War Stories, by Gordon Korman

     Sometimes, when I don't know what to read next, I reach back and grab a great Gordon Korman book! It's like visiting a friend you haven't talked to in a while! When my human first started his college program to become a librarian, Korman was on a book tour and presented at a school nearby. He was SO funny and interesting, and his books are the same. By now he has written way over 60 books, and although I've only read 5 or 6 of them, I've enjoyed every single one...that is some talent!

    War Stories is told by Trevor, who is infatuated (or very, very interested in) World War 2. His great grandfather, Jacob, actually fought in that war, and is being honored in France for helping to free a village from the Nazi's. Trevor and his dad decide that they will make the trip to France with Jacob, which makes Trevor super excited! Along the way, Jacob recounts his time in the service, from boot camp until his company landed in Normandy to chase out the German troops. But as the story unfolds, Trevor begins to realize that he has never been told the entire story...which isn't as glamorous at it first sounded.

    Korman does not write great literature that will be remembered for centuries, probably, but he is a first-rate story teller! I have never read a bad Korman book. War Stories is very good, not terribly complicated or challenging to follow or read, but you'll find yourself turning pages as fast as you can read them! He simply tells a wonderful story, every time! If you have any interest in World War 2, or wars in general, this is a good book to read. I found it to be very fair in portraying all sides of a war. If you like it, consider reading Schooled, No More Dead Dogs, or Restart, some of my favorite Korman books to date. You won't be disappointed! 4 paws and a wag!

Mid-Air, by Alicia D. Williams

     The second release by the author of Genesis Begins Again (5 paws, August 2021), and another really good story! Williams's sophomore (which means her second) release, Mid-Air,  is written in verse, which is a favorite of mine (so already points for that), and she is solid at creating meaningful, realistic characters that become "you", the reader. 

    Main character Isaiah takes us through the summer when one of his best friends is killed, and Isaiah believes he could have prevented it. The world around him seems to be telling him to be tougher, while he is trying to figure out who he really is and how to be that person, not just at home in his closet, but with everyone all the time. World records, rock music, bikes and boards, plants...Williams reveals a unique, sensitive, smart young man to us, the reader, with style and voice. It took a little while for this book to come out, but worth the wait! Can't wait to see what she writes next! While you wait, read this! 5 paws!

 

Amber & Clay, by Laura Amy Schlitz

     The latest release by author Schlitz, Amber & Clay tells the story of two young people, very different one from the other, both living in Ancient Greece with all of the philosophers, gods and goddesses, and "ringed by the restless sea." Rhaskos is a slave boy, worth no more than clay. Melisto is a spoiled young girl who was born into money, and is as precious as amber, but with her own strong ideas and will. Their stories are told mostly in verse, and author Schlitz is truly masterful with her words (if you've never read Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! try it and you'll understand what I mean). Tying their stories together are blurbs about actual ancient Greek artifacts, which Schlitz weaves into the story much like Ransom Riggs does with photographs in his Peculiar Children series.

    Schlitz writes absolutely beautifully, and if you as a reader are willing to give this long book (over 500 pages, but written mostly in prose) the time, you will find yourself rewarded by writing not seen in most books, I believe. On the other hand, if you don't have that level of patience, as I sometimes lack, you might find yourself not finishing this story, or perhaps not even choosing it at all. I will admit I read the first 100 pages or so, and appreciated that I was reading some really exceptional writing, but I found myself wanting to finish so that I could read the next book on my ever-growing stack of books. 

    Bottom line is, this is an exceptionally written book, but it won't appeal to everyone. If you are a fan of Greek mythology or history, this may be your next favorite book! If you are looking to be entertained, even with Greek backgrounds (such as Percy Jackson), this may not hold you all the way until the end. I can appreciate her above-average writing talent, but this one I didn't have the patience to finish. 3 paws (and a wag for the writing)!

Stay Dead, by April Henry

     Stay Dead. Who doesn't want to read a book with THAT as the title?!? The latest release by murder mystery writer April Henry is exactly what you would expect from her; a page turning book with strong girl characters, twists and turns, and a few people getting killed, of course! Stay Dead is the story of Milan, daughter of two politician parents, both of whom are victims of suspicious deaths, one not long after the other. Milan isn't aware of any connections between the two, except for her painful losses, until she is suddenly the one being hunted. The hunter is also a strong female character, which gives this book a cool twist - one of many. 

    One part Hatchet (surviving in the wilderness), one part Hoot (environmental destruction needing to be corrected), and all April Henry equals a very good story! If you've ever read Henry's books, you'll know exactly what you're in for. If you haven't, this is as good a place to start as any. Her writing won't blow you out of the water, but I guarantee you won't be able to put this down (and if you do, you'll be thinking about when you can pick it up again)! Not a 5 paw book, but Henry is almost always a strong 4 paws!

