it tends to describe officers, including pilots who were shot down and then surrounded by Germans.   So given their sudden confinement, these prisoners tended to act like mischievous children with plans that included using molasses that resulted in solitary confinement, and stealing tools to help them in their endeavors.  They also found productive ways to spend their time such as learning new languages which aided in escaping. To make escaping Germany even more difficult, the German people were encouraged to turn in suspected escaping prisoners.  Other tactics by the Germans was to send captured escaping prisoners to different camps and to use strict military officers to oversee them. The illustrations contain actual war souvenirs such as telegrams, photographs, and propaganda.  If I could change one thing about this book, I would have put the map of Germany and surrounding areas at the front of the book rather than on page 217. The book ends with what happened to the British prisoners when the war ended, including reunions and teaching younger military recruits how to cope in case of capture.  Overall, this book made it easy to understand the actual lives of military men kept as prisoners during wartime on a very personal level. I highly recommend this book for all types of students.

Set in Seattle, Washington, Rachel Lynn Solomon’s young adult novel Our Year of Maybe tracks the lives of two teenagers whose lives have always been entwined as best friends, and maybe, Sophie thinks, eventually something more. She cannot imagine life without Peter, and so, when she turns out to be the one match for the kidney he needs, she does not hesitate…she donates one of hers.

This selfless act generates in Sophie a picture of the future in which Peter and she are in love and together forever. For Peter, however, while deeply grateful to Sophie for saving his life, it’s not a cut and dried determination that they will be lovers. With his new lease on life, Peter sees his future as one in which he is now free. Then he finds himself attracted to Chase as more than a friend, a development that surprises him, and certainly one that Sophie cannot even imagine.

As they work through these awakenings, their stories explore themes of first loves, expectations, indebtedness, outdated old beliefs and the changes that come with confronting things honestly. Like dandelion fluff, nobody knows where these understandings will be blown, but hopefully, well-rooted friendships will mature and survive.

Recommended.

A turbulent ride into the future with traces of the “Rusties” past littering the Victoria landscape is in store for readers of Scott Westerfeld’s Imposters. Put on something comfortable from your “hole in the wall”, grab your “crash bracelets” and step onto your hoverboard with your fully charged “pulse knife” and “cyrano”. Maybe secure a couple of plasma guns just in case for this plot line. Westerfeld quotes Chinese general Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War, on the title page of Part 1: “Regard your soldiers as your children and they will follow you into the deepest of valleys.” This may not be pretty.

Sir Walter Scott said “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!” Frey, posing as her twin sister Rafi, encounters Col, the heir apparent to the city of Victoria. Here the twists and turns begin. Is the danger from without or within? Are the twin sisters like-minded though one raised a dignitary for the city of Shreve and the other was raised as her absolute secret body double — and as a trained killer? Throw in the love factor and Frey must decide if Col can be trusted with the truth, allowing her to become her own person. This is a page turner as Westerfeld weaves an intriguing tale pitting good against evil, love versus power, conservation over greed in the opposing neighboring cities of Shreve and Victoria. Recommended, as with all other Westerfeld titles.

Ascent is the 3rd in a series of books focusing on Peak Marcello, a teen whose life revolves around mountain climbing. His summit of Everest with his father in the 1st story was not on Peak’s terms. In book two, both extreme action and characters are brought into Peak’s life as he attempted to climb in Afghanistan. For his 3rd major climb, he just wants to return to the natural art of climbing, to have a “clean” climb. But in extreme sports, it is rare anything is easy. This reviewer read Ascent as a stand-alone 1st and it can hold its own as that, though knowing more of the background story with his father Josh, Zopa the wise spirit, and other characters really gives the story depth. Once the climb begins, Smith’s pace in events picks up, though the mystery and twists in the 1st half of the novel keep readers interested too. This is an additional purchase, especially if your library already holds Smiths earlier Peak stories.

How do you deal with death, especially the death of someone you look up to and admire? For Charlie, the death of his father will spin him into a world he never imagined for himself. Sent to his grandparents for the summer in 1988, Charlie learns he has friends, family, comic book heroes, basketball and jazz to help him get back to feeling normal. While Grandaddy impresses upon Charlie the job of being on a team and playing a full game, it’s his cousin Roxie who teaches him the game and moves to be great in the game. Grandmother’s cooking makes all things bearable as she listens and shares in his new adventure. A quick trip to jail might also be life-changing, and friend Skinny goes with him because that’s what friends do. Readers watch a 12 year old Charlie become something special, being the path of maturing into Chuck, father of Jordan and Josh Bell from Alexander’s earlier Newbury Award Winning The Crossover. A prequel to that novel in verse, Rebound will give depth to the story of the Bell family but can be read as a stand alone as well.