Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Shelf Awareness--The Bad Ones

YA Review: The Bad Ones


The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert (Flatiron, 400p., ages 13-up, 9781250894892 )

The Bad Ones, a stand-alone title by Melissa Albert, author of the Hazel Wood series, seductively conjures a haunting, wintry world where the darker side of make-believe becomes real.

Palmetto High School junior Nora Powell is concerned when she gets a weird text from her estranged "soul mate," the "heather-eyed and autumn-haired" Becca Cross. Nora rushes to Becca's house in the "snow-dusted" night but finds no trace of the girl. She does, however, find cryptic messages from Becca about the goddess game, a "fucked-up" rite of passage based on local legend. According to the story, a girl died at the high school and her friends invented "a ritual that would bring her back to life." And it's not only Becca who has disappeared--three other town residents have also mysteriously gone missing. Nora investigates by traveling into the forest where she and Becca played as children, imagining their own powerful deities; looking around the darkroom where Becca spent so much time on her art; and questioning their teachers and not-so-innocent classmates. Becca's voice and a "back-of-the-neck feeling of dread" spur Nora on. As the teen probes further, she discovers multiple similar "spooky" disappearances from the past, all with the goddess game at their heart.

Albert's silky prose transports readers in and out of time and possibility by including enigmatic remembrances of important moments from the past that relate to Nora's first-person narrative. Each memory gives more information and context, helping lead to the explosive climax and aftermath. In The Bad Ones, the author has created a menacing, mythic place with an intoxicating, "off-kilter, Wonderland vibe." --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.

Friday, March 8, 2024

Shelf Awareness--Sheine Lende

YA Review: Sheine Lende


Sheine Lende Darcie Little Badger, illus. by Rovina Cai (Levine Querido, 400p., ages 12-up, 9781646143795, April 16, 2024)

The gritty, luminous Sheine Lende, a prequel to Darcie Little Badger's acclaimed first novel, Elatsoe, features stouthearted Shane (grandmother to Elatsoe's Ellie) who uses the family's ability to raise ghosts to find three people, one of whom is her own mother.

The women in 17-year-old Shane Solé's Lipan Apache family line know how to reach deep into "the world Below" to "raise the ghosts of animals." Shane and her mother, Lorenza, are known for their tracking abilities; they and their two living bloodhounds, along with a single shimmering ghost dog, are often called upon to find missing people. Although Shane knows her small family would benefit from being paid for these services--just a few short years ago, they lost their home, father, and grandparents in quick succession--Lorenza "never charge[s] people money for rescue jobs."

When 16-year-old Donnie and 10-year-old Bobby go missing, Lorenza is called to help. Then Lorenza herself disappears. Shane, her younger brother, Marcos, and her grandpa Louis rush to help locate what has become three missing people. The unconventional band of trackers find an abandoned cabin with a "circle of ash-gray ground" outside. Grandpa Louis identifies it as a "mimic" fairy ring, a hazardous phenomenon that is capable of transporting humans to undisclosed locations using "extradimensional magic."

Shane is too late to realize she is standing inside a "well-hidden, hula-hoop-sized circle." She's whisked several hundred miles away, where she finds a bedraggled and grateful Donnie. Shane sends up a flare, whereby the girls are rescued, and while they wait for Grandpa Louis to come for them, Shane and Donnie suspect that Bobby may have been transported to the underworld. Shane determines to solve the linked mysteries of the mimic rings, where Bobby has gone, and her mother's disappearance.

Little Badger's beguiling novel includes stories within stories that enrich the main narrative, telling tales whose monumental purposes are "to be shared and remembered." She entices readers by creating a world where monsters and "powerful magics" exist alongside actual history. Rovina Cai once again gracefully illustrates Little Badger's work with delicate line drawings that act as chapter headings. Intergenerational relationships (with relatives both alive and Below) form the basis of this wonderful novel, as does Shane's sense that her family--and their ghost animals--are looking out for her. Here's hoping readers will receive more sequels, prequels, or spin-offs that take place in this fresh, compelling world. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

March Books of the Month

PEDAL, BALANCE, STEER: ANNIE LONDONDERRY, THE FIRST WOMAN TO CYCLE AROUND THE WORLD, written by Vivian Kirkfeld and illustrated by Alison Jay, is a bright and engaging biography of a strong woman who vows “to do something no other woman had done before.”

Annie isn’t afraid of hard work. She bustles here and there, caring for her family and selling ad space to newspapers. She’s never ridden a bicycle, but when she learns that “two rich businessmen” will pay ten thousand dollars to “the first woman who pedal[s] around the world,” she knows she will try. She has no end of hardships, including learning how to ride, leaving behind her three children, and sleeping on “stony ground” some nights with little to eat.