This Book Won't Burn, by Samira Ahmed

     From the wonderful author who brought us Internment and Love, Hate and Other Filters, This Book Won't Burn is a good story that centers around book challenges and bans. According to the American Library Association, last year there were more book challenges and bans in the United States than any other year previously. What that means is that more people (or people being more organized) are working harder trying to determine what you and I can and cannot read, using the explanation that certain books are not "good" for us and should not be available. This dog agrees that not every book is right for every reader, and that parents and guardians should have a say in what their own kids and teens are reading (just like they should have a say in what kids eat, view on screens, etc.). However, more and more there are people wanting to tell ALL of us what is good for us, and what we should not be able to read (or eat, or view). I don't believe this is right, or a good direction for our society to go.

    Author Ahmed uses her main character Noor to tell the story of book bans happening in her school. She moves from a big city to a small town with her sister and mom after her father abandons the family, and this particular small town has adults who are organized in removing library books from the high school library shelves, based on what this small group feels is acceptable for teens to be reading. Because Noor is a high school senior, there is a strong romantic aspect of the book, as she tries to navigate not just the book bans but also her feelings for not one - but two - different boys! One comes from an Indian family, like she does, and one is the son of the man who is leading the community book ban movement.

    Ahmed is a really good storyteller, if you are not familiar with her writing. This Book Won't Burn is written more for older middle grade and high school readers, but there isn't anything too strong if you wanted to read this and weren't quite at 8th grade yet (some strong language, but not pervasive and not gratuitous). The message she is trying to get across to the reader in this story is very relevant and timely, and thus pretty important. This is a slightly more mature version of A.S. King's Attack of the Black Rectangles, which is also good but written for an earlier middle grade audience.

    I love the message of this story, and even though I also love a good romantic story, the middle of this book lags a little as the romance completely takes over the story, and the censorship storyline disappears for a while. As a complete book, I recommend this. I especially recommend this to anyone interested in understanding the seriousness of censorship, which is what book banning is. It is happening more and more across the country, and will need your voice to help stop that trend. This book will give you a lot of good information on both sides of the book censorship debate, and for that I recommend it even more. Not quite 5 paws, but definitely 4 paws and a wag!

And Then, BOOM! by Lisa Fipps

     The second book by Fipps, the author of highly acclaimed Starfish, and an equally good release! And Then, BOOM! is the story of young Joe, whose mother has a tendency to get "the itch", when she disappears from home for hours, days...sometimes weeks at a time. In those instances, Joe is being raised by his Grandmum, but they struggle to make ends meet financially, and soon find themselves facing hunger and homelessness. 

    Like Starfish, Fipps writes this book in verse, which is really powerful and also nice for those of you who may get overwhelmed, or even bored, with regular chapter books. I've always had an admiration for writers who write books in verse, as it seems more difficult - not less - the tell a good story using less words rather than more. Authors like Karen Hesse, Sharon Creech and Kwame Alexander are some of my favorite authors who use verse expertly!

    There is one big event in And Then, BOOM! that was a bit tough to believe, and I think you'll know it when you get to it. But outside of that one hiccup, I really liked Joe and his story. Fipps writes this book from experience, just like her first, and her voice really comes through her characters very strongly. This book will make you feel for Joe - and anyone, including maybe you - who are or have had to survive poverty, in its many forms. You never know what a person's story is when you meet them, or simply pass them in your day-to-day life. It's good to remember that, and to show kindness whenever and to whomever you can. 4 paws!

Maelstrom; A Prince of Evil, by Lorian Merriman

     The debut graphic novel by the creator of the online sci-fi web comic The Otherknown. I discovered Maelstrom: A Prince of Evil on a recent visit to my public library (where I find my next great read when school is n summer break), wanting a graphic novel after finishing my last book, and also wanting something brand new that I knew nothing about.

    What a treat this was, and I am so happy that I chose this book! Colorful, fun, funny, dramatic, with exceptional artwork and a really cute, albeit not original, storyline. Maelstrom is the son of the evil queen who took over the throne and rules with terrible magic and power. Prince Maelstrom, however, gets bored of being the evil prince, and falls into favor with a group of people forming a resistance to topple the queen and return the land to peace once more. But is Prince Maelstrom who he says he is? Does he really want to help move his mother from the throne? 

    Merriman's Maelstrom is full of great characters, beautiful art, dragons, magic, sword fighting - a real medieval tale in graphic novel format. At times it reminded me of Shrek for it's funny one-liners and likeable characters. Never boring and an easy to follow plot (mostly) make this one for any of you graphic novel fans! I will recommend this to my human so that he can add it to the River City library collection. 4 paws!

