South Sound Book Review Council

Mirage

Posted on March 12, 2017 by SSBRC Former Member

Mirage, a psychological thriller, is told in the first person narrative of Ryan Poitier Sharpe, a seventeen year old girl with an addiction to adrenalin. She spends her summer days parachuting from planes at her father’s skydiving center. Even though she has made over 250 jumps, she can’t seem to win the approval of her stoic Army veteran dad. She looks for greater thrills in the use of LSD and ends up in the hospital, suffering a near death experience.

After her brush with death, Ryan is not the same. She no longer craves the thrills. Her mental health deteriorates, her relationships falter, and her life is a mess.

This would be a better book if there wasn’t so many references to the term “crazy”, if there wasn’t so much culturally inappropriate stereotyping of her bi-racial background, and if her best friend’s sexual orientation wasn’t added into the plot in such an extraneous manner. I don’t see this novel flying off the shelves. The plot and characters are just too overworked.

Stay With Me

Posted on March 12, 2017 by SSBRC Former Member

Stay With Me in the companion novel to Come Back to Me, and is written by Mila Gray, which is the pseudonym of young adult author Sarah Alderson (Fated series: Fated, Severed, Shadowed) that she is using for her more adult-themed works. Stay With Me definitely is more of an adult themed novel, as it is a steamy, slow-burn romance between Noel, a wounded Marine, and Didi, a young psychology intern at a military hospital.

The story is also a love triangle, as Didi has a boyfriend, Zac, who is working out of town for the summer. Until Didi started her psychology internship where she meets Noel, she thought that Zac was the man for her. But sparks fly when Didi begins working with Noel, and their forbidden romance grabs the readers and will not let go.

The novel is filled with issues of PTSD, the struggles of wounded warriors and their families, the complications of prior romantic commitments (Zac and Didi), and the ethical ramifications of medical provider / patient romantic relations (Didi and Noel).

This steamy romance is a page turner best suited for juniors, seniors and college students.

It’s Getting Hot in Here: The Past, Present, and Future of Climate Change

Posted on March 12, 2017 by SSBRC Former Member

It’s Getting Hot in Here: The Past, Present, and Future of Climate Change is a solid non-fiction, informational text that would be an asset to middle and high school libraries. Filled with full color photos and illustrative text, this is an approachable book on the issue of global warming and climate change. The author presents the science and the history behind climate change, and discusses the ways in which humans have, and continue to, affect this crisis.

As depressing and worrisome as this subject is, Bridget Heos provides information on how teens can work to make positive changes to help reverse the damage.

Lift Your Light a Little Higher

Posted on March 12, 2017 by SSBRC Former Member

A beautiful poetic story about Stephen Bishop, a slave in the mid-1800’s, who was a cave explorer and tour guide.

The author’s note tells us that Bishop explored and mapped out the largest known cave system in the world, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. Bishop explored and mapped over four hundred miles of passages. The illustrator’s note explain the history of the cave and why tourism was part of that history.

Bishop was bought when he was a teenager specifically to learn the passageways so the owner could host tours and profit from it. During the tours, people would use the smoke from a candle to write their names on the cave ceiling. In this way Bishop was able to learn to read and write. “All the fine folks….want to leave their mark…I show them how to candle-write….in return they teach me, sometimes, without knowing what’s been taught”.
His name is written inside the cave along with all the others. “And you will have no way of knowing,….from candle-smoke….the color of my skin..”

End notes tell the reader that Bishop’s grave lies just outside the cave entrance.

Water color and collage are used by the illustrator, Collier, in a way that shows dimension and texture. Realistic mixed with artistic. The illustrations are a study in themselves.

The author and illustrator do a marvelous job of defining the stark differences of the “real” world and the underground world. Coming away from this wonderfully told story the reader will be questioning which world is truly the real one.

This book will be useful for civil rights units, American history units and Art study, among other things.

Luz Makes a Splash

Posted on March 12, 2017 by SSBRC Former Member

Environmental crusader Luz is back again! This time she is teaching children about water conservation and xeriscaping.

In an approachable and fun graphic novel format, children learn about how to recycle water, how plants get water from underground, what effects big business plays in water consumption and how to advocate for change.

