Verify, by Joelle Charbonneaux

  Happy 2026, Readers!!! Let's start the new year off right with a new post!

 The first in what is a two book series (duology), author Joelle Charbonneaux creates a futuristic world where words are understood for the power they hold.  In Verify, protagonist Meri Buckley draws the interest of an underground group trying to end the censorship that the government created a long time ago to maintain "happiness" in the populace. To do that, words have slowly been eliminated over time from people's vocabulary, a task made easier because books no longer exist in paper form. Add to that a desire to save the planet by recycling any paper that is still in use, and Charbonneaux's futuristic Chicago has eliminated print materials - books, newspapers, magazines - in an overarching goal of determining what people think and feel about their government...you cannot use words to "verify" information you are given if the word verify no longer exists, right?

    I found this book to be pretty cool! It reminded me of other books with similar themes, the most obvious probably being Fahrenheit 451 by science fiction master Ray Bradbury. More recent books like The Reader by Traci Chee, Attack of the Black Rectangles by A. S. King, or maybe even Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, although this last mention is less about censorship and more about the wonder of books and stories. Charbonneaux brings up some pretty interesting points both for and against the kinds of censorship taking place in Meri's world, not necessarily in new ways but still in ways that keep the book flowing pretty well. Of course she brings in the romantic element, as one of several side stories (or sub plots). In fact Meri's growing relationship with Atlas reminded me a lot of Legend by Marie Lu, or Divergent by Veronica Roth.

    In all, a pretty good young adult dystopian book about words and the power they hold. I feel this message, although not new (see Bradbury), is more relevant today than it was when you young pups were just being born. Censorship is an issue that never really goes away, and throughout time it rears its ugly head in different ways...like book banning. I liked Verify enough to read Disclose, the second book of this pair, but perhaps not right away. I need a few books in between to percolate the story. 4 paws and a wag!

Answers to Dog, by Pete Hautman

     The latest release by one of my favorite authors, Pete Hautman. Answers to Dog is a dog story, of course, and I love a good dog story! Especially one where the dog is smart, resourceful, strong, and just all-around awesome!

    Throughout this short book Dog, also called Sam later in the story, is a border collie who keeps escaping his kennel and the hands of an abusive handler. He finds Evan, a middle schooler who is shy and a bit of a kennel kid himself. Evan has a mom and dad, but he is quirky, like most teens are in middle school, trying to figure his life out day to day while staying away from the bullies at school. Dog finds Evan, and although things don't sync up right away for them, it puts them both on a journey that is wonderful to read!

    Hautman is a very good storyteller. This is the third of his books that I have read over the last couple of years, and I always like them...but also have a hard time describing them. He reminds me a lot of another of my favorite authors, A. S King, both of whom write in a way that makes me feel like I've just dropped into the middle of someone's life, and I immediately know them and feel what they are feeling as their story unfolds. And then, just as seamlessly, the story ends, and I feel like I just moved away from my friends suddenly, and it's hard to not think about them and wonder what they are doing. If you've ever moved somewhere new you'll probably know that feeling...it takes a while to let them go and start to look forward to your new surroundings and life (but it does eventually happen!). That is what reading Answers to Dog is like, and I miss Sam the dog and Evan already!

    If you love a good dog story (like Ann Martin's A Dog's Life), like I do, you'll enjoy this! Hautman's books don't usually blow my doors off, but they always make me wish the book continued on. Answers to Dog does that as well. 4 paws and a wag!

    

The Misfits: A Royal Conundrum, by Lisa Yee & Dan Santat

     So about a year ago I reviewed Lisa Yee's Newbery Honor book Maizy Chen's Last Chance, and mentioned that I was really looking forward to this new series, The Misfits. I finally got my paws on a copy of the first of two books so far in the Misfits series, and was excited to have it be part of my holiday break reading binge! Add Dan Santat, Caldecott winning illustrator, and this should be a win-win book, right? Right?

    Ugh. It is not a win-win book. It's not even a 'win' book. I will admit something I hate to admit, but it is very rare that I do not finish a book, but I did not finish this one. I often say life is too short to read a bad book (and in dog year's that is really saying something), but I hardly ever come across a book so bad I don't want to finish it. Yee is such a good writer, and with Santat's wonderful illustrations, I don't know how this fell off so badly...but it did.

