Picture Books
Make Meatballs Sing
Matthew Burgess, Kara Kramer
Read for Librarian Book Group
A large and colorful depiction of Sister Corita Kent’s life and art.
Best pages: I liked the gas tank pages, as I often saw that landmark when I lived in Boston.
A Boy Named Isamu
James Young
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The story begins “If you are a boy named Isamu” and I am not, so it was a rough first few pages. I did like the illustrations of early twentieth century Japan.
Boogie Boogie, Y’all
C.G. Esperanza
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A vibrant book, the content of which may be received at varying levels of enjoyment depending on the reader’s view of graffiti. There were some fun fold-out pages.
Zonia’s Rain Forest
Juana Martinez-Neal
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Zonia hangs out in her part of the rain forest spending time with the animals. Then she feels sad because of logging. It was a bit of a bummer ending, plus, I’m pretty sure a few of those animals would eat her.
Middle Grade
Sisters of the Neversea
Cynthia Leitich Smith
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An excellent example of a really great concept that I didn’t find much fun to read due to the total bummer of reality as presented.
Lots of good identity blended family stuff, though.
The Beatryce Prophecy
Kate DiCamillo, Sophie Blackall
Read for Librarian Book Group
A vague Middle Ages setting for this story of a goat, a monk, a girl, and an orphan. I don’t seem to emotionally attach to DiCamillo novels as others do, and this was no exception. I do love when middle grade fiction (and any fiction, really) has illustrations.
Also, I mentally pronounced it “Beet-rice” throughout the book.
Breaking Stalin’s Nose
Eugene Yelchin
Read for Librarian Book Group
Brief middle grade book about one boy’s life in the USSR under Stalin. Plus, Yelchin’s illustrations, which I love.
Tiny Dancer
Siena Cherson Siegel & Mark Siegel
Siena’s life as a ballet dancer in New York City in the 70s and 80s. There were a lot of great illustrations of dancers. The story was fine.
Young Adult
Full Disclosure
Camryn Garrett
An uneven first novel about an HIV positive girl navigating her first relationship.
This was fine; Camryn Garrett’s Off the Record is really great.
Blackout
Dhonielle Clayton and many others
The joy of opening a book of short stories by some of my favorite YA authors was compounded exponentially when I realized the stories were interwoven. Such fun!
A Snake Falls to Earth
Darcie Little Badger
Read for Librarian Book Group
Two stories, one set in an alternate present where Texas has good public transportation, and one set in the Reflecting World, where animals have false forms that are human. This was a very well-built world. It was also a very long book, though its length was possibly compounded by my not being the greatest lover of fantasy.
Vampires, Hearts, and Other Dead Things
Margie Fuston
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The main character was singularly focused in a way that made her one dimensional in this slog of a book.
Huda F Are You?
Huda Fahmy
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Fahmy reflects on her high school days of trying to fit in. This was an engaging and interesting graphic novel, and I’d love to hear more about her and her sisters’ lives.
Young Nonfiction
Fallout: Spies, Superbombs and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown
Steve Sheinkin
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Sheinkin works his usual nonfiction magic to teach us about the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Kind of Ragtime: The Story of Scott Joplin
Stephen Costanza
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Intricate and interesting illustrations accompany the story of Scott Joplin. And there are suggested Joplin pieces to listen to in the author note.
The author note also says that Joplin’s father had left the family by the time his mother started looking to purchase a piano, but the illustrated page shows both parents searching out the piano.
Saving American Beach: The biography of African American Environmentalist Mavynee Betsch
Heidi Tylene King and Ekua Holmes
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Mavynee Betsch worked awfully hard to save American Beach in Florida.
Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
Brandy Colbert
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Unlike Tim Madigen and Hilary Beard’s The Burning, Colbert’s book about the Tulsa Race Massacre is a broader examination of policies and factors across the US that allowed white people to murder Black people and destroy their homes and business without being punished. Her coverage of the massacre is not as blow by blow, but still very informative.
The Woman All Spies Fear
Amy Butler Greenfield
Read for Librarian Book Group
Engrossing story of an early 20th century cryptoanalyst and pioneer of cryptology. Aside from engaging prose that had me reading just one more chapter, the book was a good reminder that if you have someone in your life who takes great photos—in this case, Greenfield’s husband enjoyed photography—your future biography will be the better for it.
Grownup Fiction
The American Dream? A Journey on Route 66 Discovering Dinosaur Statues, Muffler Man, and the Perfect Breakfast Burrito: a Graphic Memoir
Shing Yin Khor
Shing Yin Khor takes a road trip, driving Route 66 while she reflects on her life and the life of the Mother Road.