But, PEDAL! BALANCE! STEER! Annie perseveres! She battles time, injuries, and bandits. She lectures, sells photos, and cuts wood. And when Annie finishes her race fourteen days early, she proves that “a woman ha[s] the right to determine her own path in life.”

Vivian Kirkfeld’s lively, well-researched storytelling is a joy to read, and Alison Jay’s signature illustrations, rendered with oil paint on paper, impart the perfect, old-fashioned flavor to dynamic, attention-grabbing layouts. This picture book of a woman who “stepped up” to a challenge, and “stepped out of the role society envisioned for her” is an inspiration.


ACCIDENTAL HERO: A MOSTLY TRUE WOMBAT STORY, written by Laura Roettiger and illustrated by Debbie Palen, is an entertaining, kid-friendly account of the way “animals ranging from wallabies to skinks to echidnas” survived the 2020 bushfires in Australia “by sheltering in wombat borrows.”

“G’day, Australia!” As bushfires rage through New South Wales, caused by “the driest year on record,” animals “that can’t be found anywhere else on earth” are in danger, report Koala and Emu in their live newscast on WMBT. Scenes of animals fleeing make way for an interview with Wombat, who has “become something of a real hero to the locals.” It seems that when Wombat headed out from her burrow, she was overcome by wind, fire, and smoke. She heard cries for help from those animals whose homes were already lost and who needed “shelter from the heat and smoke.” What’s a kind-hearted wombat to do? Echidnas, skinks, “a mama rabbit and her fluffle,” and wallabies all learn “what real friendship is all about,” as the animals cuddle in Wombat’s cozy underground home, safe and sound. Back matter includes information about animals of Australia, facts about forest fires, and tips to help prevent them.

Cleverly formatting her story as a television newscast, Laura Roettiger takes a frightening event and makes it completely accessible to younger readers. She underscores her work with themes of kindness and hope in the face of tragedy. Debbie Palen’s illustrations are a treat, with endearing, expressive, cartoony animals imparting just the right amounts of drama and cheerfulness to match their situations. This imaginative offering should inspire kids to create their own newscasts or might be readily adapted into classrooms as reader’s theater.

--Lynn

Friday, February 23, 2024

Shelf Awareness--The Invocations

YA Review: The Invocations


The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland (Nancy Paulsen Books, 400p., ages 12-up, 9780593532263)

The Invocations is a delightfully dark and haunting tale that follows three young women grappling with a supernatural witch-killer while trying to exorcise their own demons.

Emer's entire coven was murdered at their family home in Ireland when she was seven and, 10 years later, she's still "frantic and afraid that she [is] being hunted." She hides among college students at Oxford, where the Bodleian library has all the books on protolanguages, sigils, runes, and dead languages a witch could want, to write the perfect spell for vengeance. Seventeen-year-old Jude is struggling to survive with three demons inside her. Her father's billions can't save her, so Jude searches for a talented witch to fix her "rotting flesh" and "necrotic" soul. Gray-eyed, blonde Zara, also 17, is desperate to raise her murdered sister from the grave. Zara's thirst for knowledge about necromancy leads her to Jude, and to a murder victim with a missing patch of skin. Together, the girls find "cursewriter" Emer. The murder victim--a witch and former client of Emer's--is only the first in a series of magic-working victims with a connection to Emer. The teens band together in a desperate hunt for the impossible, "abomination" of a serial killer.

Krystal Sutherland (House of Hollow) skillfully delivers a bewitching tale of "curses and demons and tethers," one where young women are prey, and magic has gone dreadfully wrong. Her solidly crafted world features a riveting mystery that matches her ravishing prose. Themes of misogyny, power, and vengeance, plus a dash of queer romance, make this sometimes grotesque, always sublime novel a captivating read. --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.

Thursday, February 1, 2024

February Books of the Month

We’re going with three Books of the Month for February!

TADPOLES, by Matt James, is a gorgeous ramble of a picture book, wherein one boy touches on, among other things, two-headed frogs, ponds, clouds, rain, “neat old junk” that includes a rusty bike and a piano, swear words, love, and… tadpoles. James’s art is so stunning, I’m always willing to see where he takes me, and the unexpectedness of this particular journey is gently and surprisingly affecting. The boy’s dad has moved out of their home, but that’s not the focus—the focus is on the magic of the world and the time they spend together. Plus, there’s some non-fiction that includes frog spawn, froglets, and ephemeral ponds to enrich the whole thing.

