Leena Mo, CEO

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Written by Deena Shakir and illustrated by Nez Riaz

Leena had to shovel snow and she really didn’t like that job. So, She dreamed, brainstormed, investigated and eventually built a duck-like robot to do the job for her. Her neighbors noticed how great her new snow removal device, aka Helmy (Arabic for “my dream”) and the orders started pouring in. Leena asks her two friends to join her business – Olivia (a robotics whiz) and Lily (a successful lemonade stand entrepreneur). Leena’s only remaining problem was Helmy parts procurement. How would she pay for them? Her nice neighbor, Miss Irma, offered to invest in Leena’s venture. Her business was ready to go! The girls got right to work with production, They sold all the Helmys they produced and business grew. Leena was a CEO! The story ends with a tv interview, which a man and his granddaughter watch in Leena’s mom’s hometown in Iraq. That little girl saw her future dreams in Leena’s story. Anything is possible!

This is an inspiring STEM related story that will resonate with young girls, who may not even realize that their interest in one area might turn into something even bigger. Characters are culturally diverse and the community seems to be positive and supportive of the young CEO. The illustrations are colorful and complement the storyline. Buy this for your library and share it with your young scientists. What if a child read this and said “I can do this, too!”? How cool would that be?

Pedro and the Monster Eaters = Pedro y los devoradores de monstruos

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written by Xequina María Berbér and illustrated by C. Rod. Unalt

Pedro is a young boy that comes from a family of artists that creates papier maché art pieces – from pinatas to giant puppets called mojigangas that are used in parades and festivals in Mexico. His family is very busy, because their artwork is so beautiful. So, Pedro learns the aspects of the art from an early age. One night, he becomes very sick and has a high fever. He has some terrible dreams in which the mojigangas chase after him. In his nightmares, colorful creatures called alebrijes rescue him by gobbling up the scary puppets. He awakens and is determined to create these monster-eating creatures in papier maché. Soon, people from all around are buying his colorful art pieces and he become world renowned for his beautiful work.

This story is loosely based on the life of Mexican folk artist Pedro Linares, who created beautifully painted fantastical creatures in papier maché. The book is written in English and Spanish and illustrated with colorful otherworldly creatures that spring from Pedro’s imagination. Text and illustrations work very well together to convey Pedro’s story. An author’s note at the end gives more information about Pedro Linares and is a great starting point for more thorough research about an artist in a medium about which there is typically little information.

Purchase this book for your library for a variety of reasons – the subject matter, dual language presentation and the beautiful illustrations. Students will be curious to explore more about the artist and the medium after such a wonderful introduction.

Man O’War by: Cory McCarthy

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Reviewed by OHS student, Cyrus P.

River McIntyre is a young high school trans person who spends his life in Haley, Ohio swimming, raving about jellyfish, exploring life and love, and battling all forms of discrimination. He spends the most significant of his days at the local SeaPlanet swimming with fish and being queer. Giving the full scope of a coming of age novel this book puts the reader through the full athletic queer experience the perfect read for someone who wants to learn about marine biology and life as a queer person.

I like the “sciencey” aspects to the book and the ways that River connects those aspects to themselves. At times I felt that it was egregiously queer. Gay to a fault – making the issues seem too forced at times. Queer people and athletes may like this book. They should read it because it’s a great, full journey and keeps you invested in the lives of these people while teaching you about marine biology.

The Dagger and the Flame by: Catherine Doyle

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Reviewed by OHS Student, Lakshitha R.

In The Dagger and the Flame, Doyle puts together an enthralling narrative with an air of mystery and hint of romance drawing the reader in.

The City of Fantome is run by the Cloaks and Daggers made up of thieves and assassins. Seraphine Marchant, the daughter of a smuggler, lives a happy life in the plains until the day her mother is murdered by the order. In seeking refuge with the Cloaks, Seraphine uncovers the secrets of her mother’s murder. Ransom, the heir to the mysterious order of the Daggers, is tasked to kill Sera but soon becomes drawn in by this mystery spitfire and her strange abilities; thus leaving him torn between duty and desire. This enthralling, forbidden romance is enhanced by magic and mystery.

The vivid details, spicy romance, and constant suspense will keep readers on the edge of their seats. Readers who like books by Sara J. Maas and other romantasy books would like one, too.

Kill Her Twice

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Kill Her Twice by Stacey Lee is a page-turning thriller that will have you guessing until the very end! May, Gemma, and Peony are three sisters in LA’s1920’s Chinatown who discover a famous movie star was murdered! The police arrest the wrong man, so it’s up to the sisters to solve the case. The book gives beautiful arcs to the sisters that both rounds out their characters and adds realism to the novel. Even readers who are not typically interested in mysteries or thrillers will find this book enjoyable because of the characters. The mystery element is lacking throughout as there is little suspense and build-up; however, the character development makes it a worthwhile read. Overall, Kill Her Twice is an enjoyable read that will leave you rooting for the sisters and their journeys! Recommended.

