The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown

This is the book adapted for young readers from the adult version...and I believe it may have also been made into a movie (but I'll have to check that). This is a non-fiction book that tells the story of the young men who made up the crew from the University of Washington who went on to win the gold medal in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany.

The story largely focuses on one young man, Joe Rantz, who at age 10 was kicked out of his house by his stepmother who decided she didn't want him around anymore. This cycle would repeat a time or two before getting Joe manages to get himself enrolled into the University of Washington as a student...that alone is an incredible feat, based on his background! Joe and the other group of rag tag boys he surrounds himself with find themselves in Hitler's Nazi Germany just before the start of World War 2, rowing a racing boat in the Olympics.

This is a really good, powerful, amazing story that reads like any good fiction book would, except that this really happened! Reading this made me want to find the adult version of the book, which I am guessing is longer and offers more detail, and read that as well. I highly recommend this book, especially if you are not a non-fiction reader usually - you'll find this to be a riveting story! 5 paws!

Monstrous Devices, by Damien Love

The first book (of two in this series so far) by Damien Love, and if I told you what it was about you would probably never consider reading it. But you should, especially if you like mysteries matched with action, blended with a hint of blood and bones, followed by hints of soul-stealing - kind of a April Henry meets R.L. Stine...kind of! Due to my humans moving from one house to another during my reading of this particular book, it took me much longer than usual, and there was a gap of about one week where I didn't have any time to read at all. This was just before the middle of the story. I mention that because I may have liked the book a little more if I hadn't broken the flow of the story...or perhaps that didn't matter. I will say I don't know if I've read any other book quite like this one, in mostly good ways. The subtitle of the book, below it on the front cover, reads, "Beware of things that go click in the night."  Referring to the robots that populate the story. The same ones that try to kill some people, and protect others...see? Would you have read the book if I had led with robots? 4 paws!

Amina's Voice, by Hena Khan

I just finished re-reading Amal Unbound, reviewed in this very blog last summer, and jumped right into Amina's Voice.  Both are OBOB books for next year and both are similar, realistic fiction stories about girls from different cultures trying to navigate life as both an American teenager and part of something outside of the American mainstream culture. Now, one could easily argue that there is no 1 "American culture", and I would agree. But in the case of Amina, she is from a Pakistan-born Muslim family living in Milwaukie, Wisconsin, which, according to the story, is very supportive of the Muslim community there. The cultural differences for Amina and her family are manageable but persistent throughout the book, but come to a head near the end when a tragic event strikes the community.

Before that happens, Amina is a new 6th grade girl trying hard to navigate middle school for the first time, along with changing friendships, boys, feelings, emotions...all the things teens deal with..as if I need to tell YOU, right? The book is easy to read, well-written but simple, not terribly long, but pretty good! A good OBOB choice, especially for those of you who don't like the fantasy and sci-fi genres as much...both Amina's Voice and Amal Unbound are good reads! I'll give Amina 4 paws...better than average, yet not amazing. For most Briggs readers, this story is a window, not a mirror, into another culture - one we are sharing with those around us right now, even if we don't always recognize it. Windows, like this book, are ways for us to "put ourselves into other people's shoes", to experience a life other than our own. It builds empathy, something we can always use more of! One reason I love realistic fiction so much...

Let me know what you think of Amina once you've read her story!

Small Spaces, by Katherine Arden

I had high hopes for this scary book, book 1 in a short series by an author I'm not yet familiar with other than Small Spaces. The back cover has quotes from authors of scary books I love, like Jonathan Auxier of The Night Gardener and R.L Stine, author of the Goosebumps books! However, I also know that sometimes awesome reviews from authors means the publisher is really trying to get the book to sell...and rightly so, as that is where they make their money.

Anyway, Small Spaces is touted as a super scary book, and although it's fun, and scary like Goosebumps books are scary (meaning fun-scary, mostly, and not going to keep you awake at night), it's not amazing. It was worth finishing, and good if you want "scary-lite", but if you want really scary, or even really well-written, you have many other options; April Henry, Katie Alender, Jonathan Auxier, Peg Kehret, even Robert Cormier or Stephen King, for more mature options.  If you love Goosebumps and want more like it, give this book a try. If you want truly scary, go to one of these other authors, who write truly scary material and write it very well! 3 paws.