    Let's be fair - this is not the worst book I have ever tried to read. The plot is a group of misfit kids who end up at a special school for kids who are not succeeding in "regular" school. In this school a few students are identified as super smart and talented, and then recruited to be teen super agent spies and crime solvers. What an opportunity to create some genuinely quirky characters and situations, right? I think that is what Yee was aiming for...but the characters are not that memorable or cool, and the school and group they end up in is not easy to follow, all that interesting or believable. 

    Before I decided to stop reading, I checked some respected sites for other reviews of this book, and found that there were a lot of other readers that think the same thing. So it wasn't just me having a bad book day. This book made me want to go back to some truly memorable books with similar characters and plots; Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer or the Alex Rider series by Alex Horowitz. As for Misfits, book 1, don't do it. Or if you do decide to try this book, and you find it to be the bee's knees (meaning you really enjoy it!), please post a comment in this blog and let me know...I'd love to be wrong about this book and maybe have a reason to try it again someday. Until then, 2 paws and a hint of a wag.

Graciela in the Abyss, by Meg Medina

     I hope you were as fortunate as I was in these recent snow days to be able to enjoy the beautiful snowflakes outside while reading and reading and reading inside! There isn't much for a small pup to do in the snow except what I need to do, snow or no snow, outside...so in between potty breaks I have been reading the most wonderful book - Graciela in the Abyss by Newbery-winning author Meg Medina and expertly illustrated by twins Anna and Elena Balbusso!

    Graciela is a young girl who becomes a sea spirit far before her time. As she wrestles with that fact, she is becoming part of the sea spirit world, which is a wonderful creation in Medina's master storyteller mind. The world under the sea is full of beauty and wonder, but also has its share of darkness and danger. In this book, darkness and wonder meet, and Graciela has to navigate both if she is to find herself again, and discover who she really is and what kind of being she wants to be.

    Author of the Mercy Suarez books, Richmond author Medina is at her absolute best in this story. I read a lot of books over time, most of them very good, and on occasion I am lucky enough to find a gem - a true masterpiece in a storyteller's tale. Graciela in the Abyss is one of the best books I have read this year! A unique and fantastical story that won't match anything you've read before. Read it soon, and then read it again - books this magical are rare and you'll be glad you got to meet Graciela! 5 paws!

How the Word is Passed, by Clint Smith

     How the Word is Passed: Remembering Slavery and How it Shaped America by Clint Smith is the complete title of this book adapted for young readers (like you and me!) by Sonja Cherry-Paul. In this non-fiction book, Smith visits seven places - six within the United States and one in West Africa - that are crucial to understanding the full story of the history of this country. As Smith explains in the book, we cannot know our nation's complete history if we exclude or ignore the ugly parts. Slavery was an ugly part of this country's history, and the remnants of that history are still with us today. The many races we have in the U.S. are not treated equally and this stems from how the country got started (and continued into the late 1800s and early 1900s). 

    Two of the sites Smith writes about are in Virginia, which was a pivotal state in our Civil War. Another is in New York City, which surprised me as it will many people, I suppose. In each place Smith digs into the history of the location, what it meant during slavery times as well as what it means today. He asks a lot of questions of a lot of people he meets in each place, and that helps us understand the history but also the complexity of inequality as we still live it today.

    I found this book so interesting and powerful, I bought my human the adult version of the book for Christmas (but don't tell him, because I haven't given it to him yet!). It reminded me of another powerful book about race and inequality, Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. I read that book two years ago, and like How the Word is Passed, found it to be truly lifechanging. I encourage you pups of all ages and colors to read this book, and any book that will ask as many questions as it answers about how we got to be here, today, in a nation striving for peace and equality but with still a lot of work to be done to get there. Books like this will help us get there, if we are brave enough to read them. 5 paws.

The Invisible Parade, by Leigh Bardugo & John Picacio

     A new picture book from the author who brought us wonderful fantasy books like the Shadow and Bone trilogy and the Six of Crows books. Leigh Bardugo is arguably one of the best, and best known, fantasy writers working today. Her books are written mostly for young adult readers, but she also has some adult books, and now, with The Invisible Parade, a picture book!

    John Picacio is an award-winning artist who specializes in science fiction, fantasy and horror art. Together, he and Bardugo have created a delicious picture book around the theme of Dia de los Muertos. Main character Cala has recently lost her grandfather and is not at all interested in helping her family prepare for the coming Dia de los Muertos. She goes along with the celebration, but is in no way part of the fun or meaning of the holiday. She gets separated from her family in the cemetery and meets four mysterious riders who help her find her true self again.