This story picks up after Luz has successfully managed to get an old, garbage strewn, vacant lot turned into a community garden. It has brought the local community together in a shared effort. But now there is a drought and the community garden is threatened. To make matters worse, the local soft drink producer has bought the rights to the community spring-fed pond and is sucking it dry! Luz rally’s everyone to help make things right.

Tie in to Science curricula: green living, creating a greywater filtration system and creating a xeriscaped garden.

The Dragon, The Phoenix and the Beautiful Pearl: A Chinese Dragon Spirit Myth

Posted on March 12, 2017 by SSBRC Former Member

Story adapted from the Chinese folktale: The Bright Pearl

Even though they see each other every morning, Dragon and Phoenix are not friends. This changes when one day an island arises out of the Celestial River. Together the two explore the island and find an unusual rock. They decide to clean the rock and soon discover it’s amazing, one-of-a-kind beauty. The rock is really a pearl that shines brighter than the moon and sun. It has magical powers to help plants grow and to never die. Goddess Xi Wang Mu sees the pearl from afar and decides she must have it. She steals it from Dragon and Phoenix. In the scuffle to get the pearl back, it falls from the heavens to the earth. When it hits the earth it becomes a shimmering green lake. Phoenix and Dragon change into mountains (one on each side of the lake) to guard it. The two friends are there to this day.

Full color illustrations with text boxes on each page. The story is sometimes choppy leaving the reader wondering what happened in between. The small size of the book (6in x 8in) may get lost on library shelves. An introduction page gives history and meaning to the images and story.

Monkey Me and the New Neighbor

Posted on March 12, 2017 by SSBRC Former Member

Claudia and Clyde are twin brother and sister who look out for each other. Claudia takes extra care of Clyde because Clyde has a problem. When he gets excited he turns into a monkey! Yes, a monkey. Young readers of this book will enjoy the absurdness of this morphing.

This is book three in the series. Here we find that the twins have a new neighbor. Nightmare of nightmares, it is their school Principal! Clyde and Principal Murphy soon find something in common that helps them to begin a friendship. They also catch burglars who, unbeknownst to Principal Murphy, have stolen her valuable baseball cards and worse, her beloved cat.

The Complete Adventures of Johnny Mutton

Posted on March 12, 2017 by SSBRC Former Member

A fun graphic novel that early elementary will enjoy.
Johnny Mutton is a sheep who was raised as a boy because Momma had “weak eyes and a warm heart” so she didn’t even notice. Johnny has a spunky, positive, can-do attitude. Lessons on kindness and making friends are subtly slipped into the story lines. The Complete Adventures of Johnny Mutton is three books with five short stories in each. Young readers will enjoy how each book is wrapped up with a section titled “where are they now”. Also included in the book are two extras, a Q & A with the author (James Proimos) and a section titled “I Believe” with some cute and silly statements written by Johnny ( I believe….. bees sting out of love …. mittens run away from home…if you bow after you say something people will applaud…). Body humor, colorful kid-like drawings and silliness will appeal to both boys and girls. And perhaps the messages on kindness, friendship and just being a good person (or sheep) will sink in as well.

A Surprise Visitor

Posted on March 10, 2017 by Anne Hales

Sophie Mouse is excited about her friends coming over for a dinner party. All is going well until dessert when Sophie drops the beautiful trifle she had made all by herself. The next day as her family goes off for their day’s activities, Sophie remains home planning her next trifle and daydreaming about flying in the blue sky. She’s startled out of her daydream by a unfamiliar chirp. She follows the sound until she finds an unfamiliar bird sitting on the roof outside her bedroom window. Finch got lost while playing a game of hide-and-seek and hurt his wing before he found his way home. Sophie helps him down and invites him inside. Sophie realizes that having a surprise visitor is a perfect reason another trifle. Just as Sophie and Finch are finishing up, 3 of finch’s friends come looking for him, turning the afternoon into a party. When it is time to go home, Finch and his friends realize that he has no way to make it home with a sore wing. Sophie shows them how to use a blanket to carry Finch between them. Finch’s friends make Sophie’s daydream of flying a reality when Finch is reluctant to ride in the blanket, Sophie volunteers to take the first ride to show it is safe. After Finch and his friends leave, Sophie hears her mom and brother returning and tells them of her stay at home adventure.

Black and white illustrations. A Surprise Visitor is the eighth book in the Sophie Mouse series.