A beautifully written YA novel of historical fiction, Freedom Swimmer, by Wai Chim is based on the actual experiences of the author’s father. Between 1950 and 1974 over a half million people fled persecution, famine, and political turmoil in Communist China. Swimming to freedom in Hong Kong was one gateway to escape.

First-person accounts of enduring the tumultuous time of the Cultural Revolution are illuminated in the stories of Ming, an 11-year-old orphan from a small rural village, and  Li, one of the citified,  “educated youth”, sent to the villages to be re-educated through labor in the fields.

Both young teenagers are struggling for a sense of purpose.  Disillusioned and rudderless, their friendship grows and they decide to make a pact to attempt the impossible.

Situations of birth, country of origin and political climate are all factors that affect one’s life.  The tender true story of teenagers caught up in situations they cannot control will resonate across years and diverse cultures. The novel is a sensitive insight into a heartbreakingly difficult time.

A celebration of storytelling, this collection of  poetry is part of a twenty-year tradition of Chicago’s Oak Park and River Forest’s Spoken Word Club, started in 1999 with the mission: “… a call of pride and history and tradition and hope.”  It is a call to the power of The Word!

Explaining that RAP stands for Rhythm And Poetry, the collection is open to all forms of expression, aims to have the words resonate on the page as well as the stage, and to give each writer a place to call their own, a place to belong. 

“Respect the Mic” is a phrase that reigns supreme.  It is an order if anyone dares to talk when someone is reading a poem; it is a challenge to respect the tradition of the spoken word; it is security in knowing your voice will be heard; it is finding a home in the camaraderie of storytellers.

Each writer is introduced by what year they were in the Spoken Word Club, or which college they attend, or their hobby/job or family status.  This gives an insight into each poem making for a deeper connection to the writer and their story. These are new voices writing in new ways. The collection is definitely worth exploring, reading, and enjoying, each and every diverse and honest entry. 

The Art of Sushi by Frankie Alacron is a delightful mixture of travel journal, cookbook, history lesson, and an introduction to sustainable fishing. In a black and white, graphic novel format, with minimal color used for emphasis, the art as well as the history of sushi is celebrated. With awe and whimsy, French chef Alacron’s enthusiasm for Japanese cuisine, especially sushi, and his respect for the skill and precision needed to achieve such perfection, guide his travels across Japan. Curiosity and appreciation lead to visits to a three-star Michelin chef, a Master knife maker, a nori farm, a sake factory, and an open ocean fishing trip. The underlying message is respect: respect for the art and skill needed to create beautiful and delicious food and respect for the ingredients in the sushi and how it is obtained.  Sustainable fishing and the humane treatment of the fish reflect the superior quality of the sushi ingredients. This is book is excellent: informative, entertaining, and thoroughly enjoyable.

Moon and Star Fuentes are twin sisters who are loving opposites of each other. Star literally is a social media star, an influencer among the Christian circles who gets freebies and travels the country promoting herself using products. Moon is her photographer, framing Star for the perfect pics while staying in the shadows. When Star gets an offer travel to multiple locations with multiple influencers over the course of the summer, Moon’s summer plan get derailed as her mother insists she follow Star. Over the course of the two months, Moon will meet people who not only make her feel like the center of attention, but allow her to question her role in her family and what her future could hold. Moon begins as a teen who does not like her body, just accepts her fate as flawed, but she will emerge a confident mariposa, out of her cocoon and ready to fly away from her home life that is not nearly as supportive as it should be. Interlaced with magical realism and traditional hispanic lore, Rachel Vasquez Gilliland’s story is lovely and highly recommended for school libraries.

This is not Black joy. This is Black frustration, Black grit, Black abuse, and Black redemption. Char, the bully from Draper’s The Skin I’m In, is being sent to her grandparents after both parents had been murdered and her older sister found it difficult to provide any sense of normalcy. Char boards the Greyhound to Alabama but only makes it about 1/2 the way before disembarking with a baby in tow. Trying to be the adulting mother she so desperately needs herself, Char gets groomed into human trafficking.

This story is raw. This story made me mad. Why did Sharon Flake even need to tell Char’s next chapter after her award-winning book from two decades ago? The question of why Char was such a bully to Maleeka is not answered per se but readers see the weakness of Char and she is allowed to be redeemed in Maleeka’s eyes. Maleeka and Char are both stronger characters by the close of this text. Char does survive, but not without scaring readers along the way.

Sharon Flake wrote this book to get under the skin that you’re in – no matter what color. And it will.

