J vs. K, by Jerry Craft & Kwame Alexander

  The newest chapter book by two of the heavyweights in kid's books! J, as in Jerry Craft, author and illustrator of the New Kid series as well as The Offenders series. K, as in Kwame Alexander, author of award-winning book The Crossover (one of my favorite books ever!), Undefeated, The Door of No Return, and many others. J vs. K pits these two awesome artists against each other as 5th graders, competing for first prize in their school's Storytelling Contest (which no one below the 7th grade has ever won)!

    The writing is very fun and full of word references and puns that will make you laugh out loud! The art is wonderful Jerry Craft artwork, which he uses so well to help tell the story. If you are a fan of either (or both) of these artists, I think you'll find this book to be pretty clever and quite fun. Even if you are not a fan (yet), you're sure to enjoy this book for it's frivolity (yep, as Kwame says in the book, look it up!). It's light, pretty fast to read, loosely along the lines of a Wimpy Kid or Dork Diaries book, especially in how it looks and is put together, and reminded me also of James Patterson's I Funny series. Not my favorite book by either of these folks, but it was fun to read!  4 paws!

Rhiannon, by Kiara Brinkman & Sean Chiki

    A new graphic novel by the husband and wife team of Kiara Brinkman and Sean Chiki. Rhiannon, the main character of this story, was named after a Fleetwood Mac song by her mom, who was killed in a car accident before this story begins. Rhi lives with her aunt in a trailer park in California in the late 1980s, and every summer her friend Kit comes to stay with his family and he and Rhi hang out. In the summer when this book takes place, a new teen, Elizabeth, comes to spend the summer as well, and changes everything.

    Elizabeth is everything Rhi is not; confident, courageous, brave...introducing her into the mix of friends and family in this little trailer park setting sets many different things in motion, and all three teens try to navigate them as best they can.

    I liked this book! I really enjoyed all the music references, much of it taken from late 80s alternative and punk rock, which is an era I know a lot about and enjoy. Aside from the Crass reference, I thought all the songs and bands mentioned were well placed and added to the story, at least for an older pup like me! But I also liked the reality of the book - they way Brinkman and Chiki handled the real world, for many teens, with angst and uncertainty but also with bravery and courage. Some heavy issues arise in the book, but again, I appreciated the honesty of the story, even when the dialogue and action seemed a little choppy.

    I still don't have enough graphic novel experience under my collar to make a lot of comparisons between books, so forgive me for this one: Rhiannon reminds me of a more young adult version of a Raina Telgemeier book, perhaps, but not as graphic in its issues as many older teen graphic novels are. I thought it hit the right middle for middle grade readers, and even early high school, perhaps. I believe Rhiannon is the second book by this duo, the first being Lucy in The Sky, which I would certainly read as well, based on my liking of Rhiannon. 4 paws!

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!