Fantasy Baseball, by Alan Gratz

     It's spring, readers, and baseball is in the air - my favorite sport of all time! I'm still waiting for a professional team to be named for a dog or breed (why do birds have all the fun?), but even without a good dog-named team, I love the game! So even though Fantasy Baseball is one of author Gratz's earliest books, and I really enjoy his more recent work (such as Refugee and Prisoner B-3087), and I was ready for a good baseball-themed story, this one...well, it's a stinker (not a sinker, which is a difficult pitch to hit!).

    The plot of this story is young Alex Metcalf seems to wake up on a bus to a baseball game surrounded by characters from all kinds of children's stories; Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, the Big Bad Wolf from Little Red Riding Hood, and more. These characters, now with Alex among them, is traveling and playing baseball games, trying to make it into the playoffs.

    Rarely, and I mean almost never, do I start a book and not finish it. But friends, I did read the first 50 pages - a very fair start to any chapter book, in my opinion - but I had to stop and read something else. If anything from the plot explained above appeals to you, give this a try! It's not terrible - Gratz is too good a writer for that. But this is not his best work...not even close. Read anything he has written in the last ten years, and you will not be able to put the book down! But unless something here really sparks your interest, skip this one. It's a foul ball. 2 paws.

They Called Us Enemy, by George Takei

     In December, 1941, Japan attacked the United States by bombing Pearl Harbor, a Navy station in Hawaii. This occurred during World War 2, a war the U.S. had not yet joined. The country declared war because of this attack, and became part of the war against not only Japan but Hitler's Germany as well.

    Another consequence of the attack was a hysteria that quickly spread around the country, a fear of all people of Japanese descent. Anyone of Japanese heritage, even those who were born in the United States, were thought to be enemies of this nation, regardless of their thoughts or feelings about Japan, the U.S., the attack, or the war. Over the course of several years, over 120,000 Japanese Americans were taken from their homes and businesses, and moved to "camps" in often very hot, dry, unwelcoming parts of the country. They were treated as prisoners, as enemies, old and young alike. Their property and belongings were taken from them (and never returned), except for what they could carry with them to these prisons. It was an ugly chapter in our nation's history, and has only recently begun to be revealed in any widespread way.

    Author and actor George Takei was a young boy when all of this happened, and They Called Us Enemy is his graphic novel retelling of a life lived as a prisoner in his own country. Takei later went on to be an actor in a very popular series, the original Star Trek television show, and after that as a spokesperson for Japanese Americans as well as for LGBTQ+ causes. His story is an important one as we continue to find out who we, as United States citizens, are, and the things our nation has done up to now, both good and bad.

    As a middle school book, the topic is important, and anyone wanting to know more about our country's history should read about Japanese American internment, as it is sometimes called. Takei's book is informative and moving, but also a little confusing in places, as he jumps forward and backward in time to piece together a complete picture of events and his life among them. This might not appeal to readers who simply want a good graphic novel to read, but the format does make the topic more accessible to more readers, young and old. 

    An important part of this nation's history that everyone should know, and a worthy book to help explain it. 4 paws.

The Eyes and the Impossible, by Dave Eggers

     The latest Newbery Award winner (yay!), but not Dave Eggers' first book. The Eyes and the Impossible is an animal story, told by The Eyes, a dog named Johannes, and including bison, goats, birds, raccoons, squirrels, horses, and some people, but they remain at the periphery of this story throughout. Johannes lives in a park, but to him it's the whole world. He works hard to keep the world in order by watching everything that happens each day, and then sharing those events with the bison. The bison, in turn, in their wisdom, let the other animals know what must be done to keep everyone safe, and in front of, or in reaction to, nature and human activity. But Johannes decides he can make the life of these wonderful bison better, by completing a seemingly impossible task. With the help of all of the animals in his world, he discovers...himself, friendship, love, purpose...

    The Eyes and the Impossible is a wonderful - and wonderfully different - book. I love it when I start a book and right away realize that it won't be like anything else I've read before (and I've read a lot of books!). It made me realize that there aren't a lot of animal stories that come out each year, or not many that I come across. But there are a lot of really good ones: A Dog's Life, by Ann Martin; The Redwall Series, by Brian Jacques; No More Dead Dog's, by Gordon Korman (not a dog story, really, but funny just the same); any of the animal series' by Erin Hunter, but start with the original Warriors series; The One and Only Ivan series, by Katherine Appelgate; A Watership Down, by Richard Adams; A Wolf Called Wander and A Whale of the Wild by Rossane Parry, to name a few. We don't have all of these books (yet!) in the school library, but you could find the rest at the public library or at a good bookstore. They are wonderful and worth it!

    There is something beautiful about animals and animal stories that connects us all, I believe...I hope you read and enjoy The Eyes! 5 paws!

Duel, by Jessixa and Aaron Bagley

     My human was given an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) of this newer graphic novel from husband and wife team Jessixa and Aaron Bagley (she does the writing, he the illustrating). An ARC is a copy of a book released before the actual, completed book is sold at stores, so sometimes it has missing words, or is unfinished in some way. In Duel, the pages hadn't all been colored in yet, but that didn't take away from the story. In fact, the finished version of this book, which was released last fall, would be even better since it will be totally finished, with all it's color, and no words left out or misspelled (hopefully!).