    It's a picture book, so it isn't very long. Bardugo is more than capable of creating a wonderful Dia de los Muertos story, which was the reason this book was added to the school library collection. But Picacio's artwork is the superstar here! The art is dark, and dreamy, and smooth, and moody...it is wonderful, and fits the story perfectly! In fact, the artwork makes this book amazing! As soon as I finished it, I started over again, so that I could really take in the art and how it creates the perfect mood for the writing and overall tale.

    A picture book may not be what you want to add to your personal book collection, being that you are probably in your teens by now, or close to it (or maybe just past it!), but go find this book at your library, check it out and take it home. One time through is not enough to appreciate what this book is...give it several read throughs, and give the artwork time to take your imagination on the wonderful journey that awaits you here! 5 paws!

A Snake Falls to Earth, by Darcy Little Badger

     The third book by author Little Badger, a member of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas, but the first I have read by her. A Snake Falls to Earth won a Newbery Honor as well as appearing on many best books of the year lists, and getting starred reviews in Booklist (one of my favorite book review magazines, and one I trust very much). All that said, I was really excited to read this book, especially as a small way to celebrate Native American Heritage Month (November)!

    However, I also have to write what I feel about this book, now that I've finished it. I liked it, and some of the characters have stayed on my mind since I read the final page. At the same time, I found the story to be very, very confusing, until I got to about page 120. That's a lot of pages for someone to read before the story starts to make any kind of sense, right? I'm glad I stuck with it, because it was a good book. But I also found myself looking forward to finishing so I could start something new...that isn't a very good sign.

    So, I my canine advice is to trust the reviews, to some degree, but also prepare to get pretty far into the book before things start to come together. Here is something that will help (and it's not a spoiler!); the chapters alternate between a girl named Nina, who begins the book as a 9-year-old but grows older each time we hear from her, and Oli, a cottonmouth snake who can also appear as a human. Knowing that Oli was a snake who could transform into human form early in the story would have helped me understand a lot more a lot sooner! I hope it helps you, too. In fact, in the Cottonmouth chapters, Oli and his friends are all animals that can become humans when needed. It is a cool part of the story as it goes along, but it took me a long time to figure that out. Maybe it's me...I'm a pretty literal reader!

    There are not enough teen and young adult books by and about Native people, and this book is a nice addition. However, not the easiest to navigate nor is it my favorite. If you'd like some amazing books in this genre, check out anything by Peter Bruchac, Sherman Alexie (although his books are mostly for older teens and adults, or one of my favorite books from last year, The Firekeeper's Daughter, by Angeline Boulley (also for older teen readers, but really good). I may give one of Little Badger's books a try in the future, but I will need a break after this one for a while. 3 paws and a wag.

Rhythm & Muse, by India Hill Brown

     My human met Ms. Hill at a conference two weeks ago, and from the sounds of it, she is very much like this book of hers - very nice, approachable, smart and funny. Rhythm & Muse is not her first book, but she is still a new-ish author and I have not yet read any of her other stories. I don't know why if they are anything like this one, which I found really engaging and easy to read!

    Rhythm & Muse is a romance story about two teens, Delia and Darren, who attend the same high school and who know each other, but only casually. Delia has a weekly podcast that seemingly everyone listens to and loves, and she is popular, beautiful, and has no trouble attracting romantic attention. Darren is a quiet kid, with a singing voice like non other, but he would rather live inside his own head than put himself out there for the world to critique and judge. So he keeps his talent mostly to himself, and doesn't allow Delia to know she really has his attention. That's where Darren's friends come in, and the book unfolds with a wonderful blend of romance, honesty, humor, reality, and of course, music!

    I liked the book until I was about half way through it, then I found myself not wanting to stop reading! I couldn't wait to find out if or how Darren was going to finally let Delia know how much he likes her...or if he was ever going to! As a total package, I wouldn't say this book is "amazing" and it may not win a lot of awards...but as a romance book goes, it's wonderful! Usually when I want a good teen romance I go straight to Sarah Dessen - she has been writing  romance novels for a very long time, and definitely knows what she's doing! Even Jaquelyn Woodson has some very real and honest feeling relationships in all of her books. India Brown holds her own in the romance department, and I would recommend this book to anyone open to a nice, fun, real romantic book! 5 paws!