In DIM SUM PALACE, by X. Fang, Liddy is too excited to fall asleep because tomorrow she and her family will go to Dim Sum Palace. When a delicious smell wafts into her bedroom, she follows it to an actual dim sum palace. There, she finds “baos, buns and bowls of congee! Dumplings, shumai and lots of sweet treats!” Liddy falls into a bowl of dumpling filling, and after some folding and pinching, Liddy meets—and avoids being eaten by—an empress, stays for delicious dim sum, then falls asleep “on a warm bun.” When she wakes, Liddy is hungry again and ready to go to the real Dim Sum Palace. Using graphite on paper and digital color, X. Fang’s blocky, stylized art is full of personality, as is Liddy herself. Shades of Sendak’s In the Night Kitchen, help DIM SUM PALACE to serve up a veritable feast for a reader’s imagination.

In GRAVITY IS BRINGING ME DOWN, by Wendell Van Draanen illustrated by Cornelia Li, all of Leda’s fumbling and stumbling, slipping and tripping, splattering, slopping, and tipping, are due to the fact that “gravity [is] in a bad mood. Again.” Alas, Zero-G isn’t an option. Ms. Jameer teaches Leda’s class some fun facts about gravity, then Mom takes Leda to a science discovery center. It’s only then that, finally, “Leda and gravity [seem] to have declared a truce.” Leda is able to hop and skip, dance, whirl, and leap, until gravity manages to “bring her down” safely into her bed. Van Draanen’s got a terrific premise here, and she manages to work the science into the plot smoothly enough to not feel forced. Cornelia Li’s analog and digital art is active, buoyant, and perfectly suited. It’s fun!

--Lynn

Monday, January 29, 2024

Shelf Awarenesss--Big Babies

PB Review: Big Babies


Big Babies by Patrick O'Brien (Charlesbridge, 32p., ages 3-7, 9781623543662)

Big Babies uses skillful artistic renderings and a whole lot of imagination to playfully explore what dinosaurs might have looked like before they became the fearsome, grown-up behemoths of prehistoric times.

Readers likely know that dinosaurs are the largest beasts to ever stomp the Earth, but--like all animals--these massive creatures began life much smaller. The Seismosaurus, or "earthquake lizard," was a "lumbering leaf-eater" who "could weigh as much as fifteen elephants." But, as shown on the book's first double-page spread amid tons of white space, the toddler Seismosaurus is only about twice as big as a toy backhoe. The adult "tyrant lizard king" Tyrannosaurus rex "was a top predator"; but as a fuzzy, green-feathered hatchling, it may have been "about the size of a goose." While most of the book focuses on briefly introducing these adorable youngsters and showing how they measure up, back matter includes additional useful information on the different kinds of dinos, plus a height chart comparing the babies to a four-year-old (human) child.

O'Brien cleverly pairs his succinct text and endearing digital illustrations of the young reptiles with modern objects (like a rubber ducky, donuts, and an inflatable kiddy pool) to augment his points about size. A variety of entertaining facial expressions and layered textures go a long way toward bringing these fearsome cuties to life. O'Brien offers enough dinosaur facts to satisfy, while cleverly using the tiny toddlers as an entry point. Because apparently even giant dinosaurs were once "pint-sized" kids, too! --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Shelf Awareness--Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem

PB Review: Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem: The Vision of Photographer Roy DeCarava


Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem: The Vision of Photographer Roy DeCarava by Gary Golio, illus. by E.B. Lewis (Calkins Creek, 48p., ages 7-10, 9781662680557)

Author Gary Golio and Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Ward-winning illustrator E.B. Lewis collaborate again (Dark Was the Night) for Everywhere Beauty Is Harlem, an artful picture book that is a loving snapshot of photographer Roy DeCarava (1919-2009), who saw Harlem in an "old crumpled soda can" and the spray of a fire hydrant; saw it mirrored in the eyes of the people "passing each other on the street."

Work is over, and "Roy's time is his own now." Equipped with a camera and a fresh roll of film, he takes to the streets of Harlem, dreaming of "all the treasures he'll find." SNAP! Roy captures the grin of a boy drawing with chalk on the sidewalk. SNAP! Roy admires the love he sees in the eyes of a boy looking at his mother. And SNAP! Roy photographs the hush of a young girl in a long white dress who stands in an empty lot. He knows to keep his eyes wide open, because "unexpected treasures are waiting to be seen, if you just take the time to look."

Golio has penned an elegant ode to a notable photographer, filling his narrative with sensory details and enriching it with quotations from Roy himself. Lewis's stunning watercolor art showcases the people and the neighborhood, offering a variety of perspectives to reflect the vision and work of DeCarava. Backmatter gives more details about the extraordinary man who worked many different jobs, but made use of "his free time... to record the beauty of what he saw around him." --Lynn Becker, reviewer, blogger, and children's book author.