The Quiet and the Loud by: Helena Fox

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Reviewed by OHS Student, Connie C.

The book “The Quiet and the Loud” highlights the importance of addressing your mental health and your personal needs, and raises awareness to ongoing problems in our world. Set in Australia, we follow Georgia, a girl who finds peace in kayaking and art. As we watch her overcome her past struggles and her present struggles we learn what is truly important in life. The heavy emphasis of art and poetry makes this book both touching and beautiful. As well as the common reoccurrence of mental health/abuse makes this book relatable and deep.

I like how this book is extremely relatable and how you can see things that are happening in real time in the book. I also like how poetic/artistic is it and how it battles important topics of mental health, relationships, and climate change. I dislike how poorly they built the setting. I had to guess they lived in Australia but I didn’t know exactly until like halfway through the book where the header said “Sydney”… That made me really confused. And (since it dealt with tough topics) it was not the most interesting book and I found myself getting bored really easily and I really wanted the book to end.

I think people who are interested in reading books about LGBTQ+ romances and mental health/climate change topics.

Westfallen

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by Ann Brashares and Ben Brashares

The first book in what will eventually be a series, Westfallen follows six teens – 3 in 1944 and 3 in modern day. They all live in the same neighborhood, even homes, years apart. Both find old radios that strangely link them together in an old shed. As seemingly innocent information is shared, the butterfly effect comes into play and huge changes are wrought in the world beyond 1944. Fixing the problems just leads to more problems, the biggest is finding that the modern teens no longer live in the United States but in the Nazi-ruled Westfallen. The ending is clearly a cliffhanger for a yet-to-be written/published sequel. I normally prefer to read first books AFTER the next book has come out. I get impatient to know what comes next. I hope we do not have to wait long!  I also sense that there were some teasers of further secrets in the beginning, though I can’t quite see how they will play out yet. I did enjoy the reminder that even the littlest things that we do can have huge consequences on the future. It’s always a good reminder to live thoughtfully. Like the 3 teens from the modern day in the book – Henry, Frances, and Lukas- the world run by a prejudiced dictator did not feel like a world I would want to live in. The story moves along with lots of twists and turns in this not-really time travel story of characters who can communicate over time, but are unable to move through time. How they manage that communication is part of the challenge throughout the book. Hopefully we won’t have long to wait for the next part of the story! (Side note, be sure to read the author bios on the flaps of the book. Ann and Ben are siblings & each had funny blurbs about each other from their own childhoods.)

Bless the Blood

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Bless the Blood: A Cancer Memoir, written by Walela Nehanda, is an eye-widening description of battling cancer written in verse. Nehanda captivates the true and ugly reality of their cancer journey while facing issues of racism, relationships, and representation. Each poetic page remained transparent and raw with emotion. Some readers may find that certain shared aspects of the writer’s journey were more descriptive than others, or that it would feel as though the reader is jumping through the timeline.  On the other hand, it may also be interpreted as to-the-point and purposeful for their memoir, as they’ve been deemed significant to share in that manner. Walela Nehanda’s living memoir welcomes the readers with its poetic nature, filled with honest, vulgar, and captivating language that reminds each reader about the fragility of life. Highly recommended.

Playing for Keeps

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Playing for Keeps, written by Jennifer Dugan, is a queer romantic story that follows two individuals, Ivy and June, both of which are thoroughly involved with baseball. June is a pitcher. Ivy is an umpire. What could go wrong? Readers will witness their relationship blossom through easy and hard times while trying to accede to the expectations of those around them. With chapters alternating between the characters sharing their internal and external conflicts, each girl will try to build their secret relationship because being out could bring assumptions of bias to their sport. The plot is driven by a large amount of conversational dialogue, however, a lot of readers will find this to be captivating and dramatic. Playing for Keeps was a great fictional read with the anticipation of “firsts” in a relationship and an overall heartfelt storyline, making it recommended for young adults. 

The 99 Boyfriends of Micha Summers

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The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers, written by Adam Sass, was a fun and very witty queer romantic story that was fully engaging and page-turning. The story holds an authentic voice as it follows a young man lives vicarously through his Instagram account as he builds up the confidence to ask his new crush out for a date, only for it to unveil difficult emotions and untimely situations for this art-inspired main character. The story was humorous, climatic, and paced very well from start to finish. Readers can appreciate the building tension as teenagers fight inner emotions wrapped around fear of loss and fear of true love. The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers can be recommended for young adult readers who like light-hearted romances.