When We Flew Away, by Alice Hoffman

     The Diary of a Young Girl is the real life journal of a Jewish girl named Anne Frank. The book is famous for her simple, beautiful and terrifying account of her two years spent in hiding with her family while the Nazi's of Germany systematically searched for and moved Jewish people to labor - or concentration - camps, where 6 million of them would eventually die during the course of World War 2.

    Veteran author Alice Hoffman's latest release, When We Flew Away, is the fictionalized account of Anne Frank in the few years leading up to her capture by the Nazis during World War 2. Hoffman tries to create Anne's world in the years they go into hiding in Amsterdam. The Frank family fled Germany when Anne was four years old to live in the Netherlands in an attempt to evade the growing Nazi threat to Jews and others deemed "less than". When We Flew Away attempts to create the setting of Anne and her family in the two or three years leading up to their hiding in an attic to survive the growing Nazi hatred.

    Hoffman shares in the author notes at the end of the story how she is a member of a Russian Jewish family who had successfully fled Nazi persecution to land in New York City, and how reading The Diary of a Young Girl at the age of twelve had changed her life. She recommends that every person read that book, and I second that feeling - if you have never read Anne Frank's diary, you should read it at some point. It is life changing. But for all of Hoffman's good intentions, and for the importance of this story being told and retold and remembered by all of humanity so that it never happens again, When We Flew Away misses the mark. Not in the sense of the urgency and horror  - and the hope - of the overall story, and the fact that this really happened, not all that long ago, and that we need to be vigilant, all of us, so that it never happens again. Even though all of this is imbedded in the story, Hoffman really seems to stumble over what to write and how to bring Anne's pre-story to life.

    Before Anne Frank received the infamous journal for her 13th birthday and began writing what would become The Diary of a Young Girl, not a lot is known of the details of her everyday life. She wasn't famous or anything, so there would be no reason to know the in's and out's of her every day living. In trying to create that world, Hoffman repeats a lot of thoughts and sentiments, to the degree that I wondered while I was reading if anyone edited her book before publishing it. It's like she knew what she wanted to do with Anne's story but had little idea how to do it. Which was surprising as Hoffman has authored many books.

    When We Flew Away is a good story, but more so because Anne's story is so important. I recommend reading Diary of a Young Girl. If you are moved by it - and you will be - read Hoffman's book if you want to explore Anne's life further. But don't be disappointed if you come away just wanting to the read her diary again. I give this book 4 paws, because the subject matter is so critical to all of us and a story every person (and dog!) should know. However, with different subject matter, the best I could offer this surprisingly clunky book would be 2 or 3 paws. A great idea for a book, but disappointing in its completion.

Lalani of the Distant Sea, by Erin Entrada Kelly

     Author Erin Entrada Kelly is one of those writers who I will read just because she is the author - I have read enough of her books to know that she is exceptional and knows how to tell a good story! Kelly is also one of a very few writers who have won the prestigious Newbery Award more than once. Even once is amazing, but twice? So, when I find a book by Kelly, I add it to my stack of books I want to be sure and read! Do you have a stack (or list) of books that you want to read next?

    Lalani of the Distant Sea was published in 2019, so not her newest offering. About halfway through the book I had to search for other reviews of it, because I wasn't really understanding where she was going with everything. Once I learned that this book is based on Filipino folklore it made much more sense to me - not because I know anything about Filipino folklore, but because I was struggling understanding all of the different character names, creatures, and imagery. Once I learned that there was a basis for what Kelly was writing about, it helped my super-sophisticated dog brain embrace the rest of the story.

    Lalani is a 12-year-old girl who has found herself living in a largely hopeless world, surrounded by strong, mean men. As the story unfolds she has choices to make, ultimately choosing to find a better life instead of staying with what she knows, even if what she knows includes dear friends. The book is full of new and fantastical creatures, at times making it hard to follow, but as an entire book, Lalani is wonderful - a strong, smart, courageous young woman!

    Kelly's newer titles, the ones that have won Newbery Awards, were much easier for me to follow, understand, and enjoy. Don't get me wrong, Lalani has some beautiful writing and is a very good book...but again, until I learned that a lot of it is based on folk tales from the Philippines, I had to really make myself keep reading. In short, I liked the book, but this is not one I'd recommend to a reader who didn't know any of Kelly's other books. It's like she was perfecting her craft on this one, and that perfection appeared in Hello, Universe and The First State of Being. 4 paws for Lalani, but if you haven't read any of her later titles, try one of those first!