Long Way Down, by Jason Reynolds

The newest by one of my favorite authors - very exciting! Taking a short break from OBOB books to dive into this newest book by the author of Ghost. Long Way Down is written in verse style, which makes it very fast if you account only for the number of words on the page. But much of the time the brevity of the story makes you have to slow down...this book is heavy in terms of subject matter. Reynolds always writes about the young Black experience in America today with realistic words, ideas, thoughts and situations, which is what makes his work so great! That, and his wonderful way with words that captures a ready from the very beginning, every single time. This is a story of a young black boy on his way down the elevator of his apartment building to avenge the death of his brother just the day before. The majority of the story takes place on that elevator ride, which may not sound very interesting, but don't let that stop you form giving this a try. I will admit that I wished Reynolds has not chosen verse for the writing, as I found myself wanting more from him along the way in this one. But that does not mean that verse does not work here - it does! I just wanted a little more a few times during the telling. But perhaps that is just me being greedy for his writing? A multiple-award winning book, I highly recommend it - and everything Reynolds has written so far! 5 paws!

Restart, by Gordon Korman

Another OBOB title for this season, and another by Korman, one of the most consistently good writers of the last 20 years! Much of his work is funny, but all of it is good, so you can never go wrong with one of his titles! That said, while reading Restart I kept thinking that I liked the story, but didn't love it, yet I couldn't wait to find out what comes next! I finished this book in a weekend, which is much faster than I get through most books...so, if I get out of my own way I think I would realize that I really liked this book a lot! I will add that the last chapter was way too much like a made-for-tv movie, and not in a good way...but otherwise, a good realistic fiction story of bullying and second choices - something we all would like to have now and then, right? 5 paws!

The Body in the Woods, by April Henry

I was excited to read this OBOB book, as I have recommended April Henry books to a lot of kids but never read one myself? How can I do that, you ask? When enough kids check out and read the same author over a period of time, I know the author must have something good going on, and Henry has that "something", from all the check-outs her books get. So being an OBOB book was a perfect reason to try one for myself!

I was not disappointed, for the most part - a good murder mystery, set in my once-hometown of Portland, OR, with many places I remember, which always makes a book more fun - a movie, too, for that matter! Who doesn't like reading a book where the characters visit places you, as the reader, have also visited? Fun, right? So Body takes place in Portland, and is a good whodunit, for the most part. What stops it from getting 5 paws is that there are two or three places in the story where 1. The turn in the story seemed written to satisfy where Henry needed the story to go for the bigger story to continue, and 2. I think I predicted all of the turns before they happened, something I am not very good at, which made it a little bit of a let down. Not a big one - overall, this was a sold murder story! But not a 5 paw book...but a 4 paw book! I would probably try another of her books, but not right away...I need to wait a while and hope the next read is a little less obvious in these ways.

If you like murder mysteries, you'll probably dig this! If you like murder mysteries with a bit more to think about, try Katie Alender - Famous Last Words is awesome!

The First Rule of Punk, by Celia C. Perez

How can I NOT read a book with 'punk' in its title? Answer...I can't! I've had this book in the library all school year so far - it was published this year, 2018, but not a single kiddo has looked at it. The cover isn't very attractive to the middle school crowd, I think, and perhaps that is why it sits. However, the reviews on this book have been really good, so I thought I'd better read it so I could talk it up and help it start circulating...or else see why it isn't, if it isn't the cover.

Come to find out, The First Rule of Punk is a good book! I don't know if this is Perez's first book or not (the author notes don't say), but it seems like it might be. There is some formula here that heavy readers might recognize right away, but it doesn't weaken the overall story too much. On the other hand, the strong main character, Maria Luisa, or Malu, carries a lot of the load - she is smart, strong, vulnerable, young, courageous, and very real - someone a lot of readers could identify with, I think. Her parents are divorced, as happens in many YA and teen books, but they are still friends, and are even raising Malu together, even though from different cities. But they aren't a train wreck, and they are both still alive, two things that are usually cookie cutter recipes for most YA books. So the book doesn't follow all the same routes of many books out today, but a few, which makes this a 4 paw book instead of a 5 paw book...but still a fun read! You'll enjoy Maria Luisa and her punk spirit! I know I did!