    Duel is the story of two sisters; Lucy, entering 6th grade at the middle school where her 8th grade sister, Gigi, is already a student. Duel is also about fencing, a sport not often written about in teen books (graphic novel or otherwise). Lucy and Gigi do not get along, and with their father's passing their relationship seems to get even worse. Gigi is looking like a shoe-in as captain of the school fencing team. When Gigi trips Lucy in the cafeteria on the first day of school, Lucy challenges Gigi to a duel - a fencing competition. 

    Family dynamics, especially a relationship between two siblings, is the focus of this book. The way the Bagley's also build this story around a little-known sport makes it more interesting. The relationship between the two girls, their friends, and their mom is pretty real - almost too real at times (I wished a few times during the book that they would either figure it out or just stay away from each other already!). Each chapter is introduced with a fencing term and some rules of how the sport works, which is not just interesting but also suggests what is coming in each chapter between the sisters. It's not a new idea in books, but it works well in Duel.

    Even without all the artwork completed I really liked the art in this book. The storyline became a little tedious to me after a while, but because this is a graphic novel and not a chapter book the overall story worked pretty well. The ending came a little too easily based on the relationship between Gigi and Lucy throughout the book, but it is still a story most of you will enjoy. 4 paws!

The Last Beekeeper, by Pablo Cartaya

     Imagine the world a long time from now, when technology has continued to advance but has not helped humankind find ways to preserve the environment. In The Last Beekeeper, author Cartaya creates such a world, and main character (protagonist) Yolanda Ciceron (Yoly) sets out to change that...one bee at a time! 

    Beekeeper is one of Cartaya' many books, and the second I have read. It has a lot of heart and I love the premise of the story, especially as it doesn't seem to be too fantastic or too far in the future, if you humans don't do things differently moving forward. The main characters are both strong, LatinX girls, third generation of smart women, farmers, scientists, and brave. All good things that made me like this book! Cartaya has a good story idea here, and as I mentioned above, you can feel his passion for this story throughout the book. However, maybe I've read too many books at this point (is there such a thing?), but the writing in The Last Beekeeper is really...poor. Not grammatically, but too simple for any middle grade reader I've ever met. The story line is meant for middle school, I'm sure, but the writing is too often just too basic. In too many places Cartaya tells us, the reader, too much, and doesn't let us fill in blanks where many of you could fill in those gaps by yourself. Filling those parts of a story makes a story better.

    I love reading about bees. They are a vitally important part of our world, and our survival on this planet. Cartaya has a good story idea here that centers around bees and their importance to us all. I wish his editor, or a friend, would have asked him to write one more draft before sending this to be published. It likely would have helped. I give this 3 paws, and only because I can tell he really enjoyed creating this story, and it is an important story to tell. Too bad the writing is so basic. Darn. 

Swim Team, by Johnnie Christmas

     I've been looking forward to reading this graphic novel ever since it came out last year, based on all the exciting reviews it was getting! I admit, I was not disappointed! Author and illustrator Johnnie Christmas (what a great name right? Sounds like a detective's name in a good mystery!) creates a really relatable character in Bree, who is afraid of the water and cannot swim, yet ends up in a swimming class when her and her dad move to Florida. What unfolds is a nice blend of friendship issues, family dynamics, and a little history of access to swimming pools and lakes as the United States grapples with its racist past (and present). 

    Swim Team covers a topic not often covered in teen and young adult books, and in a really honest way, I think. A few of the characters don't get as established as some others do, which is a little detracting from the overall story, but not enough for this book not to be on your must-read list. The writing/artwork combo remind me a lot of Jerry Craft's books, which should also be on your must-read list, if you haven't read them already! 4 paws and a wag for this engaging graphic novel.

Zhara: Guardians of Dawn #1, by S, Jae-Jones

     The first book in what is obviously a series by author Jae-Jones. While this is not their first book, it is the first I have read, and will likely be a hit with fantasy fans! Zhara is a retelling of the Cinderella story, with a lot more monsters thrown in for fun. Her character in this story lives with a sister and step mother, both of whom she loves but both of whom have a hold on Zhara in very different ways. As the story unfolds, Zhara is discovering who she really is, while falling for a prince, of course, although she doesn't know he's a prince, nor does she know of the power she possesses within. Fans of Marie Lu or Veronica Roth will likely enjoy this romantic fantasy adventure story, and the Abominations won't disappoint fans of horror, too.

    I don't read enough in the fantasy genre, but this new release is getting such good reviews I thought it would be a good chance to jump back in. It reminded me of the authors mentioned above, mostly in good ways, although there were a few minor plot points in this book that seem rushed, or underdeveloped. The very last chapter could have been left out entirely, as it was too obviously the first chapter of the new book, without coming out and saying so. I think Jae-Jones is a good writer, and that her future books will be better still, maybe even pushing them into must-read author status. Guardians of Dawn has a lot of page turning moments, but a few too-obvious moments as well. Looking forward to future books in this series, but expecting they will be a bit better as well. 4 paws and a wag!