Okoye To The People: A Black Panther Novel, by Ibi Zoboi

     I had seen this in my person's book bag a few times this past year, and was waiting for it to come home long enough for me to read it...I haven't read any of Zoboi's books yet, and was excited to read this one! In short, Okoye is a young woman from the African nation of Wakanda. She is also in training to be a warrior for her nation, guarding the king of Wakanda as he goes about his official duties. King T'Chaka is invited to visit the United States - New York City - and Okoye is included on this trip. She quickly learns that all in New York is not what it seems, and the person who has invited the king to the U.S. has nefarious intentions, which means her intentions are not as pure and good as she pretends them to be.

    In reality Zoboi uses this book to tell the reader about the state of race relations in this nation, past and present. She details how racism has unfairly treated Black people since the colonies were forming, and how that racism still plays out in today's world. This is all very important information, and should be the topic of many books, for young people and old alike. However, Zoboi does a poor job of working this into the story. Instead, her characters speak these facts as if they were being read from an encyclopedia, in a very dry, impersonal way that doesn't make you or I, the readers, want to know more, and want to be part of positive change. Instead of teaching us through the characters and the plot, the information is spit out at us with no feelings attached. This didn't give me anything to relate to as I read along and made the themes of the book fall very flat.

    I will read more books by this author, because I believe this is not her strongest work. I love that more books of all genres by and about people of color are populating the book shelves at stores and libraries, like River City! Unfortunately, Zoboi really misses the mark here, and short of what I think are her best intentions, this book is a dud. Darn. 2 paws.

    I still have a lot to read and learn about other experiences in the world, and in this case as race is a factor. Some of my all-time fave authors that I recommend to you are Jason Reynolds, Jacquelyn Woodson, and Kwame Alexander. I hope to add Ibi Zoboi to this list someday!

Alebrijes, by Donna Barba Higuera

     The latest story by the Newbery Award-winning author Higuera is complicated at the start, just like The Last Cuentista was, the book which won her the Newbery. Alebrijes won the Pura Belpre Honor Award, another significant achievement (any time you see a book with an award such as Newbery, Pura Belpre, Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, or Printz you know it will be a good story, even if it turns out to be a story you don't necessarily like). 

    Higuera is a very talented storyteller, but it takes me a while for her characters and plot to begin to make sense to me. Alebrijes is really good, but it took about 75 pages for everything to start to click. Once it did, the book was very difficult to put down! This book is part fantasy, part science fiction, and part folk tale. It reminded me of books like Veronica Roth's Divergent and Marie Lu's Legend series, but Higuera writes a more complex tale, which, again, takes me a number of pages to begin to sync up with.

    Alebrijes is the story of thirteen year old Leandro and his younger sister Gabi who are introduced as orphans being "cared for" by a rather mean old woman. They live in fear and hunger with seemingly no hope for a better life. The story tales place far in the future, where the planet is nearly dead, as are most people, and Leandro and Gabi are simply trying to stay alive. When they are taken from the woman and placed in an orphanage, their lives are quickly changed forever. They are separated, and on their own each manage to change their worlds, all the while not knowing if the other is still alive or not. It's a difficult story to explain, as Higuera weaves a highly detailed story. But I remind you to push past the first third of the book and get rewarded with the last two thirds! There is a fair amount of Spanish spoken in the story, some of it not translated, and coupled with the challenging beginning, this book will take some focus and time. Like many things in life, if you are willing to invest in this book, you will be nicely rewarded! 4 paws and a wag!

Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir, by Pedro Martin

     This graphic novel won a silver medal last year, a Newbery Honor Award, which automatically makes me want to read it! On top of that, I don't read nearly enough graphic novels or manga, so when I get the opportunity to read an award-winning graphic novel, I get excited about it!

    A memoir is a biography, or someone's life story, but not their entire life - only a section of it (that is what makes a memoir different than a biography). Author and illustrator Martin tells his story of growing up in a large, extended family, living as an American-born Mexican, as opposed to half of his siblings, who are Mexican-born living in the United States. His family of 11(!) take a road trip from their home in California all the way to southern Mexico to bring their abuelito, or grandfather, back to live with the larger group. With so many travelers, they have to drive two different vehicles, and navigate two countries with some different ways of doing things, especially when it comes to travel!

    The cover of Mexikid claims it is "laugh-out-loud funny", which always makes me a little skeptical. But, happily, I laughed out loud many times while reading it, and I think you will, too! I think this book is destined to be read by many of you over the next many years...making it a classic?!? Along with the Newbery Honor it also won the Pure Belpre Award. Those two awards, and my strong recommendation, means you have to give this book a try! You, too, may find yourself laughing out loud! 5 paws!