Book 2 of the Truly Devious series, The Vanishing Stair continues the story of Stevie, a person who is taken out of her private boarding school for her own good by her parents as she got sucked into trying to solve a mystery that put her in danger in the process. Stevie also happened to fall for David in book 1. Early in book 2, Stevie is manipulated by said boy’s dad, Edward King, who will get her back into the school if she keeps an eye on his son. Boy plus mystery still unsolved = Stevie’s perfect day. In a parallel plot, readers navigate their way back to old school Elligham, where 3 other characters slowly build the mystery of this academy. I agree with many reviewers that this old-school setting and characters could have been its own book. Who doesn’t love a good murder mystery with cliffhangers? This reviewer didn’t. I didn’t feel compelled to follow characters into the tunnels, I didn’t like how dumb Stevie acted around David and I knew there would be a book 3 so I felt like I was wading through quicksand of switchbacks between the then and now time periods. I was disappointed that this book didn’t click for me but as a freebie for my library, I can’t complain too loudly.

What are the chances that your father would marry the mother of your secret crush and he would move into your house? But this is not what the cover art falsely sells it to be. It is so much better. Eva Gibson gives us Elaine Jamison — or Lane. Lane is complex. Lane has had a rough go. She found her mother in their bathroom dead from a brutal suicide. This brings nightmares on a regular basis. Then her father does remarry. And her new step-brother, Greyson, whom she secretly infatuates over, is dating her good friend Sadie. Lane doesn’t let her secret be known and continues to hang out with the couple which leads her to meet Connor, Sadie’s older brother. Sparks will fly between Connor and Lane, leaving her overwhelmed with emotions — but not just about the boys. Issues of homelessness, religious fundamentalism, and drug abuse will all rear their heads in addition to the grief around Lane’s mother’s death. Lane is raw and more mature than the average teen. The Connor vs. Greyson battle will come to the forefront eventually but it is not the book’s focus. Situations explode and then take time to resolve, like real life. This reader was happily surprised that the book was better than the cover and title and will recommend it to high school students.

Reviewed by Nicole Sande, counselor at my school:

This book was a bit dry until the end. The author focused on four teenage girls but the book had several characters. The perspectives kept changing which made it really difficult to follow. Once I finally grasped the four characters, I felt the book ended. There wasn’t much character development. The author also wrote a lot of the quotes in a dialect from the Bahamian culture and some slang was used making it difficult to understand what was being said. I had to reread several pages for a better understanding. I even found myself skipping paragraphs and pages that felt irrelevant just to get to the end. This story could be told in 200 instead of 400 pages. The story itself wasn’t bad. I just felt like you were following some normal teenage drama. It felt like four different stories being forced into one and trying to make a story interesting that really wasn’t. Readers will be drawn to the cover and the Bahamas setting but overall it is a coming-of-age book with many of life’s challenges that some students may connect with but is an additional purchase.

Outer Banks is a multi-season Netflix series that is pretty popular amongst teens. This original novel has the same setting and main characters, but the plot for this book is different. Told in multiple POVs, these two and a half days of John B and JJ’s spring break solidifies their hatred of the Kooks. Kooks are the tourists that flood their North Carolina coastal town. John B and JJ want to escape the Kooks and their dad-issues –John B’s dad has been missing for months and presumed dead while JJ’s is an alcoholic. The plan is for them to go fishing in the “Graveyard of the Atlantic”, a Bermuda Triangle of sorts. When the weather turns nasty, their night becomes dangerous. The diction is over-the-top in simplicity — it’s a fast read that fans of Outer Banks will probably enjoy but those without the background might be frustrated with the low quality. While this reader fully expected the story to end on a cliffhanger, which would seem appropriate, it ties up too easily, which does not match the drama in these teens’ lives. This is a recommendation that will be checked out again and again as long as the series continues but it is not one for the history books.

When a massive earthquake traps Ruby under concrete, life didn’t flash before her eyes. Instead, time began to crawl. Ruby has a companion in the dusty dark, Charlie, who she previously wanted to ask if he’d buy her beer just seconds before the rumbling began. Crushed under the literal weight of the world, with a cell phone to mark the time but not call or text, Ruby will recount the last events before the earthquake – her final conversations and thoughts on her relationships with others in her life. She and Charlie will no longer be strangers though they will never see each other again. This is a character study, and still, a page-turner as the hours become days and survival seems unattainable. It is a quick read that will interest reluctant readers.